Chapter 2: Being a Kid Makes Everything So Hard!
Before Uzumaki Jun even stepped into the conference hall, the furious voices of the clan elders rang in his ears.
"Damn Konoha! How could they do this? How could they treat us like this?" an elder bellowed, slamming his hand on the table. "All the sacrifices we made for them during the war—what happened to the promises Lord Hashirama made us back then?"
"And the Senju Clan's vow to share our fate, no matter what?"
"How could they betray us like this?"
"Clan Chief, what did the Hokage say?" another elder asked, keeping his voice cool, though the clenching of his fists betrayed his seething anger.
"The Hokage claims that after the war, Konoha's forces are depleted and that they can't afford to assist us," the Clan Chief replied gravely.
"Hah! They can't help us, they say? Then how is it that Kirigakure still has the strength to attack us? Did they somehow escape the devastation of war? Aren't they the ones who lost?"
Konoha…
The victorious village...
"Konoha is such a disappointment!!"
"What about the Senju Clan?" the calm elder asked again, his voice low but sharp.
"The Senju wanted to come to our aid, but the Hokage intervened, especially Lord Tobirama's disciple, Danzō. They said they regret the Uzumaki Clan's misfortune, but due to the war, Konoha hasn't yet recovered and cannot offer any support."
"Damn them! Those bastards—I'd love nothing more than to kill them all!"
The entire conference hall erupted with the Uzumaki Clan's anger.
"We gave them everything we had in the war, and this is how they repay us?"
"Weren't we supposed to be lifelong allies? Now the Land of Whirlpools is…"
"We lost so much during the war... how are we supposed to fend off Kirigakure now?" one elder muttered, head bowed in deep regret.
"Is there no hope left for the Land of Whirlpools?"
"There's still hope!"
Just as despair choked the room, a tender, childish voice rang out. Everyone turned toward the doorway where a boy of six or seven stood proudly.
"It's little Jun!" the Clan Chief frowned as he recognized him and barked, "This is no place for a child!"
The Land of Whirlpools had been founded by the Uzumaki Clan—almost everyone in the nation was kin.
"Go back, Jun. This is not a place for you," the Daimyō barked sharply, brushing aside Jun's earlier words about having a solution. No matter how precocious Jun was, no one could believe a child might hold the key to saving their nation.
"Father, Clan Chief Uncle," Jun greeted respectfully, his small brow furrowed with grave determination as he walked right up beside the Clan Chief. He ignored the warning looks from his father and the Clan Chief.
Dragging a chair over with effort, he climbed up and slammed his tiny hand against the table. Smack—
(Still too young—his small hand didn't make much of a crackling sound.)
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Jun! How dare you disrespect the elders!" the Clan Chief scolded sharply. He couldn't risk letting the clan's brightest young prodigy offend the elders and be cast aside.
Especially now—during wartime—if the Land of Whirlpools fell, their hopes rested solely on the younger generation.
But Jun paid him no mind. His young, clear voice echoed through the room with deadly seriousness:
"When Konoha first asked us for help, I told you they couldn't be trusted. But you dismissed me—said I was too young to understand, that the Uzumaki and the Konoha were lifelong friends and brothers."
"When the Clan Chief went to Konoha seeking aid, I warned you again—Konoha would turn its back on us! I told you to prepare for war. And still, you trusted them, believing that old friendship would guarantee their support."
"And now, look at us! Because we helped Konoha during the war, our Uzumaki Clan is vulnerable, facing Kirigakure's invasion, and how have they responded?"
"Are you really still that naive?!" Jun's voice rose in fierce accusation.
Silence.
The elders exchanged glances, their faces pale.
He was right.
Jun had warned them.
But they had dismissed his words, had placed more faith in outsiders than their own blood.
They couldn't even see as clearly as a child.
Some of the elders' eyes brimmed with tears.
How shameful!
"Konoha isn't the Konoha we once knew," Jun sighed bitterly. Since Hashirama's death, everything had changed.
Ah... He was still too young. No matter how reasonable he sounded, people only heard a child's chatter.
No one took a child seriously. They laughed it off.
"Ahhh—" The Grand Elder let out a deep sigh, lifting his ancient, tear-streaked face toward Jun. Choked with emotion, he said, "Forgive us... it's because of us old fools that things have come to this. We... we've failed the Uzumaki Clan!"
Seeing the elders' shame and guilt, Jun relaxed a little. This was why he loved his clan.
The Uzumaki elders weren't the type to cling to authority or refuse to admit mistakes.
They were genuine, generous souls—that was why they had trusted Konoha so deeply, and why their nation had remained free of the corruption that plagued others.
Compared to the smiling deceit of Konoha, the Land of Whirlpools was a paradise...
Though, their sincerity and naiveté had cost them dearly.
"We trusted outsiders over our own," an elder wept.
"We're sinners to our clan!"
One after another, the elders wept openly. Even the Clan Chief and Daimyō hung their heads, grieving.
Their mistakes had brought the nation to the brink of destruction!
"No, Grandpa Elders, Clan Chief Uncle—we still have hope. The Land of Whirlpools won't fall!" Jun declared earnestly, bowing deeply. "Please believe in me!"
Surely now they would trust him. He wasn't just some random Uzumaki child!
(Thinking back, the surviving mixed-blood Uzumakis in the main story really were a bunch of lovable fools...)
Uzumaki Mito—her own homeland destroyed, her kin massacred—still dedicated her life to her husband's estate.
Naruto Uzumaki—the son of heroes—bullied and mocked by his own village, duped by their slogans of "Will of Fire," shedding blood and tears for a village that treated him as disposable.
Nagato—the underworld kingpin of the ninja world—who built an empire, yet died apologizing for pursuing a foolish dream... after killing his own master, no less.
As for Karin... well, being stabbed by her lover and still declaring, "As long as you're happy, I'm happy"—Jun had no words.
(Where were women like that when he needed them?)
The elders, deeply moved, looked at each other.
The Grand Elder finally said with a heavy sigh, "Speak, Jun. Tell us your plan. We'll all listen—Clan Chief, elders, all of us."
Nothing could be worse than what they faced now.
If only they had listened earlier...
Jun beamed, then turned to look at his father, the Daimyō.
The Daimyō sighed, his face a mixture of pride and sorrow.
It was because of his own blindness that they stood at the edge of ruin, and now, the burden had to fall on a mere child.
Still, he smiled and declared, "From this moment forward, the Land of Whirlpools follows your lead."
"Mm!" Jun nodded firmly. "The Land of Whirlpools will not perish. It will grow stronger than ever!"
"Please believe in me."
"Uzumaki Jun!!"
Though the Land of Whirlpools was small and its population sparse, it had one advantage:
Nearly everyone was an Uzumaki, and thus either a ninja or someone blessed with powerful chakra and life force.
If we unite the whole nation's strength, how could Kirigakure defeat us?
If they could just survive until the war's end, they would endure.
If Kirigakure persisted in attacking after the war… well...
Shameless bastards!
They'd have to fight for "peace."
Even Konoha would have no choice but to intervene.
After all, how could the so-called "peace-loving" Konoha stand by while their ally was destroyed?
And Konoha still cared about appearances, at least.
"That's why we must immediately begin full preparations for war," Jun said solemnly. "Only then do we have a sliver of hope."
"But... what about the civilians?" one elder asked hesitantly. They couldn't bear the thought of dragging the innocents into war.
"No, the women, children, and elderly will be safely evacuated," Jun assured them. "I've already prepared a refuge."
"You mean that underground shelter you were digging?" the Clan Chief asked. They all knew about it but had thought it just childish play.
"That's right." Jun nodded. "It's big enough to house all the civilians of the Land of Whirlpools."
A year of work, with help from the clan's ninja—even with the shortage of earth-style users, they managed.
(It had cost him a fortune!)
"It seems Jun was prepared all along." The Grand Elder smiled warmly, his faith in Jun growing stronger.
Perhaps...
Perhaps there was still hope for the Land of Whirlpools.
"We'll do exactly as you command, Lord Jun," the elders said seriously.
This time, it wasn't out of resignation—but true conviction.
Seeing them finally place their trust in him, Jun didn't hesitate.
"The first step is to stabilize the people's hearts."