Uzumaki Yuka quickened her pace, reaching behind the elder of the Uzumaki clan.
"Elder, I've thought it over again and again. Tonight is full of oddities. Our reconnaissance teams along the coastlines of the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools were all wiped out at the same time—no intelligence was reported back.
"There's only one possibility: the Mist and Cloud ninja obtained accurate intel and simultaneously killed all reconnaissance teams.
"Either there's a spy in our village leaking information, or Konoha deliberately provided the intel!"
The elder, very old and whose eyes were already somewhat clouded, suddenly brightened upon hearing Yuka's speculation.
Recently, too many strange incidents occurred around Uzumaki Village, all starting after Danzo Shimura arrived.
After Danzo came, he first made two unreasonable requests: one, to send Princess Kushina to Konoha, and two, to share the sealing secret techniques.
Both requests were refused by the clan leader. Princess Kushina was supposed to be Uzumaki Village's jinchūriki; Princess Mito had defended Konoha for decades, yet Uzumaki Village gained nothing in the end.
As for the secret sealing techniques, it was even more impossible to give them to Danzo.
Danzo then said that Konoha Anbu needed to investigate the Cloud ninja in the Land of Waves, so they took the reconnaissance team distribution maps to coordinate with Uzumaki Village's scouts.
If… if it were Konoha…
The elder couldn't bear to imagine it, couldn't believe it.
A sudden chill ran through the elder's body.
"No! It could also be a spy within our village! Or someone betrayed us!"
The elder could only voice this possibility and hold onto that thought.
Princess Kushina was now flying toward Konoha Village—she was the future of the Uzumaki clan, the only hope.
In the village, Kushina had the highest innate talent, capable of inheriting and developing the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.
As long as the Uzumaki sealing arts survived, the clan could eventually overcome its low point.
Uzumaki Yuka didn't understand why the elder insisted that Konoha was harmless. She tried asking:
"Elder, should we test it? I can make my Giant Drill-Beaked Bird summon change direction. Should I still send it toward Konoha?"
"Konoha's intelligence is much stronger—they should have noticed the massive movement of Mist and Cloud ninja, yet they didn't. That's suspicious."
"Now all the Konoha Anbu are chasing Princess Kushina, yet no help comes to us.
"We…"
The Uzumaki elder had originally insisted on safely sending Princess Kushina to Konoha. Hearing Yuka's suggestion, she felt uneasy. She also wanted to know the truth.
"Yuka, try making your Giant Drill-Beaked Bird change direction. Don't return, but don't fly straight to Konoha either."
"All right."
Uzumaki Yuka summoned a Giant Drill-Beaked Bird as long as her arm. The bird moved swiftly, following her orders.
Half an hour later, Yuka, fleeing along the path, suddenly froze.
"Elder, my giant Giant Drill-Beaked Bird… is dead!"
The Uzumaki elder closed her eyes in pain.
After changing course, Konoha Anbu had killed the summon.
Danzo's Wind Release was formidable, fully capable of taking down flying summons.
"Elder, do we still go to the Land of Fire?"
The elder hesitated slightly, then made her decision.
"Yuka, listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
Yuka quickly nodded.
"We cannot go to the Land of Fire.
"I will select eight Uzumaki, with you as their leader."
"The rest of us, including myself, will cover your retreat."
"You must escape, flee to another place."
"You must find a way to contact Princess Kushina, who has been taken by Konoha."
"Kushina knows nothing now—she does not know the truth about the Uzumaki clan's extermination."
"You must also be careful—Konoha will not allow Kushina to contact any Uzumaki."
"She cannot become a tool of Konoha unknowingly. The Uzumaki clan must not be exterminated so tragically by the three great ninja villages."
"Lord Tobirama died for his six disciples, yet those disciples destroyed his foundation."
"Konoha used to be an open village, allied with Uzumaki and Taki villages."
"Now, weakened, Konoha has become conservative and ruthless."
"Yuka, you are as important as Princess Kushina. You must be cautious of the Anbu hunting you."
"The truth of the Uzumaki clan's extermination rests in your hands."
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Yuka's face.
The elder took out a scroll and handed it to Yuka.
"The Uzumaki Village's Sealing Book has been taken to Konoha by Princess Kushina. Here are my notes on sealing techniques, part of the Uzumaki clan's legacy."
"Yuka, you're not yet twenty, and yet you bear this immense responsibility."
"I hope you, like our noble ancestors, can lead the Uzumaki clan through this crisis."
"First, go to the Land of Waves. There are still guardian ninja and some Uzumaki carrying out missions—meet them and seek a solution together."
"The Uzumaki medic, Kanon, will go with you; she does not need to stay with me."
Uzumaki Kanon had a special bloodline ability: a bite from her arm could heal injuries.
The elder selected eight female Uzumaki, placing Yuka as leader, to flee across the sea to the Land of Waves.
"Summon!"
Using summoning jutsu, the elder called forth the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird.
"Elder, the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird is here—but what about Princess Kushina?"
"Don't worry, Danzo will protect Kushina. She is alone, and Danzo will keep her safe. Now, climb onto the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird's back—go quickly."
The elder stayed behind with the others, facing the Mist ninja.
Captain Black Chimp, somewhat surprised, did not interfere with the elder. Instead, he led Yoru and another teammate to circumvent the fleeing Uzumaki and approach the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird from a distance.
The Giant Drill-Beaked Bird and Yuka must carry something very important; otherwise, the elder would not risk her life.
The elder was putting everything on the line—she had to stay far away.
Keeping their distance, Yoru looked back at her from afar.
The elder, old with hair streaked red and white, formed hand seals.
Immense chakra surged around her, warping the very sight around her.
Hundreds of chakra chains suddenly shot out from her abdomen.
Several Mist ninja squads opposite her were pierced by the golden chains.
These chains carried powerful sealing energy; those impaled could not move. Those swept by the chains were slowed, nearly impossible to break free.
The remaining female Uzumaki threw kunai and explosive tags, killing the immobilized Mist ninja.
Within ten seconds, over a hundred Mist ninja were dead.
The golden chains weakened, breaking one by one, chakra dispersing into the air.
Yoru muttered in astonishment—luckily, he had kept his distance, or he would have surely died.
The elder slowly fell, facing the sky.
Her hair was completely white.
The remaining twenty-plus Mist ninja hesitated at a distance, intimidated by the elder.
Only three minutes after her death did the Mist ninja tentatively advance.
The remaining Uzumaki were entirely slaughtered by the Mist ninja.
The elder's corpse was carried off for autopsy and intelligence analysis.
Captain Black Chimp didn't even look back—he knew neither the Mist ninja nor the Uzumaki would survive.
After chasing the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird for over ten minutes, he turned and said:
"We can't catch them. They're likely heading toward the Land of Waves."
"Fox, go find Captain Yellow Dog and report what happened here."
"The Giant Drill-Beaked Bird is carrying eight female Uzumaki, including Yuka—chosen by the elder—and the Uzumaki medic Kanon."
"There are still many Uzumaki remnants in the Land of Waves. The guardian ninja captain there is an Uzumaki."
"Have Captain Yellow Dog make a decision—dispatch support forces to eliminate the remaining Uzumaki!"
"I'll write a tracking code for you to use for Anbu pursuit later."
Once the squad leader finished writing the code scroll, Yoru turned and ran toward the Land of Fire.