My Name Is Uzumaki Naruto

"Anyway, we Uchiha would never do anything that stupid."

"The Uzumaki are the Senju Clan's greatest allies. Next, all we need to do is wait for the flood of refugees to drag the Uzumaki down, then join forces with our allies and launch a full-scale assault on the Senju Clan!"

Afterward, the Uchiha elders and Uchiha Tajima began discussing how to fight the battles ahead.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Madara stood to one side, lost in a daze.

"Are the Uzumaki Clan really that foolish...?"

He recalled how, when he and Hashirama had been children, they met by the river. Neither knew the other's identity, yet they became close friends.

Back then, his and Hashirama's dream had been to build a great village where a hundred clans could coexist, bringing an end to the chaos of the Warring States era.

What the Uzumaki Clan was doing now—wasn't it exactly the dream they had once shared?

For some reason, Madara found himself hoping that the Uzumaki Clan would succeed.

At the same time, within the Kaguya Clan Territory.

"Do you elders know why I convened this emergency meeting?"

A white-haired man with delicate, feminine features asked the Kaguya elders before him.

He was Kaguya Izui, the head of the Kaguya Clan.

"Is it because of the news that the Uzumaki Clan has established Whirlpool Village?" the chief elder asked in return.

"That's right!"

"Half a month ago, we suffered a defeat against the Uzumaki and lost an iron mine to them. I was still worrying about how to avenge that humiliation, but I never expected Ryū to court death himself and hand me the chance for revenge!"

Kaguya Izui said gravely, "No one understands the Uzumaki Clan's situation better than we do. Aside from the iron mine they took from us, they have nothing. They can barely feed themselves, much less support any extra mouths."

"Yet according to the reports from my spies, more than two hundred civilians sought refuge in the Uzumaki Clan Territory in just half a day today. Even more civilians are still on their way."

The Kaguya elders were overjoyed. "With so many civilians suddenly weighing them down, the Uzumaki's granaries must be draining at a frantic pace!"

"Precisely." Kaguya Izui nodded.

"If only the Uzumaki clansmen themselves had to eat, their granaries could probably last for half a year. But at their current rate of population growth, their supplies can hold out for no more than a month!"

Kaguya Izui declared with certainty, "One month from now, the Uzumaki Clan will have no food left to distribute. The civilians gathered in their territory will inevitably riot. That will be the moment for our Kaguya Clan to launch a full-scale assault!"

"Brilliant!"

The Kaguya elders' eyes lit up. They were so excited that they seemed to already see the day the Uzumaki Clan Territory fell to them.

After years of warfare and turmoil, the Kaguya Clan and the Uzumaki Clan had long formed a blood feud. Neither side would rest until the other was dead, much like the Uchiha and the Senju Clan.

"The Uzumaki Clan's extinction is at hand," Kaguya Izui said, enunciating each word.

The Fire Country was not that large to begin with, and during wartime, every clan had spies planted outside. As a result, any disturbance spread quickly.

The major shinobi clans were almost unanimously pessimistic about the Uzumaki Clan's decision to establish a village. The reason was simple: they were all shinobi clans, so who did not understand the others' circumstances? Everyone was struggling just to stay fed. In such chaotic times, it was already commendable to protect one's own clansmen, yet the Uzumaki actually had the spare capacity to shelter ordinary civilians?

Wasn't that ridiculous?

"Ryū is confused. He cannot see far enough ahead. He only sees the benefits of a sudden population increase, but not the fatal danger waiting further down the road."

Many shinobi clan heads thought this to themselves, believing that Ryū was on the first level while they were on the second. Their vision was simply not on the same plane.

"One wrong step could lead to the destruction of an entire clan. The balance of power among the shinobi clans may be about to undergo another round of reshuffling."

"If every shinobi clan could be like the Uzumaki Clan, how wonderful that would be."

Within the Fire Country's imperial palace, the daimyo sighed deeply.

When he first learned that the Uzumaki had founded a village, he had been delighted. What they were doing greatly benefited the Fire Country and helped stabilize the turbulent war situation.

Many people believed that the reason the Fire Country was divided among rival powers and embroiled in wars between shinobi clans was because the daimyo had failed to act. But they did not know that it was not that he did not want to act—he simply could not!

He had his own difficulties. How could he not want to suppress and pacify the rebellious shinobi clans? But he could not do it. Those shinobi were monstrously powerful, capable of taking on ten men alone, even a hundred. The civilian armies under his command were no match for the shinobi clans at all.

Thus, the daimyo could only sit atop the mountain and watch tigers fight. Not only did he dare not interfere in the shinobi clans' wars, he also feared that one day a shinobi would infiltrate the palace and assassinate him. Every night, he had guards protect him beside his bed while he slept.

"Lord Daimyo, an envoy from the Uzumaki Clan is outside requesting an audience!"

Just as the daimyo was sighing with emotion, a guard suddenly entered the hall to report.

"An envoy from the Uzumaki Clan?"

The daimyo was startled. Speak of the devil, and he appeared?

Wait, who was Cao Cao?

After hesitating for a moment, the daimyo nodded. "Let him in."

"Yes."

The guard withdrew. Less than two minutes later, he returned to the great hall with a young man in tow.

The youth had the Uzumaki Clan's signature red hair. Three whisker-like marks lay on each of his cheeks, lending him an especially heroic air.

"Greetings, Lord Daimyo."

The young man clasped his hands in salute, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Are you an envoy of the Uzumaki Clan? What is your name?" the daimyo asked.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Uzumaki Shusen answered without changing expression.

The daimyo looked thoughtful. "So it's you. I have heard of you. You are quite well-known within the Uzumaki Clan."

Zhouxuan's mouth twitched slightly. "..."

Why was this damned daimyo even more shameless than he was? He could spout nonsense without batting an eye.

If you had really heard of me, I'd gouge out both my eyes on the spot!

"Did your clan head send you to see me for something?" the daimyo asked, getting straight to the point.

Zhouxuan did not beat around the bush either. He said seriously, "Our clan head wishes to ask Lord Daimyo to provide our clan with disaster relief grain and funds."

"This..."

The daimyo fell silent and began playing dumb.

Throughout the wars between the shinobi clans, he had always remained neutral. He neither aided nor troubled any clan, mainly because he feared angering them and putting himself at risk of assassination.

This envoy had immediately asked him for food relief and funding, which went against his principles.

"I presume Lord Daimyo has already heard that our Uzumaki Clan has established a village," Zhouxuan said.

"I have heard of it." The daimyo nodded.

"Then does Lord Daimyo believe what we are doing is right or wrong?"

Zhouxuan began preparing the Uzumaki Clan's unique bloodline limit: the art of talk-no-jutsu.

"What you are doing is fairly commendable. The people you shelter will be grateful to you," the daimyo answered after a brief hesitation.

"But their gratitude is useless. Our Uzumaki Clan has no surplus grain to feed them. In just half a day today, more than three hundred civilians have flooded into Whirlpool Village," Zhouxuan sighed.