Mito Uzumaki leaned forward slightly, her eyes, weathered by countless trials, fixed directly on Kumoi.
"I know this request is excessive.
Konoha has only just recovered from the wounds of war, and your Five-Year Plan is beginning to show results. This is precisely the time to build up strength and develop steadily.
To risk becoming the enemy of all four great shinobi villages for an ally who refuses to listen to advice is unreasonable."
"But..."
A faint, irrepressible tremor entered her voice. It was an emotional display that belonged to Mito Uzumaki herself, not Lady Senju or the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.
"I ask you, if... if the worst truly happens, if the Land of Whirlpools... please, find a way to preserve even a small fragment of the Uzumaki bloodline.
It need not be many. Even one or two children would be enough. Do not let this Kekkei Genkai, passed down for a thousand years, be completely extinguished amid ignorance and war."
Even Mito herself found those words heavy once they were spoken.
She had been strong all her life. She had never easily asked others for help, much less placed the survival of her own clan above the village's overall interests.
But faced with the possible annihilation of her birth clan, the bond rooted deep in her blood forced her to set aside some of her pride.
Upon hearing this, Nangō Kumoi immediately straightened in his seat, his expression turning solemn.
He did not agree at once. Instead, he spoke in a firm, unquestionable tone:
"Master's wife, you give me too much credit, and you worry too much."
His gaze was clear, carrying the sharpness and sense of responsibility unique to the young.
"The Land of Whirlpools is not merely your birth clan's homeland. It is Konoha's steadfast ally, bound by