Regarding the events in the Land of Whirlpools, although Uzumaki Mito did not say anything, he understood that Mito-sama must surely resent him in her heart.

The Land of Whirlpools was, after all, her maiden home, the place where she was born, the place where she lived, her homeland.

"Hokage-sama, your presence is an honor; this old woman has failed to welcome you properly."

Uzumaki Mito's expression was calm, showing no signs of change.

But the words she spoke were like a knife, stabbing at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled bitterly and said, "Please, don't belittle me like that; just call me little monkey as you always have."

Uzumaki Mito ignored his comment, her tone neither cold nor warm as she said, "Speak your business."

One does not visit the temple without a reason; she certainly didn't think Hiruzen Sarutobi had come just to chat with her.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled bitterly again, but quickly put it out of his mind and informed Uzumaki Mito of the situation in the Land of Whirlpools.

Upon hearing the news about the Land of Whirlpools, Uzumaki Mito was extremely shocked!

Let alone Hiruzen Sarutobi, even she, having lived in the Land of Whirlpools since childhood and even as a princess of the Land of Whirlpools, did not know what this so-called Gotei 13 was, or where they had popped up from.

Not to mention those bizarre Ninja Blades and No-Seal Ninjutsu.

Besides, wasn't their Uzumaki Clan skilled in Sealing Jutsu?

This force seemed completely unrelated to the Uzumaki Clan!

However, the title of Shinigami did make her suspicious.

She knew that their Uzumaki Clan had worshipped a Shinigami Mask since ancient times; could the upheaval in the Land of Whirlpools be related to the Shinigami Mask?

Seeing Uzumaki Mito deep in thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized she had some inkling and couldn't help but ask, "Mito-sama, have you recalled something?"

Uzumaki Mito glanced at him and said indifferently, "Although I am not entirely sure, our Uzumaki Clan has worshipped a Shinigami Mask since ancient times."

"This force calling itself Shinigami might be related to this mask."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes suddenly lit up.

It seemed unreasonable, but it wasn't impossible.

After all, there were plenty of strange things in the Shinobi World; the Land of Hot Springs even had the Jashin Sect.

Uzumaki Mito pondered for a moment; although she suspected it was related to the Shinigami Mask, she hadn't returned to the Land of Whirlpools for a long time.

She didn't know much about the current situation of the Uzumaki Clan, so she didn't know if that mask from her childhood was still there.

Thinking of this, Uzumaki Mito gave an order to the servant beside her, telling her to bring Kushina over.

Before long, a young girl with a round face and bright red hair was brought over.

Uzumaki Kushina said somewhat nervously, "Granny Mito, Hokage-sama."

Uzumaki Mito said kindly, "Kushina, Grandma wants to ask you something."

Uzumaki Kushina nodded.

Uzumaki Mito asked, "Is the mask that our Uzumaki Clan worships still there?"

Uzumaki Kushina was stunned, her mood suddenly turning somber as she shook her head and said, "I don't know."

You don't know?

Uzumaki Mito raised an eyebrow.

Uzumaki Kushina continued, "Brother Chihiro went to the shrine to look for the Shinigami Mask, but..."

As she spoke, Uzumaki Kushina's eyes turned red.

She didn't know how Brother Chihiro was doing now, or if he was... still alive?

Chihiro? Uzumaki Chihiro?

Uzumaki Mito remembered that the heir of this generation of the Uzumaki Clan seemed to have this name.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was thoughtful.

"Achoo!"

In the Land of Whirlpools, Uzumaki Chihiro sneezed.

Tsk, could someone be cursing him?

Uzumaki Chihiro stared at the rapidly soaring prestige value and muttered, "Wait a little longer, just a little longer."

A few days later.

The fact that the Hidden Mist Village had failed in the Land of Whirlpools could no longer be kept secret.

After all, they had gone with such great momentum, with the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist deployed.

Yet, they returned in a very pathetic state.

Only two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist returned, and only a dozen or so of the three hundred Ninjas straggled back.

Spies from various countries immediately caught the scent.

They all began to gather intelligence.

Soon, intelligence reports of the Hidden Mist Village's crushing defeat were placed on the desks of the Kage of the major Ninja villages.

Since Hiruzen Sarutobi had already received the news from Sakumo Hatake, he didn't react much.

However, after Danzo took the intelligence on the Land of Whirlpools from Hiruzen Sarutobi, he returned to Root with a heavy heart.

He had been wondering why there was suddenly no news from Yakushi Nono in the Land of Whirlpools.

It seemed she had already fallen into the hands of this group of Shinigami.

Danzo stared fixedly at the intelligence in his hand; while shocked, he was inevitably attracted by those peculiar Ninja Blades and No-Seal Ninjutsu.

"This kind of Ninja Blade must be in the hands of Root!"

...

Please give flowers! Please give evaluation tickets!

Chapter 23: Recruiting Troop Types, Arrancar subordinates?

"Hahaha!"

Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.

A hearty laugh rang out from the Raikage's office.

The Third Raikage looked at the intelligence on his desk and openly mocked the Hidden Mist Village.

"The dignified Hidden Mist Village was almost wiped out by an unknown organization; it's truly the biggest joke in the Shinobi World!"

"Let's see if they still brag about their Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in the future!"

The Third Raikage's eyes were filled with disdain.

However, he also understood that although the Hidden Mist Village boasted about their Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist every day, they did have some real skills.

To be able to make the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist look so pathetic, this small organization that suddenly popped up in the Land of Whirlpools did have some strength.

But he still didn't think much of them; they were just monkeys who jumped out to snatch the peaches after they had destroyed the Land of Whirlpools.

Of course, this judgment was made because the intelligence they received was not as detailed as Konoha's.

The Hidden Mist had suffered a setback, and the Third Raikage was in a good mood, even adding a question: "How is the Jinchūriki experiment progressing?"

The secretary shook his head and said, "No progress."

The Third Raikage's smile instantly froze.

He shouldn't have opened his mouth!

The Third Raikage frowned and said, "Is the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu not working?"

The secretary continued to shake his head: "The Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu is already perfect; it can effectively suppress the Tailed Beast."

"Then why..."

The secretary said quietly, "The sealing squad says it's a human factor; to use the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu to create a Jinchūriki, I'm afraid one needs the Uzumaki Clan's Physique."

But... the Uzumaki Clan had already been destroyed by them!

The Third Raikage was completely dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Hidden Stone Village and the Sunagakure also received news of the Hidden Mist Village's crushing defeat.

They all mocked and despised them.

Other than that, they didn't have much of a reaction.

They just felt that this new force in the Land of Whirlpools had decent strength.

But they had no designs on the Land of Whirlpools, so naturally, they didn't pay much more attention to the situation in the Land of Whirlpools.

After a few days of fermentation.

The Hidden Mist Village became the biggest laughingstock in the Shinobi World during this period.