You're the Most Beautiful Girl from the Land of Whirlpools I've Ever Met; This Is a Gift for You

"Hozuki Shingetsu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Kirigakure. He's only just taken office, and already he's thrown the Shinobi World into chaos. He certainly lives up to his reputation!" Uzumaki Takumi sat down slowly, looking at Aburame Ryoma's body. His face betrayed no emotion.

"Clan leader, you're just going to let him leave like that? Does he really think we're afraid of Kirigakure?" one Uzumaki elder demanded angrily.

"Let him leave?" Uzumaki Takumi shot the elder a sidelong glance, his tone flat. "Then go up there and kill him!"

"This..." The elder faltered. He'd only said that to go along with the mood. Why wasn't the clan leader following the script?

Uzumaki Takumi sighed inwardly. This was the misery of being a small nation with a small population. If this had happened in Konoha, Hozuki Shingetsu would never have made it out of the Hokage Building alive. Forget the rule about not killing envoys during wartime—this was the confidence Konoha had.

"To solve a problem, you have to go to its source. Since Konoha caused this mess, let them deal with it. Why should we get involved?"

Uzumaki Takumi looked at the elder who'd spoken and told him to contact Konoha.

"Warn Konoha: if they stick their hands in this far again, I'll chop them all off!" Uzumaki Takumi said coolly. "Then tell them to send a few powerful shinobi this time, like Hatake Sakumo or one of Hiruzen's three students. Once these Kirigakure people leave Uzushio Village's territory, kill them immediately!"

"He killed someone right in front of me. Does he really think I don't have a temper?" Uzumaki Takumi glanced at Aburame Ryoma, who had stopped twitching, and snorted.

For the sake of the bigger picture, he couldn't kill Hozuki Shingetsu in Uzushio Village. But once they were outside the village, if someone from Kirigakure died, surely they couldn't blame the Uzumaki Clan.

If Kirigakure insisted on using this as an excuse to demand an explanation, the Uzumaki Clan might be the weaker party, but if Kirigakure came looking for trouble, the clan could still knock a few teeth out of them!

Did they really think that as the only clan in the Shinobi World to establish its own country since the Warring States Period, the Uzumaki Clan had no backbone?

As for the deal involving Tailed Beast Jinchuriki sealing techniques?

Everyone present was smart enough not to bring it up.

They were about to kill someone. Was there any chance that deal could still go through?

Clearly, they'd only been placating Hozuki Shingetsu and the others earlier. Once Konoha's people arrived, they'd send the guests packing!

"I have to admit, Uzushio Village is far ahead of Kirigakure in trade," Karatachi Yagura said after observing the crowds on the road, reaching a conclusion that filled him with bitterness.

As an island nation, the Land of Water had built its prosperity on trade. Crowds like these had once been a common sight in Kirigakure. But ever since the Daimyo of the Land of Water and the Third Mizukage had both ordered the country closed off, the village had never seen such a scene again.

Thinking that many of these people might once have come to Kirigakure to trade only made Karatachi Yagura's murderous hatred for Ren harder to suppress.

"Stop! Stop hitting me!"

Just then, the sound of children fighting by the roadside caught the attention of Hozuki Shingetsu and his group.

The one shouting was a boy pinned to the ground and being beaten. Surprisingly, his attacker was a girl who looked about his age.

Their bright red hair showed that they were both full-blooded members of the Uzumaki Clan. Judging by their ages, they were probably both students at Uzushio Village's Ninja School.

After Senju Tobirama established the Ninja School, the model had quickly spread to every shinobi village. As Konoha's ally, Uzushio Village was no exception. The only difference was that all the students at Uzushio Village's Ninja School were members of the Uzumaki Clan.

"What did you say before? That women are born weaker than men?" The girl straddled the boy and punched him in the face over and over. Her red ponytail bounced with every movement as she shouted, "Now tell me: who's the top dog at school?"

"You are! You are! You're the top dog!"

The boy getting beaten couldn't take any more of the vicious assault and quickly surrendered.

Satisfied with his answer, the girl stood up and looked down at him, sprawled on the ground.

"You were so full of yourself. I thought you'd be tougher. But that's all you've got? Remember what you said: keep your mouth shut at school. Got it?"

"Wow, Kushina, you were so cool just now!" A group of girls who'd been watching rushed over and surrounded her like she was a hero, showering her with praise.

"What's wrong, Shingetsu?"

The group had noticed that it was only a few children fighting and had been about to move on. But then they saw Hozuki Shingetsu stop and stare at the scene, as if he'd noticed something and was deep in thought.

"Hey, you lot! Why aren't you going home after school?"

Children fighting was nothing unusual. But perhaps embarrassed that outsiders like Hozuki Shingetsu had witnessed this unseemly scene in their village, the Uzumaki guide, Uzumaki Shoshi, hurried to the roadside to help the boy up, trying to prevent their "friendly visitors" from getting the wrong impression.

"Uzumaki Kushina, you again? Why are you always fighting outside school?" From Uzumaki Shoshi's words, it was clear that the girl who'd started the fight was a familiar face.

But from the way Uzumaki Kushina lifted her chin, it was obvious she didn't agree with him.

"It wasn't Kushina's fault. He started it!" The girls chattered away, explaining what had happened. The boy had made insulting remarks at school, saying that girls shouldn't be allowed into the Ninja School or become shinobi, because girls were naturally weaker than boys, and so on.

Then Uzumaki Kushina had overheard him and cornered him, giving him a sound beating.

"All right, all right. Apologize to him, then go home!" Uzumaki Shoshi clearly didn't care about the details. He only cared that they'd lost face in front of outsiders and wanted to save it quickly, showing off the brotherly affection and harmony of Uzushio Village.

"Why should I? I don't think I did anything wrong!" Uzumaki Kushina held her head high and refused to back down.

"I don't think this young lady did anything wrong, either." A gentle voice spoke up. Uzumaki Kushina looked up and saw a white-haired boy gazing at her from nearby.

Hozuki Shingetsu cut off Uzumaki Shoshi and walked over, looking down at Uzumaki Kushina.

Hozuki Shingetsu leaned over and whispered a few words in Uzumaki Kushina's ear. Then he left her a Kunai and walked away with the others without another word.

Uzumaki Kushina was left standing there, blushing bright red.

"Shingetsu, what did you say in her ear?" Yukinagi asked curiously.

"Nothing. I just said a few words that came to mind."

Hozuki Shingetsu smiled faintly. While the others watched in confusion, he repeated what he'd said.

"You're the most beautiful girl from the Land of Whirlpools I've ever seen."

"Your eyes remind me of the stars back home."

"May I know your name?"

"This is a gift I'm leaving for you."