What a Busy Day

Before Sakumo and his group even entered the village, Hiruzen had already received word.

Hiruzen was currently in his prime. Both his personal strength and his control over the village stood at their peak.

Timing it perfectly, he opened the window. The smoke in the room quickly dispersed, and before long, there came a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Hiruzen answered.

"Lord Hokage, pardon the interruption."

Sakumo pushed open the door and entered, with Kushina and Katsuki following behind him. The two children looked pale, both victims of "hopscotch"; their stomachs had nearly been shaken out.

"Sakumo, you're finally back! You've worked hard this time." Though Hiruzen spoke to Sakumo, his eyes could not help drifting toward the two red-haired children. There was no need to ask; they were clearly members of the Uzumaki Clan. This clan's red hair was as distinctive as the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. "Children, what are your names?"

Looking at the vigorous Third Hokage before him, Katsuki found him quite different from the old man he remembered from the screen. The only similarity was his lean, monkey-like build. Even in his prime, Hiruzen had maintained a slim, fit physique, one that surely made countless village women struggling to keep their figures green with envy.

Right, if he remembered correctly, this Shinobi Professor rather liked using a crystal ball to peep on people...

Unlike her younger brother, whose thoughts had begun wandering again, Kushina was the first to react. She answered Hiruzen's question in a clear, crisp voice. Sakumo had instructed them on the way here, and the girl also firmly remembered what the Great Elder had told them: in Konoha, they could not casually cause trouble.

After asking a few simple questions and seeing Katsuki's absent-minded expression and Kushina's exhausted face, Hiruzen quickly ended the meeting and ordered someone to take the siblings away to rest.

Once the two children had left, Hiruzen's gentle smile vanished. "Sakumo, are those two children all that remain of the Uzumaki Clan?"

"That... I'm not sure either. The Mist Ninja invaded the Land of Whirlpools. Because I was worried about Kushina and Katsuki, I did not get entangled with the Mist Ninja for long. After killing several groups of pursuers, I returned directly. But from what I saw, everyone in the Uzumaki Clan was prepared to fight to the death. I'm afraid..."

Sakumo did not finish his sentence, but its meaning was easy enough to understand.

Hiruzen sighed, picked up his pipe, and began packing it with tobacco. He had smoked it all earlier...

The Uzumaki Clan was finished. That essentially meant that the Land of Whirlpools, their staunch ally, had been swept into the dustbin of history, reduced to a few scattered words in written records.

For Konoha, which lacked allies, this was truly not good news. No matter how small the Land of Whirlpools was, it was still a nation recognized by the Five Great Nations. Having such an ally speak up for them was useful in many situations. At the very least, it could give the villagers confidence: they were not fighting alone; they had allies and brothers as well...

What a pity!

As Hokage, Hiruzen had no time to indulge in sentimentality. What he needed to do was deal with whatever might happen next. The destruction of the Land of Whirlpools might give certain restless people an opportunity to stir up trouble.

Sakumo stood quietly at the side, like a beautifully posed statue.

His specialty was fighting enemies on the battlefield. Political struggles like this were not something he could handle, so at times like these, it was best to stay quiet.

While Hiruzen racked his brains over Konoha's future, Kushina and Katsuki also entered the territory of the Senju Clan. They were members of the Uzumaki Clan and Konoha's steadfast allies, with an exceptionally deep historical connection to both sides. Naturally, they could not be treated as ordinary guests. Besides, they were relatives of the Senju Clan. As Konoha's hosts, there was no way they would let their own children stay outside.

The moment the siblings left the Hokage Building, they ran into a voluptuous blonde beauty with a ponytail.

"You two are members of the Uzumaki Clan, right?"

At the sight of their unmistakable red hair, the blonde beauty's eyes lit up. She crossed the distance in a few strides and blocked their path.

"May I ask who you are?"

Kushina looked at the pretty older sister in confusion, having no idea who she was. Katsuki, however, recognized her, but even if he did, he had to pretend he did not.

"Tsunade of the Senju Clan. We should count as relatives. Grandma Mito asked me to come pick you up." The blonde beauty introduced herself openly and generously.

The result went without saying. Using their family connection to close the distance between them, Tsunade coaxed the newly arrived siblings away after only a few words and brought them directly to the solemn old residence of the Senju Clan.

"The atmosphere here is so heavy..." Katsuki looked around, examining the mysterious home of the Senju Clan.

By this point, the Senju Clan had long since declined. The First Shinobi World War had caused the Second Hokage's death, and the Senju Clan had suffered catastrophic casualties in that battle as well. In recent years, they had faded from sight, rarely revealing any trace of themselves, becoming incomparably mysterious.

Yet Konoha's great power remained firmly held by the Hokage faction. Replacing the declining Senju Clan, they had substituted bloodline inheritance with a master-disciple system, successfully establishing the powerful Hokage faction and continuing to suppress the Uchiha Clan so thoroughly that it could not raise its head.

"Katsuki, don't look around like that. It's very rude." At this moment, Kushina's every movement followed the rules. Even when she scolded Katsuki, she lacked her usual fierceness.

Katsuki answered bitterly and obediently followed behind his sister. He grumbled to himself that this day was truly exhausting for the siblings. After traveling all day, they still had to continuously meet "important figures," be observed like protected animals, and endure people staring intensely at their hair. It was seriously irritating.

"You don't need to be so nervous. Not many people live in the old residence. Grandma Mito is the main one living here, so it's fine to relax a little." Tsunade showed none of her notoriously short temper. Her smile was like brilliant sunshine.

But thinking about it, that made sense. The Second Shinobi World War had not yet begun, and Tsunade was not yet one of the famed Three Ninja. She had not experienced all those separations by life and death, so naturally she was not like her future self. Of course, her love of gambling seemed to be an instinct inherited from the First Hokage.

Under Tsunade's reassurance, Kushina's overly tense nerves relaxed slightly. But when she thought of soon meeting a living legend, she unknowingly became nervous again. Katsuki was nervous now as well.

As for the name Mito Uzumaki, the memories from his previous life were truly scant. There was not a single useful piece of information.

He only knew that she was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, the First Hokage's wife, and the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He had never heard anything about her life, so he had no idea what kind of temperament she possessed.