Leaving the Hokage Building, Shinji glanced back.
Clearly.
From Orochimaru's prison break, the village had realized there was a traitor aiding Kabuto Yakushi. So, Shinji deliberately muddied the waters, pinning it all on Danzo.
Back at the Hidden Leaf Police Force headquarters, Shinji went over the entire situation.
From start to finish, he had never shown his true face to Kabuto Yakushi or the others. Ryuzetsu, Chino, and Karin had also acted under the guise of the Akatsuki, so there was no risk of exposure.
His only concern was that the captured Guren and Juugo knew Kimimaro's identity.
However, he had prepared for this in advance. Amid the chaos of that night, he used genjutsu to implant suggestions in both Juugo and Guren.
With his current dojutsu prowess, as long as his genjutsu hints remained, Juugo and Guren would be immune to any genjutsu-based interrogations.
As for standard physical or drug-induced interrogations, Shinji trusted that, as core members of Orochimaru's group, they could handle it.
Besides, even for their own sakes, they wouldn't reveal Kimimaro. As long as Kimimaro remained undercover in the Hidden Leaf, they had hope of being rescued.
Of course! Shinji wouldn't rely entirely on Juugo and Guren. He had already, as the leader, used Jikibi to signal Kimimaro to be ready to evacuate at any moment.
Refocusing his thoughts, Shinji stopped dwelling on the village's affairs and instead used Jikibi to check on Karin's group.
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village.
The trio, having obtained clues at the ruins of the Whirlpool Village, rushed back to the Hidden Leaf without rest. In a dense forest near the village, they found a storage hall built by the Uzumaki clan specifically to house the Death God Masks.
Like the now-extinct Uzumaki clan, this storage hall, constructed by their hands, had fallen into disrepair under the ravages of time, teetering on the brink of collapse.
If one didn't know this was the Uzumaki clan's storage hall, they might mistake it for an ordinary mountain shrine.
The trio entered the hall, the wooden floor creaking under their steps.
Kabuto Yakushi surveyed the surroundings. "Who would've thought the secret to unraveling Shiki Fujin (Corpse Demon Sealing) was hidden in this dilapidated little shrine!"
Orochimaru said, "The Uzumaki clan was a renowned shinobi clan during the Warring States period. Their ruins are scattered across the shinobi world."
Kabuto Yakushi sighed, "What a pity. No matter how powerful a shinobi clan, they couldn't escape destruction by war!"
"They were too arrogant," Orochimaru remarked casually.
The Uzumaki clan's downfall stemmed from the great upheaval in the shinobi world.
During the Warring States period, wars erupted between shinobi clans. Due to the clans' limited size, these conflicts were relatively small in scale and intensity, often disrupted by other clans' interference.
In such small-scale wars, a powerful clan like the Uzumaki naturally held the upper hand, maintaining their legacy for a millennium without ever facing extinction.
But with the appearance of the First Hokage, the shinobi world underwent a massive transformation, transitioning from the chaotic Warring States period to the current shinobi village era.
The biggest difference between the village era and the Warring States period was that wars were no longer confined to clan-versus-clan conflicts. Larger, more organized wars emerged.
In this new era, shinobi clans banded together. Following the Hidden Leaf, villages like the Hidden Mist, Hidden Sand, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Rock were established one after another.
Under normal circumstances, the Uzumaki clan should have joined a shinobi village, strengthening it while securing their own protection. But the prideful Uzumaki clan refused. They not only rejected the Hidden Leaf's invitation but also established their so-called Whirlpool Village in the Land of Whirlpools with their clan's strength alone.
During the First Hokage's lifetime, the shinobi world enjoyed a rare peace, and the Whirlpool Village coexisted peacefully with other villages.
But after the First Hokage, who had kept the shinobi world in check, passed away, the suppressed tensions among the villages erupted uncontrollably.
Surrounded by the Lands of Water, Fire, and Lightning, and connected to the Land of Wind via the sea, the Land of Whirlpools became a focal point of conflict. The Whirlpool Village, located within it, naturally became a target. Combined with the Uzumaki clan's coveted sealing techniques, war became inevitable.
No matter how strong a single clan was, it couldn't withstand an attack from an entire shinobi village—let alone the fact that more than one village coveted the Uzumaki's sealing techniques back then. Thus, a prestigious clan that had endured for a millennium in the shinobi world was annihilated overnight, its surviving members scattered, fleeing to foreign lands.
Right or wrong, it's hard to judge now.
But in Orochimaru's view, the Uzumaki clan's refusal to adapt to the changing times was the root cause of their destruction.
Soon, the trio ventured deeper into the storage hall and came upon a wall adorned with all sorts of Death God Masks.
Kabuto Yakushi was taken aback. "So many?"
Even Orochimaru, faced with an entire wall of Death God Masks, felt a bit overwhelmed.
Kabuto asked, "Lord Orochimaru, is only one of these masks the real one?"
Orochimaru stepped closer, examining the masks one by one. "I once read in an Uzumaki clan scroll that to break Shiki Fujin, you must find the corresponding mask! So, all these masks might be real—we just need to find the specific Death God Mask tied to the Fourth Hokage's use of Shiki Fujin."
Kabuto mused, "If that's the case, we might need to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf again and investigate the scroll the Fourth used to learn Shiki Fujin to identify the right Death God Mask."
As Orochimaru and Kabuto discussed quietly, Karin suddenly stepped forward and pointed at one of the Death God Masks. "It's this one!"
Orochimaru and Kabuto turned to her.
Karin, with unwavering certainty, repeated, "It's this one!"
Neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto knew that the Karin before them was an Uzumaki clan survivor, nor were they aware of her Kagura Mind's Eye talent.
In truth, the moment Karin laid eyes on the wall of Death God Masks, she noticed the one she pointed to. Through her Kagura Mind's Eye, she sensed a faint, almost imperceptible chakra reaction emanating from that mask alone. The other masks had fallen silent, reduced to lifeless objects!
Though Karin didn't know Shiki Fujin, she understood what this meant. Her intuition—born from the Uzumaki clan's sage body, honed to its peak—told her that this was the mask they were looking for!