"Why aren't you sleeping? Why are you following me?"
At the Memorial Garden, the sake in the flask had long since dried up—clearly, Yukika's simple tribute had ended. He glanced sideways at the girl beside him, Kushina Uzumaki, with mild exasperation.
She hadn't been in Konoha for long, yet she seemed to have an unusual curiosity about him.
"I just feel like you know something, Yukika-nii," she said stubbornly, having tailed him all the way to the training grounds. "Like... what really happened to the Uzumaki clan."
Was it a woman's natural intuition?
Or perhaps she'd seen the subtle shifts on Mito Uzumaki's face?
Yukika didn't know.
He placed a hand on her head—the same way he had with Nawaki—and sighed softly.
Knowing too much wouldn't be good for Kushina right now.
"The Uzumaki clan, huh?"
After a brief silence, Yukika led her to a nearby bench and looked up at the sky. The early autumn night was a bit chilly. Almost instinctively, the boy wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders.
That simple gesture brought a flush of pink to Kushina's already delicate face.
"I know what you're thinking," Yukika said gently. "And I know... as the First Hokage's wife, Mito stood between Konoha and the Uzumaki, and between Konoha and the Senju. It wasn't easy for her."
In truth, Yukika had spoken so harshly to Mito on purpose.
"Sometimes, people need a push. If you don't corner them, they'll never realize that family matters more than maintaining the illusion of the village's pride."
What is Yukika-nii even talking about?
Kushina looked up at him in confusion.
"The fall of the Uzumaki clan... it was complicated," Yukika said, shaking his head. "In some ways, you could say it was inevitable."
Why?
Kushina broke free from his embrace, glaring at him with disbelief.
Of course she was upset. Her clan had been wiped out, and now someone was telling her it was *meant* to happen? It was like saying the dead *deserved* it.
If anyone else had said that, the fiery girl would've already punched them.
"First of all," Yukika said calmly, boldly reaching out to pinch her cheek and make her sit back down, "the Land of Whirlpools was located in a naturally defensible coastal area. Uzushiogakure itself sat atop an island."
"It was a beautiful place. One that made a lot of people jealous."
"But that's not even the main point."
He paused, eyes flashing with a trace of sarcasm.
"Second—every single member of the Uzumaki clan was born with incredible sealing abilities and vitality. Even an average clansman could suppress a tailed beast."
"Your very existence threatened the balance of power. Your strength made others afraid."
"Even though the Uzumaki weren't weak, the fact that you hadn't officially joined Konoha… that was already a path leading to destruction."
Yes.
They had *not* joined Konoha.
They'd maintained an alliance of equals—mutual support between villages. That was their mistake.
They trusted Konoha too much.
No—what they trusted was the Konoha of Tobirama Senju's era. That version of the village had died with him.
Would the current Konoha, under Hiruzen and Danzo, truly offer help in a time of crisis?
That was wishful thinking.
For men like Danzo and Sarutobi, keeping the only perfect jinchūriki within Konoha's walls was the real definition of "safety."
So when the Uzumaki were wiped out… it happened at the most convenient moment imaginable.