Chapter 25: The Allied Army Will Arrive on the Battlefield in 30 Minutes
It was almost laughable. Six medium-sized clans had been fighting to the death over the Sarutobi mine, yet the mine still belonged to the Sarutobi.
The Senju contingent arrived at the mine unopposed and set up camp.
That's right, only the Senju. The small clan alliance had ultimately decided not to participate in the war, asking for only 10% of the chakra-conducting metal if they stayed out, but demanding 30% if they had to fight.
Hashirama, ignoring Tobirama's protests, had declared that the Senju clan could handle the other six clans all by themselves.
This led to the current situation, with the Senju force setting up camp at the Sarutobi mine, alone.
To Masahiko's utter astonishment, the Senju Chunin and Genin began pulling... mining shovels?... from their luggage. They then split into groups and started digging near the area where the metal had first been found.
Masahiko looked at Hashirama, confused. "What are they..."
Hashirama explained, "We'll probably be stationed here for several days before the other six clans can react. We'll use this time to let the men dig for a while. As for the shovels, Tobirama had them bring them before we left."
Masahiko's face stiffened. "If that's the case, why didn't you bring pickaxes?"
"Pickaxes are too big to carry," Tobirama explained.
"Too big? What about sealing scrolls..." Masahiko stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that in the Warring States Period, "sealing scrolls" didn't exist.
"Sealing scrolls? What are those?" Hashirama asked, confused.
"Nothing..." Masahiko said evasively, his mind now racing with the idea.
'There are no sealing scrolls yet... With my Fuinjutsu level, could I invent them?'
"Tobirama, let's have the Jonin join in, too. We'll finish digging faster," Hashirama said. "Great-Uncle, you... can do whatever you want."
Masahiko thought about the sealing scroll idea for a while, but without any materials, he'd have to wait until he got back. So, he, too, joined the digging army.
He grabbed a shovel, found an empty spot, and started to dig. A moment later... CRACK. The shovel broke.
He looked left and right. Seeing that no one had noticed, he went and got another shovel.
After breaking a total of three shovels, Masahiko suddenly felt like an experienced miner. The shovel now felt perfectly natural in his hands.
"This feeling... it's probably..." Masahiko glanced at his status bar. Sure enough, a new entry had appeared under "Special Talents":
Mining LV1 (0/100)
'A "Mining" talent? That really cheapens my "Sensory Perception" talent...'
Masahiko looked at his Witness Points. He still had the 4 points from Katsuyu. He tried adding one point to Mining.
Mining LV6 (10000/20000)
It jumped five levels. Now, Masahiko was digging as if divinely inspired. In no time at all, he had dug up a huge pile... of iron ore.
It turned out that even with maxed-out skill, you couldn't beat a "lucky person." Hashirama had already dug up a large chunk of chakra-conducting metal over on his side.
Masahiko refused to accept this. He grabbed another shovel and went at it with both hands. By evening, he alone had probably dug more iron ore than all the other Senju Jonin combined, but... still no chakra metal.
Masahiko finally admitted defeat.
Meanwhile, on the six-clan battlefield.
Despite having just fought a major battle, the clan heads of all six clans gathered in the Nara tent that night. They had all received the news: the iron mine had been occupied by the Senju.
"Damn those Senju!" the Inuzuka Clan Head growled. "It's not enough that they have all the fertile land in the east, now they want to stick their hands in our business in the west! Lord Nara, what do you suggest?"
Even though they were rivals, every clan here trusted the Nara's strategic mind.
"The Senju getting involved might actually be a good thing," the Nara Clan Head said slowly. "If we six continue to fight, we will only suffer more casualties. The small clans have already formed an alliance, and I was worried they would be the ones to profit."
"The Senju force that came this time won't be large; they still have the Uchiha to worry about. If our six clans unite, we will not lose to them."
"The force is indeed small," the Aburame Clan Head said. "My insects detected fewer than 1,000 chakra signatures. However, two of those signatures are abnormally massive... several times larger than any of ours."
"One of them must be the Senju Clan Head, Hashirama. He is likely stronger than any of us. The other is probably an Uzumaki. That clan is famous for its large chakra reserves, but he shouldn't be too difficult to deal with," the Yamanaka Clan Head added.
"Then why don't the six of us just attack together and drive them out?" the Akimichi Clan Head asked.
"No. It's better to use our six leaders as a deterrent," the Nara strategist replied. "We must assume they have a way to deal with us if they dared to come with so few men. The most likely answer is that Hashirama is even stronger than we imagine. We will fight a war of attrition! As long as we six leaders don't make a move, Hashirama can't make his. We will assemble our forces; our combined numbers will be at least three times theirs. They cannot afford a prolonged fight!"
"As for that Uzumaki... with that much chakra, he's probably a Clan Head-level fighter, too. At the critical moment... we will be counting on you, Lord Hatake."
The Hatake clan was the most unique of the six. They had fewer than a hundred members, and were only considered a "medium-sized" clan because every single member was an expert fighter. And the Hatake Clan Head was extremely strong—stronger than anyone else present.
He had been sitting in the corner, holding his sword, and hadn't said a word since he arrived. He had come alone, on the promise from the Inuzuka and Aburame that they would give him a share of the metal to forge a new blade.
Hearing the Nara's request, the Hatake Clan Head nodded slowly, then fell silent once more.
"Then it's settled! I'll go gather my men now. Tomorrow, we'll go and meet this legendary 'Number One Clan' of the Warring States!" the Inuzuka Clan Head said eagerly.
"No rush," the Nara said again. "The Senju clan is currently digging the ore. We can afford to wait a few days. Let our men rest. As long as we intercept them before they return, they will have done all the mining for us."
The clan heads in the tent, including the Nara's own Ino-Shika-Cho allies, all looked at each other and thought the same thing: "These Nara... such sly foxes!"
But since the plan benefited them, they had no reason to object. And their men, who had been fighting non-stop, really did need the rest.
And so, the Senju clan's "happy digging days" went on for half a month. Masahiko's "unlucky streak" also lasted for half a month.
In total, they dug up nearly 100 jin (about 110 lbs / 50 kg) of chakra-conducting metal. Not a single piece was found by Masahiko.
The other six clans never attacked. Hashirama, beginning to think they had given up, was just about to order his men to pack up and return home.
It was at that exact moment a scout ran in:
"The allied army of the six clans... will arrive on the battlefield in 30 minutes!"