Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

The Land of Whirlpools was a tiny island nation just off the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, so close to the mainland it barely measured more than a speck on the map. The Uzumaki clan of the Land of Whirlpools were distant relatives of the Forest Senju. Ever since Konoha's founding, the Land of Fire and Land of Whirlpools had maintained a relationship that went far beyond simple friendship.

Hmm, not quite lovers yet, but certainly more than allies... and that was considered harmonious enough.

Bound by blood and marriage, the Konoha Senju and Uzumaki clans forged a lasting alliance. Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage, came directly from the Uzumaki clan. After the death of the First Hokage, their ties did not weaken—they grew even stronger.

One reason was Mito Uzumaki herself, who remained in Konoha. Her dual role as the First Hokage's widow and an Uzumaki matriarch gave her considerable influence in both Konoha and her homeland. Additionally, the Second Hokage placed particular trust and reliance on the Uzumaki clan—and especially their secret techniques.

This dependence was out of necessity. Without Hashirama Senju, who could control the Nine-Tails as easily as taming a house cat, Konoha needed the Uzumaki clan's secret arts more than ever to restrain the beast. From Mito Uzumaki onward, every Nine-Tails jinchuriki in Konoha had come from the Uzumaki clan—whose chakra possessed unique abilities unmatched by other lineages when it came to sealing tailed beasts.

Given this deep bond, it was only natural for the Uzumaki to send envoys to Konoha at this time.

Konoha also treated the Uzumaki with unusual warmth—even more so than its own Uchiha clan. In truth, aside from living in the Land of Whirlpools, the Uzumaki at this point differed little from Konoha ninja themselves; in many cases, they could be considered one and the same.

It was now New Year season. Since Mito Uzumaki—the vessel of the Nine-Tails—could not leave Konoha, naturally some of her Uzumaki relatives came to pay her a visit. As allies of Konoha, the Uzumaki were naturally curious about what was going on inside the village. With the new Hokage recently taking office, they wanted to understand whether Konoha's foreign policies had changed. Thus, these envoys held serious diplomatic roles… nobody could deny the possibility that the newly appointed Third Hokage might turn out like Sarutobi Langan—a leader willing to sacrifice even his closest allies.

"In other words, at least up until now, the Land of Whirlpools hasn't been destroyed yet?" Watching the Uzumaki envoy team walk down the street toward the heart of the village, Haseo looked away and reflected to himself.

Thinking again, it made sense. As a jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki actually lived a very long life. She remained alive until the arrival of the next Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, before finally passing peacefully. Based on Kushina's age upon arriving in Konoha, that event likely took place at least thirty years after Konoha's founding.

Kushina Uzumaki arrived not long before the Land of Whirlpools fell—indicating that disaster was still over a decade away. In short, the Uzumaki clan still had many years ahead of them.

After the Uzumaki delegation passed through, the street slowly settled back into its usual rhythm. Following the dispersing crowd, Haseo walked forward, his mind occupied only by the flash of bright red hair he'd just seen. It really stood out.

Haseo had never personally witnessed the First Hokage's immense power or his sage-like physical constitution, though he had indeed seen the mighty chakra of the Uzumaki clan.

Just imagine—when Mito Uzumaki grew old enough for even her iconic red hair to fade away, her chakra still held the strength to rival that of the Nine-Tails. This alone was proof enough of her might.

The First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki really were made for each other—truly two peas in a pod.

"It's such a shame," Haseo muttered. "Even though both the First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki possessed such formidable powers and bloodlines…"

What exactly was the pity? What came after "however"? Haseo merely hesitated, but ultimately chose not to speak it aloud.

The downfall of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki clan carried an air of inevitability about it. For one, small nations and minor hidden villages inherently lacked room to survive; their deep ties with Konoha brought them advantages, but also disaster. In another sense, the Land of Whirlpools was like a country possessing nuclear weapons yet lacking any strategic depth—it'd be nothing short of a miracle if they weren't eventually destroyed.

Even if the Land of Whirlpools had territory as vast as that of the Rain Country, it would've at least gained some strategic depth. In reality, however, the Land of Rain alone was easily equal to ten Lands of Whirlpools.

Besides, although the Uzumaki clan was undeniably strong, their strength was rather one-sided—it didn't quite reach the level of a thermonuclear weapon.

"Sealing techniques…" Haseo mused again.

He recalled the Uzumaki clan's legendary specialty. When it came to the art of sealing, no one across the entire ninja world could surpass the Uzumaki. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say the foundation of Konoha's sealing techniques rested upon the secret arts of the Uzumaki clan.

Too bad, though. By now, Haseo had come to a firm conclusion—he simply lacked talent in this field. Without the ability for structural design or calculation, learning sealing techniques was painfully inefficient and time-consuming.

Man, what kind of cruel joke is this? These techniques are super powerful and totally useful, so why am I stuck with zero talent? Haseo asked himself regretfully.

Still, you can't have your cake and eat it too. After all, nobody can master every single thing there is to learn.

Actually, the issue wasn't all that hard to explain—it was just because the previous generation's mastery of sealing techniques had been too extraordinary. So when it came to him, it was only natural he wouldn't be particularly skilled.

Letting his mind wander, Haseo continued strolling around Konoha. Without realizing it, he had unconsciously left behind the busy and densely populated districts according to old habit, gradually approaching the training fields.

It was nothing more than the usual route he walked without thinking, yet surprisingly, he actually ran into someone undergoing intense training even on New Year's Day.

So Haseo casually found a bare pillar near the training grounds, brushed off the snow, and sat down to watch the other go through his grueling routine.

"Peeping isn't exactly a good hobby, Haseo."

Despite being focused on his training, the other quickly noticed Haseo's unexpected presence.

"Jiraiya, first of all, this isn't peeping. Secondly, I just didn't expect you to still be this diligent on New Year's Day. Lastly, do you really need to hold such a grudge? Still angry about last time?" Sitting high above, Haseo spoke while looking down at Jiraiya below.

The kid looked utterly exhausted, like a dead dog dragging itself along. He must have started training here early this morning, probably right at dawn. As the "least gifted" among the Third's three students, he probably understood well what hard work meant for someone like him.

Jiraiya shot Haseo a sidelong glance filled with obvious resentment. "You dare bring up what happened last time? Throwing me off the tower was bad enough, but lying to the Third about me abandoning my post ruined my reputation... Can't you understand what a charge of desertion means to a ninja?"

Haseo was momentarily speechless. So being thrown off the tower wasn't even the real issue...

As for Jiraiya's complaint about desertion, such an accusation would carry serious consequences for an average ninja. But in Jiraiya's case, it simply didn't stick. First of all, the Hokage clearly knew what had really happened during the incident at the Daimyo's Castle—he understood that Jiraiya had merely been a convenient excuse for Haseo to deliver intelligence directly into his own hands. Jiraiya himself had done nothing wrong; he was just a pawn being used. Moreover, as the Hokage's personal student, most problems simply didn't apply to him anyway.

"Well, didn't I already apologize and explain everything earlier? And you even said you understood! Why are you bringing this up again?"

"Your apology lacked sincerity."

While saying that, Jiraiya had already drawn something resembling a formation in the snow. Then he began forming hand seals:

[Boar – Dog – Bird – Monkey – Ram (Hand Seals)]

Wait, this technique looks familiar?

But hadn't he skipped an important step? Wasn't there supposed to be some blood sprinkled?

Oh crap.

"Jiraiya, are you sure about your jutsu—"

"Huh?"

Before Haseo could finish speaking, Jiraiya vanished with a puff right inside the circle he'd drawn—the jutsu he'd just used was Summoning Jutsu.

More precisely, though, it was Summoning Jutsu without having signed any summoning contract beforehand… Basically just a chaotic, random Space–Time Ninjutsu. For most ninja attempting such reckless use, they'd end up shredded by misaligned spatial currents. A few extremely (and I mean extremely) lucky ones might survive, only to randomly materialize somewhere across the entire shinobi world, likely landing half-dead.

Therefore, although Haseo initially felt alarmed about Jiraiya's sudden disappearance, he quickly realized something—Jiraiya's luck was far beyond what one would call "just good."

Fate has a strangely beautiful way of unfolding.

Indeed, Jiraiya's life had always been destined to be one filled with love toward the toads of Mount Myoboku.

P.S.:

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With vacation over, it's time to start casting your votes again.

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