---Third POV---
The Land of Whirlpools was a very special country.
Although it was clearly a whole, unbroken island, only the Uzumaki clan had built Uzushio here, where they thrived and multiplied for generations.
One clan, one village, one nation.
It almost carried a certain romantic quality to it.
Ryouma and his group advanced in a straight line from the coastline and soon arrived at the ruins of Uzushio.
This place had once been prosperous, but now only broken walls and rubble remained.
The houses of old had long since crumbled into ruins, the streets were overgrown with weeds, the scars of war were still plainly visible, and the setting sun's glow falling on the desolate village revealed a kind of sorrowful beauty.
Kushina stood on this once-familiar land, reaching out to gently touch the lingering traces of the past. The decline of her homeland stirred a deep ache in her heart.
Rin stepped forward and held her arm, softly calling out, "Kushina-nesan…"
"I'm fine, it's just… I can't help but remember the old days," Kushina replied in a quiet voice.
After bowing her head in silent mourning for the clansmen lost in the war, she seemed to recall something. She tilted her head slightly, a glimmer flashing in her eyes.
"That's right, our Uzumaki clan has a very large Mask Hall. It's a bit far from the village, but perhaps it's still well preserved."
Ryouma caught the key words in her sentence. "Now that you mention it, I remember there's also a similar hall outside of Konoha."
"Exactly." Kushina nodded affirmatively, the corners of her lips lifting in a faint, nostalgic smile. "That one was established after Mito-obachan came to Konoha."
"Mask Hall?" Rin blinked curiously, tilting her head in puzzlement. "Does that mean there are a lot of masks inside?"
"That's right." Kushina said with some amusement, even making a funny face at Rin. "The patterns on those masks were especially scary. I used to get frightened there all the time when I was little."
"Then… were those ritual masks meant to serve some special purpose?" Rin wasn't fazed by Kushina's playful tone. Instead, her curiosity deepened.
"I'm not really sure," Kushina shook her head, her brows furrowing as though struggling to recall. "I only know that our ancestors made those strange masks, but the elders never explained the exact reason to me when I was little."
She paused, a trace of confusion in her eyes. "Maybe they were just made as decorations."
Ryouma listened quietly from the side, his gaze flickering. If his memory was correct, those masks were actually connected to the Uzumaki clan's inherited sealing technique, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
But judging by Kushina's expression, she clearly wasn't aware of this.
He said softly, "Those masks might have been meant as mediums for performing certain special sealing jutsu."
"Perhaps." Kushina shrugged lightly.
Standing nearby, Obito had been listening intently, his eyes shining with excitement. Unable to hold back, he jumped into the conversation: "That sounds really interesting!"
Kushina turned her head to look at Obito's eager expression. It was obvious he had developed a strong interest in the masks she mentioned.
So she waved her hand generously and said, "If those masks are still in good condition, feel free to take whichever ones you like."
"Really? That's awesome!" Obito responded immediately with delight.
When it came to head-worn accessories like masks, he had always been especially fond of them.
Back during the fireworks festival in the Land of Hot Water, he had wanted to browse the mask stalls from other countries, but unfortunately ran into trouble caused by the Jashin cult.
And so, as the group chatted idly while making their way toward the Mask Hall, two uninvited guests arrived in the Land of Whirlpools.
---
On a rugged coastline, the waves surged forward, crashing violently against the sheer rocky cliffs, producing thunderous roars. Sea spray shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
Two figures, one black and one white, quietly appeared there.
"The Nine-Tails' power is really terrifying," Spiked White Zetsu muttered, shaking his head. "So, what do we do now, Black Zetsu?"
Faced with his question, Black Zetsu was momentarily at a loss for words. He didn't know how to respond. The two of them had just arrived, only to witness Ryouma fighting the Nine-Tails.
The commotion was so overwhelming that they could hear it clearly even from miles away.
Afraid of being discovered by Ryouma, the two didn't get too close, so they couldn't figure out exactly which situation had caused the Nine-Tails to appear.
Hypothesis one: the Nine-Tails acted on its own willpower and forcefully broke free from Kushina's body.
Hypothesis two: the Nine-Tails was drawn out by Kushina herself while practicing, under Ryouma's guidance, how to become a perfect jinchūriki.
"Hey, do you think it's possible that Kushina gave birth early?"
"Idiot. No matter how premature a human is, it can't be six months ahead of time."
Lately, Black Zetsu felt that ever since Madara's death, this Spiked White Zetsu's personality had been getting more and more like Tobi's, completely unreliable.
But Spiked White Zetsu wasn't angered by the insult. Instead, he kept speaking in a carefree, cheerful tone: "So, since Ryouma is on this island, are we still going to push forward with recruiting Hiruko? What if they're actually after Hiruko themselves?"
That was exactly the headache troubling Black Zetsu.
Why, out of the entire vast shinobi world, did Ryouma and his group have to choose the Land of Whirlpools as the battleground to deal with the Nine-Tails?
He couldn't help but worry, could it be that Shiori's dōjutsu had provided Ryouma with some kind of intelligence, and that this group had deliberately come here to corner him?
If that were the case, then running away as fast as possible would be his only option.
But on the other hand, what if fleeing was exactly what Shiori wanted him to do?
This was a mental nightmare!
Curse those descendants of Indra, how did they ever develop something like the Mangekyō Sharingan?
"Hey, how about trying that jutsu?" A sly glint flashed in Spiked White Zetsu's eyes as he goaded, "We should be able to find the Uzumaki clan leader's grave here, right?"
Black Zetsu's face showed puzzlement. "Ashina? What could he possibly—"
He suddenly thought of something.
The Land of Whirlpools was home to numerous sealed demons dating back to the era of Hagoromo.
Some of these monsters had mutated through contact with chakra, but others were native to the shinobi world, their energies not based on chakra at all.
If Ashina were to release those demons, perhaps they could bypass the counter ninjutsu of Ryouma.
As for that strange mode of his, it was obvious that it wasn't some permanent ability. And given the sheer size of the Land of Whirlpools, with countless demons sealed away, surely even Ryouma couldn't withstand them all forever.
Thinking this through, Black Zetsu glanced at Spiked White Zetsu with a rare look of appreciation.
As expected of Mother's creation. At a critical moment, this one did have his uses after all.
---
The Mask Hall stood in a secluded forest outside Uzushio. Long left without maintenance, it was surrounded by overgrown weeds, giving off an indescribable aura of mystery.
"As I thought, no one would bother messing around in such a place filled with sinister energy."
Kushina's lively voice clashed with the eerie atmosphere. The moment she saw the structure was still intact, she immediately grabbed Rin and hurried inside.
"Don't rush ahead. Be careful not to trip on the weeds." As their guard, Kakashi dutifully quickened his pace to follow.
As they stepped into the Mask Hall, the first thing that greeted them was a dilapidated torii gate. The red paint had completely peeled away, revealing the weathered wood beneath.
Beyond it stood an old wooden building. Several wind chimes hung under the eaves, and though rust had eaten away at them, the faint breeze still stirred a deep, metallic ringing.
Obito was the first to move, pushing open the large door carved with the Uzumaki clan's emblem.
The moment it creaked open, a wave of musty air rushed out, making Kushina frown. Still, since the house had been sealed and unventilated, the masks inside were surprisingly well preserved.
Ryouma glanced around. The walls were lined with masks of every kind.
Some were grotesque and terrifying, some twisted and bizarre, but without exception, the patterns were intricately detailed, clearly crafted with great care.
Perhaps it was precisely this fine craftsmanship that made them seem disturbingly alive.
"This… really does feel a bit creepy. No wonder you were scared of this place when you were little, Kushina-nesan," Rin admitted, finally understanding why even someone with Kushina's personality would feel uneasy here.
"Right? And the clan head especially loved holding rituals here, stubborn as ever."
Obito pulled a tiger-skin mask from the wall and put it on, striking a deliberately solemn pose and lowering his voice.
"How do I look with this mask on?"
"Haha, not bad at all," Kushina praised, humoring him.
Ryouma, watching, found the whole scene a little hard to take seriously.
When Kakashi saw Obito reaching for a white spiral mask on the wall, he spoke up with mild exasperation: "Hey, Obito. This is still the Uzumaki clan's shrine. Don't you think you're being disrespectful?"
"What? Kushina-nesan already said it's fine to take them," Obito retorted. He hated Kakashi's lecturing tone, especially since Kakashi himself secretly indulged in all sorts of forbidden practices.
Ryouma didn't join in their bickering. Instead, he picked up a shinigami mask from the right wall and studied it carefully.
Suddenly, he felt some kind of ripple sweep through the air.
He didn't dismiss it, scanning the entire area, even underground.
"Hm? A... Golbat?"
Within his perception, the strange disturbance had come from a bizarre-looking bat hidden in the trees, most likely some form of ultrasonic ability.
"What is it?" Rin immediately noticed Ryouma's change in expression.
"There's a strange creature. Give me a moment."
Forming hand seals, he released threads of sand into the forest outside the Mask Hall.
The bat proved extremely sensitive. The instant Ryouma moved, it flapped its leathery wings and darted away into the distance.
Seeing this, he dropped all pretense and poured his chakra out at full power.
Two colossal hands of sand rose up from the ground, blotting out the sun as they surrounded the bat from every direction.
"****?"
He couldn't tell what it screeched at the end, but it definitely sounded like a curse.
Hearing the commotion outside, Kushina and the others couldn't help but curiously glance toward the door.
They saw threads of sand, like ropes, dragging a bat through the front entrance and floating it inside.
"Wow, that mouth is huge!" Kushina exclaimed in surprise.
That was probably the most natural reaction anyone would have when seeing the creature for the first time.
Ryouma studied the bat carefully with his Rikugan, finding its chakra flow relatively stable. Then he shot a look at Obito.
Obito instantly understood, that it was his turn to interrogate with genjutsu.
Scarlet surged in his eyes, and his Mangekyō Sharingan opened.
Circling around the bat, he noticed something odd.
"Ryouma, why doesn't this thing have eyes?"
Now that he mentioned it, it really didn't. Ryouma felt a bit awkward, but it didn't matter. What he relied on wasn't the bat's eyes, but his own strength and methods.
"The jutsu I'm about to use, make sure you don't speak of it outside," Ryouma warned them solemnly.
Though puzzled, no one pressed him further.
Ryouma rapidly wove hand seals, then placed his right hand gently on top of the bat's head.
For those present, and for any ninja of Konoha, the gesture was instantly recognizable.
"This is… the Yamanaka clan's technique?" Obito blurted out without thinking.
"Uh…" Realizing his slip, he uncharacteristically fell silent.
Ryouma skillfully directed his chakra, easily breaking through the seal placed within the bat's mind and probing its memories with precision.
In less than two minutes, he had extracted the exact information he wanted.
Then, he lifted his hand from the bat's now clouded head and slowly opened his eyes.
With a quick seal, he controlled the sand to cleanly end the creature's life, flung its body into the forest, and even buried it with Earth Release for good measure.
After finishing, he turned to the confused group and explained, "You guessed correctly. The jutsu I used was the Mind Body Transmission Technique.'"
"I've witnessed Inoichi-sensei use this jutsu many times. After experimenting in private, I managed to master it myself."
He paused, his tone turning serious. "But this isn't something to be flaunted. When I told him, he warned me never to use it openly or pass it on. I trust you understand what that means."
Everyone nodded earnestly, demonstrating their promise to keep it a secret.
Kakashi, knowing Ryouma's talent for independently developing techniques, didn't find it surprising that he could also crack the workings of a clan's secret technique.
So he dropped the matter entirely and instead asked: "Did you discover anything in the bat's memories?"