"Grand Elder! Clan Head!"
"They're back? Does that mean they've defeated the Kaguya?"
"Isn't that Uchiha Izuna? Why is he coming back with them?"
Uzumaki Hiro'umi and Uzumaki Wakou returned with their forces, and when the clan members around them saw it, they instinctively assumed the Kaguya had been defeated. Everyone lit up with joy.
But then, seeing Izuna walking beside them with that faint, easy smile, the Uzumaki's joy was replaced by shock, one after another.
He had defeated Kaguya Manro—a Clan Head-level opponent—with ridiculous ease.
Izuna hadn't made it all that obvious, but it was the shared view of every spectator, led by Uzumaki Hiro'umi.
Just from what he'd shown on the battlefield, Izuna had a whole pile of techniques he still hadn't used.
Especially the Two-Tails—one of his signature trump cards.
If he released it, he could probably flatten Uzushiogakure in an instant.
Of course, with so many Uzumaki ninja in the village skilled in sealing techniques, Uzumaki Hiro'umi didn't truly need to fear Izuna's Two-Tails that much.
But if they fought inside the village, the destruction would be unimaginable.
So he chose to swallow it.
"Grandfather."
In the distance, Mito ran up in quick little steps. When she saw Izuna, she parted her lips as if to speak—but the first name she called was Uzumaki Hiro'umi's.
Izuna looked around and found that Senju Hashirama wasn't there.
Made sense. No matter how strong that guy was, he couldn't have learned instant transmission from Dragon Ball.
Even relying on Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God, it would still take at least a few hours to arrive.
Uzumaki Hiro'umi lifted his eyes and swept a glance over his granddaughter.
She had already changed out of her shiromuku bridal kimono, and into the same plain white kimono she'd worn a year ago—the one from when Uchiha Izuna had kidnapped her.
Her anxious gaze was fixed on him, but Uzumaki Hiro'umi was too seasoned to miss it: the corners of Mito's eyes kept flicking toward Izuna despite herself.
Questions like "When did it start?" didn't even need to be asked anymore.
The wrinkles on Uzumaki Hiro'umi's face twitched. After a long pause, he spat out two words.
"Go."
Mito's mouth fell slightly open. She stared at her grandfather as if she couldn't believe it.
After a long moment, she knelt and bowed her head to the ground, prostrating herself in gratitude for the years of care.
When she rose, she hurried in small steps to Izuna's side, lowering her voice as she was about to ask something.
But before she could speak, Uzumaki Hiro'umi suddenly brought his hands together in a sealing sign.
Chakra surged from that aged body like a key turning in a forbidden lock, instantly activating something.
Walls of light rose around Uzushiogakure in all directions, encasing the entire village in a dome-shaped barrier.
On the surface of that semi-transparent golden protective shell, unique golden sealing runes of the Uzumaki clan flickered in and out.
"This is... the Uzumaki Konpira Barrier! The final line of defense protecting the village!"
wikipedia+1
Mito, who had been about to speak to Izuna, cried out in disbelief as she looked at Uzumaki Hiro'umi. "Grandfather, you...?!"
Izuna gripped Mito's hand and stepped forward. His eyes narrowed to slits as he said coldly, "So you're going to play word games with me, Grand Elder."
"Don't even think about summoning the Two-Tails, Uchiha Izuna."
Uzumaki Hiro'umi didn't flinch at the chill rolling off Izuna. He said evenly, "The highest-tier barrier ninjutsu of the Uzumaki clan—the final line of defense protecting the village—also has an effect that restrains Tailed Beast."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
To the west, countless fireball jutsu were already bombarding the barrier, but they couldn't shake it in the slightest.
Izuna recognized them—they were the Uchiha clan's Fire Release techniques.
"It seems the people you brought are getting impatient," Uzumaki Hiro'umi continued calmly. "But it's useless. Even if your father Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma joined forces back then, they wouldn't break this barrier easily."
Izuna sneered. "Confident, aren't you? But no matter what jutsu it is, if you kill the caster, you can usuallyLift it, can't you?"
As soon as Izuna said it, Chakra surged wildly from within him, stirring his hair upward.
Then he suddenly felt the small hand he was holding tremble. He turned his head and saw Mito looking at him through tearful eyes, biting her lip as she shook her head again and again.
"Tch."
Izuna clicked his tongue, forcibly suppressing his killing intent and Chakra for the moment.
"Grandfather..."
Mito's tear-bright eyes turned to Uzumaki Hiro'umi.
But what met her was only a fleeting flash of tenderness that vanished at once—followed by endless cold.
"I'm old, to have failed to see what was in your heart," Uzumaki Hiro'umi said icily. "But family matters are family matters, and clan matters are clan matters. Even if I, Uzumaki Hiro'umi, have to bear the name of a [petty villain], I can't let Uchiha people walk out of here."
"If Kaguya and Uchiha had truly attacked in a pincer from east and west just now, it would indeed have been dangerous."
"But now, Kaguya has already retreated, the clansmen scattered along the border and the Senju's shinobi have all returned, bringing total combat strength to over twenty-five hundred, while you Uchiha brought only six hundred this time."
Uzumaki Hiro'umi narrowed his eyes at Izuna. "And you yourself are trapped in the Konpira Barrier, unable to use the Tailed Beast's power. Do you really think you can still escape?"
"Escape?"
For a moment, Izuna acted as if he'd heard the world's greatest joke, his smile vanishing in an instant. "Do I need to escape?
It's only because of Mito that I'm temporarily giving you some face, yet you're already bristling with indignation?"
"No, no..."
Mito anxiously shed tears that fell unceasingly.
After doing so much, would they still inevitably come to blows in the end?
"Don't blame yourself."
Perhaps his granddaughter's tears touched the softest part of his heart, for Uzumaki Hiro'umi finally said, "Now, you no longer need to live for the Uzumaki's interests, Mito...
No, Uchiha Mito."
The world of shinobi followed the custom from his past life's Japan where women adopted their husband's surname upon marriage.
But Uzumaki Hiro'umi's words did more than simply change Mito's surname—they expelled her entirely from the Uzumaki clan.
"Grandfather..."
Mito murmured, gripping Izuna's hand even tighter.
"Vice-Clan Head!
Vice-Clan Head!
Are you all right?"
Outside the barrier, the anxious voices of other Uchiha shinobi came through.
It seemed that while the barrier could defend against attacks, sound could still pass through.
Izuna concentrated chakra in his throat and shouted, "All Uchiha, deal with the Uzumaki and Senju reinforcements! Don't worry about my situation—these ragtag weaklings don't concern me in the slightest!"
After a brief silence, the Uchiha shinobi outside roared excitedly, "Yes!
But please be careful, Vice-Clan Head!"
Uzumaki Hiro'umi said coldly, "Uchiha Izuna, what arrogant words!"
"I simply don't want to kill her relatives in front of Mito. Don't push your luck again and again!
After Senju Yuma, you're the second person to make me truly want to kill!"
Silver-white chakra blazed up like flames across the surface of Izuna's skin.
He was going to use Susanoo right from the start!
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp