Night was approaching, and the number of civilians arriving at the relief point had gradually decreased. Not many were taken in today—only a little over two hundred. It was estimated that a single ship would be enough to transport them to the Land of Whirlpools tomorrow. So...
Tonight, they would still rest at the border of the Land of Fire.
After the Uzu-nin distributed tents and blankets, they separated the refugees by age and gender. Of course, families were allowed to stay together.
After dinner, the refugees received their allocated charcoal and quietly settled into their tents.
Perhaps out of fear, they huddled together in small groups inside the tents, sitting silently.
The cold was slowly driven away by the burning charcoal. The children, no longer suffering from hunger or cold, wore satisfied expressions as they clung tightly to their parents.
"Mom, will we never freeze or starve to death again?" A boy around six years old looked up at his mother with hope, then lowered his head, his voice tinged with sadness.
"It's just too bad... Big Brother Aki couldn't make it."
His mother stroked his head sorrowfully but said nothing. His "Big Brother Aki" had starved to death along the way. Such things were all too common...
Too many had frozen or starved to death on the journey.
The older refugees wore expressions of worry mixed with...
Longing.
What did the Land of Whirlpools want from them? Why were they treating refugees so kindly? Not only were they given enough to eat, but the thick porridge even contained meat. At night, they were given charcoal and clothing.
All of this felt too unreal...
They were just a group of homeless refugees.
Everyone felt this was too unbelievable. They stayed quiet, not daring to cause any trouble, afraid of losing what they had. After all, the cold and hunger were terrifying.
And...
Maybe what the Uzu-nin said was true...
...
"Lord Shikazo, this is the charcoal distributed by the Uzu-nin," a Konoha-nin reported.
"Charcoal?" Nara Shikazo asked doubtfully. "Bring it here."
He hadn't expected the Land of Whirlpools to give them charcoal.
Nara Shikazo picked up a piece and examined it, frowning. "This shape..."
Where did it come from?
The pieces were so uniformly shaped, as if deliberately cut this way.
Could it really be dug up from the ground?
What kind of charcoal was this?
"Do the Uzu-nin have a lot of it?" Nara Shikazo asked, still frowning. Both the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha knew their alliance was only superficial. Yet, the Uzu-nin had still given them charcoal—something so precious in the middle of winter.
"Yes, even the refugees received some," the Konoha-nin replied. "And they were told they could request more if needed."
"..."
This was truly unbelievable. Even the refugees had been given some.
Konoha, as the leader of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only provided refugees with thin porridge—no meat, barely any rice grains visible—let alone something as valuable as charcoal.
"Could the Land of Whirlpools have discovered a large natural coal deposit?" Nara Shikazo muttered, frowning. "This needs to be reported to the Hokage."
He pulled out the report he had just written and added:
"Suspected discovery of a large, usable natural coal deposit in the Land of Whirlpools!"
"Lord Shikazo, should we use it?" The Konoha-nin pointed at the charcoal. The weather was freezing, and their own coal reserves were nearly exhausted. If they could rely on the Land of Whirlpools' supply...
Maybe they wouldn't have to endure the cold this winter.
"Light it," Nara Shikazo said with a nod. "But save some."
He would bring a sample back for the Hokage to examine. What kind of charcoal was this, with such a uniform shape?
"Yes!"
Watching the Konoha-nin leave to light the charcoal, Nara Shikazo sighed. "I wonder if the Hokage will approve the reward money this time..."
If not, what would they do?
And what about the Uzu-nin's antics? How would Konoha's higher-ups respond?
For now, it wasn't causing any losses to Konoha. In fact...
It was even improving Konoha's reputation. But sending shinobi to deal with it every time was troublesome.
And...
Nara Shikazo still didn't know if the Uzu-nin had some hidden scheme.
"First, I'll ask the Hokage how to handle this."
...
"Remember to arrange for shinobi to escort the first group of refugees back tomorrow," Uzumaki Jun instructed the Uzu-nin below. "Bring my specially made kunai. If anything happens, activate them immediately."
"Yes!"
"The orphans must also be properly cared for. Although the orphanage hasn't been built yet, the staff must be fully prepared. You can even select some civilians to help—whether they're shinobi or not doesn't matter."
"As for Yakushi Nonō, arrange for her to study the medical ninjutsu of the Land of Whirlpools."
The medical ninjutsu of the Land of Whirlpools relied heavily on life force as a shortcut, so their techniques weren't particularly advanced...
Perhaps the rise of the Land of Whirlpools' medical technology would start with Nonō.
After all, she was the one who would replace Tsunade as the next head of the medical department.
Of course, it would be even better if they could recruit her adopted son in the future. Medical ninja with a scientific mindset were rare.
"..."
Though they didn't understand why Lord Jun valued that little girl so much...
The shinobi below paused for a moment but still replied respectfully, "Yes."
Uzumaki Jun thought for a moment, checking if he had missed anything. "If domestic supplies run low, have Gato make another trip."
"Konoha will probably send word in the next few days. If they refuse to let us recommend talent to them, comply. If not..."
"Ignore it."
Everything had to be justified. As long as they followed the rules here, Konoha wouldn't have an excuse to cause trouble.
"Yes!"
"That's all for now." Uzumaki Jun looked at the people below. "Before leaving, patrol every tent to ensure nothing unexpected happens."
...
Land of Whirlpools...
"We succeeded. We succeeded!" The elders' eyes were bloodshot. After so many days without rest, even the Uzumaki Clan—known for their vitality—couldn't hold up. But as they stared at the furnace-like object before them...
Joy spread across their faces.
"Haha! We finally succeeded!"
"That's right, we actually managed to inscribe it successfully!"
"Now..."
All the elders cheered.
"No, we've only succeeded halfway," the elder said, frowning at the furnace. "We still haven't achieved the temperature control Lord Jun mentioned. As for the temperature..."
"How do we solve it?"
And...
They still didn't know how long it would last.
"Maybe adjusting the quality and speed of chakra input could work?" one elder suggested.
"But it's unstable, and we haven't succeeded in storing chakra yet."
"Don't rush. Take it slowly. Since we've succeeded in the first step, the rest will follow."
"If only we had Lady Mito's Yin Seal. Maybe we could learn something from it."
"Don't worry. Lord Jun said he'd find a way to get it."
"But in a way, it's also a legacy. Would Lady Mito give it to us?"
"She probably would. After all, she provided the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags."
"Maybe..."
The elder sighed, looking at them. He didn't know whether Lady Mito would give the Yin Seal to the Uzumaki Clan. Last time, they had obtained the two forbidden techniques—Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and Multiple Shadow Clone Technique—perhaps out of Lady Mito's guilt.
Guilt for not being able to help the Land of Whirlpools. Guilt for Konoha refusing to aid the Land of Whirlpools.
But now...
The Land of Whirlpools had entered an era of peace.