The architectural layout of the New Hidden Sand Village followed a strict north-south central axis.
The Kazekage's Office, the Tower of Sealing, and the Round Stone Stage were all positioned along this line, extending outward in a balanced, symmetrical fashion.
Stretching across this axis was the towering Sealing Pyramid, which housed the Box of Ultimate Bliss captured from the Land of Kusagakure.
Shiraishi had personally layered numerous barriers to suppress the Box's power within the massive complex. However, on this day, an unforeseen disaster struck the heart of the Sand.
After the Kusagakure incident, the Box had been interred within the silver pyramid. In theory, without the Morimoto clan's "Black Sword" keys, the Box should have remained dormant, with zero possibility of leakage.
Yet, at the exact moment Uzumaki Tomoe entered labor, the Box's power spiraled out of control. Unlike the previous minor leak, this was a total, violent release. The silver pyramid shattered instantly!
Corrosive natural energy flooded out, claiming several lives in a heartbeat. The Barrier Team rushed to contain the darkness, but the force was becoming unmanageable, threatening to detonate the entire village.
Shiraishi gritted his teeth as he sensed the dark energy erupting. This "rampage" was no accident; it was a calculated provocation.
Hagoromo, you old fool!
The Sage of the Six Paths had intentionally triggered the Box to prevent Tomoe's child from being born.
Facing a catastrophe that threatened his people, Shiraishi acted with decisive ruthlessness. Enormous clouds of sand rose from the earth as he channeled his Magnet Release to form a massive containment field.
Shiraishi's intervention was overwhelming. Thousands of silver sand needles shot forth, piercing the bodies of Sand shinobi who had been tainted by the Box's energy, surgically drawing out the rampaging natural force.
Lord Kazekage's chakra control is even more flawless than before...
With the initial rescue complete, Shiraishi leaped into the air. The Sage's Blade at his waist let out a sharp, trembling hum—a sign of reluctance to face the power of the Box.
Simultaneously, the Box retaliated. The leaked energy began to coalesce, molding stolen flesh and blood into a physical form in mid-air.
The sight of gore and sinew knitting together was bone-chilling. Beneath the newly formed skin, a tidal wave of violent chakra swept outward.
As the dust cleared, the onlookers gasped. The monster had no face—only a smooth, blank surface—but its clothing and ornaments were hauntingly familiar.
"That... that's the attire of the Yamaji Clan Head, Yamaji Mochun!"
Though Mochun was long dead, the faceless woman's robes and clan crest were unmistakable. The Sand Jonin looked on in horror. "Why is the missing Clan Head appearing here? Was she involved in the Kusagakure incident?"
Shiraishi had kept the truth of Mochun's death a secret to preserve the dignity of Yamaji Ryoko and her clan. To the public, she was simply "missing." Now, the Sage of the Six Paths was playing a masterstroke of psychological warfare, creating a puppet that would sow discord within the Sand's hierarchy.
"It is merely a projection of the Box," Shiraishi explained calmly, his voice projecting across the village. "The real Soharu was consumed by the Box long ago. What stands before you is a hollow puppet."
As his explanation calmed the ranks, the faceless puppet unleashed a volley of cellular spikes.
"Sage Art: Great Sand Blast!"
Activating his Dragon Sigil, Shiraishi exhaled a terrifying torrent of silver sand. The sand coalesced in the sky into massive metallic disks. Using Inorganic Reincarnation, he granted the disks life, making them sticky and highly reactive.
The heat radiating from Shiraishi's sand was so intense it distorted the very air, creating a shimmering mirage. Normal breathing would scorch one's lungs.
In this state, Shiraishi resembled a Tailed Beast, capable of terraforming the entire landscape into a desert with a single breath.
"Staggering... is this the true extent of the Kazekage's chakra?"
"He's reinforcing the Magnet Release to its maximum density just to ensure the battle doesn't level the village!"
The faceless puppet flickered with incredible speed, dodging the searing sand, but Shiraishi was already upon her. His fist, wreathed in blue flames, slammed into her shoulder. The puppet's left arm transformed into a blade, parrying with a high-speed strike.
Clang!
The defense was seamless, but Shiraishi's blue flames erupted into a draconic aura that tore through the puppet's side.
The monster exhaled a cloud of dark toxic mist in an attempt to swallow him, but Shiraishi stood atop a blooming silver lotus made of Magnet Release sand. The petals closed around him, forming an impenetrable defense.
Shiraishi's expression remained stoic, but his eyes flickered with the thrill of battle. He compressed his Blue Flame and Extreme Cold Flame into a singular point of light.
A devastating beam of energy shot across the sky, easily suppressing the Sage's puppet.
His Dragon Sigils adjusted to his rising power. Reaching down, Shiraishi gripped the silver blade—the weapon Hagoromo had once gifted to Asura.
He flooded the hilt with his own Sage Chakra, forcibly overwriting the lingering will of the Six Paths.
"You are my blade now. You will obey me."
With a brilliant flash of light, Shiraishi purged the last traces of the Sage's influence from the steel.
Even if you are the Sage of the Six Paths, you have no right to interfere with the Sand
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