Where Does Our Future Lie?

Katsuki had seriously considered what the future held.

The shinobi world had never been peaceful. It was an age of chaos, where heroes vied for supremacy. In such troubled times, human lives were as cheap as grass, and death hung over everyone's head. Even mighty figures like the Five Kage, standing at the pinnacle of the shinobi world, had fallen one after another. Looking through the generations of Kage, almost none of them had died well.

Of course, the Five Kage were still far too distant for Katsuki. He had also considered how to help the Uzumaki Clan avoid the catastrophe of annihilation.

After thinking it over again and again, Katsuki despairingly realized that it would be difficult for him to affect the arrival of this disaster. The Land of Whirlpools, isolated overseas, was a juicy morsel the Land of Water was determined to claim. Yet their elder brother, the Land of Fire, was too busy with its own troubles to spare a hand for its little brother. There was no way they could withstand the ravenous shark that was the Land of Water.

As for using a few words to persuade the clan's big shots to bow their heads, then wildly advancing the tech tree, crushing the Land of Water within a year, beating the Otsutsuki trash into submission within three years, and setting out for the stars and the sea within five... he might as well strangle himself. Maybe when he closed his eyes and opened them again, he would discover it had all just been a dream.

Enough rambling. Since they could not face the Land of Water head-on, there was another path: abandon this small island and move the entire clan into the Land of Fire. But he soon realized that was impossible.

The Uzumaki Clan had been rooted on this island since the Warring States era. Generation after generation had been born here and buried here. The adult clansmen would rather die fighting on this land than relocate elsewhere. When Katsuki cautiously asked several elders about it, they sternly berated him, and he did not dare bring it up again.

Unable to come up with anything, he could only sigh at the sky. It was not that he was unwilling to do his best, but that he was powerless. From then on, he began pondering how he and his sister could avoid this catastrophe. After much thought, he found only one viable path: cling tightly to his sister's thigh.

As the only known Uzumaki clansman to survive the catastrophe, following his sister gave him the greatest chance of staying alive.

That was why he had this conversation with the Great Elder.

Sure enough, after hearing Katsuki's words, the Great Elder nodded and turned his attention to Kushina. This girl, as stubborn-tempered as her father, gave the old man quite a headache. He could not exactly force her to go to Konoha, could he? But as the saying went, age brought wisdom. The old man noticed the siblings' tightly clasped hands and immediately had an idea.

"Kushina, the village... may not be peaceful lately. You can see that the clansmen have little strength left to protect the village. If those cold-blooded butchers from the Mist Ninja infiltrate this place, little Katsuki could be in great danger." The old man spoke earnestly, and the words "little Katsuki" made the young boy roll his eyes.

In the shinobi world, it was common to send **-year-old children onto the battlefield. There was no shortage of prodigies who stepped onto the field of war at six or seven and began a legendary journey. Of course, ninety-nine percent of them ended up buried in the ground, rotting away and becoming fertilizer as they returned to Mother Earth's embrace.

A legend was a legend precisely because of its unique nature, which was extraordinarily difficult to replicate!

But the Great Elder's words had clearly struck Kushina's weak spot. After their parents died, she had raised her one-year-old little brother bit by bit. She herself did not fear death and was willing to live and die with the village, but she did not want Katsuki to remain behind with her...

"Th-then... could Katsuki go to the Land of Fire? He is a boy, after all, so he can carry on the clan bloodline..." Kushina spoke hesitantly. She was only seven years old; saying something like carrying on the clan bloodline was terribly embarrassing. A rosy blush spread across her fair little face.

Before the Great Elder could say anything, however, Katsuki was stunned. He had never expected his sister to have such an idea. The Uzumaki Clan had over a hundred members, but Kushina was the only one he truly cared about. It was not merely because they were full-blooded siblings, but more importantly because Kushina had raised him little by little over all these years. Six years was enough to warm even a stone, much less a living person of flesh and blood.

If the other members of the Uzumaki Clan died, he might grieve for a while before gradually forgetting with time. But Kushina was different. Whenever he thought of his sister dying young on some future night, the frustration made him nearly want to roar. He would never accept such a thing.

"Big sis, wherever you go, I go. Don't even think about leaving me behind!" Katsuki immediately howled, startling quite a few nearby clansmen.

The Great Elder's lips twitched. He quietly waved a hand, and the elders beside him lightly led the other clansmen out of the clan hall. The enormous room quickly became empty, leaving only Kushina, Katsuki, and the Great Elder.

Yet neither Kushina nor Katsuki noticed the change around them. Or rather, even if they had noticed, neither had the heart to care.

"Katsuki, your temper has really been growing lately! You even dare challenge your sister now?" Kushina glared with her almond-shaped eyes, her small fists clenched so tightly that they cracked.

But the usual scene of him quickly surrendering and admitting his mistake did not appear. This was a matter of principle, and there could be no compromise. Katsuki raised his head and met Kushina's gaze without fear. "I said it already. Wherever you go, I go."

Kushina was instantly enraged, feeling that her position as his older sister had been challenged. Skillfully rolling up her sleeves, she raised her hand like a blade, ready to punish her disobedient little brother.

Yet Katsuki did not retreat a single step. He stubbornly stood where he was, silently showing his resolve. This left Kushina in a difficult position, filled with frustration. In the past, whenever she struck this pose, her little brother would immediately clutch his head and apologize. She had basically never truly beaten Katsuki.

If she really hit him, she could not bear it. If she did not, this brat would stubbornly refuse to back down.

"Enough, enough. Both of you little brats, quiet down." The Great Elder had no choice but to intervene. The sight of these children bickering and squabbling left the old man feeling rather bitter. He was destined to be unable to sleep tonight.

"Kushina, I watched both you and Katsuki grow up. Go back and discuss this matter properly. It will still be two days before the Konoha shinobi arrive. By then, I hope you can give me an answer." The Great Elder sent them away. He did not intend to pressure the two children too hard. He would let them think it over first, and then there would surely be a way to change Kushina's stubborn mind...

Kushina stormed out of the clan hall, her little face taut. Unlike when they had arrived, she did not hold Katsuki's hand. Her feet made the wooden floor creak beneath her.

Katsuki scratched his head in distress, bowed to the Great Elder, and left the clan hall. His short legs carried him quickly after his sister. What if he really angered her and she refused to give him dinner tonight? He was still growing, after all!