So Being a Child Makes Everything So Difficult!

Xun Uzumaki had not even entered the meeting room when he heard the Clan Elders' furious voices.

"Damn Konoha! How could they do this? How could they do this?" A Clan Elder roared, slamming the table. "How much did we give for Konoha during the war? What about what Lord Hashirama promised us back then?"

"What about the Senju Clan's promise to advance and retreat together?"

"How could they do this?"

"Clan Head, what did the Hokage say?" another Clan Elder asked calmly.

"The Hokage said that after the war, their ninja village lacked the strength to help us."

"Heh, they lack the strength to help us? If that's true, then how does Kirigakure still have the strength to attack us? Did they not go through the war? Kirigakure was even on the losing side."

And Konoha...

The victorious village...

"Konoha is truly disappointing!!"

"What about the Senju Clan?" The Clan Elder remained calm, but the clenched fist at his side revealed the anger in his heart.

"The Senju Clan wanted to help us, but the Hokage stopped them. Especially Lord Tobirama's disciple, Danzo. He said that although they regretted what had happened to the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha had yet to recover from the war and could not provide aid."

"Damn it! Those bastards! I wish I could kill them!"

At once, every Uzumaki Clan member in the meeting hall flew into a rage.

"We tried so hard to help them during the war. How could they treat us like this?"

"Didn't they call it Generational Friendship? The Land of Whirlpools has already..."

"During the war... we lost too much. We simply can't stop Kirigakure." One Clan Elder lowered his head and spoke with regret.

"Is there really no way left for the Land of Whirlpools?"

"Of course there is!"

Just as the entire meeting room sank into grief, a childish voice rang out. Everyone turned to see a child of about six or seven walking in through the door.

"It's Little Xun." Seeing Xun Uzumaki enter, the Clan Head sternly said, "This is not a place for children."

Because the Land of Whirlpools had been founded by the Uzumaki Clan, nearly everyone in the country was a clansman.

"Little Xun, go back at once. This is not something you can take part in." The Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools shouted. As for Xun Uzumaki's claim that there was a way, he ignored it completely. No matter how clever Xun Uzumaki was, no one believed a child could have a solution capable of helping the Land of Whirlpools through this crisis.

"Dad, Clan Head uncle." Xun Uzumaki greeted the Daimyo and the Clan Head. Then, frowning with a solemn expression, he walked to the Clan Head's side, completely ignoring the meaningful looks his father and the Clan Head gave him.

He dragged over a chair, stood his small body on it, then fiercely slapped the table. "Smack—"

He was still too young. His palm was too small, so the sound was not crisp enough.

"What are you doing?"

"Xun Uzumaki, how dare you disrespect the Clan Elders?" Seeing Xun Uzumaki act so rudely, the Clan Head immediately shouted. He did not want the Uzumaki Clan's youngest genius to earn the Clan Elders' dislike.

And this was wartime. If the Land of Whirlpools ultimately...

They could only rely on the younger generation.

Yet Xun Uzumaki ignored the Clan Head and raised his still-childish voice, speaking solemnly. "When Konoha asked us for support, I said Konoha could not be trusted. Yet you all said I was too young and knew nothing. You said the Uzumaki Clan and Konoha shared Generational Friendship, that we were good brothers."

"When Clan Head uncle went to seek Konoha's help, I said Konoha would not help us. I told you to prepare for war as soon as possible. But you still didn't believe me. You thought that, because of the friendship between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan, they would certainly help us."

"But look!! Because the Uzumaki Clan gave Konoha such tremendous support in the First Great Ninja War, what have we become now? And now that Kirigakure has invaded us, how are they treating us?"

"Are you still going to be this naive?" Xun Uzumaki shouted.

"This..."

The Clan Elders looked at one another, and the entire meeting room fell silent.

That was right!! Xun had warned them long ago. Yet they had dismissed Little Xun because of his age and refused to trust one of their own, leading to the current situation...

They had seen less clearly than a child!

Tears welled in the Clan Elders' eyes...

How ridiculous!!!

"Konoha stopped being the Konoha of old long ago." Xun Uzumaki sighed. After Hashirama Senju died, all of Konoha had changed. Sigh... I'm still too young. No matter how reasonable I am, they just think I'm spouting nonsense and ignore me.

No matter what he said, they took it as a joke, laughed it off, and paid him no further attention.

"Sigh..." The Great Elder sighed, lifting his aged face to look at Xun Uzumaki. Choking back tears, he said, "I'm sorry. It was all because of old fools like us that things became this way. We... we have failed the Uzumaki Clan!"

Seeing the guilt on the Great Elder's face, as well as that of the other Clan Elders, Xun Uzumaki finally relaxed. This was why he liked the Uzumaki Clan so much. The Uzumaki Clan did not have those old fossils who refused to admit their mistakes and threw their age around. The Clan Elders of the Uzumaki Clan were kind and forthright. That was also why they had trusted Konoha so much. There was no messy nonsense throughout the country either. Everyone was simple-minded and lived their days laughing and joking around. Compared to Konoha, which looked peaceful on the surface while scheming in the shadows, the Land of Whirlpools was practically paradise. Its leaders were simply too naive, too straightforward. That was why Konoha had betrayed them and seized their assets.

"We actually chose to trust outsiders instead of our own clansmen."

"We are truly sinners of the Uzumaki Clan!"

As they spoke, all the Clan Elders began reflecting on themselves in guilt. Despite their age, their tears continued to flow. Even the Clan Head and the Daimyo grew sorrowful. Because of their wrong decisions, the Land of Whirlpools now faced the danger of destruction!!

"No, Clan Elder grandfathers, Clan Head uncle, we still have hope. The Land of Whirlpools will not be destroyed." Xun Uzumaki's little face was utterly serious as he bent at the waist. "Please believe me!"

You should believe me now, right? I may be young, but I'm not an ordinary Uzumaki clansman!

Without the simple-minded brains of you Uzumaki people, just look at the entire Naruto story—every surviving mixed-blood Uzumaki was a fool, weren't they?

Uzumaki Mito watched her country face destruction and her clansmen get slaughtered, yet devoted herself wholeheartedly to managing her husband's property.

Prince Naruto was the son of an official. As a child, he was bullied and mocked by the villagers, but the old village chief fooled him senseless with a pile of Will of Fire nonsense. He threw himself into danger and shed blood for Konoha, completely forgetting that his father had bled for the village, rendered great service, and, after dying, had his family assets confiscated. Naruto was left to eat expired food as a child, stunting his growth, yet he only cared about winning back the Crown Princess.

Boss Nagato founded the greatest gang in the ninja world, yet did not exploit it for profit. To fulfill his best friend's dream, he ignored the beauty by his side. In the end, Prince Naruto talked him down, and he collapsed crying and howling that he had failed his best friend and the ninja world, that everything he had done was wrong. Had he forgotten that he was the man who had even killed his own teacher?!

And there was no need to mention the lovesick Karin. Her boyfriend stabbed her, and she could still cry, "I forgive you. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." For a woman like that...

Xun Uzumaki had something he was not sure he should say. Why had he never met a girlfriend like that back then?

The Clan Elders looked at one another. Then the Great Elder sighed and said, "Speak. What is your plan? The Clan Head and all of us will listen to you. The entire Uzumaki Clan will listen to you." Nothing could get worse than it already was. Since that was the case, why not hear what surprise the Uzumaki Clan's genius had in store for them?

If only we had listened to him back then... sigh... it's too late for everything now.

Hearing the Great Elder's words, Xun Uzumaki immediately brightened. Then he looked toward his father, the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools.

Seeing the expression on his child's face, the Daimyo sighed. Pride and guilt appeared on his face. It was all because of him that the Land of Whirlpools had entered such a crisis. If he had seen Konoha clearly sooner, things would not have become this way. Now the entire burden had to rest on a child's shoulders. Smiling, he said, "From this moment onward, the entire Land of Whirlpools will follow your command."

"Mm." Hearing the Daimyo's words, Xun Uzumaki immediately nodded and swore, "The Land of Whirlpools will absolutely not be destroyed. It will even grow stronger and stronger!"

"Please believe me..."

"Xun Uzumaki!!"

Although the Land of Whirlpools had little land and a sparse population, it had one advantage: nearly everyone was from the Uzumaki Clan. Most were therefore ninja. Even those who were not ninja possessed greater Chakra and vitality than ordinary people. That was the Uzumaki Clan's advantage. He refused to believe that, with the strength of the entire nation and the entire clan, they could not stop Kirigakure. They only needed to hold out until the First Great Ninja War ended. If Kirigakure still dared invade the Land of Whirlpools after that, the other ninja villages would not simply stand by and watch. Otherwise...

Fuck that!

The war has already ended, and you still want to seize territory? That's just unreasonable! For the peace of the ninja world, we can only take action.

Especially Konoha, the ambassador of peace, would not watch the Land of Whirlpools be destroyed after the war. Would the war be over or not if that happened? Besides, the Land of Whirlpools was nominally still Konoha's friendly ally. If the war had ended and Konoha still refused to help, it would be impossible to justify.

Konoha still cared about its reputation!

"So the entire Land of Whirlpools must formally begin preparing for war. Only then will the Land of Whirlpools have even the slightest hope of survival." Xun Uzumaki said seriously.

"But the civilians in the country..." Hearing that Xun wanted to turn the entire country into a battlefield, the Clan Elders could not bear it. It was too cruel for the civilians.

"No. I have other arrangements for the civilians, children, women, and elderly." Xun Uzumaki said. "A year ago, I began preparing a place where they can hide."

It was because they had not trusted him that he had been unable to dig the tunnels properly.

"You mean that underground shelter you dug?" the Clan Head asked. They all knew about what Xun Uzumaki had done. Back then, they had wondered why he was wasting money digging such a huge underground shelter, but they had assumed it was merely a child's pastime and ignored it.

"That's right." Xun Uzumaki nodded his little head. "That underground shelter is huge. It can hold all the civilians of the Land of Whirlpools."

He had spent a year digging it. With ninja helping, how could it not be huge? It was just that ninja with Earth Release were hard to find in the Land of Whirlpools. After all, Wind Release and Water Release were the mainstream there.

It had cost him so much money!!

"Looks like Little Xun prepared for this long ago!" Hearing Xun Uzumaki's words, the Great Elder said with a smile. He believed Xun Uzumaki even more now. Perhaps...

Perhaps the Land of Whirlpools truly still had hope.

"Now we will all follow your arrangements. Give the order, Prince Xun." The Clan Elders exchanged glances and spoke solemnly. This time, they were serious, not merely acting out of helplessness as before.

Hearing that they would truly obey him, Xun Uzumaki did not stand on ceremony. "The first step is to calm the people."