Dodai and his five companions returned directly to the mobile base of Hidden Cloud's ninja army without pause. As Dodai glanced at the two massive sealing scrolls and the red-haired girl glaring defiantly at someone, his brows furrowed deeply.
Even though this boy's meddling had earned them major benefits, it also disrupted many layers of their original strategy.
"Don't worry, Lord Tutai. With these scrolls and this girl, the Uzumaki clan head will be forced to lean closer to our Hidden Cloud."
Tamura Hao explained in a calm tone, as if he had deliberated long and hard about this path.
"You wretched villain!"
Across from him, Uzumaki Kushina scowled even harder and spat out her curse.
Her grandfather had sent her to Konoha to live with her aunt, Uzumaki Mito. Who would have thought she'd be intercepted en route and forcibly dragged into the Hidden Cloud's military zone? Clearly, she and her grandfather had been tricked by this poisonous man.
Tamura Hao's face darkened under her scolding, but then he suddenly feigned horror and shouted toward the back of the girl: "Uzumaki clan patriarch! You're here?!"
"Grandfather?!"
Kushina turned around by instinct, eyes gleaming with hope. Had her grandfather really come to rescue her?
But when she looked, there was no one. Just as confusion set in, a sharp pain struck the back of her neck, and the world went black as she collapsed unconscious.
"I really hate being insulted," Hao muttered coldly, standing over her fallen form. Inwardly, he sighed in awe of the Uzumaki clan's monstrous chakra.
Even at just ten years old, Kushina's chakra levels had already surpassed many elite jōnin. She was no joke. If he hadn't relied on a distraction, subduing her would have been a pipe dream.
Tutai and Ay both had twitching cheeks as they watched Hao use trickery on a little girl.
Fukai outright covered his face, embarrassed beyond words that this underhanded boy was his student.
"Now what are we supposed to do?"
Tutai rubbed his forehead. So many unexpected developments—he couldn't recalibrate the entire plan instantly.
Fukai and Ay exchanged helpless glances. They were fighters, not schemers. This was not their terrain.
Tutai sighed and looked at Tamura Hao instead.
This boy always had absurd, if occasionally brilliant, ideas. Maybe one of them would spark a way forward.
Seeing the eyes on him, Tamura Hao nodded slightly. "Stick to the core of the original plan. The three great villages—Konoha, Kiri, and Iwa—are all circling us. But we should strike first. And the most suitable target is Kirigakure."
He glanced at Dodai. "From what you've told me, their internal situation is deteriorating. The Yagura regime hasn't yet formed, and the Third Mizukage is locked in struggle with the older clans."
Tamura Hao's eyes gleamed. "If we secretly aid the Third Mizukage, give him forbidden sealing techniques strong enough to control the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, he could crush the conservative bloodline clans. And we gain a foothold."
"Afterward," he continued, "we absorb the remnants—children of these destroyed clans. They'll bring bloodline limits and jutsu into our ranks. And if we 'rescue' some kunoichi from the battlefield and pair them with our unmarried ninjas, their children will grow up as Cloud shinobi."
He turned to Ay, expression dead serious. "Brother Ay, if you can bring back a female from the Kaguya clan, their genetics could merge with the Yotsuki clan. Think of it—no need for secret medicine or brutal conditioning. A natural evolution of the clan's lightning techniques."
He raised an eyebrow. "A Kaguya descendant trained in Lightning Release Armor and Black Lightning could become something even Might Guy would fear—bone durability that can withstand the strain of Eight Gates. Imagine Kimimaro's body with Raikage-level taijutsu."
Ay stared blankly. "Me?"
"Yes," Hao nodded solemnly. "For the clan's future, this is something only you can do. Unless, of course, you convince the Third Raikage to take a concubine from the Kaguya—have him produce a genius little brother for you."
Ay's eyes widened in horror. "No way! If I tell Mom that, she'll kill me!"
"I'll do it myself," she grumbled at last, resigned. "Hopefully she's not ugly."
Tutai rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Not a bad idea."
If the Third Mizukage eliminated the powerful clans himself, those kunoichi would have no village left to return to. With husbands and children waiting in Kumo, their loyalties would shift.
Still, Tutai would wait for the Raikage's return before formalizing anything.
"What about the Uzumaki clan leader?" he asked, glancing at the unconscious Kushina. "He won't take this lightly."
"It's already done," Tamura Hao replied without concern. "And he may not even survive. If he's relying on Konoha… well, I have great faith in Konoha's ability to betray him."
He smirked. "That escort ninja with Sarutobi Shinnosuke? Most likely Aburame Shikuro, a root operative. If so, then Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo Shimura have already signed the Uzumaki's death warrant."
Shikuro—one of Root's most terrifying figures—possessed nano-scale poisonous insects that could dissolve chakra networks before their host even realized they were dead. It was unlikely anyone could survive a direct deployment of his swarm.
"Konoha's a wild card," Dodai agreed. "If Sarutobi and Danzo are truly committed, we may only need to mop up the survivors."
"Exactly," Hao said. "And we should prepare to capture Sarutobi Shinnosuke. He likely has a summoning contract with the Monkey King, Enma. We extract Konoha's secrets from him—including the Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb, and the Sarutobi clan's variant of the Great Fire Annihilation."
He grinned coldly. "Then, force a summoning of Enma. While the Third Hokage is distracted, we use Uzumaki sealers to bind the monkey and stop him from escaping. With the right seal formula, we could hijack the summoning contract."
"Reverse summon the Third Hokage to the Monkey King's realm—and destroy it. One less ace up his sleeve."
He added with eerie calm, "That immortal ape body Enma has is perfect for anatomical study. Its remains should be excellent for advanced pharmaceuticals."
The three other men visibly flinched.
So ruthless. So poisonous.
But so very effective.
Tutai couldn't help but exclaim: "Truly a disciple worthy of Shimura Danzo. What a terrifyingly useful brat."