The wholesale slaughter of Hozuki Castle overnight was a cataclysmic event, one that threatened to upend the delicate political balance within the Land of Grass.
While the Land of Grass ministers scrambled to send messengers to Kusagakure for reinforcements, Shiraishi walked alone into the depths of the fortress.
Guided by his sensory perceptions, he tracked the locations of the survivors.
To survive a large-scale Wood Style piercing technique, one would need an incredibly potent life force—the kind possessed almost exclusively by members of the Uzumaki clan.
Heavy, ragged breathing echoed through a dark corridor. Inside one cell, four red-haired Uzumaki clansmen had been struck by the Wood Style assault. Two elderly men were impaled by numerous wooden spikes, coughing up blood incessantly.
Alongside the elders were a young woman, clearly pregnant, and a red-haired boy. Thanks to the timely protection of the two elders, the boy remained uninjured.
Shiraishi studied the four remnants of the Uzumaki clan. The pregnant woman was in poor condition, though she hadn't sustained a fatal wound in the initial attack.
Seeing his two closest grandfathers so grievously injured, the boy's eyes were filled with unbearable pain.
"Please, save them!"
Sensing someone's presence, the boy looked up and saw a ninja wearing a Hidden Sand forehead protector. He cried out for help urgently.
With the Uzumaki clan's natural sensing abilities, he could immediately judge an outsider's intent; sensing no overwhelming malice from Shiraishi, he chose to plead directly.
Both he and the woman bore numerous bite marks on their arms. It was a grim testament to the Uzumaki's legendary constitution, which made them "living medicine"—a single bite could restore an attacker's chakra and heal their wounds.
Because they were held in Hozuki Castle, they were under the Celestial Prison seal cast by Mui. This seal was a powerful shackle; any attempt to mold chakra would result in agonizing burns or even death.
To protect the boy, the two elders had forcibly molded chakra to block the Wood Style spikes, suffering the dual backlash of the seal and the physical impalement.
Though their life force was keeping them standing, their time was running out.
Shiraishi stepped forward, a soft glow of medical chakra gathering in his palm. As he pulled the wooden spikes from the pregnant woman's back, he asked calmly, "Why was the Uzumaki clan imprisoned in Hozuki Castle?"
One of the elders coughed violently. "Since the fall of the Land of Whirlpools, enemies coveting our powerful physique have never ceased their pursuit. Warden Mui sought to use our clan's life force to open that... Box of Ultimate Bliss."
The Land of Grass held a significant number of Uzumaki orphans, making it easy for Mui to track them down.
These four had been forcibly detained for his experiments. Now that Mui was dead at the hands of the mysterious attackers, the Uzumaki were finally seeing the light of day.
Shiraishi's fingers emitted a cold, white mist; using a concentrated flow of water-natured chakra, he forcibly severed the bonds of the Celestial Prison seal.
Breaking the Heavenly Prison from the inside was nearly impossible, but destroying it from the outside was a simple matter for someone of Shiraishi's caliber. When he moved to release the seal on the red-haired boy, the two elders shook their heads.
"We don't have long. Your Excellency should save your chakra."
In their memory, the Sand was a middle-to-lower-tier power among the Five Great Nations. Though they didn't know why he was here, they only hoped this ninja would take the siblings to safety.
"This amount of chakra is nothing to me."
Shiraishi clapped his hands together, performing emergency medical treatment. As the wood spikes were removed, he utilized Silver Sand to create metallic micro-needles, stitching and repairing the internal damage of the elders.
Such level of chakra control...
The elders were well-traveled. Seeing Shiraishi manipulate sand into surgical needles confirmed that he was a top-tier figure within the Hidden Sand.
They weren't fools; they knew the Sand wouldn't help them for free, but they felt no immediate urge to resist. At least this ninja didn't seem malicious, and he was exerting great effort to save them.
Once the elders' fatal wounds were stabilized, Shiraishi turned his attention to the pregnant woman.
He had been cultivating his specialized Regeneration Cells for months, waiting for a suitable host. This woman, three months into her pregnancy, was the perfect candidate for the Heavenly Curse of the Five Phantoms.
Shiraishi placed his hand toward the ground, and a vast array of sealing formulas erupted. Countless silver needles pierced the woman's body, conducting weak electrical currents to activate her cellular growth.
A combination of metal needles and Lightning Style cellular activation? The elders were awestruck. This level of sophistication was unheard of.
As they watched in shock, Shiraishi introduced the specially prepared cellular nuclei into the woman's body.
The Uzumaki constitution was indeed miraculous; even while already pregnant, her body began to adapt to sustain the growth of a second "life" created by the nuclei.
However, this will drastically overdraw her life force, especially during childbirth, Shiraishi noted.
He looked at the unconscious woman and said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Come with me to the Hidden Sand. If you stay here, the Land of Grass will not treat you well."
The Uzumaki did not decline. Escaping this living hell was their only priority.
As Shiraishi led them out of the prison, the Land of Grass officials were stunned to see him emerging with survivors—especially members of the Uzumaki clan.
The newly arrived Kusagakure ninjas instinctively moved to seize the prisoners, but one look at Shiraishi stopped them in their tracks.
The Grass ninjas are terrified of this Sand ninja? The elder wondered. There are dozens of them and only three Sand ninjas... who is this man?
"Lord Kazekage, your hat."
Stepping onto his personal vessel, Shiraishi signaled Arashi to look after the four survivors. He then slowly placed the formal Kazekage hat upon his head.
Staring at the man in the hat, the elder said in disbelief, "Are you... Lord Rasa?"
Rumors said the new Kazekage was a young master of the Magnet Style named Rasa. It would explain the sand manipulation.
Shiraishi paused, a look of slight amusement crossing his face before he shook his head. "I am the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Shiraishi."
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