Chapter 45.1- One Thousand Hands

There was music, there was. Dancing, and here was so much merriment heat it almost hurt my eyes when I looked around. Shocks of red hair surrounded me in the Uzumaki clan hall. It was a new building. Most of the buildings in the new Uzumaki clan compound hd been built in the last few weeks. I had been shocked and appalled to find that they were still being lodged in temporary accommodations little better than hovels while Konoha’s builders took their lovely time in building the clan compound. The lack of a Clan Head also meant that they couldn’t agree on a deal with the Hokage to get the required funds to expedite the problem.

It had been my first test as would-be Clan Head, and I could tell that even if they were keen on choosing me, they would change their minds if I showed myself incompetent. It also ended up being the first test of my bond with Kurama. The houses had been built in a matter of weeks, but I had done my part in days. Turning the ground into mud, forcing it to rise, and then shaping that mud according to Uncle Renjiro's precise plans had been a test of my concentration as well. Good training. With the frames settled, it was a simple matter for me and the Clan Elders to come to an agreement where I loaned the required funds from my personal accounts. S-ranked missions paid well, quite well, and after I’d been essentially passed over for Clan Head, Tsunade had the dignity to hand over my personal contributions to the clan purse. To my personal account— more like Grandmother Mito had nagged her until she did it and with a healthy interest rate as well.

But that was besides the point. The Clan compound had been built— albeit on the village outskirts. We occupied the end that. Would have ond day become the Uchiha’s new clan compound in another life. And here I was being sworn in.

“Now rise as the 46th Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan” Uncle Kaito said. He had been in charge of the festivities and swearing in-ceremony. Thankfully I didn’t need to be naked for this one. The heavy ostentatious robes I wore were only a little bit better but at least I wouldn’t have o worry about flashing the kids running around.

I stood up, and then had to stop myself from dodging the backhand he sent right at my face. I felt my rage rise— another effect of bonding with Kurama that I hadn’t foreseen-

“You’re going to blame me for everything, aren’t you?” His deep voice rumbled in my head but I ignored him for the time being.

“Let that be the last blow you receive unanswered. You are the sword of the Uzumaki Clan, her flag, and her shield. Congratulations Shorirama Senju” He said before pulling me into a hug. The rest of the hall erupted into applause. I was able to negotiate keeping my last name, even as I knew that some of them were less than pleased, but I had promised that all my children would bear the Clan name and be named accordingly. I knew the saw me as a temporary stopgap to help them settle in Konoha until I had appropriate children who would take my place. They had already been parading their daughters even before the ceremony, and I didn’t expect that to slow down. I would have to choose a wife, I realised with a shudder. There was fear there, and there was dread as well.