The fierce battle lasted ten minutes.
Nine of those minutes were spent running.
The remaining minute? The enemy surrendered.
Looking at the rogue ninjas kneeling on the ground, trembling like overcooked noodles, Naruto couldn't help feeling disappointed. The strongest among them was barely at chūnin level. If they ran into Sasuke, they'd probably be wiped out before they could even scream.
Still, from their terrified rambling, Naruto learned quite a bit about the island—and why the trade routes had been cut off.
The biggest source of income for these rogue ninjas and fishermen was smuggling.
They transported contraband from various countries, using the Land of Whirlpools as a transit zone. Since it sat between the Five Great Nations, it had essentially become a gray zone—a lawless shortcut for anyone bold enough to risk it.
Naruto even recognized the mastermind behind the operation.
It was Gatō, the shipping tycoon who secretly controlled the Land of Waves and one of the richest men in the shinobi world.
After knocking the rogue ninjas unconscious, Naruto summoned a ninja hawk. Once the bird flew off with his message, he waited calmly.
Before long, Shisui emerged from the dense forest. He lowered his head respectfully.
"Lord Mianma, you've finally arrived. We've been waiting for days."
Compared to half a month ago, Shisui looked noticeably more worn out.
It wasn't the harsh environment that had aged him—it was responsibility. As the new head of the Uchiha clan, he had to handle everything personally. Acquiring supplies was especially difficult due to his sensitive identity.
At the moment, the Uchiha were surviving mostly thanks to support from the ninja cats of the Cat Village—but that wasn't a long-term solution.
So when he saw Naruto, Shisui felt genuine relief. If anyone could drag the Uchiha out of this mess, it was him. At the very least, they might finally stop worrying about starving.
Naruto glanced at Shisui and smiled faintly.
"Trouble already? These rogue ninjas shouldn't be a big issue for the mighty Uchiha."
Shisui gave a helpless smile.
"The rogue ninjas are manageable. Supplies are the real problem. If I go ashore personally, I risk being discovered by Konoha's shinobi. The situation… isn't ideal."
"If you want safety, you pay the price," Naruto replied calmly. "Clear out the rogue ninjas on the island and take control of them. They can work for us."
He pointed at the unconscious rogue ninja on the ground.
"Don't just stand there. Strip them of anything useful. Keep them alive. We'll need labor for building the Uzumaki base."
Shisui froze for a moment, then immediately began collecting valuables according to Naruto's instructions.
After finishing the looting, the two left their hiding spot, leapt onto a nearby high point, and looked down at the island.
"Shisui, have you located the ruins of Uzushio Village?"
Shisui nodded and pointed toward the shoreline.
"The ruins of Uzushiogakure are there. But they're currently occupied by an organized ninja gang. Their leader is said to be close to jōnin level."
"Close to jōnin… so not quite there," Naruto muttered inwardly.
Still, in the shinobi world, jōnin were high-ranking elites. They didn't defect casually unless something had gone very wrong.
After a brief exchange, Naruto didn't question why Shisui hadn't seized Uzushio Village earlier. The two immediately set off.
Although Uzushiogakure was now a ruin and no longer fit to serve as a proper stronghold, it was necessary to "welcome" the new neighbors.
The sooner news spread that the Uchiha were hiding in the Land of Whirlpools, the better. If they could absorb the enemy forces instead of killing them outright, it would buy precious time for development.
After half an hour of rapid movement, Naruto and Shisui arrived at the ruins of Uzushio Village.
The crumbling structures still whispered of past glory—but that glory had fallen alongside the Uzumaki clan, nearly to extinction.
Shisui noticed Naruto's expression and spoke softly.
"Lord Mianma, under your leadership, the Land of Whirlpools will surely regain its former glory."
Naruto's expression turned slightly strange.
He had never even seen Uzushiogakure before it was destroyed. Glorifying it now felt like praising a memory he never owned.
After crossing the abandoned buildings, they reached the occupied gathering area.
With ease, they used genjutsu to control the patrolling sentries, then silently eliminated the guards one by one.
Most were only chūnin-level.
They didn't even get the chance to resist.
After all, whether it was Shisui or Naruto, both had already surpassed ordinary jōnin. Saying one of them could rival a small nation wasn't entirely exaggeration.
Soon, they found the rogue ninja leader—and finally encountered real resistance.
With a loud bang, the leader unleashed a ninjutsu that forced Naruto and Shisui to leap back.
They stared at him in surprise.
Not because he was overwhelmingly strong—
—but because he had just used Konoha-style sealing techniques.
Naruto and Shisui exchanged glances.
After ruling out the possibility that he was an ANBU operative, only one explanation remained.
He was a surviving Uzumaki ninja who had disguised his iconic red hair.
"Sharingan: Genjutsu."
Naruto removed his mask and activated his Sharingan.
The Uzumaki ninja forcefully broke free of the illusion and immediately applied a sealing technique to himself, blocking his vision and disrupting chakra flow to snap himself out of it.
Impressive.
But in the next instant, he fell into Shisui's genjutsu instead and froze in place.
After securing him, Shisui wiped sweat from his forehead.
Now he understood even more clearly why the Uzumaki clan had been annihilated.
It wasn't just because they were isolated overseas.
It was their inheritance.
The Uzumaki possessed terrifying vitality—not a kekkei genkai, yet comparable to one. And their sealing techniques were absurdly powerful.
Strong enough that their enemies had risked offending Konoha just to wipe them out completely.
At that moment, Shisui said quietly,
"Lord Mianma, I'll handle the people outside. Please proceed as you wish."
Naruto glanced at the increasingly obedient Shisui, then turned his attention to the captured Uzumaki ninja.
This man might be the key to unlocking the Scroll of Seals.
Judging from his earlier technique, he was likely a jōnin specializing in fūinjutsu.
After binding him with iron chains, Naruto dispelled the genjutsu. He abandoned the idea of directly reading his memory—there was a high chance the man's brain was protected by a sealing trap. One wrong move and it could fry his head.
The Uzumaki ninja woke up.
The moment he saw Naruto, his gaze turned sharp and dangerous—mixed with faint confusion.
He sensed a familiar aura from Naruto.
But as far as he knew, he was the only Uzumaki still openly remaining in Uzushio. The others had long hidden themselves across the shinobi world, living under false names.
Naruto didn't waste words.
He released a trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
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