In the main hall of the Water Daimyo's castle, everyone present looked at each other uneasily.
Advisors, ministers, princes, and the Daimyo himself all had panicked expressions.
In the main seat, the Water Daimyo wondered why things turned out so badly.
'Damn ninjas, they can't do things right!' the Daimyo shouted in his mind.
When the Mizukage's last-minute warning about the invasion and annihilation of the Uzumaki clan arrived, the Daimyo didn't think much about it and didn't oppose it under the promise of many benefits he would receive by plundering the land of whirlpools.
The Mizukage had even promised him a group of red-haired women as an addition to his harem.
But now, sheltering in his castle while a great barrier surrounded his capital, regret filled the man deeply.
When he received news about the loss of several cities to red-haired invaders, he knew that the invasion and annihilation of the Uzumaki clan had gone wrong and now the red-haired clan was fighting back.
At that moment he immediately ordered his samurai army to assemble and sent a message to the village of the mist to join his offensive.
His army of samurai departed and soon he also received reports that the Village Hidden in the Mist had also sent an army of shinobi to fight the Uzumakis.
The Daimyo, his advisors, and other nobles waited expectantly to receive the good news.
Unfortunately for them, the news they received was bad.
The few samurai who managed to escape and bring back information from the battle told stories of Uzumaki shinobi surrounded by blue auras passing through their ranks as if they were made of paper and defeating their army in minutes.
The fear on the faces of these survivors showed the bloody battle they fought.
They all looked at each other, unsure what to do, and could only hope that the Village Hidden in the Mist would succeed and expel the Uzumaki invaders.
Once again, they only received more bad news.
The shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Mist were also defeated in a one-sided battle against the red-haired shinobi.
With the defeat of the shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Mist and the news that all the cities of the Land of Water had fallen under the control of the invaders, the Daimyo had only one option.
Flee.
Flee and seek refuge in other countries and try to obtain support to recover their country.
Since the land of lightning, earth, and wind had united to invade the land of whirlpools, they would fear the retaliation of the Uzumaki clan.
That thought was what the Water Daimyo planned to use to gain their support and regain his power.
Even if it comes at a high price.
But just as they were preparing to escape, a huge barrier surrounded the capital, trapping them all.
All their efforts to break through the barrier or contact the outside world were in vain, leaving them with nothing to do but wait in the castle for their enemies.
"Sir, I think you should assemble an army of samurai and civilians, and have it ready for when the invaders arrive," one of the advisors suddenly said.
Everyone in the room turned to look at him, wondering what a group of samurai and civilians could possibly do against these invaders who had defeated their powerful army and the shinobi of the mist.
Before the eyes of everyone, including the Daimyo, the councilor explained his proposal.
"Even if we can't push back the invaders, at least we can get a better deal to lay down our arms."
The advisor's idea convinced the others and the Daimyo, so the Daimyo gave the order.
Quickly, civilians of suitable age gathered, obeying the Daimyo's order, and were given knives and swords before assembling near the barrier.
While the civilians gathered and wondered if they would survive the next conflict, the Daimyo nodded and already imagined that he could obtain guarantees for his safety.
After all, the Uzumaki could not rule the country if they killed a large number of civilians and caused discontent among the population.
While the Daimyo was dreaming about what he would ask for, such as keeping his treasure, suddenly everyone around him began to point upwards while exclaiming in amazement and some in fear.
Looking in the direction they were pointing, the Daimyo noticed a human figure standing in the sky.
Amazed that this person could fly, the Daimyo wondered if he was the rumored Tsuchikage.
While his face lit up at the thought that the Tsuchikage would help him expel the invaders, his expression quickly changed to one of horror when a large number of golden threads emerged from the back of the person standing in the sky and rained down on everyone in the capital.
!Aaaaah!
The Daimyo cried out, hoping someone would help him, as one of the golden threads quickly approached him, but unfortunately for him, all his guards were in the same situation.
Although he tried to escape, the golden thread reached him and entered his body, and the last thing the Daimyo would remember was falling to the ground before losing consciousness.
.
.
.
Water release: pressure cut-off!
A long-haired shinobi screamed as a jet of pressurized water shot from his mouth toward the barrier in front of him.
Water Release: Water Dragon!
Water Release: Two-Headed Water Dragon!
Lightning Release: Lightning Spear!
And he wasn't the only one.
Many shinobi and kunoichi launched a large number of water and lightning jutsus, elemental transformations that most ninjas from the land of water were good at, towards the barrier that trapped their village.
But it was all in vain.
The barrier was still standing as if it had never been attacked.
As they watched their efforts prove futile, Toshiro, who in the future could have become the Third Mizukage, wondered when things started to go wrong and what doomed the village.
The Hidden Mist Village was formed with the help of several shinobi clans, because members of one clan had more benefits and rights.
Having grown up under the caste system, Toshiro already imagined that in the future there would be problems due to the difference in status and it could even escalate into a civil war, severely damaging the village.
But no, now Toshiro could say with certainty that what doomed the village was deciding to fight against the Uzumaki clan.
Because not even a possible civil war could compare to the problem the village is facing now.
After all, the water country was far enough from the mainland for other countries to take advantage of its vulnerable state after a civil war, so they would have space and time to recover.
But looking at the enormous barrier that surrounded the entire village, Toshiro couldn't think of a way for his village to survive the Uzumaki clan's counterattack.
The four great villages had united to eradicate the Uzumaki clan and obtain their wealth and knowledge, so Toshiro did not believe that the Uzumaki would be compassionate towards them and allow them to survive.
In the first world war, several small villages had been eradicated, the Village of the Mist being one of the culprits, but now they were the ones who would be wiped off the map.
As they gathered all the remaining shinobi, including the crippled and sick who still wanted to fight, Toshiro and the clan leaders awaited the last battle of their lives.
None of them thought of surrendering and bending the knee, prepared to fight until their last breath.
Many of the clan leaders were new to the position because the original leaders had participated in the invasion of the Uzumaki clan, and were therefore presumed dead.
With nearly 5,000 ninjas from the Mist Village participating in the invasion of the Land of Whirlpools, and along with the ninjas who died in the last battle several hours ago, everyone had someone close to them who died.
Driven by feelings of revenge, they all hoped to kill many of the invaders before falling.
Seeing everyone eager to hurt and kill their enemies, Toshiro wondered how much damage he could do to the red-haired invaders.
After the last battle, Toshiro wondered how much the Uzumaki clan had hidden from everyone in the elemental nations.
They were supposed to be just a somewhat numerous shinobi clan, and although they had a population of 10,000 people and 3,000 shinobi, it was not comparable to the population of a hidden village.
They were all wrong.
The Uzumaki openly displayed thousands of shinobi, many of them guarding the cities they conquered.
And making a rough count of the shinobi who controlled the cities throughout the land of water and against whom they fought a few hours ago, Toshiro could count approximately 20,000 shinobi.