Purpose

Uzumaki Yangzheng stared blankly at the leader before him.

They had been talking about bringing back clan members scattered abroad, and he had been getting excited!

After all, as an elder of the Uzumaki Clan who had also experienced life as a wanderer, how could he not hope that his fellow clansmen still outside could come to the Land of Grass and settle down?

But this was the Land of Grass. As ninjas... they were already immensely grateful that the leader of the Land of Grass was willing to take them in.

What if they rashly made unreasonable demands and put the leader in a difficult position?

Yet somehow, as they talked... they ended up talking about movies?

What did movies have to do with any of this?!

No!

What was a movie?

"It's a form of entertainment, pretty similar to the little picture books popular in the ninja world right now!"

"Is the Leader referring to Guide to Evaluating O-type Women of Other Races?"

Kusana froze: ...

For a moment, he did not know what to say. Looking at the elder before him, he hesitated before asking, "Have you... read it?"

"Reporting to the Leader, I have not!" Uzumaki Yangzheng shook his head. "It was only that a few days ago, Lord Mujie mentioned that one of his precious books had been stolen, and he was particularly heartbroken. No matter what, the Uzumaki Clan was brought back by Lord Mujie, so we asked the clan members to keep an eye out and hope to find this book as a way of thanking Lord Mujie!"

"...That bastard Mujie again!" Kusana's mouth twitched as he cursed under his breath. Then he smiled at Uzumaki Yangzheng. "Ignore that old pervert. Tell every member of the Uzumaki Clan not to bother with it! I'll deal with Mujie when I get back!"

As he spoke, he directly pulled out a stack of documents.

It was the script for Gambling Shadow that he had brought out last time, though it had been further refined afterward.

"A movie is like what you just... mentioned, except it moves and talks on its own. Um~, it's somewhat like a stage play, but also different. Forget it, you'll understand once it's filmed. I'm preparing to make this, and I hope to get the Uzumaki Clan's help!"

"No matter what order it is, the Uzumaki Clan will carry it out earnestly!"

"No need to be so nervous! Take a look first!"

With that said.

Uzumaki Yangzheng accepted the script with a solemn expression and carefully opened it.

Gambling Shadow!

It was a script he had adapted.

He had originally planned to lure that rich woman Tsunade over and see whether he could make some money to develop the Land of Grass.

There was no helping it.

The Land of Grass was poor~

An entire country probably did not have as much wealth as the Senju Clan had accumulated over two generations of Hokage!

The script mainly told the story of Uzumaki Jin, the famous Gambling Shadow of the ninja world. He accepted an invitation from his friend Konoha to face Takaragi Kinjo, known as the King of Gambling from Mizukiri Village, in a decisive card-table showdown.

However.

Before the match, he accidentally walked into a trap, fell down a slope, lost his memory, and ended up wandering outside. At that time, his friend Konoha drunkenly broke into Uzumaki Jin's home, murdered his girlfriend and clansmen, and even sent people after him. Fortunately, ninjas from Kusagakure saved him.

After escaping danger, he was accidentally injured again and recovered his memories.

Then the day of the duel finally arrived. In the end, he proved more skilled and won the match. At the same time, he used the remains of a burned recording tape to expose his close friend's ugly true face.

With the help of the Grass ninjas, he defeated the villain, avenged an old blood feud, and finally settled in the Land of Grass, where he lived happily ever after.

The entire thing had been heavily altered. Aside from Kusagakure, everything else had been renamed.

Any resemblance was purely coincidental!

Surely the major ninja villages would not start a war against Kusagakure over this!

At this moment.

Uzumaki Yangzheng had also finished reading the script. A complicated expression appeared on his face. He let out a long, wistful sigh, then raised his head to look at the leader, who was leisurely drinking water. "Leader, you already knew?"

"???"

Knew what?

Before Kusana could even put down his teacup and speak.

Yōsei's eyes grew clouded, and his voice was filled with the weight of years as he slowly continued, "Many clansmen already had their doubts that day."

"Familiar Sealing Jutsu! Hired ninjas from who knew where! And Sealing Jutsu... only the Uzumaki Clan and Lady Mito of Konoha possessed it. After Lady Mito passed away, perhaps it would be passed down to that girl Kushina. Konoha had promised that the Uzumaki Clan would be allowed to continue within Konoha..."

Konoha, Uzumaki Jin, betrayal, family members murdered!

Had the Uzumaki Clan not suffered the same fate?!

"So where exactly did those mysterious ninjas come from?"

"..."

Kushina did indeed learn Sealing Jutsu later, but Uzumaki Naruto had not. As for the Sealing Jutsu used later... quite a few people in Konoha had learned it.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Minato, and Hiruzen Sarutobi... all knew it. As for whether it was the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, that was unclear.

It seemed the Uzumaki Clan also suspected that Konoha had been behind the campaign to wipe them out. Thinking of what happened later... Konoha had conducted plenty of Human Experimentation in order to study Wood Release.

In the early days, the Third Hokage had allowed Konoha to do it. Later, when there were no results, he banned it, but Orochimaru and Danzo began secretly continuing it.

Could it be related to this?

Had Danzo's Root done it in secret?!

After all, the Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan were distant relatives. Aside from the Senju Clan, no one was more suitable than the Uzumaki Clan.

But the timing was wrong!

And.

Weren't they talking about movies right now?

How had they somehow shifted to talking about Konoha?

"Leader..." Uzumaki Yangzheng hesitated. "Aren't you worried that the other ninja villages will discover that the Land of Grass has taken in the Uzumaki Clan?"

The Uzumaki Clan's current situation was not exactly good!

"..."

He had considered it at first, but after thinking it over... it was not a major problem!

Aside from Root secretly making a move, Konoha and the other Five Great Ninja Villages would not act rashly.

Perhaps Kumogakure would secretly come and steal people.

As for a large-scale operation...

That would require another war!

But the Land of Grass was wedged between two major countries. Unlike the Land of Eddies, it could not be caught off guard and destroyed in a surprise attack.

One Konoha or Iwagakure might be more than the Land of Grass could defeat, but he was confident that he could hold them off.

Besides, if he could not even keep watch over his own people within the Land of Grass, what was the point of developing the country?

Kusana declared righteously, "The Uzumaki Clan is a part of the Land of Grass. No matter what difficulties arise, the Land of Grass will be the Uzumaki Clan's staunchest support. Protecting the citizens of the Land of Grass is both its responsibility and duty!"

"Leader..." Uzumaki Yangzheng froze. His wrinkled face trembled, and his eyes reddened again.

Just as he was about to say something.

"Let's discuss business. I plan to have the Uzumaki Clan perform in it. That way, if Uzumaki clansmen outside see it, they might figure out that some of their kin are in the Land of Grass." Kusana waved a hand and said seriously, "I assume you do not know where your clansmen are now either!"

"I am ashamed!"

Uzumaki Yangzheng sighed and nodded.

For everyone to survive, they had been destined to conceal their names and identities. When they later scattered, they had not revealed their destinations and had each led their people away.

"I will also send Grass ninjas to investigate! When it comes to gathering intelligence, the Grass ninjas are no weaker than the Five Great Ninja Villages." Kusana said with a smile. "The new year is almost here. We'll begin filming tomorrow and finish it as soon as possible, so the clan members can all have a happy New Year!"

With that said.

Uzumaki Yangzheng's lips trembled. He nodded and said firmly, "Yes! Leader!"