"Sorry, I heard what happened earlier. It was the ninja I sent who was a bit impulsive, so please forgive me, Mr. Yoichi."
After meeting Uchiha Yoichi, Uzumaki Naruto was the first to apologize, having already learned about the situation with Aomizu and Nitta.
However, after the apology, Uzumaki Naruto continued, "I'm very sorry to call you over, but I believe you have already guessed it, the prophecy has come true. Last night, a tsunami hit the Land of Water, completely submerging the entire country. Although the Hidden Mist Village is doing its best to provide disaster relief, communication has been cut off, and we don't know what's going on over there..."
"The borders of the Land of Fire, the Land of Waves, and the Land of Tea were also hit by tsunamis. This catastrophe seems to originate from the ocean."
After Uchiha Yoichi listened, he nodded and then said, "I understand the situation, but there's nothing I can do to help; whether it's dealing with the disaster or treating the victims..."
"Is that so..."
Uzumaki Naruto sighed inwardly. Since the prophecy came from Uchiha Yoichi, he held a glimmer of hope that Yoichi might have a way to resolve the issue.
Nara Shikamaru asked, "Isn't there anything we can do, are we just going to watch the disaster unfold helplessly?"
Uchiha Yoichi rolled his eyes and said, "Do you still wish to prevent it in advance? When Otsutsuki Kaguya came to this planet, could you stop them? Don't say such unrealistic things."
Nara Shikamaru frowned slightly but said nothing more.
Out of responsibility for the village, he harbored some suspicion towards Uchiha Yoichi, and this suspicion was sensed by the latter. By the second meeting, Nara Shikamaru felt that his suspicion had turned into hostility.
Although Nara Shikamaru knew he shouldn't think this way, he found it difficult to suppress his doubts, especially knowing that the person in front of him could allow others to see deceased souls.
Learning this made Nara Shikamaru suspicious that Uchiha Yoichi was using the deceased for personal gain.
Uzumaki Naruto apologetically said, "I see, sorry, we are just very concerned about the disaster over there..."
"Perhaps the only thing I can help with is perception for you."
Uchiha Yoichi changed tone and said, "Although my strength is lacking, I specialize in spiritual power and in the area of perception, which should be more detailed than your ninjutsu. If it's an exotic beast, I might be able to analyze some weaknesses, but if it's a natural disaster, then I'm powerless."
Uzumaki Naruto was pleasantly surprised and immediately said, "Is that so? That would be a great help, thank you very much."
Uchiha Yoichi continued, "I also have a request. If any treasures are discovered during the search, whoever finds them can keep them."
"Is that your real goal then, analyzing the exotic beasts' weaknesses is just incidental...."
"Shikamaru!"
Nara Shikamaru's words were cut off by Uzumaki Naruto; Nara Shikamaru realized he had been too hasty and that his words were poorly timed.
"In that case, never mind, I'll head back first."
After saying this, Uchiha Yoichi turned around and left.
After he left, the room fell silent. Sakura shook her head in her heart, thinking that Nara Shikamaru's performance seemed somewhat deliberately targeted.
Even if Yoichi had such thoughts, at least he was willing to help; it shouldn't be mentioned publicly. But Sakura was closer to Nara Shikamaru, having been fellow villagers for over a decade, so she wouldn't criticize him.
Sakura spoke up, "Naruto, I'm going back now. I need to organize the medical team to head to the border of the Land of Fire...."
"Okay, sorry for the trouble, Sakura."
After Uzumaki Naruto said this, he let Sakura leave. When only he and Shikamaru were left in the room, Uzumaki Naruto asked, "What's wrong, Shikamaru, did you sense anything unusual?"
"No, it's nothing, I was just impulsive earlier, sorry Naruto."
Nara Shikamaru shook his head and said, "I just felt that his goals and actions seemed off, but without any evidence, I was a bit rash...."
"It's okay, maybe you're just too tired lately, with all the things happening in the village." Uzumaki Naruto comforted him, "The village still needs you now, but once things calm down, take some time off to rest."
Nara Shikamaru felt relieved and asked, "If I leave, can you handle all this work, Naruto?"
Uzumaki Naruto looked at the piles of documents around the room and sheepishly smiled, saying, "I guess not, but if I push myself, I can manage for a few days...."
"Never mind, the slip-up just now won't happen again."
After saying that, Nara Shikamaru collected his thoughts and went back to work.
The sudden disconnection of video communication from the Land of Water gave the other four Ninja Villages a bad feeling, leading them to almost simultaneously dispatch ninjas to investigate.
Ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village, Konoha, and Hidden Sand Village were the first to reach the vicinity of the Land of Water and were utterly shocked by the devastation they witnessed.
The scale of the tsunami that submerged the entire Land of Water was unimaginable to them.
Mizukage Chojuro, upon meeting the envoys from the other three ninja villages, directly requested their assistance in alleviating the disaster in the Land of Water.
As a return favor, the Hidden Mist Village offered to share critical information with them; Chojuro had intended to bring this up in a video conference, but the tsunami had destroyed all their infrastructure and power stations, leaving their communication stations in ruins, and making it impossible to continue the video conferences.
The ninjas from the other Ninja Villages didn't have the authority to agree to Chojuro's request, but fortunately, the Hidden Mist Village managed to repair the signal station, allowing Chojuro to reconnect with the other four Kage.
After expressing his hope for support, the other four Kages thought for a moment and agreed to assist the Hidden Mist Village. After all, having decided to collaborate and assist each other, they couldn't just watch the Hidden Mist Village suffer.
They also promised Chojuro that they would do their best to persuade their respective Daimyo to aid the Land of Water.
Uzumaki Naruto took the opportunity to inform the other four Ninja Villages about Uchiha Yoichi's identity and his prophecy, expressing his regret for not announcing it earlier as he was unsure of its truthfulness.
The Fifth Raikage, Darui, spoke up, saying, "Since he can foresee disasters, can he foresee other events too? Why is the Ninja World experiencing such phenomena... colliding with other space-times is truly incredible."
Gaara then said, "I want to know if this is the only one. Will similar disasters occur again? If it happens next to the Hidden Sand Village..."
After listening, the other four Kages looked solemn. According to the Hidden Mist Ninja's investigation afterward, the tsunami's origin was far out at sea. Even though it didn't occur directly near the Land of Water, it caused such destruction. If it were to happen next to their Ninja Village, it's unimaginable.
Kurotsuchi asked, "Hokage, can that Yin Yang Master predict the exact time of the disaster? If so, even if the place can't be predicted, we can still make some preparations..."
Uzumaki Naruto said, "I'm not sure yet, but I'll go ask again. If there's any news, I'll notify you immediately... Oh, by the way, Mizukage, Uchiha Sasuke from Konoha has gone to the sea to investigate the source of the disaster."
After some more exchanges, the meeting was concluded.
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"Is it there..."
Uchiha Sasuke received a message from Konoha's Ninja Eagle and learned about the findings of the Hidden Mist Ninja. The note recorded the culprit behind the terrifying tsunami and the place where they last disappeared.
After preparing for the tsunami, Chojuro dispatched ninjas to the sea to gather intelligence. Among the twenty or so scattered Ninja Squads, one managed to spot a Sea King that hadn't yet submerged.
But at that time, the Hidden Mist Ninja didn't dare to approach. Faced with the terrifying creature that stood thousands of meters tall, the team of Hidden Mist Ninja found their legs a bit weak.
The Tailed Beast was only a few dozen meters, and even the Ten-tailed from the Fourth Great Ninja War was just over a thousand meters. Yet, the Sea Kings they saw were each about five thousand meters.
Seeing such towering gigantic beasts, it was fortunate that the Hidden Mist Ninja didn't fall into the sea out of fear despite their decent psychological resilience.
Therefore, the Hidden Mist Ninja didn't dare to get closer for more detailed information. After seeing the Sea Kings slowly submerge, they hurried back without even clearly seeing how many there were, but at least three were confirmed.
"At least four or five thousand meters of gigantic beasts..."
After reviewing the transmitted information, Uchiha Sasuke felt troubled. Beasts four or five times larger than the Ten-tailed were concerning.
The message also advised Sasuke to return for discussion, aiming to form a squad for further investigation. However, after consideration, Sasuke decided to go alone. After explaining his reasons, he instructed the Ninja Eagle to send the information back.
With Space-Time Ninjutsu and Susanoo, even if those beasts were formidable, he had a chance to escape; other ninjas might not have the same luck, and forming a squad might only drag him down.
After sending off the Ninja Eagle, Uchiha Sasuke headed to the location provided by the Hidden Mist Village.
Elsewhere, the Land of Fire's border began rescue operations.
The tsunami affected a large area, but thankfully it was just one wave. After the waters calmed, the surviving civilians began rebuilding their homes.
They searched for usable furniture and materials and possessions that hadn't been destroyed by the sea. At that time, finding one hundred thousand ryo was considered quite profitable for the civilians there.
"Big brother, look at this!"
A pair of civilian brothers, while inspecting their destroyed house, the younger brother suddenly found a luxurious treasure chest and immediately called out to his older brother.
"Did our parents leave this?"
The older brother shook his head after taking a look. "No, they didn't own such a nice chest, and no one in our village has such a fancy chest... Could it have washed up from the sea?"
With this suspicion, the older brother looked at it more carefully and became convinced. He couldn't recognize the patterns and writing on it, as it didn't seem to be the language of the Land of Fire.
"Let me see. Maybe there are valuable things inside."
The older brother found a hammer and axe, took the chest from his younger brother, and said, "If there are treasures, we could afford to rebuild the house."
Bam! Bam! Bam!
However, after pounding on it with the hammer and axe for quite a while, exhausted and panting, he still couldn't open the chest; both the chest and its lock were exceptionally sturdy, leaving only a shallow mark after all the hacking.
"Big brother, what do we do now? Should I give it a try?"
"Forget it. Such a nice chest might be worth something; we might as well sell it as is!"
The older brother waved his hand while panting, sitting down to catch his breath and ponder. After thinking for a while, he stood up and told his younger brother, "Let's not stay here. Let's go to Konoha Village or the capital; there are more wealthy people there, and we might fetch a good price!"
While speaking, he suddenly remembered hearing village folks discussing recent events from the Ninja World newspapers, mentioning that someone in Konoha was buying such peculiar and valuable items.