As the Mizukage mulled over his situation under the gazes of his fellow Kage, pleased to see their supposed ally in such a predicament, within Uzushio, Shiki gave his report on the situation from his perspective.
*
In a large, temple/palace type building in the old japanese style, a number of people stood in a traditional meeting hall.
Sitting in seiza, several Uzumaki leaders listed the young boy sitting at the very front as he dutifully reported earlier occurrences to the figure in the honored seat of the lord.
"Things are going according to plan so far. I've culled their numbers significantly, they will no longer be able to wear us out by throwing endless waves of fodder at us." Shiki informed.
"However, if they still choose to attack with everything they currently have, we will be forced to show trump cards we would prefer not to." He added.
"They won't." Mito's powerful voice resounded.
The Uzumaki matriarch sat in the lord's seat with a cold and commanding gaze, the disguise of old age she still used in Konoha was cast aside within the depths of Uzushio.
"After this setback, their worry about their backline will be overpowering. Dividing their forces is the only possible move for them." Mito declared with surety, as if backed by future sight.
"Won't they just choose to withdraw?" One of the Uzumaki elders softly inquired.
"Abandon those worthless delusions of peace and control that bleeding heart of yours. After taking such a loss with nothing to show for it, the enemy is sure to at least make an attempt."A harsher voice immediately countered.
Unlike one might expect in a Hidden Village Council, there was no real bite to the words.
Uzushio was a village created and controlled by a single clan. Everyone was family and despite the Uzumaki stubbornness and hot tempers, they were also very forgiving to their compatriots.
All the elders knew everyone in the room wanted the best for Uzushio and the Uzumaki so disputes never went beyond a certain point.
"It is true that a fight is inevitable but our major disadvantage, numbers, has already been made up for." Mito silenced the conflict with her words.
Everyone looked at the young, twelve year old white haired boy in the front.
Already immensely capable, ruthless to his enemies and willing to give his all in the defense of their village, if for nothing else than to repay Mito's grace.
Fair to say, amongst the upper echelons of Uzushio, few did not appreciate the boy, most even admired him.
Regardless, they had not fallen to the point of letting others fight their battles for them.
Shiki was not considered an outsider but that did not change the fact that he did not carry the name Uzumaki and their clan was not made of vegetarians who could not fight to defend their homeland.
The boy had already balanced the scales, the Uzumaki, the Red Haired Devils of the Warring States would now show their worth.
Uzushio was known as the Village of Longevity owing to his villagers' long lifespans.
A long lifespan combined with naturally powerful bodies, abundant chakra reserves and tenacious lifeforce, mean there was no shortage of veteran shinobi with tons of combat experience, still in their prime.
An Uzumaki hit their prime in their late twenties, early thirties, as most other shinobi did. It was at this point in their lives that their physiques were at their peak and their mastery of ninja skills was at a very high level of completion.
However, while regular shinobi could only maintain this peak for about ten to fifteen years before they began to decline, Uzumaki could hold it for thirty, forty years no problem, unless some other external force interfered.
For example, Mito, with her waning will to live, had been corroded by the Nine Tails' chakra, resulting in her lifeforce weakening at a much faster rate until Shiki entered her life.
In the original series, Karin's mother was forced to use Healing Bite too often which drained her to the point of an early death as well.
But as a village of a single clan, Uzumaki did not have the numbers.
They could face down the elites of other villages without fear using their numerous and highly experienced Jonin and Elite Jonin but if massive amounts of fodder was employed to wear them down, even if they were confident in their stamina, they were doomed.
Hence the importance of Shiki's preemptive attack on the invaders to cull their fodder.
"I have every confidence that the regular forces of the enemy are well within the capabilities of the Uzumaki clan to defeat. However, there are still unresolved issues." Shiki suddenly spoke up, drawing attention.
And while the first sentence he spoke demonstrated his trust in their clan, which pleased them, they were not dismissive of the worries shown in the second one.
"The Kages and Jinchuriki." An Uzumaki elder, Mito's second in command and village leader before Mito took command, spoke up with gravity.
"I assume you have thoughts on this Shiki?" Mito called out to the boy who nodded.
"Kiri will be the easiest, their jinchuriki are little more than bombs, bringing them to bear against the foremost sealing masters in the world is a foolish mistake on their part." The boy started.
The Uzumaki matriarch allowed a cold smile to form on her face, one mirrored by the elders in the room.
"Iwa's jinchuriki can probably only use their Tailed Beast Cloaks, not a full transformation. In other words, they are dangerous but not unbeatable." Shiki continued undeterred.
"As it always seems to be in my short life however, Kumo is the real issue. Their Two Tailed Jinchuriki probably has complete mastery of her powers. Not a Perfect Jinchuriki by any means but as close as anyone ever got." He concluded.
Now this . . . This was troubling news indeed.
The three enemy Kage were already a huge problem, adding a fully realized jinchuriki on top made the situation even more despair-inducing.
The group shared a moment of silence, going over possible countermeasures in their head.
There were two obvious ones.
Mito could enter the battle herself in which case, victory was all but assured, the Uzumaki matriarch was immensely powerful.
However, it would reveal her rejuvenation as well as possibly trigger certain hidden elements in the World who Shiki recently warned his mistress of.
Another possible method was calling up their allies in Konoha. They could just hole up in Uushio until reinforcements arrived.
This was not the original timeline after all, they could be assured that reinforcements would come.
Unfortunately, Konoha's somewhat dismissive attitude over the last few years had displeased many Uzumaki, including, perhaps most of all, the elders.
As such, they did not want to owe Konoha anything unless absolutely necessary.
Of course, if it was between their pride and the continued existence of Uzushio, they would not hesitate to make the right voice still . . . Last resort.
"Well . . . I have a couple of ideas." Shiki casually spoke up in a seemingly casual tone.
Hearing his tone, after years of knowing the boy, Mito was already mentally preparing herself for complete insanity.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
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I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
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