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Chapter 20
Uzushiogakure.
Morning sunlight bathed Uzushio. The village was bustling with activity. Slowly but surely, the village had begun its long journey toward recovery. Workers hammered nails and trimmed felled trees into logs, which the shinobi then transported throughout the village. Even the children helped wherever they could.
At the center of the village, inside the main compound, Kenji sat at a long rectangular table, skimming through the latest damage reports.
Slowly, the council members began to trickle into the room.
Shōto and Sakuko arrived first. Right behind them was Iori, who oversaw the village's finances and trade. She pushed up her glasses with a serious expression, deep in conversation with Shōto.
They greeted Kenji with a nod and took their respective seats. A few moments later, Tsunade, Akamitsu, and Kushina entered.
Tsunade looked exhausted, dark circles bruised beneath her eyes, but she still managed a small smile as she spoke with Kushina. Akamitsu followed quietly behind them as they took their places.
Kenji looked at Saki and Medori's empty chairs. He sighed, ready to begin the grim proceedings, when the door suddenly opened again. Medori walked in.
"I am sorry I'm late," she said apologetically, taking the seat beside Kushina.
"Auntie? Where is Haru?" Kushina asked.
"He is with the real me, sweetheart," Medori's shadow clone said with a soft smile. She then addressed the rest of the room. "I apologize for sending a clone, but I need to hear this."
The room nodded in quiet understanding. They all knew the situation. Her newborn child was one of the primary reasons most of them were still alive. They didn't know exactly what had happened, but every single person at that table had felt that aura that had blasted across Uzushio the night before.
Shōto didn't voice any complaints either; his own Independent clone was currently down in the holding cells, extracting information from the prisoners.
Kenji gave Medori a grateful nod, showing his understanding. Then, he folded his hands on the table and began.
"Let's start with our current situation," he said, looking at Iori. She nodded with a serious expression and adjusted her glasses as she began her report.
"Kenji-sama, the situation is dire." She looked around the table. "Several of our storage warehouses were hit during the invasion. Most of our supplies were damaged or can't be used. Even if we ration it sparingly, we can last a month at most."
Kenji and the others nodded, and she continued with an even graver expression.
"But our most pressing issue right now is basic raw materials—wood, wheat, and other resources we usually harvest from the surrounding forests. With this invasion, most of the surrounding forests were destroyed. What's left are just a few patches of trees, few and far between."
Everyone wore a grim expression. Shōto chimed in.
"And this highlights another issue: we don't have the manpower to deploy shinobi to gather wood from more distant forests. I already distributed the Shadow Clone Jutsu to most of our available shinobi, but they can only handle minor tasks around the village."
Akamitsu frowned. "Shadow clones are not reliable for heavy reconstruction. If they take even slight damage from a falling beam or dropping debris, they will dispel themselves."
"Yes, that's why I specified minor tasks. For heavy construction, we need physical labor, and we still lack the manpower," Shōto replied.
Kenji nodded, deep in thought.
'Yes, this is another problem. Our surrounding forests were destroyed. It will take months, if not years, for them to recover.' He had already discussed this with Akamitsu.
"The Senju Clan can provide materials like wood and wheat. I already informed Mito about it. But I can't speak for Konoha as a whole," Akamitsu informed everyone.
"Hmm… we will provide the storage seals, and we will compensate the Senju Clan." Kenji nodded, establishing his own terms.
Tsunade, who had been listening quietly, raised an eyebrow. "There is no need for compensation. We are family, right?"
At that statement, everyone looked at her before Kenji chimed in.
"Tsunade, you are young, so I will not say much, but remember: yes, we are family, and family helps each other in times of need. But this is a negotiation between clans. A clan has to take everything into consideration—its members, its finances, and ensuring no internal discontent rises. Your clan may be dispersed, but the few who remain still have their own opinions."
Kenji smiled and spoke softly to her. "As much as I appreciate your gesture, you must always remember that a clan and a family are different things. If one side keeps receiving and the other keeps giving, it creates a dangerous imbalance." He then looked at Kushina, who was hanging onto every word. "This applies to you too, Kushina. Remember, there is nothing free in this world."
From the side, Akamitsu nodded. Tsunade needed these types of lessons if she was ever going to become a competent leader.
Iori added, "Tsunade-sama, as much as I respect your sentiment, we as a clan don't lack money right now. What we lack are resources and food." She adjusted her glasses, the lenses catching the light. "And if we can buy them, we will."
"Now, now… no need to be so hard on her," Medori intervened, coming to Tsunade's rescue. "She is young and learning. I think she will be an amazing leader, and who knows? She may even become Hokage someday," Medori said with a warm smile.
"Ugh… please. Like hell I want to be Hokage," Tsunade groaned. "I am already suffering enough as it is. I don't want any more responsibilities." She crossed her arms. "And why is Akimitsu not receiving any criticism? He also talked about the clan and village as a whole and he is my younger cousin."
"...Akimitsu?"
Everyone looked at Tsunade in complete confusion.
"Now what?" Tsunade asked with a hint of irritation. They were starting to get on her nerves.
Then, all eyes turned to Akamitsu, who was suddenly avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.
"Cousin?"
Kenji rubbed his forehead, letting out a long sigh. "Tsunade, he is Akamitsu Uzumaki. Mito and my escort and instructor. He is older than both me and Mito."
Tsunade's jaw practically hit the table. She mechanically turned her head to look at Akamitsu, who offered a sheepish smile in return.
"WHAT?!" The shout echoed through the room as Tsunade shot up from her chair, pointing a trembling finger at Akamitsu. "How?! You tricked me… I thought you—you were my little cousin!"
Around the room, a few people chuckled. Even the ever-serious Iori allowed a small smile to slip onto her face.
The heavy tension in the room finally lessened.
"Well, only a few people know my real identity, so I guess the mix-up is understandable?" Akamitsu replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Does Sensei know about this?" Tsunade asked, still completely slack-jawed.
"Well, Hashirama and Tobirama knew. I don't know about Hiruzen, though." Akamitsu shrugged.
"Ahem."
Kenji cleared his throat pointedly. Tsunade reluctantly sank back into her chair, her eyes wide with lingering horror as she stared blankly at the table.
"I've been treating a man more ancient than my own grandmother like a younger cousin," she murmured to herself in utter defeat.
"...Pfft." Kushina finally broke, bursting into a fit of giggles from Tsunade's side.
"Ahem… I hope that clears up your misunderstanding, Tsunade. And it's common for prominent clans to hide one or two powerhouses in their midst," Kenji said to Tsunade, who was still sulking.
"Now, about our manpower. Does anyone have any ideas?" Kenji asked.
A heavy silence settled over the table. Nobody spoke, because bringing in outsiders right now was akin to opening their doors to foreign spies.
"Hmm… I will think of something," Kenji replied after getting no answer. He then moved on to the next, much more dangerous topic.
Kenji's eyes narrowed, and his voice turned dead serious.
"Now, let's discuss why we need this village completely locked down." Every eye in the room turned toward Medori. Kenji met her gaze. "We have to, by all means, keep his existence a secret."
Medori's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she released her chakra.
"I will not restrict my child's freedom." Her face was as cold as ice itself.
Around the room, everyone's instincts began to scream. They felt as though they were suddenly sinking into the crushing depths of the ocean.
"I didn't say anything about restricting him, Medori." Kenji's own eyes narrowed, and he let his own chakra loose to match hers.
After a few seconds of tense silence where everyone held their breath, Medori sighed and rubbed her temples.
"Sorry about that. I am very sensitive right now," she apologized, before casually dropping another bomb. "I sensed a few ninja sneaking into the village last night, so I am on edge."
She removed her hand and looked around. Everyone was staring at her with shocked faces, while Shōto was just rubbing his forehead but inwardly he was amazed. No wonder she was called the village's eyes.
"What? Shōto-san intercepted them, so I didn't say anything about it," she defended herself.
Now all heads turned toward Shōto, who was still rubbing his eyes.
"I was about to inform Kenji in private." Shōto shot Medori a pointed look. "It was a complicated matter. I captured them, but they committed suicide." He glanced at Tsunade from the corner of his eye. "With cursed seals on their tongues. It was a sloppy seal, but it did its job."
Everyone wore a deep frown now. The Uzumaki were not the only clan that practiced fūinjutsu—other clans utilized it as well—but the Uzumaki were the best at it by a large margin.
"Which village were they from?" Kenji asked.
"That's the complicated part. They didn't have anything that I could identify them by, or rather, they had equipment from every village. And they were young. They behaved like dolls. My best guess is they were trained—or brainwashed—from childhood to be secret operatives."
"Hmm. This only reinforces my decision to lock down the village," Kenji said, turning to Iori. "Iori, I want you to arrange all our trade outside the village borders until we can stabilize our situation. No merchant or convoy is allowed inside." He then looked at Shōto. "I want this entire island covered in a barrier of seals."
"This will take time and resources," Shōto replied seriously.
"You will have them," Kenji answered without hesitation. "I refuse to be caught off guard by another disaster."
The group spent the next hour hashing out the logistics. Iori, Medori, and Akamitsu offered their expertise, and even Sakuko chimed in where she could. Tsunade and Kushina mostly listened in silence, absorbing the heavy reality of what it took to run a village.
After an hour, the meeting was winding down. Suddenly, the door opened again. Everyone stopped as Shōto's independent clone walked inside wearing a neutral expression.
"Apologies for the interruption, but this is urgent," the clone said in a flat voice, handing a scroll to the real Shōto.
After scanning it, Shōto's expression darkened. He handed the scroll directly to Kenji. Shōto then looked at his still-incomplete jutsu and nodded. "You can dispel now."
The independent clone nodded. With a soft poof of smoke, it vanished, leaving behind a single paper tag with fūinjutsu seals, which instantly burned to ash in seconds.
Pain flashed in Shōto's eyes. Only he knew how many resources and how much painstaking work it took to create just one of those tags.
Kenji dragged a hand down his face as he read the scroll, letting out a heavy sigh. In the back of his mind, he had suspected this, but getting hard confirmation was another thing entirely.
He sensed the heavy gazes of the room on him. He looked up and addressed the council.
"Apparently, someone from the Kumo council sent their son into this invasion—for our convenience," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "From what Shōto extracted from his head, this whole operation was spearheaded by Kumo, and the other two villages simply followed suit."
He tapped the scroll heavily on the table. "Highly classified information about Medori's condition and our village's patrol routes magically appeared on the Raikage's desk. And—" He gritted his teeth, finally reaching the most infuriating part. "—apparently, the Lightning Daimyo was personally involved. He convinced the other Daimyos to back the play. That is how they were able to gather so many shinobi and warships."
Silence blanketed the room. A Daimyo's involvement was no small matter. It meant the Land of Lightning, Earth, and Water as nations were against them, not just their hidden ninja villages.
Usually, ninja villages operated beneath the Daimyo, acting as military mercenaries. In return, the Daimyo provided the national funds and gave the village its political legitimacy.
But Uzushio was different. In the Land of Whirlpools, the Daimyo ran the village. The Uzumaki were the Daimyos. They weren't just a powerful ninja village; they were a completely unified, self-sustaining nation where the political ruler and the military leader were the exact same person.
"Umm… So, why would they do that?" Kushina asked with some hesitation.
"Because we are strong. Our military and economic reach far surpasses theirs. We are a major exporter of seals, from day-to-day products to military-grade weapons. So, they thought they could destroy us and take everything—our centuries of research, our accumulated wealth, and our bloodline itself," Iori explained, her teeth gritted as she barely restrained her anger.
Kushina's face paled.
Kenji chimed in. "Kushina, we are the Daimyos of Uzushiogakure. This direct involvement of another nation's Daimyo is a literal declaration of war from their nation as a whole." Kenji sighed. "The only good thing is that nobody outside actually knows what happened during the invasion yet. And we can use that."
He looked at Shōto. "Shōto, make sure absolutely no information about the child leaves this place. And spread the news about Saki defeating the Four-Tails and Two-Tails' jinchūriki. We need as many deterrents as possible right now."
Shōto nodded, and Kenji's eyes shifted to Tsunade.
"Even you, Tsunade. Do not tell Hiruzen or anyone else about this."
Tsunade nodded, then asked the question that was troubling her. "Is the Fire Daimyo also involved?"
"It's not clear yet. The prisoner only knew about the Lightning Daimyo convincing the others; exactly how many others is a mystery. But we can safely guess the Earth and Water Daimyos are involved."
Tsunade nodded, sinking deep into thought. This invasion was turning into a massive, tangled mess. This was exactly why she hated politics.
Kenji then addressed the room again. "As for the storms…" He trailed off, resting a hand on his chin.
"We can say it was an ancient seal array left behind by our ancestors that someone triggered accidentally," Sakuko offered from the side.
Everyone looked at her, quietly mulling over the idea.
"Hmm… It's a good idea," Shōto agreed, adding his own thoughts. "And it will deter others from blindly attacking us again. If they think we can manipulate the weather itself, they will think twice before sending ships."
Kenji nodded. "Let's go with it." He then looked Iori dead in the eyes. "Iori, make sure those Daimyos suffer for their decision."
A chilling grin split Iori's face as her glasses caught the light. "Fufu… Kenji-sama, I will make sure their economies and treasuries bleed."
Tsunade felt goosebumps erupt across her arms.
'Uzumaki women are terrifying,' she thought, suddenly remembering that every Uzumaki woman she knew wore that exact expression sometimes.
"Hmm… you may go now. You have a lot of work to do," Kenji said.
Iori nodded, stood from her chair, and bowed deeply before leaving the room.
"How is Saki's condition now, Tsunade?" Kenji asked softly.
The room held its breath.
Tsunade broke the silence, her voice tight. "It's deteriorating. She is in a coma, and her chakra is becoming more volatile." Her fists were clenched tightly on the table. She had tried everything, but nothing was working.
Medori reached out and held Kushina's hand as the young girl stared down at the table with unfocused eyes.
After a long sigh of exhaustion and pain, Kenji looked at Tsunade. "You may also leave now. I have kept you long enough."
Tsunade nodded heavily and left the room.
"Medori, can you sense how many Konoha squads are currently on this island?" Kenji asked after a few seconds of silence.
Medori looked up and nodded. She closed her eyes, and after a few moments, opened them again.
"Four—no, five squads. They are mostly outside the village walls, scouting the perimeter. It seems they met up with some of our patrols, but no conflict has arisen," she reported.
This sensory range was exactly why they had been caught so off guard. If she hadn't been disabled by her pregnancy, Medori would have detected the invasion fleet miles away from Uzushio.
Alas, no one can change the past.
Suddenly, an image of a wooden mask flashed in Kenji's mind.
No... he can change it.
He suppressed the thought, forcing it away.
"You may also leave."
"Yes, Kenji-sama." Medori stood up and turned toward Kushina, whose mood had completely plummeted. With a warm smile, she gently pulled the girl up. "Come, Kushina. Let them have their secret talk. Haruto has been missing you."
"Hmm?" Kushina stood, looking at her father for permission.
Kenji's face showed a surprised expression. After a moment, he offered her a small, reassuring smile and nodded.
'I haven't even had the time to learn my own nephew's name until now?' he thought grimly.
But what truly surprised him wasn't just the delay... it was the name itself.
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