Finally, Raikage A opened his eyes.

Those eyes, which had once burned with endless lightning, now held only bottomless fatigue and gloom.

He did not say another word to the invisible presence in the air, but instead, with a raspy voice that was barely audible, he gave a single command to his secretary, Shi.

"Do it."

That one word exhausted all his strength.

Shi's body trembled violently, a flicker of extremely complex emotions flashing in his eyes.

There was humiliation, there was unwillingness, but more than that, it was the relief of having survived a disaster.

He nodded heavily, turned around, and began to transmit the Raikage's latest orders quickly and orderly.

The most bizarre and absurd "great war" in the history of the Shinobi World thus began.

The Hidden Cloud Ninjas who received the order were filled with bewilderment and confusion.

But the Raikage's command was absolute; they could only suppress all the doubts in their hearts and begin execution.

Dozens of Jonin proficient in Water Style formed hand seals simultaneously, stirring up towering waves on the sea several kilometers away from the fleet.

The violent currents were shaped into various hideous giant beasts, crashing crazily against the sky and the sea, emitting deafening roars.

Immediately after, more Ninjas released powerful Lightning Release Ninjutsu.

Countless thick snakes of electricity wove through the waves, illuminating the sea in a ghastly white. The violent thunder and the roar of the giant waves intertwined, perfectly simulating a world-destroying battle scene.

"Detonate supply ships one, three, and seven!"

Following the commander's order, the pre-set explosive tags on several transport ships that had already been emptied of all supplies were detonated simultaneously.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Huge flames shot up into the sky, and thick black smoke billowed out.

The wreckage of the ships was blown everywhere, accompanied by intense explosions, adding the most realistic details to this "fierce battle."

Some Ninjas even followed orders to deliberately use Ninjutsu to attack non-vital parts of their own warships, creating some moderate damage.

For a time, off the coast of the Land of Whirlpools, artillery fire filled the sky, lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and giant waves surged.

The scene was more tragic and shocking than a real war.

And in the center of this "great war," the Kumogakure Fleet "fought bravely" while "fighting and retreating," slowly and awkwardly "withdrawing" in the direction they had come from.

This laughable performance lasted for a full hour.

It wasn't until the shadows of the Kumogakure Fleet completely disappeared at the end of the horizon that the sea area finally returned to calm.

Leaving only the burning and sinking wreckage of a few empty ships, as well as a chaotic sea surface, silently recounting the "tragedy" of the "fierce battle" that had just occurred.

Land of Whirlpools, inside the military command center.

Uchiha Fugaku watched expressionlessly as the light dots representing the Kumogakure Fleet on the strategic sand table completely moved away from the territorial waters of the Land of Whirlpools.

All the staff and Ninjas behind him fell into an eerie silence.

They had won.

Without a single drop of blood shed, without losing a single soldier, they had forced back the eight-thousand-strong army of Hidden Cloud, one of the Five Great Nations.

This should have been an unprecedented, great victory worthy of national celebration.

But for some reason, no one could laugh.

Because this victory came too easily, too bizarrely, and was too awe-inspiring.

What they were in awe of was not the victory itself.

But the man who had never left his office from beginning to end, who had played the powerful Hidden Cloud in the palm of his hand with just a few words and a fireworks show, and who had directed all of this.

Uchiha Kei.

"The war is over."

Fugaku's low voice broke the silence of the command center.

"Lift the level one combat readiness. All units return to normal status, inventory energy consumption. Send the report to the Uzukage Office."

He paused and added a sentence.

"Also, in the name of the Diplomatic Department, notify the entire Shinobi World about this incident during the Hidden Cloud winter exercise. Say that the Land of Whirlpools expresses regret regarding the Kumogakure Fleet encountering an unknown powerful sea beast in our waters and engaging in a fierce battle with it, and pays high tribute to the bravery of the Hidden Cloud Ninjas."

"Pfft..."

A young staff officer finally couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud.

This laugh was like a switch, instantly igniting the entire command center.

Everyone started laughing.

The laughter was filled with the joy of surviving a disaster, mockery of the enemy, and a heartfelt, fanatical worship of their leader's unfathomable methods.

The corners of Fugaku's mouth also hooked into an extremely faint, almost imperceptible arc.

He turned and looked towards the direction of the Uzukage Office, his gaze complex.

Once upon a time, he had regarded Kei as a junior who needed his support and guidance.

But now, he needed to look up to the back of that young man.

The outcome of a war was no longer determined by the number of heads.

Kei had proven this statement with a perfect, bloodless victory, both to him and to the entire Shinobi World.

The news, as if it had grown wings, spread throughout the entire Shinobi World at an unprecedented speed.

The first to be released was the "battle report" officially issued by Hidden Cloud.

The battle report described in detail how the fleet encountered a legendary giant sea beast during the exercise, how both sides engaged in a life-and-death struggle, how the Hidden Cloud Ninjas were brave and fearless, and how they finally succeeded in repelling it after paying the price of three warships sinking and dozens of warships being damaged, and had to end the exercise early due to severe fleet damage to return for repairs.

This battle report was written with great emotion and full of details, almost without any flaws.

Immediately following this, the "condolence notice" from the Land of Whirlpools Diplomatic Department was also released, not only expressing regret for Hidden Cloud's "encounter" but also praising their "bravery," and expressing willingness to provide whatever help possible for subsequent route safety.

The two announcements sang in harmony, coordinating seamlessly.

However, the intelligence departments of the major nations in the Shinobi World were not fools.

Hidden Stone Village.

Ōnoki looked at the two pieces of intelligence in his hand, remained silent for a long time, and finally just let out a long sigh.

"Raise the threat level of the Land of Whirlpools from S to S+. Also, tell Kurotsuchi to prepare a generous gift; I want to send her to the Land of Whirlpools as an envoy myself. No, let her go to the Kirigakure first to contact Mei Terumī."

He knew that the rules of the Shinobi World had changed.

Sunagakure.

Ebizō and Chiyo looked at the intelligence and looked at each other.

"It seems our previous decision was correct," Chiyo said slowly. "Forming an alliance with the Land of Whirlpools will be the most important national policy for our Sunagakure in the coming decades."

Kirigakure.

Mei Terumī looked at the intelligence in her hand, laughing until she trembled.

"I knew Kei-kun would never disappoint. Pass the order down: in my name, send a condolence letter to Hidden Cloud. The content should state that we are deeply concerned about the existence of the giant sea beast and are willing to send our elite forces to assist Hidden Cloud in patrolling that dangerous sea area together."

Konoha.

Inside the Hokage's Office, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat on his chair, his face ashen, puffing on his pipe, smoke swirling, but it could not disperse the gloom on his face.

Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado also had expressions that were extremely ugly.

They had waited all day, and what they got was not the bad news of the Land of Whirlpools and Hidden Cloud both suffering heavy losses, but such an absurd result that they could not accept.

"Sea beast... hehe... sea beast..." Danzo squeezed a few words through his teeth, his voice sounding as cold as a hiss. "What a sea beast! What a Uchiha Kei!"

No one spoke again.

They all knew that after this battle, the international status of the Land of Whirlpools had been completely solidified.

The Uchiha clan, which they once regarded as a vassal that could be manipulated at will, had now grown into a behemoth that possessed the qualifications to engage in equal dialogue with the Five Great Nations, and even look down upon them.

No one would dare to easily provoke that island surrounded by golden whirlpools again.

The crisis seemed to have been resolved.

The Land of Whirlpools ushered in the most precious period of peaceful development since its founding.

But inside the Uzukage Office, Uchiha Kei looked at the blue sea outside the window that had returned to calm, his eyes still profound.

He knew this was only a temporary peace.

Hidden Cloud's concession was based on fear.

And fear would dissipate over time.

The Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and those hiding behind the scenes who had not yet truly appeared: Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu, Kaguya, and the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

These venomous snakes lurking in the shadows could jump out at any time and deliver a fatal blow.

He needed to prepare more trump cards for the future, enough to overturn the entire chessboard.