Chapter 16

The smiling red-haired man standing before us was a perfect copy of Ryuta, from his dark gray-green eyes to his completely identical physique. But how could this be? We received a letter about his death, didn't we?

"I almost guessed," the Uzumaki who greeted us shook his head and waved away the papers of our escorts, shifting all his attention to us. "I'm Ryudji Uzumaki, and I'm your grandfather."

He sadly smiled and took me from my mother's hands.

"So young? You wouldn't give him more than twenty and change," I skeptically chuckled, discerning from a closer distance the wrinkles barely beginning to show on his face. "Maybe you're my uncle?"

"Our clan's famous longevity in action," he laughed, finishing his inspection and seating me on his lap, "I'm actually fifty-three years old."

Getting comfortable, I wrapped my newfound grandfather around the neck and turned to my mother, giving us a chance to get acquainted without any formalities.

"Hello, Ryudji-san," Saya bowed, "despite the sad occasion, I'm always glad for our new meeting."

"Girl, no need to bow to me, we're family after all," Uzumaki shook his head and stepped forward, embracing Mom with his free arm, pressing her to his chest.

Considering he was almost a head taller than her and twice as wide, this maneuver of his succeeded effortlessly even without my presence. Hmm… And Dad was a hand shorter, maybe he hadn't grown to his natural height yet. Such a thought made me sad now — I won't even get to see him one more time.

"Well, alright, we'll have time to catch up," Ryudji stepped back, "but for now, let's return to Uzushiogakure."

Naturally, no one objected, so we left the port town. Along the way, I noticed that on both sides beyond the sparse forest, quite tall and steep mountains rose, securely locking away the other parts of the island from anyone wishing to turn aside from the only path laid out from the port.

Natural defense — not bad! Even shinobi would have to work hard to get through there. After an hour of swift running, we found ourselves in sight of the shinobi village.

"Welcome to Uzushiogakure no Sato, Ryu-chan," Grandpa ruffled my hair, noticing my somewhat bewildered look.

And there was plenty to be amazed about — from the low hillock where we stopped, there was a beautiful view of the valley, in the middle of which lay the village of the Uzumaki clan. And what I had seen of Konoha, considered the largest and strongest among the five countries, did not prepare me for the sight that unfolded before me. Where to begin?

The first thing that really caught the eye were the walls. The walls of Uzushiogakure, at least the outer part, were made not of wood, clay, or stone, but of black metal. And it wouldn't be just any metal — practically every inch of free space was covered with an array of huge seals! Moreover, each of them literally breathed POWER and emitted light, visible even to the naked eye!

What volume of artifact must it be to maintain the entire defense complex with such power?! The one in the basement of our house is a five-centimeter metal cube covered in seals, costing about ten million ryo and capable of maintaining a barrier and other surprises for uninvited guests for four years when fully charged.

Here, the artifact will obviously be bigger and more expensive. And this is with the height of the walls almost equal to those protecting Konoha.

The second thing that surprised me was the size of Uzushiogakure.

Considering that only one Uzumaki clan and some amount of ordinary population live here, any person would expect a settlement a hundred times smaller than the other great villages. The Hyuga, who are home to one of the largest clans, now number no more than three thousand people, and that's including ordinary members not trained as shinobi.

Here, the village is the size of one-tenth of the Leaf. With a population of about two hundred thousand people, there will be at least twenty — an unimaginable number for just one clan!

And the third thing that certainly caught my attention were the palace roofs towering above the walls. Anyone who has seen a Japanese imperial palace will understand me. Unfortunately, because of the walls, only the top two floors and the terrace with a small garden were visible, but if you estimate by eye, that's at least six or seven stories.

Considering even the Hokage tower, which doesn't exceed four, it's worth praising the masters who managed to do without modern construction machinery and materials, relying solely on stone, wood, and metal. Well, and with the help of shinobi, who can often replace any construction equipment.