Letter

Kushina informed him that the ladies with her were taking Mito-sama's body to give her a respectful burial. She told Araki that he must be there when it happens.

Araki was there when these ladies buried his grandma. He kept holding Kushina's hand as if it was his only support.

Kushina tried hard to ignore the gloomy feeling she received from Araki. She was already very sad, and sensing such dense gloomy feeling seemed to break her even more.

She tried to turn off these negative emotions sensing skill. And sure enough, it stopped working.

After the ceremony was over, Araki and Kushina went to their own rooms respectively. As soon as Araki entered the room, he noticed two scrolls from the corner of his eyes.

He remembered his grandmother telling him that she had left behind a gift for him. It contained all of his grandfather's Mokuton Jutsus. Even though he wasn't in the mood to learn any new Jutsu, he walked towards these two scrolls.

There was no label on these two scrolls. From the outside, they seemed blank.

Araki tried to open the scrolls and was shocked when the scroll wouldn't budge. Initially, he was conserving his strength while trying to open the scrolls, but it didn't help.

Not even with his full strength could he force open the scrolls. At that moment, he remembered that his grandma was a seal master.

He turned the scroll and noticed a seal with the symbol of a whirlpool. Araki was aware of what this seal was. This was a blood seal.

If he remembered correctly. It could only be opened when the blood from a specific person was dropped on it.

Araki didn't hesitate in pulling out a kunai from his holster. He uses it to create a small cut on his finger. The blood drops down on the seal…

The black characters of the seal started darting. They slowly covered the whole scroll as if protecting it from something. After having covered the whole scroll, the seal suddenly shattered.

Araki stared at the scroll and noticed there were many Jutsu written on it. He threw it in another corner of the room indifferently.

He stared at the other scroll and opened it in the same manner.

He opened the scroll and started reading it. In that scroll, Mito had written a letter to him. It said, "Dear grandson, by the time you see this letter, I would have long passed. With how emotional you are, you are probably distressed. But I need to tell you that there is no time for you to remain gloomy."

"The village is not how it used to be during Hashi or Tobi's time. This is because of the blind loyalty of the monkey and his teammate Danzo. One wants peace while the other wants war. After I have passed on, they will definitely try to take control of you and Kushina. The Monkey would be subtle about these things but that Danzo might send his root shinobi to kidnap you. You must train extra hard and practise the Jutsus I left in the other scroll."

"Also… This might be a selfish request of mine but do not abandon the Uzumaki Clan. Right now, they are on the verge of destruction because of the threat from the Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa. Moreover, there is a possibility that Konoha wouldn't send any help to Uzushio and would instead try to gain from this. I did make some arrangements with the Uzumaki Clan members. If you give them a command, they won't disobey you as long it would save the clan."

As Araki finished reading the scroll, he clenched his fists tightly. To Araki, his grandma's request was a command. Since she wanted him to save the Uzumaki, then he will!

But then, he started thinking 'How should I save such a huge clan? I can't make it enter Konoha, the Uzumaki Clan head wouldn't like to serve under the Hokage, and there is also a chance that Konoha could sell the Uzumaki Clan Members in an attempt to pacify the Great Villages.'

He was really puzzled at what he should do. At that point, he remembered something. He decided to first burn this scroll from his grandma. It would be terrible if someone else read it.

And as for the scroll which contained all of his grandpa's Jutsus, he decided to keep it with him. There was a pocket in his vest which could hold the scroll.

Anyway, he felt that he needed to be fast.

Soon enough, he was in front of Kushina's room. He opened the door and noticed that Kushina was lying on the bed, with her head buried against a pillow.

"Kushina-chan, can you come with me?" Araki gently asked her. He knew she was feeling awful, as well. She probably blamed herself for his grandma's death.

Kushina looked up to see Araki smiling at her. She asked him curiously, "What happened Araki? Where do I need to go?"

"To Uzushio."

And with that, they took off!

Since Kushina had come from Uzushio a month ago, she knew the way to return. She took Araki through the fastest way she knew.

On the way, Araki didn't talk with Kushina. He was thinking deeply about what he must say to the Uzumaki Clan Head.

He knew that even if the Uzumaki Clan Head wouldn't listen to him, he should listen to his daughter's request.

Besides, he could protect himself from the Hokage and Danzo's clutches for some time. He could also receive the training from Uzumaki Clan Members. He did hear from his grandma that all of them had an excellent Water Affinity and Kenjutsu prowess. This was something he wouldn't learn in Konoha.

There were a few issues about going to Uzushio though. The Konoha wouldn't remain seated while letting its Jinchuirki live in the Uzushio. Araki calculated that the most he could extend his stay were 3 months. And in these 3 months… Araki must learn the Kenjutsu Style of the Uzumaki Clan and some Water Jutsus.

He didn't really know much about how strong his Water affinity was. He remembered his grandmother telling him that his Mokuton was a combination of Water and Earth Chakra. She told him that he must have a good Water Affinity as well.

Araki believed her words at that time. Right now, he planned on protecting the Uzumaki Clan from the combined attack of Three Great Villages, and after spending some more time in that village, he would return to Konoha.