" Hah! Seeing the future! Are you joking with me... " Ashina grabbed the arms of the sofa tightly and stared sharply at Sean.
" Why should I believe you!? "
Sean shook his head. " You do not have that luxury..."
" What do you mean!? "
Sean sighed and tapped his skull with his finger.
" Oh, please Lord Ashina, use your brain and guess why I am here and why I would risk revealing my special ability."
" As I said before, I am not here with bad intentions. My goal is simple, to seek asylum in the Land of Whirlpools with my family..."
Sean slowly spread his arms, as if presenting something invisible in front of him.
Then he said calmly:
" Here is the deal… in exchange for granting me asylum in the Land of Whirlpools, I will give you information that may determine the future and security of this country."
Ashina did not respond immediately. Instead, he stared at Sean with narrowed eyes, trying to determine whether the young man in front of him was lying and simply speaking nonsense.
In truth, he was inclined to believe that every word that came out of Sean's mouth was true and not a lie. The only issue was that he was still suspicious about the real reason or hidden intention behind Sean choosing the Land of Whirlpools specifically.
He had a feeling that the information Sean wanted to exchange for asylum was related to the current situation of the Land of Whirlpools and the mysterious disappearance of members of the Uzumaki clan.
The hall was in deadly silence. Sean did not say another word and simply looked calmly at Ashina who was lost in his thoughts.
In truth Sean was extremely nervous inside despite his calm appearance. This was merely a gamble on his part. He was not completely certain that Ashina would agree to his deal.
In the original plot, not much was mentioned about the Land of Whirlpools except that it was destroyed by an alliance of several ninja villages. However, the Uzumaki clan who ruled this land were mentioned to have been allied with the Senju clan during the Warring States Period. Uzumaki Mito, the current jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, had been the wife of the late Senju Hashirama, which clearly showed the strong relationship between these two clans.
But now the Senju clan was no longer the terrifying clan that other clans feared. Because of the policies of the First and Second Hokage, most of the Senju clan had been dismantled. They scattered throughout Konoha and became civilians, and now the current Hokage and his partner Shimura Danzo were keen on dismantling what remained of this clan.
Therefore, despite the existence of an alliance between the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha, this alliance was extremely fragile, especially with the rise of Hiruzen Sarutobi to the Hokage throne. Although the matter did not appear in the original plot, Sean had read theories that said Konoha had a role in the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools.
The evidence was that after the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, the surviving members of the Uzumaki clan fled to different corners of the world. None of them went to Konoha village seeking asylum. Only Kushina Uzumaki was brought to Konoha, not the other way around.
Sean did not believe that the Land of Whirlpools or rather the Uzumaki clan were weak. The issue was simply that their enemy had been an alliance of several countries and there was also the element of surprise.
This was exactly the point that pushed Sean to gamble and come here to request asylum in exchange for the information he possessed, and even to help them defend the Land of Whirlpools.
" I cannot decide this matter without the approval of the elders. You will have to wait for some time before I give you an appropriate answer... " Ashina spoke calmly while standing up from his seat.
Sean nodded in understanding. He stood up and said with a smile:
" No problem, I have all the time in the world, but I cannot say the same about you..."
Ashina's eyes flashed coldly when he heard the hidden implication in Sean's words. He called for a guard and said while pointing at Sean:
" Toki, take Mr. Sean to the guest residence..."
He turned to look at Sean and pointed to Toki, who had the iconic red hair that clearly showed his belonging to the Uzumaki clan.
" Mr. Sean, Toki will be at your service. You may request anything you need from him..."
Sean nodded with a smile, bowed slightly as a gesture of respect, then followed the guard to what was called the guest residence.
The fake smile disappeared from Ashina's face the moment Sean left. He raised his hands and clasped them together in a certain seal before sighing in relief.
" Hmm, good, there is no trace of any illusion. Despite not fully believing him, that young man Sean does not seem to have bad intentions..."
Ashina's caution was not exaggerated. On the contrary, it was natural. The Uchiha clan were famous for the terrifying nature of their illusion techniques which did not even require hand seals because of their bloodline limit, the Sharingan.
" Even so, I do not know what Konoha is thinking by allowing a young man who possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan to defect like this..."
" Not to mention the terrifying ability he claims to possess, which is seeing the future!"
" But agreeing to grant him asylum is dangerous and carries major consequences..."
Ashina thought about the reaction of their trusted ally Konoha if the Land of Whirlpools accepted a rogue ninja from Konoha within its territory. At the moment he did not have the luxury of ignoring Konoha, especially with the danger threatening the Land of Whirlpools.
Ashina left the guest hall lost in his thoughts, so much so that he did not notice who was in front of him.
" Grandpa, what is troubling you so much that you did not even see me? "
A girl's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He shook his head and smiled while looking at his little granddaughter Kosuki. He bent slightly and carried her in his arms.
" Kosuki, grandpa was just thinking about some matters. Where is your sister!? "
Kosuki, who was seven years old, answered while pulling Ashina's beard:
" Outside, she is talking with uncle Toki..." Then she asked curiously,
" By the way grandpa, who is that handsome blond man with uncle Toki!? "
" A handsome blond man!! " Ashina raised his eyebrows bitterly at his little granddaughter's description of that Uchiha young man.
" His name is Sean Uchiha. He is a guest of ours from Konoha village..."
His words were interrupted when a masked ninja appeared in front of him.
" Ashina-sama... " The ninja knelt on one knee, raised his head and wanted to speak, but he hesitated when he saw the granddaughter of the clan leader.
Ashina noticed this. He lowered Kosuki from his arms. She threw a curious and slightly annoyed look at the masked ninja before leaving without even waiting for Ashina's words. Despite her young age she was sensible. She clearly saw that her precious time with her grandfather had ended.
Ashina laughed slightly while watching his little granddaughter walk away angrily. He wiped the smile from his face and said:
" Speak... "