Chapter 18

"It's very simple. For every Uzumaki, the amount of available chakra directly affects the speed of wound healing and overall lifespan," Grandpa answered my question. "That's why even those who decide not to become shinobi undergo initial training to increase their chakra volume and control over it. As a result, even ordinary residents in our village live up to a hundred years and are capable of using several techniques."

Damn, now it's clear why the village got its unofficial name — the longevity village.

"And how old is the oldest Uzumaki?" I asked.

"The highest age recorded in our chronicles is five hundred years," Ryudji replied. "Our Kage at the moment is almost three hundred years old and intends to live for another as much. No wonder our village is called the village of long-livers!"

Holy crap!!! My eyes almost popped out of my head from those numbers. Does that mean if I have a reserve comparable to an ordinary Kage, I'll live two to three hundred years for sure? Wow! Screw chakra exhaustion — I'll train relentlessly!

Wait, the first jinchuriki died of old age before or during the Second Shinobi World War. So, judging by the age of the Senju brothers, she should have been around a hundred and fifty years old when she died. Hardly the age for a truly strong Uzumaki, considering her ability to instantly seal a biju within herself, she cannot be considered weak by definition. But why guess, it's better to ask.

"What about Mito Uzumaki?" I asked.

"Hmm… What do you mean?" Grandpa raised an eyebrow.

"Why is she considered old if strong Uzumaki live very long?" 

"Well, there are several factors that can affect the lifespan of a shinobi with our kekkei genkai," Ryudji slowly replied, throwing a quick questioning glance at Mom.

She responded with an almost imperceptible nod. Are they so excited because of the status of the first Hokage's wife?

"You see, Mito herself is the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, if you know the meaning of that word," Grandpa continued with a sigh.

"'The power of human sacrifice'," I replied, earning a shocked look from both adults, so I had to explain. "I read a book about biju and the Sage of Six Paths in the library."

"Now the kids are going," Grandpa muttered to himself, earning a laugh from Sai.

"He's Nara," Mom smiled, "and he's already smarter than most adults outside our clan, and his cousin has been beating almost any opponent in shogi since he was five."

Yeah, and I'm six years old and embarrassingly lose in two out of five games despite having years of life experience. It's frustrating!

"What my son got involved in," Uzumaki jokingly shook his head, "at his age, I was more worried about games and training, and I couldn't be dragged to books even if you pulled me by the ears, let alone visiting the clan library."

To such a confession, I just snorted — without books, Nara can only get bored to death, as most kids prefer to relax in their free time rather than play games. Of course, this applies exclusively to physical games, not intellectual ones like shogi and go. The latter is less popular, but also present.

"Okay, let's get back to the topic of discussion — because of her status, Mito not only gets the opportunity to contain and use the power of the biju, but also acquires a number of drawbacks," Grandpa inhaled.

"The chakra of the Nine-Tails is very poisonous and even despite our kekkei genkai, capable of suppressing it thanks to unique chakra, it still damages the body simply by its presence, and when used, significantly reduces the expected lifespan. Considering the fact that the fox sealed inside her was already an adult, it also affected the aging rate. So it turns out that instead of the two to three hundred years allotted to one of the strongest kunoichi of our clan, Mito will live much less."

"And what about other jinchuriki? There are known cases when they lived to old age, being ordinary people without any kekkei genkai?" I was surprised.

"Firstly, this applies to less powerful biju, whose chakra is not so poisonous, and secondly, it all depends on the type and timing of the seal application," Grandpa explained. "The younger the vessel, the more likely it is that the body and chakra system will adapt to the additional source without harmful consequences for the carrier."

"Got it," I nodded and suddenly yawned unexpectedly for myself.

"Tired of new impressions?" Sai smiled.

"It's okay, we'll be there soon," Ryudji reassured me.

While I was absorbing the new information, we gradually approached the center of the village, where the palace was located, and the usual houses around were replaced by long fences, usually indicating that the land around belonged to the part of the village where high-ranking shinobi or entire clans reside.

After all, besides the house itself, chunin and jonin also need a closed area for personal training, where outsiders are better off not being admitted, especially if there are Uchiha nearby. At least, that's the situation in Konoha. I don't think it's different here — it was created with the involvement of the Uzumaki.

"And there's our house already visible," Ryudji nodded ahead, pointing to a pagoda rising above the red stone fence.