After handing the scroll with the target's corpse to the arrogant man, Reiji and Hōzuki Gengetsu boarded a ship bound for the Land of Waves.
On the deck, Gengetsu stared out at the churning waves in silence for a long while before finally turning to Reiji with a serious expression.
"Obito, what's that taijutsu you used earlier called?!"
Surprised, Reiji glanced at him.
Then he raised a hand, gave a thumbs-up, flashed a mouthful of sharp fangs, and answered with confidence,
"Super Youth Turbo Mode—Eight Inner Gates!"
Staring at Reiji's glowing white teeth, Gengetsu felt a strange rush of excitement. It had been a long time since he'd felt this kind of thrill.
...
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office in Konohagakure, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply as he reviewed the intelligence report from Uzushiogakure.
The village that had been allied with Konoha since its founding—Uzushiogakure—had been destroyed.
Worse still, the entire village was burned to ash. Except for a few survivors who managed to escape, the rest had been slaughtered.
What was odd, however, was that amidst the scorched ruins, there were barely any signs of civilian presence—as if the entire population had vanished into thin air.
From the scene, it was assumed that the civilians had been abducted by Kirigakure's ninja.
However, the report from the team that had returned with Kushina Uzumaki included something unexpected.
They had encountered a tall, fat man carrying a flat, bandage-wrapped weapon said to be capable of movement.
The team engaged him in battle.
To their surprise, the man was completely unfazed by the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist. He just stood there and took the hits, even let them strike again for good measure.
Then, strangely, he let the frightened team go unharmed.
With limited intel on Kirigakure, the intel division couldn't identify the man.
But something about his bizarre behavior gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a sense of familiarity.
That nonsensical attitude reminded him of a certain irritating figure from the village...
And that particular person hadn't been seen around the village lately.
Hiruzen clicked his tongue in frustration.
He really wanted to question Reiji about this, but he couldn't reach him at the moment.
Then a thought occurred to him—Tsunade.
Tsunade might be able to contact Reiji.
"Call Tsunade!" he shouted toward the door.
"Yes, sir!"
Before long, Tsunade entered, wearing a white coat and looking puzzled.
"Old man, what's going on?"
"Can you get in touch with Reiji Sakuhō?"
Tsunade started to respond, but then paused, her amber eyes flickering. She shook her head.
"No, I can't reach him."
Hiruzen frowned and bit down on his pipe, thinking, You totally can, don't lie to me.
"Tsunade, something's happened in Uzushiogakure. Reiji was likely there—I need to know what happened."
With a sigh, Hiruzen finally laid things out.
Tsunade's eyebrows shot up instantly.
Something happened in Uzushiogakure?
Uzushiogakure... the Uzumaki Clan... that's Grandma's clan!
"Does Grandma know about this?" Tsunade blurted out anxiously.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
Seeing her teacher's response, Tsunade's heart gradually settled.
Honestly, she didn't care much about what happened to Uzushiogakure. What she cared about was whether her grandmother would be heartbroken.
And it was obvious—if Mito Uzumaki heard this news, she would be devastated.
After thinking it over, Tsunade decided to ask Reiji for more details—privately, of course.
...
Meanwhile, Reiji and Hōzuki Gengetsu had already split up. Gengetsu went to the Land of Waves to pursue their mission target, while Reiji made his way to the Land of Whirlpools.
Returning to his original appearance, Reiji walked through the ruins of Uzushiogakure.
It had been nearly a week since the village's destruction.
And the ruins were starting to come alive again.
Kirigakure had devoured most of the meat, Reiji had taken the precious marrow, and the rest—well, the nearby villagers wanted their share too.
In the end, Uzushiogakure's fall fattened up the rest of the Land of Whirlpools.
Villagers from the surrounding areas came flocking in, carrying bamboo baskets on their backs, faces lit up with eager smiles, like they were headed to a festival.
Moving through the debris, Reiji blended in, picking up a wooden stick just like the scavengers around him.
As he ventured deeper into the ruins, the number of scavengers thinned out.
Eventually, he reached the village center—the area most ravaged by battle.
Strangely, among the devastation stood a wooden house, completely untouched.
Amid the collapsed walls and rubble, its pristine state looked eerie.
Above the doorway hung a small wooden plaque, carved with three ancient-looking characters:
"Mask Storage Temple."
A faint smirk tugged at Reiji's lips as he stepped forward, ready to enter.
Just then, from the rubble nearby, an old man with a disheveled white beard and a basket on his back suddenly shouted in panic.
"Young man! Stop! Don't go in!"
Startled, Reiji halted and looked toward the old man, confused.
"Old man, are you talking to me?"
"Yes, yes!" the white-bearded man nodded frantically. Leaning on his cane, he hobbled over, slightly out of breath.
"Young man, do you even know what's in there? How can you just walk in?!"
Reiji gave a calm smile and nodded in response.
Seeing that, the old man frowned and grabbed Reiji's sleeve.
"You know, and you still want to go in?
Don't you have elders at home? Haven't they warned you about the dangers of Mask Storage Temple?"
Reiji raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Old man, why don't you tell me about it?"
The old man gave him a helpless look, tugged him back a few steps, and spoke in a lowered voice.
"I can tell you, but you have to promise not to go in."
Reiji nodded.
Only then did the old man begin, slowly.
"Truth is, it's no big secret. The old folks from the nearby villages all know about it.
It's said that the Uzumaki Clan refused to move to Konoha because they were guarding the Jashin.
Inside Mask Storage Temple, there are twenty-seven masks, each representing one of the twenty-seven Jashin.
If those masks are destroyed, the Jashin will be released—and bring disaster upon the world!
But from what my grandfather told me, most of those Jashin are already dead. The seals have lasted so long that even gods couldn't endure it forever.
Still, the ones that remain... are terrifying.
So I'm telling you, don't go in. You'll only stir up something you'll regret."
Watching the old man's grave expression, Reiji felt a sudden chill creep up his spine.
This... was starting to feel a little too real.