Going Home

"Third Elder! Is this the Land of Grass?"

A red-haired child gazed at the Land of Grass before her, filled with flowers and greenery. Her bright, watery eyes flickered slightly before she lifted her dirty little face and looked at the Third Elder beside her with gleaming eyes.

"Now that we're in the Land of Grass, do we not have to keep running anymore? Can we finally eat until we're full and sleep?"

Her words fell.

The stooped, white-haired old man beside her trembled. Looking into those eyes... his equally grimy face broke into a smile, and he nodded. "That's right! Hinoka won't have to hide anymore! You'll be able to sleep peacefully from now on! You won't have to go hungry anymore!"

Of course.

He was only lying to her.

Uzumaki Yangzheng.

That was his name.

Before the Land of Eddies was destroyed, he had been the Third Elder of the Uzumaki Clan. When the Land of Eddies was attacked by ninja from various countries, they resisted for an entire day and night. In the end, seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Clan Head and First Elder ordered them to scatter, each leading their clansmen away from the Land of Eddies so the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline could endure!

However.

Even after the Land of Eddies was destroyed, those invaders still refused to let the Uzumaki Clan go. They hunted down every Uzumaki clansman who had escaped!

Of the nearly one hundred Uzumaki civilians and ninja, only a little over twenty remained!

Including him... there were fewer than four ninja left. Three jonin and one chunin!

However.

Even strength equivalent to a jonin squad was not enough to protect the remaining people of the Land of Eddies.

Long-term exhaustion and hunger had greatly weakened them, and now... they had even been sealed?!

Ridiculous, wasn't it?

The Uzumaki Clan, masters of Sealing Jutsu, had actually been sealed by others!

And it had been done with the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique!

That was right!

He could tell!

Those sealing patterns were far too familiar!

Back when the Land of Eddies still existed, this would have been a disgrace to the Uzumaki Clan!

At first, he had passed through the neighboring Land of Rain... but after discovering that the Land of Rain was unsafe as well, he led his clansmen north, intending to find somewhere that could take in the Uzumaki Clan.

Yet not long ago, they unexpectedly encountered slave traders from the Land of Hot Water.

Then.

Exhausted and starving, they were captured by the ninja hired by those slave traders, sealed, and taken to the Land of Hot Water.

However.

Just when they thought they would be sold as slaves, the slave traders suddenly put them back aboard a ship for some reason and took them toward the Land of Fire.

In the end, a group of mysterious ninja suddenly appeared and attacked the merchants from the Land of Hot Water.

Then.

They brought them here!

To be honest.

After everything they had been through, he no longer believed anyone could help the Land of Eddies.

Even Konoha, who had been as close as brothers to them, had merely promised to ensure the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline survived before abandoning them!

So who else could be trusted?

Uzumaki Yangzheng sighed inwardly and reached out to stroke Hinoka's little head.

She was his granddaughter.

As for his son and daughter-in-law... they had already died while fleeing.

He had originally planned to make her jump into the sea and look for an opportunity to escape, but unexpectedly, that group of ninja found her and brought her back too?!

Now... he had no idea what would happen next.

Although the ninja hired by those merchants had not appeared again afterward, the black cloaks concealing their identities, coupled with their mastery of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique... all of it gave him a bad feeling!

A cold glint flashed through Yangzheng's eyes, but then he sighed in discouragement.

Even if things were as he suspected, what could they do now?

They could do nothing!

He knew this small country, the Land of Grass, well enough. It was a remote border nation, infamous throughout the ninja world for being shameless and fickle. It had once been destroyed, but judging by the current situation... it seemed to have been rebuilt!

Uzumaki Yangzheng looked at the Land of Grass citizens working in the distance, then at his granddaughter beside him and the Grass ninja surrounding them. Worry immediately filled his heart.

These Grass ninja who had not harmed them seemed to want something from them?

The Uzumaki Clan's constitution?

Or the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu?

But...

No matter who it was... as long as they let this old man's granddaughter live, he would agree to any conditions! Even if they wanted the Book of Seals, or wanted to trample his body and use him for any Human Experimentation, he would have no regrets!

As for avenging the Uzumaki Clan... he no longer wanted that!

There were too many enemies, and they were too powerful!

The current Uzumaki Clan simply could not take revenge!

He wondered how the other clansmen were doing now?!

Thinking of that, Uzumaki Yangzheng remembered Fusang and her spouse in the neighboring Land of Rain...

He wondered how they were faring in the Land of Rain?

Had they been discovered?!

He only hoped they could live safely!

Even as ordinary people would be enough!

At that moment.

A disturbance rose among the Grass ninja around them. Uzumaki Yangzheng and the clansmen came back to their senses, seeming to understand something. Together, they raised their heads and stared ahead with bewilderment in their eyes.

Was the person who had specifically sent people to bring them here finally going to appear?

Who would it be?!

And what did they want?

At this moment.

Their hearts were both terrified and expectant!

Terrified that hope would be shattered, expectant that hope would arrive.

However.

Not long after.

A cheer sounded ahead.

The civilians who had been working suddenly began crying out happily.

It seemed that person held quite a bit of prestige in the Land of Grass!

Just as Yangzheng thought that, a figure entered his sight.

Surrounded by the crowd.

A rather young-looking man, dressed formally with a smile on his face, walked toward them.

What shocked him even more was...

Three people with fiery red hair were following beside that man!

Two women and one... child!

Members of the Uzumaki Clan?!

No, that person was...

As if he had seen a familiar figure, Yangzheng's pupils widened. Before he could react—

"Welcome home, my fellow countrymen!" Kusana had already walked up to him, spreading his arms with a smile. "From today onward... the Land of Grass will be your home! Here, no one will bully you! Here, you won't have to live in fear! Here, you won't have to endure hunger and cold! This is your home!"

He looked deeply at the old man before him. "You've suffered enough! You're finally home now, my fellow countrymen!"

However.

As soon as he finished speaking.

The situation seemed somewhat different from what he had expected!

The Uzumaki Clan before him did not tear up, burst into sobs, then look at him, their leader who had accepted them, with gratitude and deep emotion before shouting, "We finally found our people!"

Instead, they simply stared blankly at... Uzumaki Fusang beside him!

For this moment, he had specifically changed into more formal clothes, combed his hair, and even touched up his makeup so he would look more spirited!

And yet...

This was way too cold!

His enthusiasm immediately faded!

The excitement he had felt vanished as he looked at the Uzumaki clansmen before him, their faces filthy, not a clean spot on their bodies, staring stupidly like a group of refugees. He sighed and said to Kana and Fusang, who were snickering beside him, "Forget it, you two handle it! Take them to wash up first, change into clean clothes, eat something, and get some rest!"

As soon as he spoke.

Kana and Fusang were about to nod when—

"You're... Fusang?!" Elder Yang Zheng suddenly came back to his senses and stared excitedly at Fusang. "Y-you... weren't you in the Land of Rain? Why are you here?"

"A lot happened." Fusang sighed emotionally. She glanced at Kusana, seeming to recall something, then smiled somewhat awkwardly and directly changed the subject. "We'll talk later! For now... welcome home, Third Elder!"

"H-home? Can we?" The Third Elder froze slightly, then exchanged looks with the clansmen around him. Their eyes were full of disbelief as they looked at the man beside Fusang.

He could tell that this man was the leader here!

Only after seeing him nod did a smile appear on his face... a smile filled with expectation. "That's right! Home! Let's go home!"

As soon as he spoke.

"Have we been accepted?"

"Is this going to be our home from now on?"

"Do we really not have to wander anymore?"

All the Uzumaki clansmen cheered. Trembling, they were just about to take a step inside when—

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

His granddaughter Hinoka suddenly tugged at his clothes. The Third Elder suppressed his excitement and lowered his head in confusion, looking at her.

Hinoka held out her little hand. An innocent smile appeared on her adorable face as she pointed with her left hand at a white speck on her right hand. "It looks like it's snowing, Grandpa!"