The shinobi world was built on the power structure of the Five Great Nations, alongside countless smaller countries. Beyond the Land of Fire, where the Hidden Leaf Village was located, there were the Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water nations.
When it came to finding a new home for the Uchiha Clan, most options were dead ends.
The Land of Wind?
Out of the question. Defeated in the Third Great Ninja War, Sunagakure was strapped for resources. Their so-called "elite-only" policy was just an excuse for the fact that they couldn't even feed their own ninjas. Their current Kazekage was the kind of guy who'd sell his own genius child soldiers. He'd flip the Uchiha over to Konoha for a sack of ryo.
Sunagakure—denied.
The Land of Water?
Even worse. Under the brutal Blood Mist regime, Kirigakure had slaughtered half their own bloodline clans. Letting foreign bloodlines in? Not a chance.
Kirigakure—denied.
The Lands of Earth and Lightning were tempting on paper.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure weren't hostile to bloodline clans—in fact, Kumo was notoriously obsessed with them. But the distance from Konoha was vast, and neither village could be trusted. They might just "accept" the Uchiha and then dissect them for their Sharingan.
> Placing your clan's survival in someone else's hands was never smart.
The smaller nations?
Iron Country was a neutral military zone led by the samurai—they'd never risk their neutrality for the Uchiha.
Rain, Tanbo, Bird, River, and Grass were chaotic, impoverished, and militarily weak. They couldn't protect themselves, much less the Uchiha.
But there was one place…
The Land of Whirlpools.
Once home to the Uzumaki Clan, it had been razed by Kirigakure and left abandoned.
Now, it had no daimyo, no military, no government. A ghost country.
Which made it… perfect.
> "The most dangerous place," Naruto explained, "is sometimes the safest."
No one would expect the Uchiha to hide in the Uzumaki's ashes—right under Konoha's nose.
Fugaku Uchiha, listening to Naruto's proposal, found it… disturbingly feasible.
When he asked how the Uchiha would survive in the Whirlpool ruins, Naruto gave a simple, 16-character plan:
> "Preserve strength. Lie low. Wait patiently. Rise again."
(High walls. Deep grain stores. Claim the crown later.)
It wasn't just smart—it was the kind of long-game he would play.
Fugaku nodded, inwardly impressed. He assumed Naruto's brilliance came from the Fourth Hokage's teaching.
> Naruto, however, would have serious words if he heard himself compared to Itachi.
This plan came with a cost—not every Uchiha would be saved. But Fugaku, as clan head, would handle the selection.
He knew who could be trusted.
Who could not.
> "Uncle Fugaku," Naruto said before departing, voice firm, "choose the names and set the timeline quickly.
Before the dreams stretch too long and become nightmares."
His voice made it clear—this mission needed silence and speed.
And truthfully, Naruto had his own reasons for helping the Uchiha.
Yes, part of it was repaying kindness.
Yes, he hated seeing injustice.
But deeper than that…
> "The enemy of my enemy… is my comrade."
Naruto hated what Konoha had become.
The Uchiha hated it too.
That was all the justification he needed.
And there was one more reason the Land of Whirlpools made sense.
But he didn't say it aloud.
> "It's all going smoothly," Naruto said as he and "Minato" returned to the woods.
The Fourth's clone nodded. "I thought convincing Fugaku would take more effort."
But desperate men grab even fake ropes when they're drowning.
This wasn't persuasion. It was hope.
With a puff, the Fourth vanished in smoke—just a Shadow Clone. His presence had been crafted using Naruto's Reverse Harem Transformation, layered over the clone, and remotely controlled by Minato's soul from inside Naruto.
An advanced deception. Even Kaguya could fall for it.
And it worked.
---
Meanwhile, at the Hokage Tower…
> BANG!
The doors to the Hokage's office slammed open.
Danzo Shimura—cane in hand, rage on face—marched inside like a storm.
> "Sarutobi! I demand an explanation!"
Two topics could rile Danzo like this:
Becoming Hokage or the Uchiha.
And since he wasn't wearing his "I'm the real leader" cloak today…
> "Danzo."
Hiruzen glanced toward the shadows. With a quick nod, the ANBU agents hidden around the room vanished in a flurry of black cloaks.
Danzo slammed his cane.
> "The Uchiha are getting too close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
> "You know this, Sarutobi. Why aren't you stopping it?"
Hiruzen sighed. "Calm yourself, Danzo."
He knew all about it.
He'd read Naruto's "diary."
He knew the whole truth.
Naruto didn't trust anyone anymore—and frankly, it was Danzo's fault.
> "We need to 'rehabilitate' the child. He needs to feel love, not surveillance."
Danzo didn't hear a word. He waved his cane, spittle flying.
> "That child has potential. Too much potential.
Letting him bond with the Uchiha… is a threat to the entire village."
> "If they gain control of the Nine-Tails, we're finished!"
> "There's no Fourth Hokage this time to save us!"
Bad move.
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened.
> "Danzo Shimura!"
That full-name address?
That meant Hiruzen was truly furious.
Danzo's stomach sank.
> "There are matters from that night, Danzo.
And it's your turn to give me an explanation."
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