In the heart of the Hidden Sand Village, Shiraishi and Maki walked side by side. Their fingers were tightly interlaced, hands clasped as they strolled along the edge of the street.
Though Shiraishi could have opted for civilian clothes, the face of the Kazekage was known to nearly everyone in the village.
Along the way, most pedestrians and shopkeepers recognized the Kazekage and his lady on their date; however, they politely gave the couple their space.
Shiraishi's legendary work ethic was known to all. It was rare for him to find time to accompany Maki, and the villagers reciprocated with the utmost goodwill.
Only Pakura followed behind her two students, a solitary figure feeling quite like a third wheel. Of course, she had a certain orange tabby cat for company.
Since he had promised Maki a day out, Shiraishi had brought the chubby orange cat along. Despite his recent diet, the feline's weight showed no signs of a downward trend.
With a body like a literal ball of meat, the cat—affectionately dubbed "Little Orange"—seemed to roll across the ground rather than walk. He would take two steps, flop onto the ground to roll a few times, and then begrudgingly scramble back up to repeat the process.
Unable to watch the struggle any longer, Pakura scooped up the cat and carried him. Little Orange was surprisingly submissive, offering no resistance as he perched atop Pakura's head, squinting his eyes to survey his surroundings.
"I think it's about time we find Pakura-sensei a suitable marriage partner," Maki whispered softly into Shiraishi's ear, noticing her teacher's awkwardness.
Her suggestion only earned a helpless smile from the Kazekage.
Pakura of the Scorch Style held an incredibly high status within the Sand. As the former mentor to the Fifth Kazekage and a master of formidable Fire Style techniques—combined with a notoriously fiery temper—she had remained "forcefully single" in the village for years.
The Council of Elders had previously arranged for several Jonin to meet with her. The results? Every single one of them had been thrashed by her Scorch Style.
Holding a massive orb of flaming heat in her hand, Pakura had declared with arrogant pride: "If you cannot defeat me, you have no right to marry me."
Currently, within the Hidden Sand, there was almost no male Jonin of her generation who could steadily overpower her. To be precise, looking across the entire village, aside from Rasa and Shiraishi, no one could claim a guaranteed victory against Pakura.
Maki felt a bit helpless regarding her teacher's stubborn bachelorhood, but Pakura wasn't the type to dwell on such things. Besides, single ninjas were a dime a dozen in the shinobi world, so she simply went with the flow.
While Shiraishi's true body was enjoying his date with Maki, he had arranged for a Human Puppet clone to handle official business back in the office.
At this stage, the focus of his work was the detailed negotiations regarding the Five Kage Summit.
There was still some time before the summit was to be held. Since the venue was the Land of Iron, all parties were locked in constant bickering over the final meeting date.
Taking advantage of this window, Shiraishi shifted his primary attention toward the Land of Grass.
After the Ota District of the Land of Rain and portions of the Land of Rivers were annexed by the Land of Wind, the southern border of the Land of Grass now directly borders the Land of Wind.
This placed the Land of Grass—which had previously navigated the tensions between the Rain, Fire, and Earth—into a precarious position surrounded by four Great Nations.
Internal strife in the Land of Grass never truly ceased, as various factions within Kusagakure maintained ties with different Great Nations.
The rise of the Sand's power was a massive shift that the Land of Grass had never anticipated.
Once the Ota District fell completely under Sand control, a series of giant silver pyramids was erected along the southern border. The stationing of large numbers of Sand troops triggered a massive chain reaction.
Among those reacting was Mui, the master of Hozuki Castle, who went as far as sending several envoys to initiate tentative contact with the Sand.
Hozuki Castle was a facility commissioned by the Five Great Hidden Villages and entrusted to the Land of Grass to imprison high-level criminals.
As its master, Mui was known as the strongest elite Jonin of Kusagakure, famous throughout the shinobi world for his Fire Style: Celestial Prison.
Given that all five Great Villages entrusted him, Mui's strength was beyond doubt. In truth, Shiraishi's interest in Hozuki Castle stemmed from intelligence provided by Orochimaru: remnants of the Uzumaki clan had once been imprisoned there.
Because Hozuki Castle functioned as an autonomous territory within the Land of Grass, and Mui's power was no less than that of the Grass Leader, his proactive overtures to the Sand were a clear signal.
Shiraishi had been looking for a reason to intervene in the Land of Grass. With the master of Hozuki Castle extending a hand of friendship, Shiraishi seized the opportunity immediately, sending back an official diplomatic missive:
The Fifth Kazekage, Shiraishi Aoki, shall soon pay a visit to Hozuki Castle!
The arrival of the Sand's official document on the desk of the Hozuki Castle master sent shockwaves through the Land of Grass.
A visit from the man often compared to Uchiha Madara in the modern era was taken very seriously by both Hozuki Castle and the Land of Grass.
The Daimyo of the Land of Grass even appointed several special commissioners to accompany Mui in receiving Shiraishi.
Kusagakure itself reacted indifferently. Most of their current high-ranking officials were pro-Konoha, leading them to adopt a stance that was neither welcoming nor opposing.
In fact, Kusagakure had always possessed a mysterious level of self-confidence. They constantly campaigned on the idea that they had the potential to surpass the Five Great Villages, claiming they simply remained "low-profile" to avoid disrupting world peace.
Consequently, ninjas hailing from the Grass often displayed an intense—and sometimes delusional—sense of superiority.
Even in foreign lands, they carried themselves with the air of Great Nation shinobi, though the number of Grass ninjas who ended up being instantly killed in combat remained staggeringly high.
As for Mui, he was an anomaly within the Grass.
The Hozuki Castle lineage was a separate branch within Kusagakure, holding a status equal to the village headquarters. When the Daimyo summoned leaders for consultation, both Hozuki Castle and the Hidden Grass Village were invited as equals.
In essence, Mui's status in the Land of Grass was on par with the leader of Kusagakure.
For this reason, Kusagakure naturally wouldn't show up to support the event; why seek humiliation? For all they knew, the Kazekage might not even realize that Hozuki Castle was nominally an institution under their village's jurisdiction.
Back in the era of the Sage of the Six Paths, an ultimate weapon known as the Box of Ultimate Bliss had been left behind. It was unique for having four faces representing Joy, Rage, Sorrow, and Delight, and it contained a specialized sealing formula.
Legend had it that the Grass Village of old had nearly conquered the world through it. It was said that "with enlightenment, one is born; with enlightenment, one moves; with enlightenment, one ends."
However, the conditions to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss were extremely harsh; without chakra levels comparable to a Jinchuriki, the seal could not be broken.
Beyond his skepticism regarding the box's existence, Shiraishi had received another lead: a group of Uzumaki survivors from a fallen nation were being held within Hozuki Castle.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village, at the ruins of the Hozuki Clan estate.
Hozuki Haigetsu, holding a disciplinary ruler, surveyed the area to ensure no other clansmen were nearby before beginning his search of the ancestral grounds.
Since the death of Hozuki Mangetsu, the glory of the clan had long since vanished. As a member of a branch family, Haigetsu technically had no right to enter the ancestral ruins, but with the clan in such a state of ruin, no one cared for those rules anymore.
In order to learn more of the Hozuki clan's secret techniques, Haigetsu was leafing through old records and documents in the dilapidated site.
The situation within the Mist was growing increasingly chaotic. The rule of the Fourth Mizukage could only be described as faint-hearted and tyrannical. '
His suppression of the village's Bloodline Limit families had even triggered a series of rebellions.
Mangetsu's branch of the family had been slaughtered after participating in such a rebellion; currently, only a young Hozuki Suigetsu remained, his whereabouts unknown.
The ruins were crumbling and desolate. Haigetsu's presence here today was primarily to locate a batch of "Skill Cards" that had been left behind.
Using the positioning provided by Shiraishi's main body through the "Glasses System," Haigetsu was collecting these scattered Skill Cards across the Land of Water.
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