Vortex

Land of Whirlpools...

"The situation is critical!"

Approaching the village entrance, Fugaku said urgently, "Go back at once and head to the shelter with the clansmen. This is not something you can get involved in!"

Kamizuki pulled Orochimaru's reply from his bosom and flashed it.

"Teacher Orochimaru has approved my graduation application. According to the rules, I only—"

I almost let him influence me...

Kamizuki shook his head and chuckled.

Since when did I start caring about those boring rules!

BOOM!!!

Accelerating violently, Kamizuki sprinted across the ground, overtaking numerous ninjas and leaving them far behind in a cloud of dust.

The massive barrier at the village entrance had only just cracked open a sliver—

BANG—!!!

Fragments of the shattered barrier scattered like a broken mirror.

"This... this..."

"Notify the Barrier Squad to repair it, and hold the Uchiha accountable later."

"But... that is the disciple of Jonin Orochimaru, and the Hokage's..."

"That is why I said to hold the Uchiha accountable. Did I say I was going to report Uchiha Kamizuki? You idiot!"

During the Warring States period, the Land of Whirlpools was the territory of the Uzumaki Clan. As one of the clans second only to the Senju and Uchiha, the Uzumaki Clan was famous throughout the ninja world for their sealing jutsu.

Uzushiogakure had a close alliance with Konoha, to the point that even the Jonin uniforms featured the Uzumaki crest.

In Kamizuki's view, the destruction of this clan was inevitable, and their problems were far more severe than those of the Uchiha Clan.

The biggest problem for the Uchiha Clan was their desire for power, which at most led to them being feared and targeted by the Second Hokage's faction.

But the Uzumaki Clan... they had provoked the entire ninja world!

The reason for this can be traced back to when Mito Uzumaki sealed the Nine-Tails.

For the thousand years since the Tailed Beasts were born, countless people had sought to obtain such cataclysmic power, leading to years of slaughter and fields littered with corpses.

For instance, the duo known as the two lights of the clouds from Kumogakure, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, obtained Nine-Tails Chakra by consuming the flesh of the Nine-Tails.

But before Mito Uzumaki, there had never been a Jinchuriki—someone capable of fully possessing a Tailed Beast.

At the first Five Kage Summit, in order to completely quell the wars of the ninja world, Hashirama Senju distributed the Tailed Beasts.

The core logic was "exchanging power balance for peace." If every village possessed such weapons of mass destruction, no one would dare to start a war first.

The intention was good, and peace did truly arrive.

But it was not the Tailed Beasts that formed the deterrent; it was Hashirama Senju himself.

Hashirama might have known this, but people die, while Tailed Beasts do not. He could only do so much.

The reason Tobirama Senju agreed to such a thing was different from Hashirama's reasoning.

He knew clearly that after his older brother died, a great ninja war would inevitably arrive. Distributing the Tailed Beasts could temporarily alleviate Konoha's financial pressure, and most importantly...

It would continuously drag down the other four nations.

If a sealing expert as powerful as his sister-in-law found it difficult to seal the Nine-Tails, what about the other ninja villages?

They lacked advanced sealing jutsu and lacked people suitable to be Jinchuriki. To control the Tailed Beasts, they would inevitably suffer massive casualties and economic losses.

Yet they had no choice but to keep trying; otherwise, what would happen if another village mastered the technology to control a Tailed Beast first?

This was a poisoned cake. If you ate it, you would be poisoned, but if you didn't... once the others were full, they would come to attack you.

And Konoha sat on the strongest Nine-Tails; even if the other villages succeeded in creating Jinchuriki, they would pose no threat to Konoha!

Tobirama's plan was sound... but he did not think far enough, nor comprehensively enough.

More importantly... he also died too early.

He did not realize what a catastrophe this would bring upon the Uzumaki Clan.

After years of fruitless attempts, what would the major ninja villages think?

It was simple: learn from the only successful one.

The Uzumaki Clan, and the sealing techniques they possess, are the key to creating a Jinchūriki!

They dared not make a move while Hashirama Senju was alive, and Tobirama Senju was not easy to deal with either.

Once the Great Ninja War ended and they caught their breath...

They immediately struck at the Uzumaki Clan!!

On this matter alone, the Four Great Nations set aside their past grievances and reached a consensus in an incredibly short amount of time.

Iwagakure and Sunagakure pinned down Konoha on land, while Kumogakure and Kirigakure gathered at sea to crush the Uzumaki Clan and seize their sealing techniques!

This is the massive gap between hidden villages and ninja clans.

Without super-spec powerhouses like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, even a clan with a thousand-year history has no power to resist the Great Nations!

To put it bluntly.

In truth, from the moment Konoha was founded, the fact that the Uzumaki Clan chose not to join had already sealed this fate.

Everyone else had begun to band together to build ninja villages, yet such a clan, possessing powerful sealing techniques, remained isolated overseas...

If one does not follow the tide of the era, one is destined to be drowned by it.

It is hard to say... that Konoha was unaware of this.

Kaminazuki's thoughts swirled, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He would never underestimate Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō; having stabilized the situation in the Land of Fire so quickly after the Second Hokage's death, how could they possibly be foolish enough to remain completely oblivious?

First the Senju, then the Uzumaki, and then the Uchiha... right?

A very accurate judgment!

But I'm afraid...

The era of the Uchiha is far from over!

--

--

"Have the people been rescued?"

In the Hokage office, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window, gazing into the distance at the darkening mountains.

Shimura Danzō raised his teacup: "A noble daughter of the Uzumaki Clan, possessing immense vitality and Chakra, enough to succeed Lady Mito as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."

Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked toward the Hokage Rock of the First Hokage, then quickly averted his gaze.

"Danzō... how am I to answer to Lord First..."

"Lord First would understand us."

Danzō said in a deep voice: "Protecting the Uzumaki Clan would mean our main forces leaving the Land of Fire to face the Great Nations head-on, which could plunge Konoha into a crisis of destruction."

"That is the situation they would look forward to most."

"For the sake of the village, Lord First struck down his dearest friend, and Lord Second sacrificed his life; we have inherited the will of our predecessors, they would surely understand!"

Danzō felt not a shred of guilt saying this.

He could sacrifice even his own clansmen; in order to build the ninja world's intelligence network, his father's generation and his brothers had nearly all perished.

The Wind Style Shimura clan, once as renowned as the Fire Style Sarutobi clan during the Warring States period, had withered to the point where they could barely produce a few Jōnin.

Now, sacrificing a ninja clan outside of Konoha—what was there to feel guilty about?

Danzō stood up: "I will go explain things to Lady Mito. If I cannot obtain her forgiveness, I will offer my life in atonement."

Regardless of what Danzō would become in the future, his willingness to sacrifice for Konoha at this moment was absolute.

No... even in the future, at least in his own subjective consciousness, he would die for the sake of Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head: "I will go... you go and bring the people back. You must bring them back safely!"

Mito's residence, the Spiral Tower.

Sarutobi Hiruzen often came here to pay his respects, but never had his footsteps felt as heavy as they did now.

There were no attendants at the door, and before he could even speak...

"Leave. I... do not wish to see you right now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils contracted sharply.

How could this be... how could Lady Mito's voice sound so aged!

Inside the room.

Mito sat quietly by the bed, gently stroking a photograph of herself from her youth, surrounded by smiling clansmen.

That beautiful face, unchanged for decades, was aging at a speed visible to the naked eye, covered in deep wrinkles.