_________ POV Narration _________

The expedition continued.

What remained of the Shinobi Alliance was now restless and sceptical, all of them had experienced loss.

The headcount had led to them realising that they had lost around 2600 men and women. Their total numbers were currently at 4900 Shinobi. Still a sizable force, but not as overwhelming as when they had started...

The Kage were completely stumped. They had lost almost half of their troops in the span of one day. They had also lost 2 Kage, and A, a Kage-level figure, who was currently considered MIA(missing in action).

But despite their great losses, they could still have a chance to take on the Uzumaki.

Even by the most generous estimations, the Uzumaki Clan's Shinobi only numbered around 1800, if they counted Genin, which would normally not go to war.

The problem was that the Uzumaki genes led to those shinobi all being more powerful than normal. A Chunin Uzumaki was FAR stronger than any Chunin from all of the other nations.

Only Konoha had an advantage when it came to bloodlines, but they were allies.

Some Uzumaki Shinobi were weaker, such as those that had their bloodline a bit more watered down. But the Uzumaki were still a dangerous force.

The numerical advantage was a necessity when facing the Uzumaki, otherwise, it would be impossible to defeat them.

Now, their previously overwhelming number advantage was widdled down to a mere 1-4 advantage...

The Shinobi Alliance would lose if every Uzumaki Shinobi managed to take down at least 4 enemies... And they had a massive advantage, as the battle was inevitably going to happen in their own territory.

And that meant one thing...

'The extermination of the Uzumaki is no longer set in stone...' Yusuzo couldn't help but shake his head as he walked over to his own ship and walked into his quarters.

To add another layer atop that... Their Shinobi Alliance's morale was now dead in the waters.

In the short span of one day, the people that were steadfast and confident took a turn for the worst.

Jonin watched their students get swallowed up by the harsh and unforgiving whirlpools, comraderies and families were broken on the spot.

After watching their comrades die one by one their Confidence turned to paranoia, as the prospect of traitors being among them was still the subject of rumours among the remaining troops.

Yusuzo only speculated that there was one culprit, he didn't have any real evidence. They had no way of knowing even how many people were involved in the attacks.

The steadfast and loyal nature of the Shinobi in the alliance quickly turned to distrust... After all, how could they not be distrustful of the leaders that had placed them in such situations?

Alas, the Shinobi were still fiercely loyal to their respective villages, so there was little to no concern about them defecting.

Still, there was no joy to be found amongst their troops.

The one silver lining, the ray of hope amidst the abyssal seas that surrounded them... Was the thought that they only had a few more hours of the journey left.

On land, they would no longer have to worry about the waters drowning them. There, they would be able to feel safer.

But no one was able to relax. Not yet.

The waters were strangely calm, but they had no way of knowing when they would be attacked next.

Underneath the waters, Ken still rested, swimming only to keep up with the small fleet of the Shinobi Alliance.

He knew that he had done a lot of damage, but at the same time, he realised that he couldn't do much more of it.

The Shinobi were all on high alert, and most of the cannon fodder had already been purged. Those that were left were either especially skilled Chunin, Special Jonin, or regular Jonin.

At that point, there was little that his whirlpools would be able to do. Besides slowing down the alliance, of course, but that much wasn't going to do anything.

_________ POV Ken _________

...

What should my next move here be?

On one hand, I could try to make a few more whirlpools, hoping to kill off a few more shinobi with them.

But at the same time, I think they're already used to this type of attack.

It's unlikely that I'll be able to kill more than 100, which doesn't really make much of a dent in the remaining numbers...

I could try planting a few more bombs, but I don't have any... I could also try destroying more ships with my claws, but at this point, doing too much might risk them realising who I am.

Getting too close to the ships in general is much harder now that everyone's got their eyes on the waters.

Thing is, the second they reach land, I won't be able to do much of anything to them without risking getting found out.

Water provided me with the greatest cover imaginable until now. The depths of the ocean aren't exactly traversable, only someone like the Raikage can even survive there.

My Partial Scaled Sage Mode allows me to live underwater indefinitely. And I can also easily keep up with their fleet.

I'm afraid the Uzumaki Clan is on its own from this point on... But, honestly, I think that they'll be able to manage from this point on.

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Their village felt like an actual fortress, with enough Fuinjutsu and Traps that I don't see how the Shinobi Alliance would be able to destroy it.

I just hope my letter reached Yorihhiko, and that he acted accordingly...

Regardless, I think my job here is done... Well, I still have to go pillage all of the bodies they left behind. They're still trapped at the bottom of the sea, carrying plenty of valuables.

I don't mind getting a few more techniques and equipment.

My interference with this war ends here, from here on out, I can wish the Uzumaki Clan the best of luck.

I'll just send Yorihhiko intel on the incoming army, and get to collecting my due from the bodies in the ocean.

Making a profit off of war isn't that bad. Especially when nothing can be tied back to you.

I always kept the resources of the Dark Brotherhood a secret, so our library becoming a bit fuller won't rouse any suspicion.

Good thing I prepared a cover for this whole mess... But even without it, they wouldn't have had any evidence to link this to me.

The Raikage barely saw my figure while he was fighting my clones under the water. I also look completely different from how I did during our last meeting.

He may connect the dots with the transformation, but at most he'd contact me to ask about my clan or lineage since my transformation also look significantly different while in water.

Overall, this has been quite a success just with the resources I've gained... I just hope my actions assisted the Uzumaki Clan enough.

The Raikage and the Tsuchikage, that flying midget, are still extremely dangerous opponents.

The Uzumaki might still lose this war, but at least total annihilation is less likely to happen.

After the war is over, I will return to make a few deals with them. They wouldn't refuse to assist me after I helped them to this extent.

It's better this way, I have no assurance that I'll be able to steal some Fuinjutsu Techniques after they actually get destroyed.

There's also that Jinchuriki, which appears a bit weaker than B, but more experienced...

I can't believe that he's actually fooled both the Raikage and the Tsuchikage, I guess I should never underestimate the cleverness of some shinobi...

I did pay attention to their interactions, and while I didn't hear their words, I could still feel what happened above the waters.

This is a bit problematic, I kinda wanted the Raikage and that Midget to break up and start fighting...

Alas, I guess I'll have to send Yorihhiko some information regarding A's demise. I'm sure he'll be able to use it against them at the best possible moment.

Well, better get to it. I have to get my message to Yorihhiko before the Alliance actually makes its way to them.

Thankfully, I am much faster than them.

_________ POV Narration _________

In spite of Ken's momentary inaction, the situation didn't calm down at all for the Shinobi.

They were unable to rest, uneasiness spread everywhere as many even started contemplating how they would fight in the upcoming war...

The Kage all noticed this, and it wasn't a good sign...

The Shinobi were tired before the first 'War' even happened... How exactly would they handle splitting up resources after the Uzumaki fell?

Well, at that point, it was more the question of 'will the Uzumaki even fall?'

Had you asked any of the Kage at the beginning of the expedition, they would've all given you a confident and resounding YES.

But now?

'This expedition is doomed... Better cut my losses before it's too late.' Yadaya, the Kage representing the Land of Keys, was the first one to depart.

His boats silently separated from the fleet, and no one stopped them. At least at first. The second the other Kage noticed Yadaya's intentions, they all flew out to meet him.

The Tsuchikage and Yusuzo were the first ones to respond and go meet with Yadaya, to try and persuade him to remain. The other Kage joined them, calling a defacto meeting on the Yadaya's ship.

But unfortunately for them, they were met with a wall...

"This is preposterous!" Ōnoki, shouted as the Yadaya shook his head at the delegation of Kage in front of him.

"I understand your grievances, however, this conflict has already proven to be a bit too much for my men..." Yadaya's response was resolute, uncaring for the temporary 'comrades' in front of him.

"We're still well on our way to defeating the Uzumaki Clan! We still have a great numerical advantage!" The Raikage grit his teeth as he also tried his hand at convincing Yadaya.

"A numerical advantage so insignificant that it will turn to nothing when we enter their territory...

They're Fuinjutsu Masters, Lord Raikage... We're jumping in their backyard, feel free to expect the absolute worst." Yadaya was unimpressed with his attempt.

"... Even if we're evenly matched, we still have more powerful figures on our side. We have Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Raikage, and even a Jinchuriki!" One of the other Kage also tried to persuade Yadaya, but that seemed to backfire on him...

"Oh yeah?! So glad that our alliance has such powerful figures! Tell me now, how exactly do you plan to gain anything from this, hmm?" Yadaya glared at the Kage in question, putting him on blast instantly.

The Kage stumbled a bit, as he seemed confused for a few seconds.

"Tsk, so much indignation in your voice, yet you're the one being a coward!" The Raikage didn't give him time to respond, unfortunately.

Yadaya didn't seem afraid to speak out either, he turned his gaze to the Raikage and scowled.

"Currently, the ones that have already taken the most casualties and losses are us, the Smaller Nations..."

Yadaya's voice echoed throughout the room, as the Kage of the smaller nations listened attentively.

"As things stand, even if we do win against the Uzumaki, we will incur heavy losses. At the same time, most of us smaller Kage haven't been left with too many forces to move..."

At that point, most of the faces in the room seemed to turn sour, as Yadaya pointed out a very possible reality to them.

"How exactly will we, smaller nations, benefit anything from this?!

Even if we band together, all of us, we still wouldn't be able to do anything against the Cloud and the Rock, put the Waterfall and their Jinchuriki in, and there will be nothing left for us..."

The smaller Kage in the room all seemed to be shocked by that statement, many of them taking in the information with scowls on their face.

'Shit! This is the worst outcome that could've come out of this whole meeting...' Ōnoki could feel some veins popping as he grits his teeth.

"We have already agreed to split up the rewards evenly between us! That was a premise of this entire Alliance!" Ōnoki quickly refuted, hoping to take everyone's thoughts away from the war that was bound to start after the Uzumaki supposedly fell.

"... I am sure we all know that wouldn't have been the case... All of our nations have been preparing for a 'Third Great Shinobi War' for a while now... We all know when it was going to start." Yadaya shook his head, further angering Ōnoki.

For a split second, Ōnoki even considered killing Yadaya on the spot. But he quickly shook that thought out of his head.

It was the worst possible solution, to the point where it didn't count as one. It would end up further raising tensions with the Smaller Nations and painting a huge target on his back.

Still, the fact that Ōnoki even considered it, meant that Yadaya was really getting to him... But how couldn't he?

With his departure, more were bound to leave as well. It was only a matter of when.

Unfortunately for them, the meeting didn't lead to much after that... Yadaya was hell-bent on leaving.

And with him went around 350 Able-bodied Shinobi that could've helped in the war...

And after he left, the worst possible outcome stared Ōnoki in the eye... Three more Kage left. The ones that had incurred the most losses due to Ken's attacks.

They simply didn't feel like they stood to gain anything more from continuing to fight alongside the Alliance. So, they decided to cut their losses...

Together, their forces were only compromised of around 600 Shinobi.

And with that, the overall force of the Shinobi Alliance was down to approximately 3950 Shinobi.

And when seeing their numerical advantage dwindle, two more of the Smaller Villages pulled out.

At that point, Ōnoki couldn't even do anything about it... The snowball was already rolling.

Yusuzo could also only curse their misfortune at that point... The Raikage was also ripping out his hair, his frustrations aided by the fact that his son A, was still missing.

Even worse, the ones responsible for all of their misfortune weren't even there.

'It's all because of that man... The Grey Fox...'

That was what the other Shinobi in the Alliance had started calling him, the only one that had been seen among their saboteurs.

The uncertainty such a figure provided made things a lot worse... And now, with the departure of those other two nations, there were only 5 Nations left in the Alliance...

And all of their numbers together only amounted to around 3100 Shinobi.

At that point, Ōnoki could only bury his face in his own hands...

'Just as I had feared... We lost before we even reached the shores...'