By then, only the Main Family's residence remained in the Senju Clan Compound; the rest of the land had been allotted to commoners. Although Misaki had long known about the Senju Clan's heavy losses and the clansmen who had abandoned their surname to live in obscurity, seeing the grounds where she had grown up changed so much left her wistful.
"Is this where Grandma lives?" Nawaki asked just then.
"Yes." Misaki nodded and stroked her son's head. "It's a shame you never got to meet your grandfather. He would have loved you, too."
"I couldn't be there when the First Hokage passed away. I really never thought someone as powerful as him could..." said the man beside her. He was Misaki's husband, Kazuhiko Uzumaki.
"It was all because of Madara Uchiha!" Resentment crept into Misaki's voice. She had never liked the stern, unsmiling Madara Uchiha, and now she liked him even less. When he had defected, her father had still believed in him, yet Madara Uchiha had returned with the Nine-Tails, intent on destroying Konoha Ninja Village.
"Mother." Seeing how upset Misaki looked, Nawaki gently tugged at her hand.
Misaki came back to herself and smiled at her son, then said to Kazuhiko Uzumaki, "Let's go. Mother and my sister must have been waiting a long time. Little Tsunade might be here, too."
Once they entered the main residence, the maid at the entrance immediately went to inform Kana. Kana hurried out to greet them, embracing Misaki and saying joyfully, "It's been so long, Sister."
"It has." Misaki patted Kana's back, just as happy.
Releasing her, Kana turned to Kazuhiko Uzumaki and bowed slightly. "It's been a long time, Brother-in-law." Then she looked at the boy beside Misaki. This had to be Nawaki.
Nawaki was only three or four years