Uchiha's personal opinion

Uchiha Tokumitsu pondered for a while, then shook his head.

He has now refined the chakra of six tailed beasts, but he still hasn't achieved the effect that Uchiha Tokumitsu expected.

"And there are three tailed beasts..."

Today, the only ninja village in the ninja world that still possesses all the tailed beasts bestowed by Hashirama Senju is Iwagakure.

Besides that, the only thing that could be captured without starting a full-scale war was the eight-tailed ghoul that he had personally killed but didn't know if it had been resurrected.

"Notify the Intelligence Department and the Internal Affairs Department to increase the manpower deployment in the Land of Lightning!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu summoned his attendant ninja and ordered, "I need all the information about the Eight-Tails!"

Chapter 437 The Hero Heading Towards the Edge of the World

How much supply is left?

"I am asking Uchiha Seiji, who is in charge of the first team of the Shogunate's exploration squad."

"We still have a month's supply of dry rations, but we only have enough fresh water for half a month..."

The accompanying ninja advisor replied.

"What kind of hellhole is this?!"

Even the resolute Uchiha Seiji couldn't help but curse.

"No wonder that since the Warring States period, all the various tribes and nations have just been fighting each other on the Ninja World Continent. It turns out that this barbaric land is truly desolate!"

"It's not even as good as that damned desert of the Wind Kingdom, at least there are oases in the desert!"

Uchiha Seiji grumbled and cursed, pouring out his inner unease.

He had led his troops deep into the wilderness for about twenty days. Although they had not encountered any enemies or the wild monsters they had imagined, every day when they opened their eyes, they were faced with nothing but white, lifeless, withered rocks and rubble. This extreme emptiness and desolation made him and his men feel very uncomfortable.

Because all he could see was barren rock, his team had unknowingly strayed from their course three times. Although they soon realized it and returned to their original direction, they had wasted a lot of time and resources.

But that's not the key point.

After venturing deep into the wilderness, the exploration team discovered that the moisture in the air was even thinner than in the deserts of the Land of Wind!

The direct result of this was that the amount of fresh water carried was far too much, and even the ninja from Kirigakure in the exploration team collapsed as a result. Under no other choice, Uchiha Seiji had to send the equally dejected Amegakure members back along the same route.

Before even reaching the designated location of Mount Myoboku, and without encountering any enemies, the exploration team had already lost one-fifth of its members, and its supplies were reduced by half!

"I wonder what happened before ancient times..."

The ninja advisor gazed at the desolation before him and sighed, "What a once beautiful continent has become such a barren wasteland, and it doesn't seem like it can be transformed into fertile land for farming..."

"Who knows!"

Uchiha Seiji was preoccupied with his mission and had neither the mood nor the interest to ponder these histories that had been buried for who knows how many years.

"If we continue to accelerate our march, will our supplies be able to keep up?"

"The food is fine, it's the fresh water that might be..."

The ninja advisor hesitated.

"do not care!"

Seiji Uchiha, filled with resentment, kicked a dry rock on the ground, shattering it. "If this continues, we won't be able to reach the end of the world according to the predetermined time!"

"Yes... Eh!"

The ninja advisor was bowing his head in response when he suddenly cried out in surprise.

"What are you barking about, you dog?!"

Uchiha Seiji glared at him with great displeasure, then followed the strategist ninja's gaze and moved to his feet.

Holy crap!

Beneath the rubble, a mangled humanoid fossil was revealed!

Seiji Uchiha quickly released his chakra to sweep away the surrounding dry rocks, and then, a humanoid fossil was revealed once again...

Whether in a state of panic, composure, or bewilderment, some of the well-preserved fossil heads even reveal a smile that hasn't yet faded from their lips...

Without exception, these "people" all lost their lives in the sudden upheaval, and by the power of time, their remains were preserved and became fossils, appearing before people who stepped into this wild land again after who knows how many years...

The exploration team members, who were resting not far away, rushed over when they heard their captain's exclamation, and were also stunned by the fossil remains before them.

A sense of historical solemnity washes over you.

"I understand!"

Uchiha Seiji suddenly said something out of the blue.

"……team leader?"

The ninja advisor was still in shock and couldn't react for a moment.

"I understand the significance of our exploration now!"

Uchiha Seiji said this.

……

"The long-range fleet has still not been found?"

Inside the Konoha Governor's Mansion, Uchiha Tokumitsu asked again.

"...I haven't received a reply yet."

Uchiha Shisui wiped away his sweat and answered in a low voice.

Konoha dispatched exploration teams to the desolate lands to the east and west, respectively. The fleet that was thought to be the safest lost all contact after a storm. The naval headquarters of the Shogunate's Fubo Castle received a telegram from the distant fleet saying that it was about to encounter a hurricane, and then there was no further news.

At first, the Naval Headquarters in Fubo City thought that the fleet was just in the midst of a storm and that communications were being affected, so they didn't take it seriously. However, they then received a secret report from the Ninja Cat Clan that the contracted Ninja Cat had lost contact with the Uchiha Clan member who was in charge of the fleet. Only then did the Naval Headquarters panic.

Such a major event could not be concealed by the naval fools. They immediately dispatched an envoy back to Konoha to report the matter to Uchiha Tokumitsu, and also mobilized a speedboat squadron to brave the wind and rain at sea to reach the coordinates before the fleet disappeared.

But when they arrived at the scene, they found that the 'Storm Sea' that had been marked on the Hidden Mist Sea Chart had been completely obscured by a super hurricane that had been raging for days. The power emanating from the colliding and churning wind columns was enough to create massive waves, and the speedboat fleet almost capsized just by looking at it from a distance. Moreover, the hurricane tornadoes were so widespread that even Byakugan ninjas could not see the end of them, and the area outside the shipping lanes was full of reefs and eddies, making it impossible to sail...

Uchiha Tokumitsu was naturally unwilling to see his fleet disappear inexplicably, so he ordered a small artificial island to be reclaimed in the reef area outside the accident site, an observation post to be built, and a high-powered tailed beast chakra telegraph station to send out search signals day and night.

But after many days, there was still no news from the fleet.

"hurricane……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead.

"teacher……"

Uchiha Shisui hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He wanted to say something comforting, such as that the fleet would surely be safe, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Have the Sealing Team, the Shogunate Engineering Institute, and the Konoha Research Institute jointly send personnel to a designated location to study the formation principle of this hurricane-like barrier!"

After much deliberation, Uchiha Tokumitsu made a very difficult decision: "As for the search team, let them come back first! To avoid any sudden increase in casualties!"

After saying that, Uchiha Tokumitsu slowly closed his eyes, his expression filled with an indescribable sadness.

Although the cost of deploying personnel and maintaining equipment in the open ocean was astronomical, and even he himself felt that the fleet was likely to perish, Uchiha Tokumitsu still couldn't let go of the missing ninja soldiers.

"Yes, sir..."

Uchiha Shisui's eyes were slightly red. He bowed and left.

"Knock knock!"

After a while, there were two knocks on the door, and then Uchiha Makoto pushed the door open and entered.

She didn't say much, but simply knelt down in front of Uchiha Tokumitsu and buried her head in her lover's arms.

"Ugh……"

Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed deeply.

……

"...Respected Staff Officer Ichiraku, have we received any signal yet?"

Inside the command cabin of the fleet flagship, which was struggling through the storm, Uchiha Rumbu, the commander of the Shogunate's ocean fleet, spoke in a somewhat sarcastic tone to Uzumaki Ichiraku, the fleet's chief of staff who was sweating profusely as he fiddled with the radio.

"Not yet... Perhaps it's due to interference from the wind and waves; the radio signals we've sent haven't been returned."

The Uzumaki chief of staff, who shares the same name as the famous Ichiraku Ramen in Konoha, said timidly.

"What the hell is this 'wind and wave interference' thing?!"

Uchiha Rumbu muttered something to himself, his anxiety no longer concealed.

"Even the magnetic field in this sea area is completely messed up, so a nautical compass is useless..."

"Ichiro Uzumaki said with a wry smile."

Uchiha Lunbu was a very rare Jonin specializing in Water Release techniques in the Uchiha clan. He was one of the old members of Uchiha Tokumitsu's Red Guard, which is why he was able to serve as the commander of this long-distance fleet. However, he was not very familiar with the principles of the various devices that the Shogunate Engineering Institute had put together. Therefore, he was helpless when the equipment malfunctioned inexplicably, the wind and waves rose, and he even lost his direction.

However, judging from the fact that Ichiraku only dared to take pictures of the radio from the outside and dared not disassemble the casing, he actually did not know how to repair it!

"The telegraph communication between the ships has been working fine, but we can't get in touch with headquarters..."

The Hyuga ninja in charge of communications chimed in, "Plus, they're always drifting around at sea..."

"So, we have no idea where we've veered off course!"

Uchiha Rumbu grew even more agitated: "Seven days! A full seven days! I still can't get in touch with Marine Headquarters! Will Lord Tokumitsu think I've defected?!"

The subordinates were speechless.

However, since the command center was filled with Uchiha Rumbu's confidants, there was no need for him to put on a calm and composed demeanor as he did in front of his subordinates.

"Nara brat! You're usually so quick-witted, but you never come up with any good ideas!"

Uchiha Rumbu then asked Nara, the strategist who was huddled in the corner.

"...Please forgive my incompetence."

Nara, the staff officer, reluctantly gave another perfunctory reply.

This kind of conversation has been repeated countless times since the third day of losing contact.

Fortunately, the fleet's ninjas were all carefully selected elite ninjas, and the Jonin in charge at all levels were all veterans of the Shogunate, so there was no need to worry about morale.