Before Uzumaki Jun even entered the meeting room, he could hear the furious voices of the clan elders.
"Damn Konoha! How could they do this? How could they do this?!" One elder roared, slamming the table. "How much did we sacrifice for Konoha during the war? What about Lord Hashirama's promises to us back then?"
"What about the Senju clan's vow to stand together?"
"How could they betray us like this?"
"Clan Head, what did the Hokage say?" another elder asked calmly, though his clenched fists betrayed his anger.
"The Hokage said their village is weakened from the war and can't spare the strength to help us."
"Hah! Can't help us? If that's the case, how does Kirigakure still have the strength to attack us? Did they not fight in the war? They were the losing side!"
"Konoha has truly disappointed us!"
"What about the Senju clan?" The elder remained composed, but his grip tightened further.
"The Senju wanted to help, but the Hokage stopped them. Especially that disciple of Lord Tobirama, Danzo. He said they 'regret the Land of Whirlpools' plight but have no obligation to shield us from Kirigakure.'"
"Damn those bastards! I wish I could kill them all!" The entire meeting hall erupted in fury.
"We gave everything to support them in the war, and this is how they repay us?"
"Weren't we supposed to be eternal allies? How could they treat us like this? And now, the Land of Whirlpools is..."
"In the war... we lost too much. We can't hold back Kirigakure anymore." One elder bowed his head in regret.
"Is there really no hope for the Land of Whirlpools?"
"Of course there is!"
Just as despair filled the room, a childish voice rang out. Everyone turned to see a boy around six or seven years old standing at the entrance.
"It's little Jun!" The Clan Head frowned sternly. "This is no place for a child."
Since the Land of Whirlpools was founded by the Uzumaki clan, nearly everyone in the country was a clansman.
"Jun, go back. This isn't something you should be involved in," the daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools commanded, ignoring Jun's claim that there was a solution. No matter how clever Jun was, no one would believe a child could save the nation.
"Father. Clan Head." Uzumaki Jun greeted them respectfully, then ignoring the warning looks from his father and the Clan Head marched forward with a serious expression.
He dragged a chair over, climbed onto it, and slammed his small hand on the table.
Thud.
...Still too weak. The sound wasn't sharp enough.
"What are you doing?!"
"Uzumaki Jun! How dare you disrespect the elders!" The Clan Head scolded, not wanting the clan's youngest genius to earn their disdain.
If the worst happened to the Land of Whirlpools, the future would rest on these young shoulders.
But Uzumaki Jun ignored him and spoke in a firm, youthful voice.
"Back when Konoha asked for our support, I warned you not to trust them. But you dismissed me as a naive child who didn't understand the 'friendship' between the Uzumaki and Konoha."
"When the Clan Head went to seek Konoha's help, I told you they wouldn't come. I told you to prepare for war. But you refused to believe me, insisting Konoha would honor our bond."
"And now? Look at us! After everything we sacrificed for Konoha in the war, what has become of the Uzumaki? When Kirigakure invades, how does Konoha repay us?"
"Are you still going to be this naive?" Uzumaki Jun shouted.
Silence fell over the room.
He was right. Jun had warned them. But they hadn't listened. Now, they were in this dire situation.
They, the elders, had been more blind than a child.
How laughable.
"Konoha hasn't been the same since Lord Hashirama died," Uzumaki Jun sighed. Being so young, no matter how logical his words were, people dismissed them as childish nonsense.
Sigh. The Great Elder lifted his aged face, his voice trembling with guilt. "You're right. It's because of us old fools that things have come to this. We... we've failed the Uzumaki clan."
Seeing the elders' remorse, Uzumaki Jun felt relieved. This was why he loved the Uzumaki clan. Unlike other clans, their elders weren't stubborn or arrogant. They were kind, straightforward, and honorable which was also why they had trusted Konoha so blindly.
The Land of Whirlpools was a paradise compared to Konoha's false peace and hidden schemes. But its leaders were too naive, too trusting. That was why Konoha had betrayed them and stolen everything.
"We didn't even trust our own clansman. Instead, we believed outsiders."
"We're sinners to the Uzumaki name!"
The elders bowed their heads in shame, tears streaming down their aged faces. Even the Clan Head and the daimyo looked devastated. Their mistakes had brought the Land of Whirlpools to the brink of destruction.
"No, elders. Clan Head. There's still hope. The Land of Whirlpools won't fall." Uzumaki Jun's small face was resolute as he bowed. "Please believe in me."
Now they would have to listen. He might be young, but he wasn't an ordinary Uzumaki. Unlike the rest of his clan who, judging by the series, were all hopelessly naive, he knew better.
Uzumaki Mito: Her homeland destroyed, her clan slaughtered, yet she devoted herself to managing her husband's assets.
Naruto: A privileged Hokage's son, bullied and mocked as a child, brainwashed by the old Hokage's "Will of Fire," sacrificing everything for Konoha never questioning why his father's legacy was stolen, why he was left eating expired food, stunting his growth. All for the sake of chasing after his crush.
Nagato: Founded the world's most powerful criminal organization, yet instead of ruling the ninja world, he obsessed over his dead friend's dream, ignored the woman who loved him, and after one talk with Naruto, collapsed in tears, wailing about his mistakes. Never mind that he'd killed his own teacher.
And Karin... Well, getting stabbed by her crush and still crying, "I forgive you! Your happiness is mine!"
Uzumaki Jun had thoughts about women like that.
Why had he never met a girl like that?
The elders exchanged glances. Finally, the Great Elder sighed.
"Speak. What is your plan? The Clan Head and I will listen. The entire Uzumaki clan will follow you."
Things couldn't get worse. Maybe their young genius could surprise them.
If only they had listened earlier...
Sigh.
Uzumaki Jun brightened, then looked at his father, the daimyo.
The daimyo sighed, pride and guilt warring in his expression. His mistakes had led the country to ruin. If only he had seen Konoha's true nature sooner.
Now, the burden fell on a child.
He smiled, "From this moment onward, the Land of Whirlpools will obey your orders."
"Yes." Uzumaki Jun nodded solemnly. "The Land of Whirlpools will not fall. It will grow stronger. Trust me."
Though small and sparsely populated, the Land of Whirlpools had one advantage: nearly everyone was an Uzumaki. Even non-shinobi possessed vast chakra and vitality.
With the full strength of the nation and clan, they could hold off Kirigakure at least until the war ended. If Kirigakure still dared to invade afterward, the other villages wouldn't stand by.
Otherwise...
Screw this! We just ended the war, and you're still grabbing land? For the sake of peace, they'd have to intervene.
Especially Konoha, the self-proclaimed peacekeepers. They couldn't let the Land of Whirlpools fall after the war. That would raise questions was the war really over?
And since the Land of Whirlpools was nominally Konoha's ally, refusing to help post-war would be unforgivable.
Konoha still cared about its reputation.
"Therefore, the Land of Whirlpools must prepare for war. Only then do we have a chance of survival," Uzumaki Jun declared.
"But the civilians..." The elders hesitated. Using the entire country as a battlefield would be too cruel.
"No. The civilians, children, women, and elders, I have another arrangement for them. A year ago, I began preparing a shelter where they can hide."
If only they had trusted him sooner, he could have done more.
"You mean that underground tunnel you dug?" the Clan Head asked. They had all been puzzled by Jun's project but dismissed it as a child's whim.
"Exactly." Uzumaki Jun nodded. "It's large enough to hold all of the Land of Whirlpools' civilians."
A year of work, with shinobi assistance, had made it massive. The only challenge had been finding earth-natured shinobi in a nation dominated by wind and water affinities.
"Little Jun planned ahead." The Great Elder smiled, his faith in the boy growing. Perhaps...
There really was hope.
"We will follow your orders. Give your commands, Prince Jun." The elders exchanged glances, their resolve firm this time no longer out of desperation, but conviction.
Seeing their sincerity, Uzumaki Jun didn't hesitate.
"First, we must reassure the people."