The Uzumaki Clan had established a ninja village in the Land of Whirlpools.
As Yuya had said before, most clans would be very willing to establish a village of their own in a small country.
But the Uzumaki Clan were in-laws of Konoha's First. If they were attacked, Konoha would surely lend them a hand.
Other clans could think carefully about whether they had that kind of standing.
Of course, times had changed. Konoha's current Hokage was Senju Tobirama, Senju Hashirama's younger brother.
Since it wasn't Senju Hashirama, the Uzumaki Clan began to have other ideas.
Could Senju Tobirama be relied on?
What if Senju Tobirama didn't help them after they were attacked?
Konoha had fought back against the attack from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, yet there was still no sign of Senju Hashirama. Even if he wasn't dead, his condition was surely very bad.
They could basically treat the God of Shinobi as dead when calculating the state of affairs.
When they did the math... the Uzumaki Clan suddenly realized that their position was rather unsafe.
Especially after Kirigakure and Konoha had clashed...
The Land of Whirlpools was on an island hundreds of nautical miles east of Konoha's eastern coast.
The location was actually quite good. After all, it was surrounded by the sea, and Konoha, their big brother, lay to the west.
That is, as long as Konoha truly protected them.
Yuya fell silent after listening to Uzumaki Mito.
Uzumaki Mito knew that her clan wasn't acting honorably.
She didn't think Yuya was unaware of the scheme behind the Uzumaki Clan sending her back.
But she was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, after all. Now that Hashirama was dead, she truly ought to do something for her family, both emotionally and morally.
Don't forget: when she first married Senju Hashirama, it had been a marriage of convenience.
Yuya fell silent.
He was thinking, trying to decide whether to let his master's wife go back.
There was no doubt that, in the original history, there had been only one reason Uzumaki Mito had stayed in Konoha all along: the Nine-Tails inside her.
Konoha, surrounded by three nations, could never let its Nine-Tails Jinchuriki wander about. Naturally, it couldn't let Uzumaki Mito return to her clan.
But in this period, Konoha wasn't surrounded by the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Water as it had been in the original history. The Uzumaki Clan's stated reason was that they were worried for Uzumaki Mito's safety and wanted her to return to the Uzumaki Clan.
What, was the Uzumaki Clan stronger than Konoha? If Konoha couldn't protect Uzumaki Mito, could you?
That excuse would be more convincing if you changed it to say that her family missed her and wanted her to visit.
Yuya couldn't help falling silent.
The excuse was so ridiculous. It was like a child who had given you his favorite toy in exchange for your protection, only to see that you might not keep protecting him. Then, after the toy gained great power thanks to someone's gift—the power of Kurama—the shameless child came back to demand it.
To the Uzumaki Clan, Uzumaki Mito was just a tool.
Her marriage to Senju Hashirama, their enthusiastic support for her becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—it had all been for their own benefit.
Who had ever considered what Uzumaki Mito wanted?
Yuya thought about it, sighed deeply, then looked up at Uzumaki Mito, whose eyes had begun to show fine wrinkles. "Master's wife... have you not been sleeping well lately?"
Uzumaki Mito was indeed getting older, but when Senju Hashirama had been alive, she had always looked radiant and beautiful.
Now, however, wrinkles had appeared at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead...
Uzumaki Mito's eyes grew slightly moist. She looked at Yuya and called softly, "Little Yuya... Master's wife... Master's wife has been resting just fine."
Yuya could only remain silent.
A woman, left to guard this residence alone. The people of her clan saw only what they could gain from her and never considered what she herself wanted...
Yuya pursed his lips and looked up at Uzumaki Mito. "Master's wife, what do you think?"
Uzumaki Mito froze. "What?"
Yuya grinned. "It's true, just as the Uzumaki Clan thinks. This so-called war sweeping across the Five Great Nations and the entire Shinobi World is nothing but a joke now. The Land of Earth and the Land of Water are fighting each other, and the Land of Wind has no intention of making a move against us at all. Konoha has already secured victory.
"At a time like this, there's no need for you to take part in the war, Master's wife. So...
"You can make your own decision. If you want to go back, then go and visit.
"If you don't want to, I'll make those people from the Uzumaki Clan leave."
Yuya grinned at Uzumaki Mito. "If anyone thinks they can bully you just because Master isn't here anymore, I'll make them regret it."
Yuya was serious. He wasn't joking. In fact, he meant every word.
Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, might have thought of bringing a starving child home and feeding him a few meals as nothing more than a small kindness.
But to Yuya, it had been a lifesaving kindness, one he would repay even if it cost him his life.
But what did Senju Hashirama, as the God of Shinobi, need?
For Yuya to use his ability to help him swindle the gambling houses?
Those things were just for fun, not necessities.
Perhaps all Senju Hashirama wanted was for the Shinobi World to remain peaceful and for Konoha to prosper.
Unfortunately, Yuya couldn't give him either of those things.
At least, not yet.
Konoha's development needed time. As for peace in the Shinobi World...
Yeah, right. The moment Senju Hashirama died, those bastards couldn't even wait until the following year.
All Yuya could do was look after Uzumaki Mito.
But because of her status as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito couldn't possibly be in danger.
So what Yuya could offer was to make sure no one else pressured her.
The Uzumaki Clan wanted Uzumaki Mito to return?
If his master's wife wanted to go, she could go. If she didn't, then they could send their entire clan over—he'd kick every last one of them out.
Uzumaki Mito looked at Yuya, who was kneeling before her, and smiled with relief.
Although Yuya was very weak, his words and promises had already made her very happy.
However... Uzumaki Mito shook her head. "I won't go back. I'm Senju Hashirama's wife, and I'm Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. I know what my duty is. I won't return to the Land of Whirlpools."
Yuya shook his head. "I told you, Master's wife, you don't have to force yourself. Konoha is already certain to win this war; it just needs time.
"That's why you don't have to stay in Konoha. If you want to go back, I'll definitely convince my uncle to escort you."
Uzumaki Mito's expression turned hesitant.
Yuya was afraid that Uzumaki Mito still wouldn't do what he wanted, so he said decisively, "How about this? If nothing else, you can go back and stay for a month. If it doesn't work out, you can come back after a month. It's not like those musclebound fools from Kumogakure could break through the front lines in a month."
Uzumaki Mito's expression shifted. She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly seemed to think of something and said to Yuya, "Perhaps... we could do things another way!
"Yuya, you could send someone to invite a few people from the Uzumaki Clan to come to Konoha."
Then Uzumaki Mito explained, "Actually, there are only a few people I want to see. To be honest, I don't really want to see most of the Uzumaki Clan."
Yuya clapped his hands. "No problem. Easy. Three days. I guarantee you'll see the people you want to see in three days, Master's wife."
With that, Yuya ran straight out.
Before you continue