Though a member of the branch family, Dojari Souji's mastery of the Seven Heavens Breathing had long made Dojari Taro wary.
Despite holding the tactical advantage, Taro had initially hoped to sow discord among the three Sand shinobi to weaken them further.
However, Souji's flat refusal caused Taro's expression to turn monstrous. As his grip tightened on his long blade, the two identical swords began to resonate. A hidden formula, planted long ago, was activated.
"You traitor!"
Facing the accusation, Souji's conscience remained clear. He could not condone the Clan Head's actions—sacrificing so many innocent lives on the island for the sake of the clan's interest, or rather, Taro's personal ambition.
Furthermore, in Souji's eyes, the rise of the Kazekage and the New Hidden Sand was an unstoppable tide. By sticking its head out now, the Dojari clan was merely letting itself be used as a pawn by others—it was a path to certain death.
As Taro's hidden formula flared to life, flames entwined around Souji. A sealing formula abruptly manifested on his body, the intense fire totems generating a scorching power that forced Souji to his knees.
His chakra pathways were ravaged in an instant. This was the complete version of the Heavenly Prison Jutsu.
Unlike a standard binding seal, the trap hidden within his own blade had effectively crippled Souji in a single heartbeat.
"The Heavenly Prison Jutsu? How is this possible?"
The Fire Release: Heavenly Prison was the exclusive sealing art of Mui, the Lord of Hozuki Castle. It locks away an opponent's chakra; any attempt to mold energy causes the victim to erupt in agonizing flames.
As the formula activated, Souji's blade flew from his hand and landed in Taro's grasp. With both blades united, Dojari Taro's presence expanded with overwhelming power.
These two blades were ordinary weapons when separated, but when joined, they were artifacts capable of rivaling the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist.
The Red Sand and the Traitor
Suddenly, Arashi sensed someone approaching from behind. He spun around, launching a barrage of Sand Shigure (Sand Drizzle).
His opponent countered with a single flick of the wrist, sending a flurry of fiery needles to meet the sand head-on.
Sand and fire sparked and clashed in mid-air. Arashi found himself locked in a life-and-death struggle against the Mist Jonin, Retsu.
Sensing a lethal trap, Arashi did not hesitate. He gathered a massive vortex of sand in his palm and thrust it forward, only to see Retsu execute the exact same Sand Vortex technique. The two identical attacks collided and neutralized each other.
As Arashi reeled from the shock of seeing his own clan's secret art mirrored perfectly, Retsu appeared behind him.
She unleashed a different, more specialized form of sand manipulation: Blood-Red Sand surged into a monstrous hand, clawing savagely at Arashi.
Blood Sand?
This was one of the forbidden arts of the Yamaji clan, requiring human sacrifice. During Yamaji Ryoko's leadership, she had classified this art as forbidden and ordered it permanently destroyed.
The only person left in the world who should have known this technique, other than the late Ryoko, was her.
"Yamaji Mochun(Mochiharu)... it really is you!"
Following Arashi's roar, the disguise of the Mist Jonin shattered. Her form warped and shifted back into the appearance of Yamaji Mochun. Behind her, the blood-red sand seethed, manifesting into four giant crimson arms.
Mochun's expression remained unchanged. She looked at her childhood sweetheart and gave him a playful, mischievous smile. "Are you surprised?"
Though he had suspected a portion of the truth, Arashi's emotions were in turmoil. "When did you and the Dojari clan align?"
"Heh, much earlier than you think!"
Using the Box of Ultimate Bliss as the condition for cooperation, Mochun had been conspiring with the Dojari clan for years.
To unlock the Box's full power, a massive amount of chakra was required—necessitating the sacrifice of half the lives on the island.
Furthermore, they needed to reclaim the "key" that had been taken by Morimoto Ryoji's father years ago.
Yamaji Kikusen and Yamaji Ryoko had appeared to make life difficult for Morimoto Ryoji on the surface, but his father's relic had actually been returned to him by the Yamaji family.
They had even stationed protectors around Ryoji, making it impossible for Mochun to strike until now.
The Kazekage's scrutiny had made it impossible to execute such a plan within the Land of Vegetables—until the Five Kage Summit and the Kazekage's visit to Hozuki Castle provided the perfect window.
The Appearance of the Castle Lord
After seizing Souji's weapon, Taro transformed into a whirlwind of dual-blade strikes, aiming straight for Souji's head.
Souji retreated desperately, but Taro's assault was relentless. Just as the blades were about to fall, Morimoto Ryoji thrust his black sword forward, only to be blasted back by the sheer energy of the dual blades.
"Morimoto Ryoji, compared to your father, your swordsmanship is far too weak."
Suddenly, another "Yamaji Mochun" dressed in Sand gear appeared behind them. She launched a flaming seal, which Ryoji parried with a swift turn of his blade.
As the sword tip struck, the second Mochun reverted to her true form amidst a shroud of boundless flames: Mui, the Lord of Hozuki Castle, stood before them in all his domineering glory.
"The Lord of Hozuki Castle?"
"I doubt even the Kazekage anticipated this play," Mui remarked.
Ryoji's expression darkened as he felt the sheer weight of Mui's power. "You knew my father?"
"Not just me," Mui said. "Mochun and Taro knew him as well. After all, he used his life to hold the three of us back for half an hour, causing the original plan for the Box to fail."
Ryoji's pupils contracted. A massive cyclone condensed around his black sword, but Mui flickered instantly, throwing a punch wreathed in violent fire. Ryoji took a heavy blow and was sent skidding back.
As Ryoji stabilized himself, he saw the change in Mui's expression and confirmed a suspicion. "You lured us here because the 'key' you're missing to release the Box's full power... is this black sword my father left me."
Mui, a powerhouse feared even by the leadership of the Hidden Grass, was undoubtedly a Kage-level combatant. Though Ryoji was a talented Jonin, he was outmatched.
"You guessed correctly. But what of it?"
Tyrannical flames spiraled around Mui, forming a massive fiery enclosure. Realizing they were cornered, Ryoji made a split-second decision.
He leaped toward Arashi and the heavily wounded Souji. Standing back-to-back, he pulled out a specialized scroll gifted by Shiraishi. A Dimensional Rift suddenly expanded.
"The Kazekage's space-time ninjutsu?"
They had lured the three here specifically for the sword, but they hadn't expected Ryoji to possess a one-time use escape tool.
As the three Sand shinobi vanished, Mochun remained calm. "The Kazekage's black hole technique has a limited range. They won't have left the island. Find them!"
Interception at Sea
Outside the Land of Vegetables, Hozuki Haigetsu moved rapidly across the water's surface. As a split consciousness of Shiraishi, he had been monitoring the situation closely.
The intelligence from Konan had alerted Shiraishi to the danger, and Haigetsu had been sent as immediate backup.
Suddenly, a massive wall of water rose to block his path. Haigetsu drew his measuring-ruler weapon and retreated.
"It's you."
Amidst a flurry of falling snow, the Mist Jonin Yuri appeared. Her eyes were vacant and unfocused—she was a walking corpse, controlled by a unique formula to act as a barrier against Haigetsu.
Though a puppet, she was still a genuine Ice Style user whose strength had once threatened Shikasa during the Summit.
Meanwhile, the situation for the three escaped Sand ninjas was becoming dire. The burning power of Mui's Heavenly Prison Jutsu was beginning to spread to Souji's internal organs.
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