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Chapter 2: The Weight of Crimson
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The dawn broke over Uzushiogakure, painting the village in hues of gold and crimson. Kazuto Uzumaki stood atop the clan compound's highest tower, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The ocean stretched endlessly, its calm surface belying the storms he knew were coming. At ten years old, he carried the weight of a clan, a village, and a future he refused to let slip away. His crimson hair whipped in the wind, and his fingers twitched, itching to craft another seal. Sleep had eluded him again, but rest was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Below, the village stirred. Fishermen hauled nets, children practiced basic seals under their parents' watchful eyes, and shinobi patrolled the perimeter, their steps guided by fuinjutsu arrays that pulsed faintly in the earth. Uzushiogakure was a fortress of seals, but Kazuto knew it wasn't enough. Not against the combined might of Kirigakure and Kumogakure. Not against the greed that drove nations to crush what they couldn't control.
"Kazuto-sama!" A voice broke his reverie. Reina, the kunoichi from the previous night's training, approached, her expression tense. "The elders request your presence. There's… a visitor from Konoha."
Kazuto's eyes narrowed. Konoha. The Hidden Leaf was an ally, bound by blood through his cousin, Kushina, who'd been sent there as a child to become the next Jinchuriki. But he knew better than to trust alliances blindly. In his past life, he'd read between the lines of the manga—Konoha's leaders, especially Danzo, had their own agendas. "Who is it?" he asked, descending the tower with a grace that belied his age.
"An envoy named Toru Hyuga," Reina replied, keeping pace. "He claims to bring a message from the Hokage, but he's… evasive."
Kazuto's lips pressed into a thin line. A Hyuga. That meant the Byakugan, and likely a mission to observe as much as to deliver. "Double the patrols," he ordered. "And activate the sensory seals around the council hall. I want to know if he so much as twitches."
Reina nodded and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Kazuto headed toward the council hall, his mind racing. Konoha's timing was suspicious. Uzushiogakure's strength was no secret, but neither was its isolation. Why send an envoy now, two years before the village's fall? He clenched his fist, feeling the faint hum of a storage seal tattooed on his wrist—a personal project, holding a dozen experimental scrolls. Whatever this Toru wanted, Kazuto would be ready.
Inside the council hall, the elders sat in a semicircle, their faces etched with worry. At the center stood Toru Hyuga, a lean man with the telltale white eyes of his clan. His posture was polite, but Kazuto caught the subtle flicker of his gaze, scanning the room's seals. Spying already, he thought, his own eyes cold as he entered.
"Kazuto-sama," an elder greeted, rising. "This is Toru Hyuga, envoy of Konohagakure."
Toru bowed, his smile practiced. "It is an honor to meet the prodigy of the Uzumaki. The Hokage sends his regards and a proposal to strengthen our alliance."
Kazuto sat at the head of the table, his small frame dwarfed by the chair but his presence commanding. "Speak plainly," he said, his voice cutting through the pleasantries. "What does Konoha want?"
Toru's smile didn't falter, but Kazuto sensed a shift in his chakra—wary, calculating. "The Hokage proposes an exchange of knowledge. Konoha offers advanced medical ninjutsu techniques in return for… certain fuinjutsu insights."
The elders murmured, some nodding eagerly. Kazuto's expression didn't change, but inwardly, he seethed. Medical ninjutsu was valuable, but fuinjutsu was the Uzumaki's lifeblood. To share it so freely was to invite vultures to their doorstep. He leaned forward, his gaze locking onto Toru's. "Which seals?" he asked, his tone soft but laced with menace.
Toru hesitated, a crack in his composure. "The Hokage seeks knowledge of your clan's… containment seals. For Bijuu, specifically."
The room went silent. Kazuto's fingers tapped the table, each sound deliberate. Containment seals. Of course. Konoha wanted leverage over their Jinchuriki, perhaps even to tighten their grip on Kushina. Or worse, Danzo was fishing for tools to control tailed beasts for his own schemes. Kazuto's past-life knowledge screamed warnings—Danzo's ROOT, the Uchiha's eventual downfall, the Akatsuki's rise. He wouldn't let Uzushiogakure become a pawn.
"Containment seals are sacred to our clan," Kazuto said at last. "They're not currency to be traded. If Konoha wants our trust, send shinobi to train alongside us. Prove your commitment."
Toru's eyes flickered, his Byakugan catching the faint glow of a seal under Kazuto's sleeve. "A generous counteroffer," he said smoothly. "I'll relay it to the Hokage. May I stay a few days to observe your village's… hospitality?"
Kazuto's smile was a blade. "Of course. But know this: our seals see everything." It was a bluff—mostly. The village's sensory arrays weren't that precise yet, but Kazuto was working on it. Toru's slight stiffening told him the warning landed.
After the meeting, Kazuto retreated to his workshop, a sealed chamber deep within the compound. Scrolls littered the floor, each covered in his meticulous handwriting. He unrolled a fresh one and began sketching, his mind still on Toru. The Hyuga's visit was a test, a probe. Konoha was watching, and others would follow. He needed to accelerate his plans.
His latest project was ambitious: a fuinjutsu-based technique he called the Crimson Chain. Inspired by his old fan theories, it was a seal that could bind an opponent's chakra network, paralyzing them mid-fight. He'd tested it on shadow clones, but it drained him dangerously. His Uzumaki vitality helped, but he was still a child, his reserves limited. He needed to refine it, make it efficient enough to use in battle.
As he worked, a knock interrupted him. Reina entered, holding a report. "Kazuto-sama, the sensory seals picked up something. Toru was sending a coded message via a summoned bird. We couldn't intercept it."
Kazuto's pen stilled. "Expected," he said. "Assign a team to shadow clones to tail him. Discreetly. And he'll need to finish the counter-wire traps around the village." He glanced at his scroll, where the Crimson Chain's seal gleamed wetly. "And tell the smiths to prepare chakra-conductive blades. We'll need them."
Reina hesitated. "Kazuto-sama… you're pushing yourself too hard. You haven't rested in days."
His eyes met hers, and she flinched. "Rest is for the dead," he said softly. "We have two years. I won't waste a second."
Alone again, Kazuto resumed his work, the seal's lines spiraling like the village he swore to protect. Outside, the ocean whispered, and the first threads of war began to weave.
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End of Chapter 2
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