Inside the barrier, the air stood still.
Nagato sat on a low stool in the corner of the tent, his thin, small body held rigid.
Tsunade stood across from him, the barrier muffling the rain outside into a vague, low hum.
"I'm the princess of the Senju, and more importantly, the leader of the Uzumaki."
"You're one of my children left out in the world. Uzumaki blood flows through your veins."
Nagato jerked his head up, his pale purple Rinnegan filled with shock.
He opened his mouth, but couldn't form a complete sentence.
What did she say?
The leader of the Uzumaki?
He had grown up amid the ruins of the Land of Rain, knowing only that he was one of the last descendants of the Uzumaki.
But he had never met the clan head, never heard their leader's name.
This blonde woman before him had killed Hanzo, then told him-
She was his leader?
Nagato's voice was slightly hoarse. "You're... the leader of the... Uzumaki?"
"Don't I look the part?"
The corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched.
"I was the one who avenged the slaughter of our clan in the Land of Whirlpools."
"I arranged for Konoha to take in the surviving clan members."
"If you don't believe me, you can go to Konoha and see for yourself. Every Uzumaki there recognizes me as their leader."
Nagato said nothing more.
He lowered his head and looked at his bony fingers.
He truly had never met any other members of his clan.
But the certainty in Tsunade's words left him no room to argue.
Without waiting for him to process it all, Tsunade continued, "Don't you find these eyes strange?"
Nagato's fingers curled slightly.
"I don't know."
Nagato shook his head.
"I woke up one day, and they were like this."