"Is that so?"
Listening to Homura Mitokado's words, Minamikawa Yuu nodded, not finding the situation surprising: "That isn't too strange."
After all, they were living their lives perfectly fine over there. Now, you want them to migrate and move the entire clan into Konoha with just a word; how could that be possible?
One must realize that the Land of Whirlpools was not just their home, but their own sovereign nation.
Living in the Land of Whirlpools, the Uzumaki Clan held absolute autonomy; why would they run over to Konoha?
Unfortunately, if they continued to hold onto this mindset, it was only a matter of time before problems arose.
The Land of Whirlpools was isolated overseas. Although it was close to Konoha, there was still a relative distance between them.
Its own strength wasn't particularly great, yet it possessed the strongest Sealing Techniques in the Ninja World.
Members of the Uzumaki Clan generally possessed a Bloodline Limit; they were not only born with massive Chakra but often had tenacious vitality, making them excellent material for becoming Ninjas or even Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
Bloodline Limits, Sealing Techniques, rare Tailed Beast vessels... they had everything that was extremely scarce in the outside world, yet they remained isolated overseas, having no dealings with anyone other than their alliance with Konoha.
Such an existence would be coveted by anyone.
Original history was the clearest proof.
If nothing changed, in a few years, the Land of Whirlpools would perish, and the remaining clansmen would be scattered throughout the Ninja World, becoming orphans in various countries.
That was likely how Nagato and Karin appeared in the later generations.
In later generations, some said that Konoha played a dishonorable role in this incident, deliberately not sending reinforcements when the Land of Whirlpools was attacked, leading to its destruction.
After Minamikawa Yuu succeeded as Hokage, however, he felt this was unlikely.
Setting aside the fact that Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools were allies, those Sealing Techniques alone were enough to make Konoha unable to give them up.
One must know that within the entire Ninja World, through the connections of Uzumaki Mito and others, Konoha was the only entity capable of learning the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques.
To put it bluntly, this was also a unique advantage possessed by Konoha.
This could also be seen from later generations.
Compared to the seals of other major Jinchuriki, the seal on Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was clearly much more stable. Except when encountering danger, the Nine-Tails within him didn't affect him at all.
In contrast, the Jinchuriki of other Villages weren't so lucky.
Kumogakure was alright; although their Sealing Techniques weren't powerful enough, they at least had the amber purifying pot, one of the six paths tools, to compensate, so no major problems occurred with their sealing.
But even so, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki had gone on several rampages before finally stabilizing after meeting Killer Bee.
The situation in the Sand Village was miserable; to seal Shukaku, several generations of Jinchuriki were tortured beyond recognition.
The last Ichibi Jinchuriki, Gaara, was even driven to madness for a time, only recovering after being persuaded by Uzumaki Naruto's 'Talk-no-Jutsu.'
With such a huge gap, one could see the power and stability of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques.
Under these circumstances, what benefit would there be for Konoha if the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out and their Sealing Techniques were plundered by enemy nations?
However, it was also an indisputable fact that Konoha did not provide large-scale assistance when the Land of Whirlpools was attacked.
But on this point, after Minamikawa Yuu took over as Hokage and pondered for a while, he already had a rough idea of what was going on.
"The Land of Whirlpools is isolated overseas. Although it's close to the Land of Fire, there's still a considerable distance from Konoha."
In the meeting room, Minamikawa Yuu pointed at the map of the Land of Whirlpools and spoke: "Once something happens to the Land of Whirlpools, it will be very difficult for us to support them."
"Will it be like that?"
Regarding Minamikawa Yuu's words, the people present were somewhat puzzled: "The Land of Whirlpools isn't weak. Even if something happens, they should be able to hold out until our reinforcements arrive."
The Uzumaki Clan, who mastered powerful Sealing Techniques and possessed a unique Bloodline Limit, could definitely not be considered weak.
In everyone's view, given the Uzumaki Clan's strength, even if there were a surprise attack, as long as they could hold out for a few days until Konoha's reinforcements arrived, everything would be fine.
"Naturally, that would be the case under normal circumstances."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke calmly: "But what if the one making the move is Kumogakure?"
"Kumogakure?"
Hearing this answer, everyone present was stunned.
"It's no secret that Kumogakure likes to plunder the secret techniques and Bloodline Limits of various entities."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke softly: "In this regard, the Uzumaki Clan's Bloodline Limit and Sealing Techniques are world-renowned. Would Kumogakure not be tempted by them?"
"Whether it's vessels that can serve as Jinchuriki, superior Sealing Techniques, or the Uzumaki Clan's Bloodline Limit, there's plenty of it here."
"Given Kumogakure's nature, would they not strike here?"
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present couldn't help but turn solemn.
They had to admit that what Minamikawa Yuu said was very likely to become a reality.
After all, Kumogakure had quite a track record in this regard.
To some extent, this Village was essentially a Village of bandits.
Relying on their own Village's powerful military force, many of their secret techniques and Bloodline Limits were snatched from outside; they had a notorious reputation in this area.
For example, in the future, taking advantage of Hyuga Hinata's birthday to kidnap her in an attempt to obtain the Byakugan Bloodline Limit—that was Kumogakure's doing.
Kidnapping the young Kushina Uzumaki to try and obtain the Uzumaki Clan's Bloodline Limit and Sealing Techniques—that was also Kumogakure's doing.
The unique Magnet Release Ninjas of the Sand Village were also possessed by some in Kumogakure.
The plundering of secret techniques wasn't as obvious, but Konoha had the secret technique 'Dance of the Crescent Moon,' while Kumogakure had the 'Cloud-Style Crescent Moon Slashes.' It was hard to say that was just a coincidence.
Regarding Kumogakure's unscrupulous style of plundering various techniques and Bloodline Limits, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki also complained about it at the Five Kage Summit.
With so many prior offenses, it was hard to imagine they wouldn't harbor designs on the Uzumaki Clan.
And looking at the distance, those with the opportunity and ability to attack the Uzumaki Clan were, besides Konoha, most likely only Kumogakure.
"This... surely it wouldn't come to that?"
Uchiha Kagami was stunned, feeling a bit uncertain at this moment: "We just signed a ceasefire agreement, and the Third Raikage has just succeeded. Does he really want to go to war with us so soon?"
The Uzumaki Clan and Konoha were allies. Once Kumogakure moved against the Land of Whirlpools, it would be equivalent to going to war with Konoha.
And just now, the two sides had only just signed a ceasefire agreement.
"Of course not right now, but it's hard to say for the future."
Minamikawa Yuu shook his head: "As for the ceasefire agreement, that thing is nothing more than a scrap of paper."
"If I were the Raikage, once I decided to move against the Uzumaki Clan, my actions would definitely be very cautious. I would directly take advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention to lead a large group of Ninjas to attack the Land of Whirlpools. I'd wipe out the entire country while Konoha wasn't looking, plunder most of the things there, and then retreat."
"Even if Konoha remains vigilant, as long as they keep waiting, they will eventually find an opportunity."
"By the time the Land of Whirlpools is completely destroyed, we in Konoha might have only just reacted. What should we do then?"
"Go to war with Kumogakure again for the sake of a destroyed Land of Whirlpools?"
Hearing this, the people present couldn't help but frown.
Indeed, this matter was quite thorny.
Given Kumogakure's style, they wouldn't care about Konoha's threat of war.
If they really waited until they destroyed the Land of Whirlpools and achieved their goals, then even if Konoha was unwilling, they could only swallow this bitter pill.
The most critical point was that this problem seemed to have no solution.
After all, one can guard against a thief for a day, but not for a thousand days.
Kumogakure could keep an eye on the Land of Whirlpools at all times, waiting for a moment of negligence from Konoha to launch a sudden raid, but Konoha couldn't be on guard every single moment.
"From Konoha to the Land of Whirlpools, if we were to mobilize a Ninja army, it would take at least five days at the fastest."
Homura Mitokado frowned as he looked at the map: "Five days. If Kumogakure really wants to strike, the Land of Whirlpools might already be gone."
"What about stationing troops directly in the Land of Whirlpools?"
Danzo Shimura spoke up with a suggestion: "Station troops directly within the Land of Whirlpools to protect them. How about that?"
"No."
As soon as Danzo Shimura finished speaking, someone present voiced their opposition: "The Land of Whirlpools is only our ally, not our subordinate. We have no justification to station troops there."
"And even if we did station troops, who would bear the cost of the garrison?"
"If it's borne by the Land of Whirlpools, it might also cause dissatisfaction within the Uzumaki Clan."
This was where the trouble lay.
The Uzumaki Clan and Konoha did not have a master-servant relationship.
They were merely allies.
As an ally, if you wanted to station troops in the Land of Whirlpools, how would the Uzumaki Clan feel if such a thing actually happened?
The Land of Whirlpools would never agree to such a loss of sovereignty.
At this point, everyone realized how thorny this problem was.
Strategically speaking, the Land of Whirlpools had to be protected.
But because of the distance, if something really happened, Konoha would definitely not make it in time for the rescue.
This problem seemed unsolvable.
"This won't work, that won't work."
Danzo Shimura frowned and spoke coldly at this moment: "If it really doesn't work out, let's just strike first."
"In any case, the secret techniques held by the Uzumaki Clan cannot fall into the hands of other Villages."
Strike first?
Homura Mitokado asked: "What do you mean?"
"Literally."
Danzo Shimura spoke calmly: "We strike first and wipe out the Uzumaki Clan before other Villages can. We take control of all the Sealing Techniques and the Uzumaki Clan's Bloodline Limit ourselves. That way, there will be no hidden dangers."
You really dare to say that!
Listening to Danzo's words, everyone present fell silent.
They looked at Danzo in front of them, feeling that he was so unfamiliar at this moment.
No matter what, the Uzumaki Clan and Konoha were allies.
They were just discussing how to rescue the Uzumaki Clan later, but Danzo's words made them all unable to keep their composure.
As long as we strike first and wipe out the Uzumaki Clan, then it won't be destroyed by others, right?!