The Uzumaki Prince

Akashi and his companion were brought to a house built into the valley.

"Hello everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Akashi Uzumaki,"

Akashi said sitting down in front of three elderly men.

"Uzumaki!" One of them said in surprise as he looked into Akashi's three tomoe sharingan

"Yes. Uzumaki, but as you can see, I am also part Uchiha,"

"And this..." He pointed behind him but was interrupted

"It is quite bold of you to come here knowing the history between our clans, is it the arrogance of the Uchihas on display?" the elder on the right cut Akashi off as he looked at him with a hint of disdain.

"Let's finish the introduction first before moving on to the insults, huh, this is Maya and this is Naoya, my... babysitters,"

Akashi was completely unbothered by the angry elder, it was exactly what he had expected.

After a few seconds of hesitation, the leader of the kinoe introduced the people on his side.

"I am Megumi Kinoe patriarch of the Kinoe clan, the two beside me are elder Racha and Miru and the boy sitting there is my son Meguru," the old man introduced everyone

"Now, what is a Uchiha. I mean Uzumaki, doing here in the Valley of hell?"

There was an edge in the voice of the old man asking that question, understandable, after all the Kinoe clan had been living near extinction after having been accused of killing a Daimyo.

This accusation was extremely grave in the ninja world and led to the fall of their clan.

"I am here on behalf of my clan, the Uzumaki Clan. You may not know it due to your isolation, but our clan nearly went extinct in the last ninja war. We are in a similar situation, so why don't we help each other? This is why I'm here, to propose a partnership,"

Akashi's revelation was an offer that caught them a little bit by surprise, after all, in their situation news rarely reaches them on time.

"You are crazy if you think that we are going to work for a Uchiha."

Elder Rasha spat in anger, fixing Akashi's active Sharingan.

"You don't even have the decency to hide your Sharingan in our presence,"

"Uzumaki," Akashi corrected again "I am trying to get used to having it active at all times so,"

"And I guess that you want us to become your subordinate," elder Mira the woman of the elder stated,

"Yes."

"You think that we are going to lower ourselves and work for a Uchiha or for a clan barely standing themselves, you yourself say that you are not much better than us,"

"Oh, I assure you we are in a much better situation than you are, but I am not here to brag, nor am I here to threaten or humiliate you. I am here to give you an opportunity.

I know how you lived until now forgotten by the times, forced to steal like mere bandits to eat, having to take on the worst kind of jobs even for ninjas, and live in an environment that is literally poisoning your women and children... I am offering you and your path forward, something that will allow you to regain some of your dignity and stop your inevitable extinction,"

Akashi's proposal clearly tempted and moved the people in the room.

"Like hell we are going to accept your proposal you are a Uchiha, you're the very reason we are in that situation now,"

Elder Rasha rage

He then pointed at Rasha "This is the reason why I personally came to make you that proposition... if you agree to that partnership, you will need to let go of your hatred for the Uchiha, or one day that cooperation will end up very badly... Plus I disagree, you should blame the Daimyo of the land of cloud or his wife for your predicament, not me or the Uchihas,"

Look it's true, it was the Uchiha that forced you to seek refuge here in that Valley, but if you agree to my proposal, it will also be a Uchiha that will that will help you get out of here maybe this isn't the kind of preparation that you hope, but this is the one that I have and this is probably the only opportunity you will get."

"I took a look around when I arrived here and I can say with certitude that your situation is very precarious, so... are you going to hold on to hatred and reject my proposition leaving your children to continue suffering or you will take the hand I am offering you,"

The four members of the Kinoe clan looked at each other for a few seconds

"What exactly are you offering?"

The curves of Akashi's lips curve a little, hearing that.

"Here, take that first," Akashi said tossing a mask to the kinoe patriarch.

"What's this?"

He asked curiously

"A gift, put it on your face and it will filter the air for you." With that, Akashi and the two beside him took out their own mask and put them on their faces.

"Finally, clean air. I didn't want to be too respectful by arriving with a mask on my face. Is mask is one of my creations I apply a seal that will purify the air around you, try it and tell me what you think,"

With caution, the old man put the mask on his face. As it covered his nose, he took a deep breath and his eyes lit up with delight. The old man then took several more deep breaths.

"Clean and fresh air, it has been a long time," he said, taking out a few deep breaths before passing it to the others to try.

"Now let's stop the negotiation."

*****

A few days later in the land of hot water

Woosh woosh

Under the cover of the night, the shadow of ninjas flickers toward the castle of a noble of the land of hot water.

"Are we really going to do that?"

"What?"

Meguru, the fifteen-year-old son of the patriarch of the Kinoe clan, looked at the ninja who asked that question in confusion.

"Killing a noble of the Land of hot water, and submit to that Uchiha kid,"

"He is an Uzumaki," meguru Defender "And didn't we already talk about that in the clan meeting all together like a family and reach an agreement. You are even wearing their gifts," Meguru pointed at the masks his fifteen companion were wearing on their faces.

"We are Ninja, we have done far worse over the years to survive, and this, this is an opportunity that could completely change the fate of our entire Kinoe clan. Killing this fat noble is the last step to achieve that. So shove your hesitation deep where the sun doesn't shine,"

A wave of snickers spread through the Kinoe ninjas.

"Let's move,"

Woosh

In an instant, they infiltrated the castle of Sarato with practiced ease, but of course, it didn't last long.

"Who goes there," a samurai shouted

But before he could do anything he saw a pair of blood red eyes.

Illusion technique: blood hell,"

Puff

The samurai found himself drowning in an illusion of a crimson sea, which was slowly dragging them deeper and deeper.

Spurt

A fountain of blood surged, as his throat was sliced open.

"Infiltration failed,"

One of the Kinoe ninjas said, feeling the ninjas and samurai coming their way.

"We reached further than I expected honestly,"

Meguru Kinoe wasn't surprised that the infiltration had failed, after all, it had been years since they had to perform a mission like that.

"Prepare yourself." In an instant, the Kinoe ninjas sprang into action, moving forward to clash with their enemies before they could encircle them.

In an instant, the two sides clashed in a corridor of the palace.

Clank clank clank...

Sounds of kunai clashing against weapons filled the place.

The ninjas and samurai of the castle, having the numerical advantage, thought that they would dominate their enemies, but their hopes were quickly dashed.

The coordination and fighting style of the Kinoe ninjas were superior to that of the ninjas or samurai of the castle.

Even more damming is the illusion cast by the kinoe ninjas the moment they clashed with their opponents, turns out that having the ability to place your opponents in an illusion the moment your eyes meet is an incredible advantage in a ninja battle that often ended in an instant.

There is a reason why the Uchiha clan is the most powerful clan in the world with the Senjus.

In an instant, the confrontation between the two sides ended with the victory of the Kinoe ninjas, who decimated their enemies.

"They are here! Quick kill them,"

Before they could go anywhere another group arrived from behind.

With a quick series of hand signs, Meguru activated the power of his Kekei genkai, the ketsuryūgan.

"Iron blood release: blood bullets." The blood on the ground seemed to gain a life of its own.

A series of bullets shot out from the sea of blood on the ground, targeting the guardians of the castle, the moment they stepped onto it.

The majority of them were killed without understanding what happened while the others who survived were quickly eliminated.

For a few long minutes, the sounds of clashes and screams of dying ninjas resounded in the castle as the kinoe ninjas eliminated the ninjas that managed to reach them.

As more blood was spilled the Kinoe ninjas seemed to get stronger.

Soon they reached their targets, Sarato Shinnishi, a powerful noble of the land of hot water.

What most people didn't know was that he was also one of the many nobles with influence in the underworld.

"You have no idea what you are about to unleash. I am not just any noble that you ninja can eliminate, I am..."

"You are Sarato Shinnishi one of the leaders who control the underworld, and messing with you is like messing with the entire with the entire underworld that has tentacles in every part of the ninja world, nearly as powerful as one of the five great ninja villages,"

Meguru revealed stunning his comrades who didn't know that information.

"If you know who I am then why?"

He was genuinely confused; the underworld was considered property of many nobles all over the world, and thousands had an interest in it.

It was an immense machine that generated a lot of money, and offending so many of them couldn't end well; there was a reason that even the ninja village left them alone.

"Akashi Uzumaki asked me to pass you a message,"

The eyes of Sarato widened in realization

"So it is the Uzumaki!"

"You are too greedy,"

With that, the eyes of Meguru Kinoe changed, and he plunged into the mind of Sarato to learn all of his secrets.

*****

In a hot spring in the land of hot water Akashi and Naoya could be seen soaking in the water, a few drinks floating beside them, and Maya too was there behind a small wall made of earth jitsu for her privacy.

The three of them were looking at the entire process of the attack of the Kinoe clan on the Sarato Castle on a makeshift television made by Akashi seals.

It was another one of Akashi's works. He combined his knowledge of programming from his past life and the Uzumaki sealing jutsu in this life, with the magi of chakra and jutsu.

All that allows him to make things that even the best in his clan considers incredible.

"They would be sad to learn that you are using those masks to spy on them," Naoya joked looking at the scream

Akashi, as usual royally ignored the guy.

"Those kinoe ninjas are not bad and their abilities are really interesting and useful, I understand why you wanted them to join us now," Maya said from the other side of the wall as she analyzed the process of this attack.

"Mehh, they made a lot of mistakes, they need a lot of training." Naoya sneered at the performance not really impressed.

"After thirty years hidden I think they did pretty well," Maya contradicted.

"They have proven themselves and have done everything we asked. Now that this Sarato is dead we can replace him with someone that we control,"

In the past three years the Uzumaki used the power and connection that they have as Daimyo to bribe, negotiate and murder to infiltrate and take control of part of the underworld market.

The nobles ruling the underworld only care about making money, and with their seals, it was something that the Uzumaki were good at.

"Maya, start transferring their clan members to the island, make a list of those who want to stay to manage the extraction of the iron ore of the valley,"

"Yes sir,"

They had already accomplished their goal and more.

Akashi lifted his hand and a vial containing a pair of ketsuryūgan appeared in his hand.

"I meant to ask it before, you already possess the sharingan, why are you also interested in the ketsuryūgan,"

Naoya asked seeing the pair of eyes that Akashi had gain in the negotiation with the kinoe clan.

"They have different and similar abilities, for example the sharingan cannot read other people memories while the ketsuryūgan can. I am curious to see what I can gain if I study it,"

Akashi replied simply, for those who know him his love for studying ninjutsu was nothing surprising.

"We are going to stay a little while, make preparations to welcome the ninjas that target is,"

Akashi said nonchalantly, it was nothing new, every time a Uzumaki was spotted ninjas of the majors or small villages, even rebel ninjas would swarm in trying to capture them, they had gotten used to it by now, it was another reason why they decided to take control of the underworld.

"I need guinea pigs anyway,"

"Yes sir,"