"Jun!" The Uzumaki Clan Head complained as he looked around. "Why did you bring me here? There's still so much work to be done back in the country."
Managing the new population, adjusting foreign trade, academy matters...
The Land of Whirlpools had many urgent tasks requiring his attention recently!
"A clan head didn't believe what I said and wanted to meet the Uzumaki Clan Head in person." Uzumaki Jun spread his hands. "So I brought you here."
If it weren't for them being the Uchiha Clan, and considering the future of the Land of Whirlpools, Jun—as the Daimyō—would have long ignored them.
"Which clan?" The Uzumaki Clan Head frowned. "Just beat them up! You're now the Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools. Who dares look down on you?"
Jun wasn't just the representative of the Uzumaki Clan but also the Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools. Every word and action represented the nation, so...
They absolutely could not be insulted!
Moreover...
The Uzumaki Clan had always preferred action over words!
As the Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools and the youngest Kage, couldn't you just take direct action?
"That's the clan's symbol." Jun pointed at the fan emblem on the wall and said calmly.
"Which one..." The Clan Head stared at the emblem, frowning. "This looks somewhat familiar."
Just then...
"Long time no see, Uzumaki Clan Head."
A deep voice sounded.
"The Uchiha Clan!" The Uzumaki Clan Head turned and saw a middle-aged man standing before him. He frowned. "I was wondering who it could be."
"So it's the Uchiha Clan!"
What was Jun planning now?
The Senju Clan, the Kamizuru Clan, the Chinoike Clan...
Did he want the Land of Whirlpools to take on the entire shinobi world alone?
"The Uchiha Clan wishes to form an alliance with the Uzumaki Clan!" The Uchiha Clan Head said coolly. He had already thought it through. The Uchiha were no ordinary clan—the entire shinobi world coveted their Kekkei Genkai. And now was the Uchiha Clan's weakest moment, so...
No matter how arrogant he was as Clan Head, he couldn't just hand the Uchiha over to the Land of Whirlpools like this.
As for the Senju Clan...
They were already allies of the Uzumaki Clan!
Unlike the Uchiha...
"The Land of Whirlpools no longer accepts clan-based alliances." The Uzumaki Clan Head frowned. "Our nation has long moved past the outdated ways of the shinobi world."
"It is now a lawful, harmonious, and free country."
"Everyone must abide by the law—including me, the Uzumaki Clan Head."
Hearing this, the Uchiha Clan Head fell silent. He knew nothing about the current state of the Land of Whirlpools, so...
The Uchiha Clan Head glanced at Jun. He wanted to negotiate an alliance as one clan head to another!
Jun noticed the look and frowned but eventually relaxed. "In that case, Uncle Clan Head, I'll take my leave for now."
He subtly winked at the Uzumaki Clan Head, signaling him not to act rashly.
First, let's see what the Uchiha Clan Head really wants.
He actually wanted to exclude the Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools from the discussion!
The Uzumaki Clan Head, who had been about to refuse, caught Jun's hint and nodded imperceptibly. "Very well. I shall speak to the Uchiha Clan Head in my capacity as the Uzumaki Clan Head."
...
Jun, now outside, wandered idly to the Uchiha training grounds. He casually found a spot to sit and watched a young man tirelessly throwing kunai. His eyes showed admiration as he murmured, "As expected of the Uchiha Clan's throwing techniques."
Then...
"Who's there?!" The young man, hearing the voice, tightly gripped a kunai and turned sharply. Seeing a boy about five or six years younger than him, he frowned. "Who are you?"
"What are you doing here?"
This was a critical time for the Uchiha Clan. Nothing could go wrong!
Jun smiled at the Uchiha youth. "Long time no see, Uchiha Fugaku."
That's right—the young man before him was the next head of the Uchiha Clan and the father of a future Child of Prophecy.
"You... red hair?" Fugaku, hearing the boy call his name, frowned suspiciously. "Uzumaki?"
"Uzumaki Jun, current Daimyō of the Land of Whirlpools." Jun stood and walked toward Fugaku, smiling. "Don't remember me?"
"That kid from back then?" Fugaku suddenly realized.
The youngest Kage in the shinobi world!
...
"Why did you seek me out?" The Uzumaki Clan Head frowned. "You didn't need to. Jun now governs both the Uzumaki Clan and the Land of Whirlpools. No one would oppose any decision he makes."
"I know." The Uchiha Clan Head sighed. "But you and I both understand the Sharingan..."
No one in the shinobi world could resist coveting it!
Moreover...
As the Uchiha Clan Head, he knew that Konoha's recent troubles were partly orchestrated by the so-called "loyal and righteous" Lord Jun!
An alliance with him...
Would be nothing but a trap!
But he couldn't say any of this now. After all, the Uchiha Clan would soon be living in the Land of Whirlpools.
Best not to provoke this unconventional Uzumaki...
"Ah." The Uzumaki Clan Head nodded sympathetically. The Uzumaki Clan had also suffered due to their unique physique. If not for Jun's rise, they might have been wiped out.
But...
"The Land of Whirlpools truly no longer engages in clan-based alliances." The Uzumaki Clan Head said. "It violates our laws. If Jun agreed to your terms, the Land of Whirlpools will honor it. You have my word."
Yet...
"No." The Uchiha Clan Head shook his head. "I need you to swear on the Uzumaki Clan's thousand-year legacy."
"That's too much." The Uzumaki Clan Head frowned. "The Land of Whirlpools operates on law. As long as the Uchiha abide by our laws, you'll be safe."
Swear on the Uzumaki legacy?
Back when they allied with Konoha, the Uzumaki had sworn on their thousand-year name. And what happened?
The Uzumaki kept their oath while Konoha nearly got them exterminated.
"The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai!" The Uchiha Clan Head said coldly, as if not hearing the Uzumaki's words. "I offer the Uchiha's bloodline and all our fire-style jutsu in exchange!"
Then...
"..."
The Uzumaki Clan Head gaped at him.
"Have you... gone mad?"
...
Night.
"You're really going through with this?" Jun asked the Uchiha Clan Head beside him. "You should listen to your elders and stage a coup. Make Konoha suffer."
"After all, it's not you who wronged Konoha—Konoha wronged you."
Truly Itachi's grandfather!
A ruthless man who killed his own clansmen to maintain Konoha's "peace."
Jun decided then: once Itachi was born, he'd have him study the Land of Whirlpools's core ideology from childhood. Otherwise...
As Daimyō, he wouldn't rest easy.
What if he drove Sasuke to rebellion?
Jun didn't know what the Uzumaki and Uchiha Clan Heads discussed privately. He only noticed the Uzumaki Clan Head's odd smile afterward, so...
It was probably good news.
As for whether the two Clan Heads would rebel against him...
Jun wasn't worried. No one in the Land of Whirlpools would dare stage a coup now.
After seeing off some Uchiha clansmen and the Uzumaki Clan Head, Jun was pulled by the Uchiha Clan Head to... kill people.
Uchiha clansmen!
"Consider this my final act for Konoha." The Uchiha Clan Head sighed. "No matter what, Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and Senju."
"Stubborn!" Jun scoffed. "They want to wipe out your entire family."
Yet you still think of Konoha, killing your own for its "stability"...
Truly, the Senju and Uchiha were both fools!
But...
He couldn't help but admire them.
Aside from their stupidity, they were model clans that upheld order.