Inside the office atop the peak in Hidden Cloud Village, the Fourth Raikage slowly put down the scroll in his hand and said with some irritation, "Damn Hidden Rain Village, they still want one-tenth of the profit, truly despicable!!!" The Raikage punched the table in half and said fiercely.
"This is unavoidable. Since we need to pass through the Land of Rain, we have to give Hidden Rain Village some benefits," Mabui, the Raikage's secretary, said calmly from beside him.
"Damn it!!!" The Raikage was still seething with irritation. "If the target wasn't the Land of Cherry, I really would have wanted to wipe out the Land of Rain."
"Lord Raikage, please don't say such things. The Land of Rain has been the main battlefield of the Great Ninja Wars since ancient times, and it is also a buffer zone between the major nations during the 'Four-Seven-Three' period.
If you were to make a move on the Land of Rain, the other major nations would definitely not stand by and do nothing," Mabui said, startled upon hearing the Raikage's words, and quickly spoke.
"Hmph!!! Are the personnel and supplies ready?" The Raikage calmed his agitated mood and asked. "All supplies are ready, but the participating personnel are still being coordinated. After all, we can't send out all the ninjas in the village to participate in the battle, so we still need to recall the ninjas currently on missions outside. This will take some time," Mabui said, looking at the documents in her hand.
"Mmm, that's good. Hurry up. Konoha and Hidden Sand temporarily have no energy to contend with us. This is the best opportunity to widen the gap while Konoha and Hidden Sand are weak. This is also to prepare for future wars," the Raikage said faintly.
"I understand, but Lord Raikage, this is already the fourth time this month you've smashed your office table. The related expenses will be deducted from your salary," Mabui said calmly, without mercy.
"Ah!!!!!!" The Raikage instantly turned white-eyed, an angry roar erupting from his mouth.
At this moment, within the abandoned ruins of the Uzumaki Clan in the Land of Whirlpools, Uzumaki and Haku stood silently amidst the forest deep within the ruins, before a long-abandoned shrine.
This shrine was somewhat similar to the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine, presumably a place where the Uzumaki Clan held sacrifices and worshipped their ancestors.
However, compared to the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine, this place was quite dilapidated. The red main gate of the shrine had long since rotted and even faded from countless winds and rains.
The wooden door was also covered in cobwebs, and the surroundings were full of dust. Above the wooden door of the shrine, an old crest of the Uzumaki Clan was carved. Although dilapidated and old, it exuded an ancient sense of historical weight.
"What a truly dilapidated shrine. Has no one returned here for so many years?" Haku asked with some sadness.
"This is war, isn't it? Countless ninja clans have disappeared into the long river of history during wars. The Uzumaki Clan can only be considered one of them. First, the Uzumaki Clan, then the Senju, and finally the Uchiha Clan also perished in Konoha. It's truly tragic. The great clans that dominated the Warring States period have all disappeared, haven't they?" Uzumaki said faintly.
"It's estimated that the descendants of those Uzumaki clan members who escaped still don't know their Uzumaki clan identity, do they? Or are they unwilling to let later generations know the truth of their clan's demise?" Uzumaki said faintly.
"Or perhaps they're afraid that if their descendants knew the truth, they would seek revenge and didn't want their descendants to live in hatred. The Uzumaki Clan and the Uchiha Clan are indeed very different," Uzumaki chuckled.
"We've searched so many places and found nothing. Now only this place is left," Haku said to Uzumaki.
"Indeed, if we don't find anything, we'll just have to go back to the residence. After all, we can't stay here indefinitely wasting time," Uzumaki said faintly.
"Will there really be a secret of the Uzumaki Clan here?" Haku looked suspiciously at the shrine in front of him. "Who knows? Since the Uchiha Clan's clan land has a stone tablet passed down through generations, the Uzumaki Clan, also descendants of the Six Paths Sage, shouldn't have left nothing behind.
After all, very few people know the secret of the Uzumaki Clan. Only those who can read the stone tablet under the Uchiha grounds can more clearly understand the background of the Uzumaki Clan..." Uzumaki said faintly.
"Let's go," Uzumaki said faintly, then took a step forward, walking towards the shrine's main gate. Haku also followed closely behind Uzumaki.
A piercing creak sounded. The old, massive wooden gate slowly opened. Large amounts of sawdust fell, and countless dust motes flew up. Perhaps it was because the door hadn't been opened for too long, which was why this happened.
A musty smell slowly wafted into Haku and Uzumaki's noses. "Has too much time passed?" Uzumaki frowned slightly. Uzumaki glanced at Haku, who instantly understood and nodded slightly. He formed a hand seal. "Wind Escape: Great Breakthrough!!!!"
A fierce wind instantly blew, dispersing countless dust motes. The pungent musty smell was also slowly blown out of the door. Inside the shrine, countless old hanging lamps swayed from side to side, emitting clear clanking sounds.
After a long while, when the smell gradually dissipated, Uzumaki finally lowered the sleeve covering his nose. The scene inside the shrine was now clearly displayed before the two of them. The two then slowly walked inside.
Unlike the Uchiha Naka Shrine, the worship area here was quite chaotic. The tables and wooden racks used for offerings were already overturned on the ground, appearing very old and rotten.
Many memorial tablets of the Uzumaki Clan ancestors were scattered everywhere. The ground also had over a dozen dust-covered mats. The entire shrine was extremely dimly lit, and a gloomy atmosphere permeated the air.
Uzumaki and Haku looked at all this and shook their heads slightly, but didn't say much more. They continued to walk deeper into the shrine. They planned to first tour the shrine. This shrine was not small; it was even larger than the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine.
Not long after, Uzumaki and Haku reached the innermost part of the shrine. This was a large hall. The wooden beams on both sides had long since rotted. In the very front and center stood a gigantic and majestic statue of a deity...
🚨 Note : Consider to Support this Story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access +300 advance Chapters & 2 Chapters Daily and To Support The Daily Update