Yuka quickened her steps, coming up behind the elder of the Uzushio clan.
"Elder, I've thought about it over and over… I think there's something suspicious going on tonight. The scouting teams we stationed on the coasts of the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools—wiped out at the same time. No intel was returned."
"There's only one possibility: the Mist-nin and Cloud-nin got accurate intel and eliminated all the scouts simultaneously."
"That means either there's a spy leaking information from our village—or Konoha fed them the intel on purpose!"
The elder, well into old age, had clouded eyes—yet upon hearing Yuka's analysis, they suddenly sharpened with clarity.
Too many strange things had been happening around Uzushio lately. And it all started when Danzo arrived in the village.
After Danzo came, he made two unreasonable demands: the first was to send Princess Kushina to Konoha; the second, to share their sealing techniques.
Both demands had been refused by the clan leader. Princess Kushina was supposed to become the Jinchuriki of Uzushio. Princess Mito had spent decades guarding Konoha, and in the end, Uzushio got nothing out of it.
As for the sealing arts, giving them to Danzo was out of the question.
Later, Danzo claimed that Konoha's ANBU needed to investigate Cloud-nin in the Land of Waves and requested Uzushio's scouting maps so they could coordinate better.
If… if Konoha had…
The thought was unbearable. Unthinkable.
The elder felt a chill creep down her spine.
"No! It could still be that we've got a spy in the village! Or someone's betrayed us!"
That was all the Uzushio elder could bring herself to say—could afford to believe.
Princess Kushina was en route to Konoha now. She was the future of the Uzumaki, their one remaining hope.
In the whole village, no one could match Kushina's natural talent. She had the potential to inherit and elevate the clan's sealing arts.
As long as the Uzumaki Sealing Techniques lived on, the clan might weather this low point.
Yuka didn't understand why the elder was still so insistent on trusting Konoha. She tried to test the waters:
"Elder, what if we try probing them?"
"I could divert Longspear Egret, right? Should we still have Longspear Egret fly toward Konoha?"
"Konoha's intel division is the best. And yet, they somehow didn't notice such massive troop movements from both Mist and Cloud? Isn't that suspicious in itself?"
"And now, with all of Konoha's ANBU chasing after Princess Kushina, they haven't offered us the slightest bit of help."
"We—"
The elder had been adamant about getting Princess Kushina safely to Konoha. But now, hearing Yuka's suggestion, she wavered. Unease settled into her heart.
She wanted to know the truth too.
"Yuka, try having your Longspear Egret change direction. Don't bring it back here—but don't send it straight to Konoha either."
"Understood."
Yuka summoned her Longspear Egret, a white egret roughly the length of her arm. It shot into the air at great speed, carrying her commands with it.
Half an hour later, as she was fleeing, Yuka suddenly froze.
"Elder… my giant Longspear Egret… it's dead!"
The elder closed her eyes in pain.
The moment it changed direction, Konoha's ANBU had killed the summoning beast.
Danzo's Wind Release was powerful—more than enough to bring down a flying summon.
"Elder… are we still going to the Land of Fire?"
After only a brief hesitation, the elder made her decision.
"Yuka. Listen closely to what I say next."
Yuka immediately nodded.
"The Land of Fire is no longer an option."
"I'll choose eight Uzumaki shinobi. You'll be their leader."
"The rest of us, including myself, will stay behind to hold them off."
"You all must escape—somewhere, anywhere else."
"You must find a way to make contact with Kushina, who's been taken to Konoha."
"Kushina doesn't know anything yet. She doesn't know the truth about our clan's destruction."
"And you need to be cautious. Konoha will absolutely prevent her from meeting any Uzumaki survivor."
"She cannot be allowed to become Konoha's tool while completely in the dark. The Uzumaki cannot be allowed to go extinct at the hands of the three Great Shinobi Villages."
"Tobirama-sensei died for the sake of his six disciples, and those same disciples have now destroyed the foundations he left behind."
"Konoha used to be an open village, maintaining alliances with Uzushio and Takigakure."
"But now, it's weak, closed-off, and merciless."
"Yuka, you are just as important as Princess Kushina. Be very careful of Konoha's ANBU."
"The truth behind the Uzumaki clan's fall—now lies in your hands."
Yuka couldn't stop her tears from falling.
The elder took out a scroll and handed it to her.
"The Sealing Techniques of Uzushio were taken to Konoha by Princess Kushina. These here are my personal research notes on sealing arts. It's a partial inheritance of the clan's legacy."
"Yuka, you're not even twenty years old, and now you're being asked to carry such a burden..."
"I hope you'll rise to the occasion, like our noble ancestors did—and lead the Uzumaki out of this crisis."
"Head for the Land of Waves. There are still allied shinobi there—Uzushio shinobi who were on missions. Find them and work together."
"Uzumaki Kaon, who's gifted in healing, will go with you. She won't stay behind with me."
Kaon had a special Kekkei Genkai—if someone bit her arm, their wounds would rapidly heal.
The elder picked eight kunoichi from the Uzumaki and placed Yuka at their head, sending them across the sea toward the Land of Waves.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a puff of white smoke, the elder summoned the Eight-Winged Crow.
"Elder, if the Eight-Winged Crow is here, then what about Princess Kushina—"
"Don't worry. Danzo won't let anything happen to her. She's alone, and he'll make sure she stays safe. Now go. Climb on and leave, quickly."
The elder and the others remained behind, turning to face the Mist-nin.
Captain Black Ape looked surprised. He didn't approach the elder, instead circling wide with Yako and another, aiming for the Eight-Winged Crow.
They must be carrying something important—otherwise, the elder wouldn't be sacrificing herself to buy them time.
She was preparing for a final stand. That meant they had to keep their distance.
Yako turned to glance at the elder from afar.
That aged kunoichi, her white hair streaked with red, formed hand seals.
A surge of chakra distorted the air around her.
Hundreds of Adamantine Sealing Chains erupted from her abdomen.
Half of the Mist-nin units were immediately skewered by the chains.
Each chain was infused with potent sealing power. Those pierced couldn't move. Those swept by the chains were slowed drastically and nearly unable to resist.
The remaining kunoichi threw kunai and explosive tags, killing the immobilized enemies.
Within ten seconds, over a hundred Mist-nin had died.
The chains weakened—breaking one by one as her chakra dispersed into the air.
Yako couldn't help but gulp. Good thing I kept my distance. Otherwise, I'd be dead too.
The elder slowly collapsed, lying face-up to the sky.
Her hair had turned completely white.
The twenty or so remaining Mist-nin hesitated, frozen in place by the terror she had instilled.
Only three minutes after her death did they dare approach.
All Uzumaki defenders were killed.
The elder's body was carried away by the Mist-nin for dissection and intel analysis.
Captain Black Ape didn't even glance back. He knew neither the Mist-nin nor the Uzumaki would come out of this well.
After chasing the Eight-Winged Crow for ten minutes, he turned and said:
"We won't catch them. They're headed toward the Land of Waves."
"Fox, go find Captain Yellow Dog. Report everything that's happened here."
"The Eight-Winged Crow carried away eight female Uzumaki ninja. Among them were Yuka, handpicked by the elder, and Kaon, the healer with a unique clan ability."
"There are still scattered Uzumaki remnants in the Land of Waves. The chief guardian there is one of them."
"Have Captain Yellow Dog make the call. We must send a strike team immediately to hunt them down."
"I'll write you a code scroll to guide future ANBU pursuit."
Once he finished writing the coded message, Yako turned and sprinted toward the Land of Fire.