Chapter 135: Gains
With the war concluded, Masahiko sat cross-legged to recover his chakra.
He had recalled all the Shadow Clones he had sent out and summoned Katsuyu to heal his clansmen, so his chakra reserves were indeed running low.
The uninjured clansmen were cleaning up the battlefield. What comforted Masahiko was that after experiencing this war, the spirit and morale of the clansmen were visibly different. However, there was also something that saddened him: the Uzumaki clan had lost over seventy clansmen in this war, most of them before Masahiko had rushed back.
The concept of sacrifice had been distant from the Uzumaki clan for many years.
There were also quite a few injured, but fortunately, there were no untreatable injuries like severed limbs.
About two hours later, Izuko-kun approached Masahiko. "Sensei, the battlefield cleanup is finished. Nanako-kun personally sealed the chakra of those hundred or so ninjas. Since they aren't resisting, how should we deal with them?"
Masahiko nodded and stood up; his chakra had largely recovered.
"Lock them up for now. Let's bury our fallen clansmen first."
Izuko-kun nodded. The Uzumaki clan held another large-scale funeral; the last one had been after the battle against the Kaguya Clan.
The funeral was held on the second day after the war, and the entire Land of Whirlpools mourned. Gensuke-kun presided over the funeral, as neither Masahiko nor his three disciples were suited for hosting such an event.
After the funeral, tallying the spoils and handling post-war matters were put on the agenda.
Regarding the spoils from the battlefield, aside from some ninja tools and explosive tags, the biggest gain was the three ninja swords captured by Kento-kun.
Although Masahiko couldn't remember every detail clearly, he could recall roughly what they were after testing their abilities.
They were Nuibari (Sewing Needle), Kabutowari (Helmet Splitter), and Shibuki (Splash). Masahiko had no use for them, so he let Kento-kun handle their distribution, counting them as Kento-kun's personal spoils.
Aside from that, all other gains came from the hundred or so surrendered ninjas.
After interrogation, the Uzumaki clan's ninjutsu library became much richer. Due to Masahiko, their collection of ninjutsu other than Water Release—which he wasn't good at—was already plentiful. This time, however, Water Release was fully supplemented.
Masahiko also made copies of some common ninjutsu. As for the secret Water Release techniques, he didn't touch them. He didn't lack special ninjutsu to use, and furthermore, among the remaining hundred ninjas, very few knew any secret arts.
With the interrogation over, the disposal of these hundred-plus ninjas was the next item on the agenda.
There was no real slavery system in the ninja world, and letting these ninjas join the Uzumaki clan was worrisome. Killing them all didn't feel right either. After thinking it over repeatedly, Masahiko made a decision.
"Let the Mizukage ransom them back. We can ask for more supplies."
Izuko-kun hesitated. "Sensei, what if the Mizukage doesn't want to ransom them?"
Masahiko smiled and shook his head. "Then tell these hundred-plus people that the Mizukage refused to ransom them, and then release them."
Izuko-kun was stunned. "Release them?" A moment later, she realized his intent and nodded in agreement.
"Now, there is a more important matter concerning the Hidden Cloud Village," Masahiko spoke slowly. "This time, the Hidden Cloud lost the Third Raikage, the Two-Tails, the Eight-Tails, and most of their elites. I'm afraid they will fall out of the position of the Five Great Nations."
"Izuko-kun, have you thought about the Uzumaki clan migrating there and becoming one of the new Five Great Nations?"
Izuko-kun paused, falling into deep thought.
Beside her, Gensuke-kun looked excited. "Great Elder, we..."
Nanako-kun gently nudged him. "Gensuke, Sensei is asking Izuko."
Masahiko felt helpless internally. The lineage of Uzumaki clan leaders were all power-hungry.
Izuko-kun looked up. "Sensei, let's forget it. The Uzumaki clan isn't suited to establishing that kind of village, and we don't have the matching strength."
"How do we not? Don't we have the Great Elder?" Gensuke-kun interjected again.
Masahiko shook his head. "We don't fear external chaos, but internal problems might arise."
The awkward position of the Uzumaki clan was that they were neither strong nor weak. They weren't strong enough for a single clan to become a Great Ninja Village, yet they weren't weak enough to be just an ordinary clan within a village. Just like back in the Hidden Leaf, they were ostracized because they were too strong and numerous compared to other clans.
"Besides, I am not invincible..." Masahiko sighed, thinking of Madara hiding underground and the Sage of Six Paths hiding in the Pure Land. Currently, without opening the Eight Gates, he should be slightly weaker than Madara. With the Eight Gates open, he should be slightly stronger. So the outcome of a fight between them was uncertain. Although Madara was old, he now possessed a pair of Rinnegan.
"Sensei, there is someone stronger than you?" Kento-kun asked in confusion.
Masahiko smiled. "The ninja world is vast. Who knows what is hidden out there?"
"However, although we can't become a new Great Nation, we can control one of the Five Great Nations," Masahiko said with a smile, breaking the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
"Control?" Gensuke-kun's eyes slowly lit up, clearly realizing something.
"The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning should be very anxious right now," Masahiko said with a smile. "We can collect a protection fee from him... Hmm, let's ask for seventy percent of their annual revenue!"
The group looked at each other and nodded in agreement. This was indeed the best choice.
Collecting Protection Fees
In the following days, Masahiko personally made a trip to the Land of Lightning, while Izuko-kun and the others busied themselves with matters concerning the Land of Water.
However, something unexpected happened. At the palace of the Land of Lightning's Daimyo, he met someone who should have been dead: the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B!
"I didn't expect this. You actually survived? Did you use a tentacle clone?" Upon seeing him, Masahiko realized what had happened. In the original story, Killer Bee seemed to have used this trick.
Blue B looked guarded and shouted an order: "Protect the Daimyo!"
"Uzumaki Masahiko, are you really going to exterminate us all?"
Masahiko smiled. "Don't be nervous. I don't intend to fight. Although you didn't die, I wouldn't go so far as to chase you all the way to the Land of Lightning just to kill you."
"I came this time to see His Excellency, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning."
"Strongman of the Uzumaki clan, what business do you have with me?" The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning had quite a backbone. Even facing Masahiko, who had nearly wiped out the Hidden Cloud, he didn't show a timid attitude.
"I'm here to collect a protection fee," Masahiko said. "Your Land of Lightning must be in dire need of our protection, right?"
"Protection?" The Daimyo was stunned. "What kind of protection can you provide?" Asking this proved that his confidence was truly lacking.
"Protection from an invasion by the Uzumaki clan. You need to hand over seventy percent of your annual revenue."
"Are you joking?" the Daimyo shouted.
Masahiko nodded. "That's right. And here is another joke: next month, this palace might belong to the Land of Whirlpools..."
The Daimyo froze and looked at Blue B. Blue B closed his eyes helplessly. After this battle, the Eight-Tails within him was finally willing to communicate. He knew in his heart that Masahiko's strength was not far from the "God of Shinobi" of the past. That was a power even the Hidden Cloud at its peak could not defeat.
In the end, Masahiko verbally signed a "Protection Treaty" with the Land of Lightning and returned fully loaded.
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