When are we sending reinforcements to the Land of Whirlpools?
Tomita naturally assumed Konoha should send people to support the Land of Whirlpools. Their top little brother had charged in first out of sheer loyalty, so as the big boss, Konoha could not afford to look weak.
Even though the Uzumaki clan was close to the Senju clan and Konoha's Hokage had now become an Uchiha, the Uchiha were not the type to kick someone while they were down.
Could Konoha really let the Uzumaki clan bleed out for Konoha while standing on the sidelines and watching?
If it did that, could Konoha still be called human?
Haru did not answer immediately. He began thinking about how the Uzumaki clan should be handled.
Letting the Uzumaki clan be wiped out like in the original story was definitely out of the question. Haru still had his pride. He could not do something that shameless.
But the Uzumaki clan's ties to Konoha were already so close they were practically wearing the same pair of pants, so why not just merge them directly? Konoha's territory was large enough. The surrounding land all belonged to Konoha anyway. There was room for the Uzumaki clan.
Still, that kind of thing needed to be prepared gradually. It could not be rushed.
Let the bullets fly for a little while first. The Uzumaki clan won't go down that easily. If they dared act, then they must have some kind of backing.
Send a squad first to investigate the situation. If they start losing control, be ready to reinforce them at any time.
Helping someone when they are already strong could never compare to helping them when they were desperate. Haru was not interested in making a deal where Konoha rushed over eagerly. He wanted the Uzumaki clan to ask him for help first.
Tomita nodded and went off to prepare a combat plan according to Haru's instructions.
After Tomita left, Haru decided to immediately notify Nara Shikaru, who was still in the Land of Fire. The futures plan needed to move even faster now.
Fighting had already broken out on the Kirigakure side. Pig iron prices would probably rise one or even two times over. So far, Haru had only spent a little over 4 billion ryo at the early low prices, plus another 700 to 800 million while gradually pulling the market upward, for a total investment of only a little over 5 billion.
This time, the money to be made would come from the nobles and big merchants of the Land of Fire.
The more you put in, the more you earned.
The news of the fighting would reach the Land of Fire in one or two days at most, and those merchants and nobles would absolutely start raising the price like starving wolves.
Haru could not give them that chance. He had to push the price up first and make them take the high-priced chips.
Kirigakure Front
Gengetsu ground his teeth as he looked at the ruined harbor. The surprise attack he had prepared so carefully had been completely ruined.
Those damned Uzumaki had approached the warship harbor under cover of night in small boats, each of them stuffed with explosive tags and lamp oil. The moment they saw a ship, they threw themselves at it like living bombs.
Kirigakure had reacted quickly enough and moved to intercept at once, but when they hit the Uzushio ninja, they turned into smoke.
Damn it, they were all clones.
The clones had crossed all that distance to attack Kirigakure and still had not vanished from chakra exhaustion. The Uzumaki clan really did have too much chakra.
The Uzumaki had learned Tobirama's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, and that technique suited them perfectly. Their goal was simple: attack the warships. If a clone died, at worst a portion of the damage would return to the original body. The Uzumaki had thick vitality. One explosion would not kill them.
The Uzumaki clan was asking for death by provoking Kirigakure.
How are the repairs on the warships going?
Gengetsu asked the Kirigakure ninja beside him. This directly affected the overall strategy for attacking Konoha.
The money, the manpower, and the supplies were all more or less prepared. The arrow was already on the string. They could not call it off over a setback like this.
The Uzushio ninja used despicable tactics. They caught us completely off guard. Forty percent of the warships were burned, and even with repairs, we'll still need some time.
Repair the warships at all costs. We've already lost too much time. We can't keep delaying.
Gengetsu held his head and gave the order. Repairing those ships would cost no small amount of money, but there was a way to speed it up.
Throw more money at it.
If the money was there, then naturally the repair speed would go up.
Boss, should we retaliate?
That tiny Land of Whirlpools dared provoke Kirigakure. They really don't know whether to live or die.
Juzo Biwa carried the Executioner's Blade on his back, his tone full of unwillingness. As one of the elite personally selected by Gengetsu, he had obtained the Executioner's Blade and taken on the title of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
This attack on Konoha had been his chance to build achievements and make a name for himself.
And before they had even reached Konoha, they had been struck first and taken heavy losses. As a newcomer just stepping onto the stage, he was furious.
Yeah, boss, we can't just let this go. I want those Uzushio ninja captured alive, then sliced apart piece by piece.
Kushimaru Kuriarare held his needle-like sword and chimed in. After surviving Kirigakure's brutal selection system, his mind had long since twisted. He took pleasure in tormenting enemies, and what the Uzushio ninja had done was dancing right on top of his nerves.
Yeah, exactly.
...
The other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen all expressed similar thoughts. They wanted to deal with the Uzumaki clan first before anything else.
Enough, all of you shut up!
Gengetsu's head was starting to ache from the noise. He looked at this group of unruly brats with helplessness. The moment each of them got a ninja blade, they acted like their tails were in the sky. Each had their own special skill, and only the Mizukage could keep them in line. Nobody else meant anything to them.
Did they really think war was a game?
Through the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha had probably already learned of Kirigakure's plans. Since the Uzumaki clan dared to jump up like this, they had most likely already communicated with Konoha.
If Kirigakure rushed over to retaliate now and there turned out to be an ambush, what then?
Mizukage-sama, the intelligence you were waiting for from Iwagakure has arrived!
A Kirigakure ninja hurried over with the report. The moment he heard there was intelligence from Iwagakure, Gengetsu immediately became alert.
After reading it, anger appeared on his face.
That mummy Mu was actually planning to attack Konoha at the same time, and the date he had chosen was almost identical to Gengetsu's own.
Konoha had just changed Hokage, and on top of that an Uchiha had taken the position. Its internal situation had to be unstable. The Senju clan definitely would not sit quietly and let the Uchiha integrate the village's power so smoothly.
Attacking Konoha right now would definitely let you seize an advantage. His old enemy Mu clearly had come to the exact same conclusion.
But now Konoha was already alert. Carrying out the original surprise attack on Konoha would be full of difficulties, and the warships still needed time for repairs.
So what, Mu gets to take advantage of Konoha for free?
Gengetsu could not accept that.
His mortal enemy Mu would gain the advantage, while he himself had taken this silent loss for nothing. The next time they met, Mu would definitely mock him without restraint.
With that thought, Gengetsu's position flipped instantly. If they could not further weaken Konoha, then weakening Iwagakure would be just as good.
Since attacking Konoha had become difficult, then he would attack Iwagakure instead. That damned Mu definitely would not expect that move.
During the First Great Ninja War, Konoha and Kumogakure had fought each other from start to finish and suffered heavy damage, while Kirigakure and Iwagakure had mostly been biding their time. If Iwagakure now got to benefit from Konoha as well, then wouldn't Iwagakure be set to soar in the future?
That settled it.
Pretend to attack Konoha, then circle around behind Iwagakure and stab them in the back.
If I can't hit Konoha, then I can still hit you, Iwagakure.
(End of Chapter)
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