This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 204 The Uzumaki Clan Joins (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Tickets)

With long, flowing red hair, regular features, and an average appearance, her figure was neither sexy nor bad, just ordinary. Only her bright, large eyes left a deep impression.

Her name is Yumi Uzumaki, she is 23 years old, and she has a fiancé who died in this incident. She is just an ordinary villager in Uzumaki Village.

At this moment, the survivors representing the Uzumaki clan spoke with Ryuji.

"Mr. Ayaki, thank you and the Sand Village ninja for saving us. But if you're hoping to obtain sealing techniques or related information from us survivors, you'll be disappointed. We're just ordinary people; we can't even refine chakra, let alone learn more difficult sealing techniques." Uzumaki Yumi looked at Ryuji calmly, her expression and tone neither humble nor arrogant, showing no sign of lowering her stance because of the other party's superior strength or her own weakness.

Although she was an ordinary person, she was very clear about the way ninjas operated. They would not abandon their mission because the target was pitiful or not, nor would they cause trouble for no reason because the target was in their way.

If you are not the other party's target, then naturally there is no problem.

If so, there's no escaping it, so it's better to face it calmly.

"I didn't come here for the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques," Ryuji replied with a smile.

Who are you kidding?

Yumi Uzumaki's face was filled with these three words, expressed in a sarcastic way.

It seems that even though the Sunagakure ninjas tried their best to be respectful when rescuing them, they still failed to leave a good impression on these survivors of the Uzumaki clan.

After all, their clan had just been destroyed by the ninjas, and Sunagakure had merely taken the fleeing survivors to their castle under the guise of "rescue and protection."

Expecting her to have a good attitude is wishful thinking.

But Ryuji didn't care; on the contrary, he felt even more satisfied.

The more Yumi Uzumaki behaves in this way, the more it demonstrates her strong sense of autonomy and judgment. Only in this way can he be more confident in recruiting this group of survivors from the Uzumaki clan into Sunagakure.

He said with a smile, "What I'm about to say is all true. Of course, whether you believe it or not is entirely up to Miss Yumi to decide."

"Then, Mr. Aya, please tell us!"

Yumi Uzumaki was somewhat dismissive.

In her eyes, this was nothing more than a ninja trick.

Although she wasn't a ninja, Uzushio Village was a small place, and everyone dealt with the village's ninjas every day. They might not know everything, but they still had a lot of knowledge.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to survive in such a chaotic situation.

"We from Sunagakure came here after hearing about the atrocities committed by Kirigakure in your country..."

At this point, Ryuji paused, glancing subtly at Yumi. Seeing a flash of disgust in her eyes, he continued, "Of course, we didn't come here to save Uzushio Village."

Yumi Uzumaki paused, her expression turning somewhat astonished.

Long Er secretly took in the other person's expression and smiled slightly, but continued without revealing his true feelings, "We came here for you."

"Me, us?"

Yumi Uzumaki stared at herself, dumbfounded and somewhat bewildered.

"To be precise, they are the survivors of the Uzumaki clan."

Upon hearing this, Yumi Uzumaki paused for a moment, then realized what she meant and couldn't help but laugh, "Mr. Ayaki, didn't I already say that we don't have what you want?"

Yumi thought that Ryuji had gone on for so long just to get the sealing technique or related information from them.

"No, as I've already said, our purpose in coming here is for you yourselves." Ryuji shook his head slightly, and seeing that Uzumaki Yumi still looked confused, he continued to explain, "In my eyes, the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan is priceless, far more valuable than that sealing technique."

Upon hearing this, Yumi Uzumaki's face turned deathly pale.

Her deceased fiancé was a ninja, and he knew that some people who were passionate about research liked to conduct human experiments, especially on people with bloodline limits or special abilities, who were their favorite targets.

The Uzumaki clan is naturally a group with special abilities.

Aside from their extraordinary vitality, some of them also possess the ability to sense and heal others.

Falling into the hands of these people is a thousand times worse than death.

"Wait, are you thinking about something?" Seeing Yumi's expression, Ryuji immediately realized something and quickly explained, "I just wanted to invite you to join Sunagakure, that's all."

"Huh?"

Yumi Uzumaki was stunned.

She blinked her big eyes, staring blankly at Long Er, as if afraid she had misheard, and asked to confirm, "What did you just say?"

"I mean, I would like to invite you to live permanently in Sunagakure."

"But we're just ordinary people!" Yumi Uzumaki was still puzzled.

Although it is now the era of ninja villages, there are still many ninja clans or ninja families outside the village who have not joined.

Neither the five major ninja villages nor the smaller ninja villages prohibit outside ninjas from joining.

The five great ninja villages are relatively good; they generally take in those with clean backgrounds. However, some small and medium-sized ninja villages, in order to strengthen their power, will even take in rogue ninjas from other ninja villages, as long as they are not wanted by the entire ninja world.

Of course, regardless of which ninja village it is, outside ninjas who want to join must undergo very strict screening and assessment, and they will not be trusted or entrusted with important tasks. They can only work as ordinary ninjas in the village to take on missions and make a living.

If Yumi and her group were ninjas, it would be understandable, but they were just ordinary people... although every ninja village is made up of many ninjas and ordinary people from outside.

However, after so many years since the ninja village era, the population suitable for living in each ninja village has long been saturated.

Unless a ninja brings their family or entire clan to join, they generally do not accept ordinary people, let alone actively invite them to join.

"Although you are ordinary people, you can become ninjas. With the excellent bloodline of the Uzumaki clan, you all have the potential to become strong."

Upon hearing this, Yumi Uzumaki finally understood Ryuji's thoughts and couldn't help but smile wryly, "But I don't want to become a ninja!"

"It's okay. Even if you don't want to be a ninja, what about everyone else?"

"Even if others don't want to become ninjas, what about their children and grandchildren?"

"Once you join Sunagakure and become residents of the village, there will always be members of the Uzumaki clan who aspire to become ninjas, and you will eventually contribute to the village. Of course, Sunagakure will treat you all the same, whether it's the rewards for your contributions or the punishments for violating Sunagakure's laws, you will be treated the same as other villagers."

"So, how about considering becoming a member of Sunagakure?"

"I……"

Faced with Ryuji's pyramid scheme-like invitation, Yumi Uzumaki was momentarily taken aback and didn't know how to respond.

But she quickly regained her composure and made a decision: "I accept your invitation to become a member of Sunagakure, but I cannot answer for others, so I need to ask for their opinions."

"A wise choice." Ryuji smiled and extended his right hand to her, adding, "I forgot to tell you, Sunagakure is a brother village, and large clans are not allowed to band together. If the Uzumaki clan wants to join Sunagakure, they have to cancel their membership or change their surname."

"Why are you only saying this now?"

Yumi Uzumaki couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She took a deep breath, considered it carefully again, and replied, "Are there no other conditions?"

"Just this one."

"Then I accept."

Is there any reason not to accept it?

With the destruction of Uzumaki Village and the near extinction of the Uzumaki clan, this group of women and children, who had lost their home and support and struggled to even feed themselves, could only seek refuge in various parts of the ninja world and live in anonymity.

Since you have to change or hide your surname wherever you go, why not just stay in Sunagakure?

At least Sunagakure took the initiative to seek him out and join them, and they valued the Uzumaki clan's bloodline.

Would I receive the same treatment if I went to other ninja villages?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

It may be better, or it may be worse.

Yumi Uzumaki didn't know, but she did know that in this war-torn era, a group of unarmed women and children would find it difficult to move around outside. If they refused Sunagakure, they would most likely die on the way to finding a new place to live.

As for Long Er lying to himself... what's there to lie about when we're just a bunch of ordinary people?

Moreover, there's a risk of being scammed wherever you go, so why not choose the one with the best conditions?

Welcome to the team!

"Thank you for your help!"

Yumi Uzumaki reached out and shook hands with Ryuji briefly before letting go.

"I'll ask other people for their opinions, but I guess they'll all stay!"

"Then I'll leave it to you."

"Um!"

……

Before long, Yumi Uzumaki returned with all the survivors of the Uzumaki clan.

Their answers were all the same: they were willing to join Sunagakure.

The idea that ninja villages absorb ninjas from outside the village is not my own interpretation, but a setting that exists in the original work.

Kushina Uzumaki goes without saying; Konoha actively sought her out from Uzushiogakure. Furthermore, in Itachi's True Story, Itachi's teammates were people who had only recently joined Konoha, and they all spoke with a strong regional accent.

There was also an ordinary person who pretended to be a ninja and wanted to join Konoha, but was eventually persuaded to leave.

During the Chunin Exams, there was a Konoha examinee who mocked Naruto. He came from a clan skilled in wielding scythes, a clan that did not exist in Konoha.

It's unclear whether the original work didn't mention it, or whether this clan doesn't belong to Konoha.

Furthermore, the Kaguya clan is not from Kirigakure, but rather an indigenous tribe from a small island on the outskirts of the Land of Water. However, some members of the Kaguya clan still become ninjas in Kirigakure.

(End of this chapter)