Inside the Sand Medical Department, Uzumaki Tomoki rushed into the delivery room, only to find his sister's body already growing cold.
His frame shuddered violently. Having relied on his sister since childhood, he gripped her hand, refusing to let go for a long time.
Shiraishi watched Tomoki's grief with a flicker of guilt. Had the Sage of the Six Paths not interfered, Tomoe would not have exhausted her life force to the point of death.
"My condolences. Your sister's greatest wish was for you to raise these two children well."
As the "Children of Destiny" for the next generation of the Sand, the twins—especially Uzumaki Tomoko—had been so extraordinary at birth that even the Sage of the Six Paths had nearly broken his own rules to intervene.
Shiraishi's secret research into the Uzumaki lineage had officially begun; the cellular samples collected from Tomoe provided terrifyingly impressive data.
It was no wonder they once stood alongside the Senju as a peak clan.
During the Warring States period, four great bloodline clans stood at the summit: the Senju, the Uchiha, the Uzumaki, and the Hagoromo clan.
The Hagoromo clan had once rivaled both the Uchiha and Senju in a three-way deadlock, but they were eventually crushed when the two giants allied to form Konoha.
The Uzumaki retreated to the Land of Whirlpools, leaving the heart of the continent.
Now, with the Senju and Uzumaki faded, and the Uchiha fated for extinction in eight years, the era of the Four Great Bloodlines was turning to dust.
Shiraishi had gathered data on the Uzumaki, Hyuga, and Uchiha; he even had Wood Release cells from Orochimaru. Only the Hagoromo clan—the most mysterious of the four—remained out of reach, their ruins hidden deep within the Land of Fire.
The Two Infants
"Master... thank you," Tomoki said, his voice cracking. Though he couldn't save his sister, the children were alive. As a mature youth, he forced his grief down and regained his composure.
"Our homes are adjacent. Now that Tomoe is gone, Maki can help look after Tomoko and Karin when you are away on missions."
Shiraishi had settled the Uzumaki siblings right next to the Kazekage's residence. This proximity had fueled village rumors about Shiraishi's relationship with Tomoe.
Even Tomoki sometimes wondered if something had truly happened between them—why else would the Kazekage go to such lengths?
Shiraishi picked up the two infants. Uzumaki Karin, born with a powerful innate sensory ability, let out a happy gurgle, seemingly drawn to Shiraishi's aura.
Uzumaki Tomoko, however, was different. Despite her blood connection to Shiraishi, her eyes held no emotion—a cold, natural detachment. Since her initial birth cry, she had been silent, resting quietly in his arms.
Shiraishi's circular pupils shifted. He could faintly perceive a massive ocular power residing in Tomoko's forehead. It wasn't the Byakugan, but something far beyond: the Tenseigan.
However, the power was too vast for an infant. Shiraishi placed a heavy seal on her; for at least ten years, the third eye of the Tenseigan would remain dormant.
He feared that possessing such god-like power from childhood would lead her down a path of obsession or alienation. He wanted her to have a normal, happy childhood.
The Watcher in the Shadows
To the rest of the shinobi world, the rampage of the Box of Ultimate Bliss and the birth of an Uzumaki girl were unrelated trifles. The other Great Villages simply felt disappointed that the Box had been suppressed so easily.
The only one suspicious was Zetsu.
As the premier sensory existence in the world, Zetsu had detected a presence during the Sand's crisis that he loathed: Hagoromo Otsutsuki. It was inconceivable that his brother would break a thousand years of neutrality to personally strike at something.
Zetsu realized that Shiraishi's battle with the Box was actually a proxy war with the Sage. When Tomoko cried, Zetsu felt a familiar resonance—one similar to his mother, Kaguya.
The woman in the Sand had given birth to an atavistic child. Even with the power on her forehead sealed, she felt like a reincarnation of the Progenitor.
Zetsu smiled. Shiraishi's rise had been a headache, making Obito and Nagato's plans increasingly difficult.
Facing Shiraishi head-on was suicide for anyone currently alive—even Obito. The only ones who could have rivaled him, Minato and Kushina, had been killed by their own teammates' schemes.
Zetsu found Obito's "Ninety-Tails Incident" a strategic blunder. Weakening Konoha only allowed the Sand to expand unchecked. Obito was too unpredictable and lacked the calculated precision of Uchiha Madara.
In Zetsu's mind, this child, Tomoko, was the perfect "Plan B" for his mother's revival. In his worldview, Kaguya was invincible; this child was simply a future vessel waiting to be claimed. He ignored all other risks.
Deep in the Land of Rain, Zetsu reported to Obito: "The Sand has a new Uzumaki child with extraordinary talent. Her birth even triggered the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
Obito, not possessing Zetsu's ancient perspective, dismissed it as a mere curiosity. Had it been Madara, he would have been on high alert.
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