Chapter 5.

The smiling red-haired man in front of us was a perfect copy of Ryuta, from dark grey-green eyes to exactly the same physique. But how can it be? Did we get a letter about his death? "I almost guessed it," the Uzumaki, who met us, shook his head and, waving the papers of our escorts, transferred all his attention to us. "I am Ryuuji Uzumaki and your grandfather." He smiled sadly and took me from my mother's arms. - So young? You can't give you more than twenty, - I grunted skeptically, from a closer distance I could distinguish the wrinkles that had just begun to appear on my face, - maybe you are my uncle? - The famous longevity of our clan in action, - he laughed, having finished the inspection and putting me on his arm, - in fact, I am fifty-three years old. Sitting comfortably, I grabbed the newly-born grandfather by the neck and turned to my mother, which gave us the opportunity to get to know each other without delay. "Hello Ryuji-san," Saya bowed, "despite such a sad occasion, I'm always glad to see you again." - Girl, don't bow to me, we're a family! - Uzumaki shook his head and stepped forward, hugging his mother with his free hand, pressing it to his chest. Considering that he was almost a head and a half taller than her and twice as wide, this maneuver was a success for my grandfather with ease even without looking at me. Hmm... And pa was a palm lower, probably, had not yet grown to the height calculated by nature. From such a thought, I became sad - now I won't be able to see him at least once more. "Well, we'll still have time to talk," Ryuuji stepped back, "for now, let's go back to Uzushio." Naturally, no one objected, so we left the port town. And along the way, I noticed that on both sides, behind a sparse forest, rather high and steep mountains rise, reliably locking the rest of the island from anyone who wants to turn aside from the only path laid from the port. Natural protection is good! Even shinobi will have to work hard to get there. After an hour of fast running, we were in sight of the shinobi village. "Welcome to Uzushiogakure no Sato, Ryū-chan," my grandfather patted me on the head, noticing my somewhat stunned look. And there was something to get excited about - from the low hillock on which we stopped, a beautiful view of the valley opened, in the middle of which the village of the Uzumaki clan was located. And the fact that I had already seen Konoha, which was considered the largest and strongest among the five countries, did not prepare for the spectacle that opened up. What should I start with. The first thing that really attracted attention was the walls. The walls of Uzushiogakure, at least the outer part, were not made of wood, clay or stone, but of black metal. And it would be fine if it was just metal - almost every inch of free space was covered with a ligature of huge seals! Moreover, each of them literally breathed POWER and emitted light, visible even to the ordinary eye! What volume should be an artifact that supports the entire complex of protections of such power ?! The one in the basement of our house is a five-centimeter metal cube covered with seals, worth about ten million ryo, and, when fully filled, can maintain a barrier and other surprises for intruders for four years. Here, the artifact is clearly larger and more expensive. And this is with the height of the walls, almost equal to those that protect Konoha. Second, what was surprising was the size of Uzushiogakure. Considering that only one Uzumaki clan and a certain amount of the general population live in it, then any person will expect a settlement a hundred times less than the rest of the great villages. The same Hyuuga, who are at home one of the largest clans, now do not exceed the number of more than three thousand people, and this, together with ordinary members who have not been trained as shinobi. Here, too, is a village the size of one-tenth of Liszt. Considering its population of about two hundred and a thousand people, there will be at least twenty here - an unthinkable number for one single clan! Well, the third thing that certainly attracted my attention was the roofs of the palace towering above the walls. Anyone who has ever seen the Japanese Imperial Palace will understand me. Unfortunately, because of the walls, only the two upper floors and a terrace with a small garden were visible, but if you estimate by eye, then this is at least six or seven floors. Considering even the hokage tower, which did not exceed four, it is worth giving praise to the masters that they were able to do without modern construction machines and materials, using only stone, wood and metal. Well, and with the help of shinobi, which can often replace any construction equipment. - Well, how do you like the spectacle? Grandfather chuckled proudly, giving me time to recover a bit. - Our clan has been living in this place for more than a thousand years and is able to repel any attack that dared to attack us! The location of the village was specially chosen in such a way as to close the passage into the interior of the island. Yeah, that's just the strength of the two great villages, along with possible betrayal, will be enough. After a little more admiring the majestic spectacle, we went downstairs and moved to the large gate, now open, guarded by four chunin and two jonin. And if the first ones I still felt the real volumes of chakra, no matter how hard they tried to hide them, then with senior comrades in rank this did not work - the volume of chakra was the size of the one that Senju had and that's it. Only then did I wonder how much chakra my grandfather had - even considering the proximity to him, I felt only a small reserve, at the level of an experienced chunin. I just doubt that this is true - six guards let us through without question just by looking at my grandfather and at the same time everyone bowed, showing respect. And as far as I learned from my father, Uzumaki have such respect only for those who have earned it by deed and personal strength. So this means only one thing - this representative of the Uzumaki clan has perfect control (for a clan of chakra monsters - ordinary shinobi are able to reduce the level almost to the level of an ordinary person) of chakra and the ability to hide it. "You don't have to try," Ryuuji grunted, noticing my half-closed eyes and concentration, "for a real Uzumaki, chakra control is a matter of life and death." Damn, Pa said the men in his family had sensory powers! So, we must be able to feel others. - Why? - I was surprised. - With our volume, control for technicians is not so important. "Of course, it's true," grandfather agreed, moving slowly down the street and nodding at the smiles and greetings of most of the people he met, "but even the green genin of our clan usually has several times more chakra than the average chunin from the great villages. You can imagine the situation with those who have a higher rank. Any, even the most lousy sensor is able to notice us from afar without really straining, if not hiding. Yes, even simple shinobi who have trained the ability to sense chakra can detect us at a distance of several hundred meters. That is why having perfect control as possible is vital for all Uzumaki - regardless of the amount of chakra available, you can always disguise yourself from most shinobi who have not developed this side of their abilities. trained to sense the chakra can detect us at a distance of several hundred meters. That is why having perfect control as possible is vital for all Uzumaki - regardless of the amount of chakra available, you can always disguise yourself from most shinobi who have not developed this side of their abilities. trained to sense the chakra can detect us at a distance of several hundred meters. That is why having perfect control as possible is vital for all Uzumaki - regardless of the amount of chakra available, you can always disguise yourself from most shinobi who have not developed this side of their abilities.

Hmm... indeed, if you look at the situation from this angle, then control is really vital, otherwise you can only dream of ambushes, reconnaissance and espionage. Nodding to my grandfather, I began to stare around. Unlike Konoha, where most of the buildings were built in the manner of European buildings with simple boxes no higher than two or three floors, and only in clan possessions there was a Japanese style, here it is the other way around - a classic settlement of ancient Japan from one-story buildings. And in general, everything here literally breathed antiquity, despite the fact that the houses looked almost new. I guess it's the work of the seals. And what also surprised me was the liveliness of the streets - they are still far from Konoha, but for a village on a relatively large island, this is impressive. And also the amount of greenery around - there were wide paths near the houses, bushes, trees and flowers were planted in front of them, forming a kind of park area, and in the very middle the main road was paved with stone tiles. It is very similar to our prospectuses and insanely beautiful. I envy those who live here - at home, ordinary streets are practically devoid of greenery. Yes, and passers-by are not so friendly and smiling, as far as I noticed during walks with my mother. Moreover, the vast majority of the local - red-haired. No, other colors are present - I noticed blondes, brunettes, brown hairs, redheads and a few completely exotic colors, but it was a drop in the ocean. And literally every one of them had a MUCH larger amount of chakra than normal residents would be expected to. "It's very simple, for each Uzumaki, the amount of available chakra directly affects the rate of wound healing and overall life expectancy," my grandfather answered my question. "That is why even those who decide not to follow the path of the shinobi undergo initial training, which allows them to increase the volume of chakra and control over it. Thus, even ordinary residents live with us for up to a hundred years and are able to use several techniques. Damn, then it is clear why the village got its unofficial name - the village of longevity. "And how old is the oldest Uzumaki?" "The longest age recorded in our chronicles is five hundred years," Ryuuji replied, "Our Kage is almost three hundred years old at the moment and he intends to live the same amount more." No wonder our village is called the village of centenarians! Fuck yourself!!! My eyes popped out of my head from these numbers. Does this mean that if I have a reserve comparable to an ordinary Kage, then with a guarantee I will live for two to three hundred years? Wow! I don't care about the depletion of the chakra - I will train without sparing myself! So, wait, the first jinchuuriki died of old age before or during the second shinobi world war. So, based on the age of the Senju brothers, she must have been about one hundred or one hundred and fifty years old at the time of her death. Hardly an age for a really strong Uzumaki, and given her ability to literally instantly seal a biju in herself, she cannot be considered weak by definition. But rather than guessing, it's better to ask. "What about Mito Uzumaki?" I asked. - Mmm... What do you mean? Grandpa raised an eyebrow. - Why is she considered old if strong Uzumaki live a very long time? "You see, there are several factors that can affect the lifespan of a shinobi who wields our kekkei genkai," Ryuuji replied slowly and gave his mother a quick questioning look. She answered him with an almost imperceptible nod. Are they the ones that got so excited about being the first Hokage's wife? "You see, Mito-sama is the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox, if you know the meaning of that word," the grandfather continued with a sigh. "The power of human sacrifice," I replied, earning a shocked look from both adults, I had to explain. - I read a book about biju and the sage of six paths in the library. - The children have gone, - the grandfather muttered under his breath, which earned Baba a laugh. "He is Nara," Ma smiled, "and is already smarter than most adults outside of our clan, and his cousin has been playing shogi with almost any of his opponents since the age of five. Uh-huh, and I'm shamefully blowing a six-year-old in two games out of five despite a bunch of years of life experience behind me. It's a shame! - With whom my son contacted, - jokingly shook his head Uzumaki, - At his age, I was more worried about games and training, and I couldn't even be dragged to books even by the ears, not to mention visiting the clan library. I only snorted at such a confession - without books, one can only take and die from boredom from Nara, since most children prefer to relax in their free time, rather than play games. Of course, this applies exclusively to physical games, and not to intellectual ones, such as shogi and go. The latter is less popular, but also present. - Okay, back to the topic of discussion - because of her status, Mito-sama not only gets the ability to restrain and use the power of the bijuu, but also acquires a number of disadvantages, - the grandfather breathed, - the Kyuubi chakra is very poisonous and even despite our kekkei genkai, able to suppress it thanks to a unique chakra, it still damages the body just by its mere presence, and when used, it greatly reduces the allotted life span. Considering the fact that the fox was already an adult, it also affected the rate of aging. So it turns out that instead of two hundred or three hundred years, set by one of the strongest kunoichi of our clan, Mito-sama will live much less. What about the other jinchuuriki? After all, there are cases when they lived to old age, being ordinary people without any kekkei genkai? - I was surprised. - Firstly, this applies to less powerful bijuu, whose chakra is not so poisonous, and secondly, it all depends on the type and time of sealing, - the grandfather explained, - the younger the vessel, the more likely the body and the chakra system will be able to adapt under an additional source without harmful consequences for the carrier. - It's clear, I nodded, and suddenly, unexpectedly, I yawned widely. - Tired of new experiences? Sai smiled. "It's okay, we'll be there soon," Ryuuji reassured. While I was absorbing new information, we slowly approached closer and closer to the middle 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 lived. Indeed, in addition to the house itself, the same chunins and jonins need a closed area for personal training, where it is better not to allow outsiders, especially if there are Uchihas in the district. At least that's the state of affairs in Konoha. I don't think it's different here - they created it with the participation of Uzumaki. "Here you can see our house," Ryuuji nodded forward, pointing to the real pagoda towering above the red stone fence. Approaching the gate, he simply ran his hand over it and the seal that appeared for a moment went out, and they swung open. Upon entering, we found ourselves in the middle of a small park leading to the house, grown bonsai on the sides, trimmed shrubs very similar to wild rose and barberry, small beds of some small blue-yellow flowers and a bunch of other things. I didn't go into more detail, because we came to a small platform covered with pebbles, from which steps led to the entrance to the house. There was no living thing in it. Interestingly, so huge and for one ... Grandfather climbed the stairs, pushed the door aside and, entering, put me on the floor. trimmed bushes very similar to wild rose and barberry, small beds of some small blue-yellow flowers and a bunch of other things. I didn't go into more detail, because we came to a small platform covered with pebbles, from which steps led to the entrance to the house. There was no living thing in it. Interestingly, so huge and for one ... Grandfather climbed the stairs, pushed the door aside and, entering, put me on the floor. trimmed bushes very similar to wild rose and barberry, small beds of some small blue-yellow flowers and a bunch of other things. I didn't go into more detail, because we came to a small platform covered with pebbles, from which steps led to the entrance to the house. There was no living thing in it. Interestingly, so huge and for one ... Grandfather climbed the stairs, pushed the door aside and, entering, put me on the floor.

- Well, here we are, - he smiled, - take off your shoes and go inside. Throwing off my sandals, which had pretty rubbed my feet during the whole week of traveling, I put them aside and, without waiting for the adults, pushed the next door and stepped inside. Dark. And a bunch of...! - Welcome to the family, Ryu!!! The sudden flash of light and the sound of a scream almost frightened me. Blinking a few times, I stared. Never mind - in front of me was a real crowd of three or four dozen red-haired people. Children, teenagers, adults and the elderly of both sexes stood and looked at me with a huge smile, almost tangibly radiating joy!