Three figures stepped solemnly into the ancestral hall of the Uzumaki clan.
After a while, the Uzumaki clan leader and Mito Uzumaki walked past the front hall and entered the main chamber of the temple, where they paid their respects to the spirits of their ancestors.
Meanwhile, Haseo simply stood at the entrance of the main hall like a door god… There was no way he was going to pay homage. His reincarnation skills still weren't quite up to par in this lifetime.
Still, they were merely paying their respects in thought rather than formality, so the ritual wasn't complicated—surprisingly simple, in fact. Before long, Mito exited the main hall.
She signaled for Haseo to follow her, then turned right and stepped into the side hall on the right.
After merely glancing around, Haseo already felt somewhat familiar with this place—not just because similar scenes existed within his memories, but also because a few years ago when he joined Anbu in Konoha, he had seen something very much alike… This side hall contained nothing else—just masks densely hung across the three walls.
This was the Uzumaki's Mask Hall.
So here came the question: as someone who knew the "plot," could Haseo identify the Shinigami Mask—the one used to release the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—from among so many masks?
...Highly unlikely. All these masks looked nearly identical, and after such a long time, there was no way Haseo could precisely recall such a minor detail which originally hadn't drawn much attention anyway.
Thankfully, it wasn't necessary for Haseo to choose now. Instead, Mito walked forward, stretched out her arm, gently hooked her fingers, and grabbed a mask with an especially bright smile—a white face with twin horns and a center-parted hairstyle.
The mask itself didn't stand out visually, yet it was definitely the most important among all the masks in this room. In a way, the other masks existed solely to conceal it.
Mito placed the Shinigami Mask into her wide sleeve, then lifted her head and continuously took twelve additional masks from the top row. Then, like tossing out inventory, she stacked them together and shoved them into Haseo's arms.
"Lord Mito, what is this…" Haseo was slightly confused.
"Hold onto them; you'll understand soon enough."
Without further explanation, Mito led Haseo out of the Mask Hall. As they turned left, the Uzumaki clan leader happened to walk out from the side hall on the left, carrying a large scroll with him… This scroll looked significantly larger than Haseo's old Contract Scroll.
The height of this scroll matched Haseo's current height—roughly at least 1.5 meters tall—and its diameter measured about eighty centimeters or so.
"You've retrieved the masks, Mito?"
"I have, Clan Leader."
The clan leader nodded before handing this excessively heavy scroll over to Haseo.
"Haseo, our task moving forward is to bring this scroll back to the village… This must not be lost. Do you understand?" Following that, Mito spoke to Haseo in the same manner.
The strap attached to the scroll was about a palm's width, just enough for Haseo to carry it on his back.
Haseo thought to himself, "Can I route this through Shikkotsu Forest first before sending it back to Konoha? If this scroll is truly that important, wouldn't that be the safest approach?"
After all, behind his back were already a sword and his ninja tool pouch, not to mention it occasionally served as Katsuyu's resting place—he had long run out of extra space for equipment.
However, Haseo understood the significance of the scroll. If both Mito Uzumaki and the clan head treated it with such gravity, he could not afford to take it lightly either. "Understood. Until I return to Konoha, I won't leave this scroll even for a moment."
This reply caused the clan head and Mito Uzumaki to exchange glances before nearly imperceptibly nodding in unison. They were both satisfied with Haseo's attitude.
When Haseo slung the scroll horizontally across his back—it was the only way; a vertical carry would have dragged it on the ground or struck his feet—and stepped out of the Uzumaki ancestral hall holding the mask, he suddenly noticed someone waiting outside.
Leading the group was Shikou, and behind her stood twelve young Uzumaki members—seven males and five females—all aged between fifteen and twenty, clearly the younger generation.
"Lord Haseo," Shikou spoke, introducing, "Before you stands the most exceptional young ninja among the Uzumaki's new generation."
Haseo's gaze swept over the line of twelve young Uzumaki ninja who stood aligned, then he turned around briefly and saw that both the clan head and Mito still remained at the main chamber's entrance without following out.
That meant now it was entirely Haseo alone facing these youths—the two great figures had handed over the entire opportunity and current affairs entirely to him. Counting the number of Uzumaki ninja present and glancing at the mask in his own hand, Haseo immediately grasped Mito Uzumaki's intentions and exactly what he should do next.
Holding the mask in his hands, Haseo approached the far left end of the row of Uzumaki ninja and stopped.
Now how should he proceed? He cast a glance toward Shikou standing at his side—who indeed was named Shikou.
Then, Haseo handed out two masks to the first two individuals on the left while saying,
"Ryōshō, Hakushō."
He continued to move rightward, distributing masks in order until reaching the last person.
"Shinkō, Mokkō."
"Hakka, Sannai."
"Mokuran, Byakushi."
"Tashō, Kobi."
"Ka-jin, Botsumei."
Distributing these masks and assigning codenames seemed almost like a ritual. From this point onward, these Uzumaki were no longer just Uzumaki—they had also become members of "Kagenami." Adding Shikou, plus Haseo himself and Sakumo Hatake, the organization had now assembled a total of fifteen people.
Fifteen people were enough to form the backbone of an organization and get it up and running.
Generally speaking, the smaller a nation, the higher its rate of military mobilization. In the Land of Whirlpools, this seemed to hold true as well—but there were exceptions, especially when it came to the Uzumaki's extraordinary chakra lineage.
Admittedly, ninja at the level of Mito Uzumaki are extremely rare, but it's true that the Uzumaki clan has a higher chance of producing top-tier ninja.
The twelve young people standing before Haseo had been handpicked through rigorous selection, so what else could he say but "damn good"?
Taking inspiration from Shikou's name, Haseo assigned them a set of fitting codenames—the thirteen Uzumaki ninja could now be known as Kagenami·Wang·Shouyi.
During the solemn, mysterious initiation ceremony of the new organization, an oddly unusual mood began to spread. Hmm, one might simply describe this kind of feeling as... kitchen or cafeteria.
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