Uzumaki Clan Youth Who Ate the Hito Hito no Mi

The ancestral hall was silent, with only the ragged, low breaths proving that those present were alive, not lifelike wax figures.

The Great Elder, after all, was an old man who had weathered many storms. He quickly emerged from his somber mood, determined to preserve at least some bloodline for the clan, no matter what.

However, after scanning the room, he, like the other elders, fell silent. The clan had seen so few newborns in the past decade. Coupled with the ravages of disease and various other reasons, the infant mortality rate remained stubbornly high. The vast clan had only two children under the age of ten.

The old man's heart clenched with each passing moment. Though he knew this fact, facing it directly each time brought a fresh wave of heartache.

"Kushina, Katsuki, come here for a moment." The Great Elder put on a kind expression and beckoned the two children over.

Uzumaki Katsuki pursed his lips, already guessing what the Great Elder intended to say. After all, there were no other children his age in the village, just the two of them, siblings. If they were to be sent to Konoha, it was almost certainly them.

Six-year-old Uzumaki Katsuki, with his shoulder-length crimson hair, tied into a series of small braids by his mischievous older sister like a girl's. His bright, dark eyes and round, fair cheeks made him look like an adorable little boy. Yet, this six-year-old boy behaved more courteously than his older sister.

That's right, the little boy was one of the countless transmigration souls. Casually tossed by some unknown great god, he had died and been reborn into this bloodthirsty Ninja World, reincarnated into the Uzumaki Clan, a giant ship on the verge of sinking, and was Uzumaki Kushina's biological younger brother.

According to Katsuki's memories of Naruto from his previous life, the Uzumaki Clan was soon to face great misfortune. The entire Land of Whirlpools would perish, becoming mere dust in history. This had filled him with dread for a long time. Even ants cling to life; he naturally refused to be crushed under the wheels of history.

However, as a mere little boy, apart from the basic taijutsu he had learned and his skill with a few shuriken, all he could do was act cute. His small arms and legs couldn't even get him off the isolated island of the Land of Whirlpools. Without the protection of others, he had no survival skills; any common illness could take him down.

Fortunately, the great god who sent him here might have felt it was a bit too harsh to just throw him into the bloodthirsty Ninja World. When he was five years old, a year ago, he found a uniquely shaped apple among a basket of apples. It had swirling arabesque patterns. In his past life, as a decent young man raised on the "Big Three" manga, he naturally recognized what this out-of-place fruit was.

His small hand trembled at the time, tears welling up in his eyes. Finally, the great god hadn't just given him a one-way ticket to another world. His transmigration gift package seemed to have been misdelivered, with a delayed arrival.

To be safe, he ate the entire 'apple,' leaving no trace behind. He experienced a taste that was "beep" like that of the extraordinary "beep," and then... his tear ducts broke, and silent tears soaked his pillow. It wasn't because of the horrific taste, but rather...

Why was it the Human-Human Fruit? And not some subspecies like the Great Buddha form, but the most basic Human-Human Fruit, the one eaten by the reindeer wearing a hat.

After eating the fruit, he soon learned its name, and Katsuki's heart began to roar. He didn't expect a monstrous Logia-type fruit, allowing him to start a path of... conquest. That kind of cheat was first-class treatment. Considering he hadn't even seen the face of the transmigration god, his was definitely a second-class ticket, perhaps even a standing ticket.

But even so, they could have at least given him a normal Zoan-type fruit. He couldn't handle Ancient or Mythical Zoans, but a tiger or lion would have been fine! Why did he, a human, have to eat the Human-Human Fruit? What were they trying to do?

After his sadness subsided, adhering to the principle of "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," Katsuki began to study the abilities of the Human-Human Fruit. After all, hadn't someone said, "There are no useless Devil Fruits, only useless users"? Didn't that reindeer play around with the Human-Human Fruit in many ways? After some self-consolation, he finally felt a bit better.

Over the course of a year, he finally noticed that the Human-Human Fruit seemed to have enhanced his physical abilities in all aspects. His eyesight, hearing, recovery, and many other aspects had significantly improved, calming his indignant heart. Among these, he also discovered something. Perhaps due to the Human-Human Fruit being unaccustomed to this world after crossing over, he could still roll around and play in the shallow water on the beach.

However, even with the Human-Human Fruit, it wouldn't help much in the short term. Right now, he was likely facing the first major crisis since his transmigration.

If he remembered correctly, Uzumaki Kushina's journey to Konoha was partly because Uzumaki Mito was nearing the end of her life and needed a new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and partly because the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, leaving the Uzumaki Clan with only a handful of survivors scattered throughout the Ninja World.

"Great Elder."

Katsuki followed Kushina to the Great Elder's side and knelt down, respectfully greeting the current leader of the Uzumaki Clan. Ever since their father, the clan head, died in battle five years ago, and their mother also perished in that same battle, the Great Elder had been steering the giant ship of the Uzumaki Clan.

The Great Elder looked kindly at the two children before him. His heart, hardened by years of hardship, inexplicably softened. If his four sons hadn't died in battle, perhaps his grandchildren would have been this age!

"Do you... want to go to the Land of Fire?" the Great Elder asked softly.

Katsuki blinked his large eyes and remained silent, playing cute.

"I don't want to go," Kushina reacted fiercely. The young girl puffed out her cheeks, her already round face becoming even rounder. "I don't want to go to Konoha. I want to stay in the village. I am also a member of the Uzumaki Clan. I don't want to leave the village."

Compared to Katsuki, who had the advantage of a transmigator's intellect, Kushina, with her keen intuition as a young girl, sensed the hidden meaning in the Great Elder's words. Her large eyes, identical to Katsuki's, filled with tears. This small island was the land where her parents' souls rested; she didn't want to leave.

"Wherever sister goes, I go," Katsuki's reply was clever. It sounded like a brother dependent on his sister, but in reality, he truly didn't know where he was going.

The destruction of the Uzumaki Clan was almost a foregone conclusion. The stubborn clansmen refused to leave the island, but they were no match for a behemoth like the Land of Water. Defeat was the only outcome!