Uchiha's personal opinion

Uchiha Tokumitsu gently comforted him.

"As ordered!"

The group of attendant ninjas immediately obeyed and left.

……

The southern islands of the Land of Water.

Minazuki Chino looked as dejected as a plucked peacock.

Beside him were more than 170 ninjas from the Minazuki clan, most of whom were clan members who had been dispatched to other villages because of their involvement in smuggling.

He was unaware of the current situation in Kirigakure.

However, under the pursuit of the Hidden Mist Division, he led his barely gathered clansmen to hide and flee, and by this time he was already feeling exhausted.

"Chinno, the Jonin!"

A member of the Minazuki clan suddenly cried out, "A boat! There's a boat!"

"what!"

Minazuki Chino was first startled, then overjoyed.

At that moment, he made up his mind that no matter who the ship owner was, he would steal the ship and escape from this damned country!

"This is……"

Upon closer inspection, Minazuki Chino sensed that something was amiss.

It looks like their own Atakebune used for smuggling, and the flag flying at the bow looks somewhat familiar...

"It's the Uchiha!"

Minazuki Chino shouted, "It's the Uchiha! It's our ally, the Uchiha!"

"Fire the signal flare!"

The Minazuki clan members frantically fired three signal flares in quick succession.

Several ninjas leaped off the boat and rushed towards the location of the signal flare, wading through the water.

Minazuki Chino tidied herself up a bit, trying to make sure she didn't look too disheveled.

Once the ninja who came wading through the water got closer and her face was clearly visible in the photo, Minazuki Chino could no longer maintain her feigned composure.

"...Lord Tokumitsu!"

He immediately burst into tears and knelt down on one knee in reverence.

The Minazuki clan members behind him also knelt down.

"Get up!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu quickly teleported forward and forcefully pulled up Mizuki Chino, supporting him by the shoulder and saying, "We're too late..."

Mizuki Chino wept uncontrollably.

The Mizuki clan members have been suffering terribly these past two days, having fallen from a prestigious and powerful ninja clan to being universally reviled.

"Get up, all of you!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu said to the still kneeling Mizuki clan members, "We are all from the same ninja clan, we are all equal, and moreover, we are allies!"

"I brought forty Jonin with me."

“I will lead you away from the land of water and grant you refuge; this is what allies should do.”

"And Hozuki and Kaguya, if they'd like, I'd take them with me."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said sincerely.

"Lord Tokumitsu!"

Minazuki Chino wiped away her tears, "I am willing to be your guide to meet Hozuki and Kaguya's people!"

"There's a large fluctuation in chakra in the west!"

The Uzumaki ninja in charge of sensing suddenly shouted, "Preliminary assessment indicates that these are two ninja groups engaged in combat."

"Let's go..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu patted Minazuki Chino on the shoulder, unsheathed his greatsword Samehada from his back, and said with a smile, "This will be our first time fighting side by side!"

"As ordered!"

Minazuki Chino gritted her teeth and bowed, then summoned her clansmen and followed closely behind the Uchiha Jonin.

……

"An unidentified ninja army is approaching!"

In the western part of the Inai Waterway of the Land of Water, the Hidden Mist Ninja Army is engaged in a fierce battle with the Hozuki Ninja, who has defected.

Outside the battle zone, a Hidden Mist Ninja with sensory abilities suddenly shouted.

"Who are they?"

The commander of the Kirigakure ANBU glanced at the remnants of Hozuki's forces and the Kirigakure ninja army who were engaged in fierce combat, and hesitated.

At this point, he had already devoted most of his ninja forces to the battle to exterminate the Hozuki clan, and it was still unknown whether the newly arrived unidentified ninja army was friend or foe, which made it difficult for him to make a decision.

"This fire-style chakra... it's from the Uchiha!"

Another Hidden Mist ninja in charge of sensing exclaimed.

He had served under Yagura Karatachi during the continental offensive, so he remembered the Fire Release chakra signature of the invincible Uchiha ninjas on the battlefield.

"Retreat immediately!"

The commander of the Hidden Mist Division turned and retreated without hesitation.

Although he didn't know why the Uchiha clan's ninja army was here, he knew that if he lingered in battle and got entangled with those ferocious Uchiha, his ninja army would surely be wiped out.

If things are hopeless and you have to leave the battlefield, you will still have a chance to explain yourself. But if you lose the battle, you will definitely be punished when you return to the village!

Therefore, the commander of the Hidden Mist Division acted decisively and without any wishful thinking.

The Kirigakure messenger ninja beside him immediately sounded the conch shell horn to signal retreat.

Although the Hidden Mist Ninja Army, which had initially held the advantage on the battlefield, was unaware of what was happening, they obediently and gradually withdrew from the battle with the Hozuki Ninja.

"The Mizukage shouldn't punish me, right... after all, my opponent is an Uchiha..."

The commander of the Hidden Mist ANBU thought to himself, "Or I could go back and say that Konoha has broken the peace agreement and launched a surprise attack on the Land of Water..."

"...Masahiko Jounin?"

As the Hidden Mist Ninja Army withdrew in an orderly fashion, a wounded Hozuki clansman looked at their leader, Hozuki Masahiko.

They didn't understand why the Hidden Mist Ninja Army, which had the advantage on the battlefield, would suddenly withdraw, especially since their own side was on the verge of collapse.

But one thing is certain: it was definitely not because the Third Mizukage took pity on them.

"There must be reinforcements...maybe it's Minazuki or Kaguya's ninja army."

Hozuki Masahiko was also clueless, but he still managed to answer.

After being ambushed by the Third Mizukage, all the high-ranking members of the Hozuki clan were killed in battle. Only a portion of the clan members managed to escape Kirigakure. After being chased and fleeing, the last surviving members of the Hozuki clan are all here.

"There are fewer than a hundred people..."

Hozuki Masahiko glanced at his clansmen, who were all panting and exhausted.

Of the Hozuki clan, which once had a population of nearly a thousand, less than one-tenth of its members escaped.

"It's the Uchiha!"

"It's Lord Deguang!"

As the reinforcements drew closer, the Hozuki clan members, filled with anticipation, couldn't help but cheer.

"Uchiha! Our allies have arrived!"

Hozuki Masahiko's lips trembled, and tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

In the formation of the ninja army charging forward, at the forefront was Uchiha Tokumitsu, whom he knew well.

In addition, he also saw the figure of the Mizuki ninja in the reinforcement team.

"Lord Tokumitsu!"

Without hesitation, Hozuki Masahiko knelt before Uchiha Tokumitsu, who had arrived in a flash.

The arrogance of the ninja clan and the pride of the noble families were no longer relevant at this moment.

"Get up..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu helped Hozuki Masahiko up, "I will take you away from here..."

"And Kaguya!"

Hozuki Masahiko wiped away his tears. "Lord Tokumitsu, we and the Kaguya clan were separated in the Inai Waterway. Please save them too!"

"Lead the way!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu patted Hozuki Masahiko on the shoulder and responded gently.

……

Southern part of the Inai Waterway in the Land of Water.

The remaining hundred or so Kaguya ninjas were also engaged in a fierce battle.

Nearly eight hundred Hidden Mist ninja formed a ninja army formation that completely surrounded them, relentlessly attacking them within the mist created by the Hidden Mist Technique.

Kaguya, a ninja, brandished her bone whip, attempting to scare away the enemy who was hiding.

However, due to the lack of effective countermeasures, coupled with the physical and mental exhaustion after being chased for a long time, Kaguya's defeat was already evident.

The Kirigakure commander in charge of surrounding and killing Kaguya's ninjas was looking at the smog-covered war zone with great joy.

Although the specific details of the battle could not be seen due to the Hidden Mist Technique, the corpses of Kaguya ninjas that her subordinates dragged out from time to time indicated that the battle was progressing very smoothly.

"This is a successful tactic to drive out a tired enemy! As expected, I am the strongest commander in Kirigakure. Yagura and his ilk are no match for even a little finger of mine!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"