It's so difficult to do anything as a child!

Ryuto Uzumaki hadn't even entered the meeting room when he heard the angry voices of the elders.

"Damn Konoha , how could they do this to us?" One of the elders shouted, slamming the table. "We sacrificed so much for the Konoha during the war. Hashirama-sama had promised us back then!"

"The Senju clan had promised to stand together with us, no matter what."

"How could they treat us like this?"

"Clan Head, what did the Hokage say?" another elder asked calmly.

"The Hokage said that after the war, their village's strength is not enough to help us."

"Heh, not enough strength to help us? Then how does the Hidden Mist Village still have the power to attack us? Weren't they also a losing village in the war?"

But the Konoha ...

The winning village...

"The Konoha Village is truly disappointing!!"

"What about the Senju clan?" the calm elder asked again, but his clenched fist revealed his inner fury.

"The Senju clan wanted to help us, but the Hokage stopped them. Especially Tobirama-sama's student, Danzo, said that although they sympathize with Whirlpool Country's situation, due to the war, the Konoha hasn't fully recovered and cannot support us."

"Damn those bastards, I want to kill them all."

Instantly, all the Uzumaki clansmen in the meeting hall became enraged.

"We helped them so much during the war, how could they treat us like this?"

"Weren't we supposed to have a generations-long friendship?"

"You know, Whirlpool Country has already..."

"In the war... we lost too much, we can't stop the Hidden Mist Village anymore." One elder said regretfully, head lowered.

"Does that mean Whirlpool Country has no hope left?"

"Of course, there's still hope!" A childish voice rang out as the hall was filled with sadness. Everyone turned to see a six or seven-year-old boy, Ryuto Uzumaki, walking in.

"It's young Ryuto!" The Clan Head said sternly, "This is no place for a child."

Since Whirlpool Country was founded by the Uzumaki clan, almost everyone in the country was a clansman.

"Ryuto, go back. This is not something you should be involved in," the Feudal Lord of Whirlpool scolded, completely ignoring Ryuto's remark about having a solution. No matter how intelligent Ryuto was, no one believed a child could have a way to help Whirlpool overcome this crisis.

"Father, Uncle Clan Head," Ryuto greeted the Lord and the Head, then the little boy knitted his brows seriously, walked to the Clan Head's side, ignoring his father's gestures. He pulled up a chair, his small body climbed up, and slammed his hand on the table with a loud "BANG!"

Still, his small hand didn't make a resounding noise due to his young age.

"What are you doing?"

"Ryuto Uzumaki, how dare you disrespect the elders!" The Clan Head scolded, not wanting the youngest genius of the Uzumaki to be disliked by the elders.

Moreover, in these wartime circumstances, if Whirlpool Country eventually... they could only rely on the younger generation.

However, Ryuto ignored the Clan Head and opened his still childish voice to say seriously, "When the Konoha asked for our support, I said the Konoha couldn't be trusted. But you all said I was too young and ignorant. You said the Uzumaki clan and the Konoha had a generations-long friendship, that we were good brothers."

"When the Clan Head went to seek the Konoha's help, I told you they wouldn't help. I told you to prepare for war, but you didn't believe me. You thought that based on the friendship between the Konoha and the Uzumaki, they would definitely help us."

"But look now!! After the Uzumaki clan's great help to the Konoha in the last war, what has become of us? Facing the Hidden Mist's invasion, how are they treating us?"

"Are you still going to be so naive?" Ryuto shouted loudly.

"This..." All the elders looked at each other, and the entire meeting room fell silent.

That's right!! Ryuto had warned them, but they underestimated his age and didn't trust their own clansman, leading to this situation...

They were even more shortsighted than a child!

Tears welled up in the elders' eyes...

How ridiculous!!!

"The Konoha is no longer the Konoha of the past," Ryuto sighed. After Hashirama Senju's death, the entire Konoha Village changed. Alas, he was still too young. No matter what he said, people would think he was just talking nonsense, smiling and ignoring him.

"Alas..." The great elder sighed and looked at Ryuto with his aged face, choking up as he said, "I'm sorry, it's because of us stubborn elders that we're in this situation. We... have failed the Uzumaki clan!"

Seeing the guilty expressions on the great elder and other elders' faces, Ryuto felt relieved. This was why he loved the Uzumaki clan so much. Unlike some who would never admit their mistakes or act arrogantly due to age, the Uzumaki elders were quite kind and magnanimous. This was also why they trusted the Konoha Village, and the whole country had no messy situations. Everyone was simple-minded, living happily. Compared to the outwardly peaceful but secretly devious Konoha Village, Whirlpool Country was paradise. It was just that the rulers were too naive and simple-minded, which led to them being deceived by the Konoha and having their assets seized.

"We didn't even trust our own clansman and chose to believe outsiders instead."

"We are the sinners of the Uzumaki clan!"

As they spoke, all the elders regretfully reflected on their actions, shedding tears despite their old age. Even the Clan Head and the Lord were saddened, for their wrong decisions had put Whirlpool Country at risk of destruction!!

"No, Great Elder, Uncle Clan Head, we still have hope. Whirlpool Country will not be destroyed," Ryuto said seriously with his small face, bowing slightly. "Please believe me!"

Now you should believe me! Although I'm young, I'm not an ordinary Uzumaki, you know!

Without you simple-minded Uzumaki, at the end of the Naruto story, the remaining mixed-blood Uzumaki were all simple-minded.

Mito Uzumaki, her country was about to be destroyed, her clansmen were killed, yet she was wholeheartedly focused on managing her husband's finances.

Naruto Uzumaki, as the son of the Hokage, was bullied and mocked by the villagers in his youth. But he was fooled by the Third Hokage's "Will of Fire".

The Akatsuki leader, Nagato, established the most powerful criminal organization in the ninja world In the end, he was talked down by Naruto's nonsense, crying and saying, "I'm sorry, Yahiko. I'm sorry, ninja world. I was wrong all along." But did he ever think that he had even killed his own teacher?

As for the obsessive Karin, I won't even mention her. She was stabbed by her boyfriend but still shouted, "I forgive you, as long as you're happy, I'm happy." For a woman like that...

Ryuto had a thought he didn't know whether to voice or not. How come he never encountered a girlfriend like that back then?

The elders looked at each other, and the great elder sighed, "Tell us, what solution do you have? The Clan Head and all of us will listen to you. The entire Uzumaki clan will listen to you." No matter how bad the situation, it couldn't be worse than now. Since that's the case, why not hear the surprise our Uzumaki genius has?

If only they had listened earlier... but now, it's too late for regrets.

Hearing the great elder's words, Ryuto felt delighted. He then looked at his father, the Feudal Lord of Whirlpool Country.

Seeing his child's expression, the Lord sighed, his face showing both pride and regret. It was because of him that Whirlpool had fallen into this crisis. If only he had seen through the Konoha Village sooner, it wouldn't have turned out like this. Now, the entire burden rested on a child's shoulders. With a wry smile, he said, "From now on, all of Whirlpool Country will follow your commands."

"Hmm." Hearing the Lord's words, Ryuto nodded firmly and vowed, "Whirlpool Country will absolutely not be destroyed; in fact, it will become even stronger!"

"Please believe me..."

"Ryuto Uzumaki!!"

Although Whirlpool was small and sparsely populated, it had one advantage - most of its citizens were Uzumaki clansmen, meaning the majority were ninja. Even those who weren't ninja had immense chakra reserves and vitality compared to ordinary people, a hallmark of the Uzumaki clan. Ryuto believed that if the entire nation united, they could at least hold off the Hidden Mist until the war ended. Then, even if Mist tried to invade Whirlpool again, the other villages wouldn't just stand by.

Otherwise...what a joke!

They had already ended the war, yet you still wanted to seize territory? That's unreasonable! For the peace of the ninja world, we would have to take action.

Especially the peacekeeping Konoha Village, they definitely wouldn't let Whirlpool, their allied nation, be destroyed after the war ended. That would mean the war never truly ended! And Whirlpool was nominally still the Konoha's ally, so it would be unacceptable for them not to help.

The Konoha still cared about its reputation!

"So Whirlpool Country will officially enter a state of war preparation. Only then does it have a glimmer of hope for survival," Ryuto said seriously.

"But what about the civilian populace..." Hearing Ryuto's plan to turn the entire nation into a warzone, the elders' hearts sank, as it would be too cruel for the civilians.

"No, I have other arrangements for the civilians, children, women, and elderly," Ryuto explained. "I started preparing a place for them to take shelter a year ago."

It was precisely because you didn't trust your own clansman that I couldn't dig the tunnels sooner.

"You mean the tunnel you dug?" the Clan Head asked. They were all aware of Ryuto's actions. At the time, they wondered why he was wasting money digging such a large tunnel, thinking it was just a child's amusement, so they ignored it.

"Exactly," Ryuto nodded his small head. "That tunnel is extremely large and can accommodate all the civilians of Whirlpool Country."

After digging for a year with the help of ninja, how could it not be huge? It was just difficult to find Whirlpool ninja with an Earth affinity, as the clan specializes in Wind and Water natures.

It cost him a fortune!!

"It seems young Ryuto was well-prepared!" Hearing Ryuto's explanation, the great elder smiled, his heart putting more faith in the young boy's words. Perhaps...

Whirlpool Country really did have hope.

"From now on, we will all follow your arrangements. Give us your orders, Lord Ryuto," the elders looked at each other and said seriously, truly meaning it this time, not out of helplessness like before.

Hearing that they would truly listen to him, Ryuto didn't dwell on it and said, "The first step is to reassure the civilians."

(End of chapter)