The ambush encountered by the Fifteenth Unit in Quicksand Ravine immediately drew intense attention from Sunagakure's upper leadership. With the previous chūnin leading the operation having already been killed, the village finally realized the severity of the situation.
Maki personally led a team to Quicksand Ravine. However, the fires raging throughout the entire valley were so violent that Sunagakure was unable to uncover any useful clues for the time being.
During the clash between Zi Ao and Shiraishi, the final remaining renegade in the ravine had chosen to burn down the base, destroying every secret within.
While ordering people to suppress the flames, Maki also instructed others to accelerate Shiraishi's rescue. Although Shiraishi had successfully killed Zi Ao, the massive explosions caused by Zi Ao's chakra threads had still inflicted serious damage across Shiraishi's entire body.
With the mission difficulty escalating unexpectedly, Shiraishi anticipated the suspicion that would follow from Sunagakure. Before the rescue unit arrived, he quickly finished fully reading the hidden purple card on his body—then finally lost consciousness.
Jōgaki Tsukasa and Arakawa were the first to find Shiraishi. The horrifying state of the battlefield made their expressions change instantly. Shiraishi, covered in blood and still gripping his silver blade tightly even in unconsciousness, left a deep impression on both of them.
After listening to the reports from several genin and from Chūnin Arakawa, even Maki was stunned that Shiraishi had deliberately acted as bait alone, lured the enemy out, and defeated them. But when ANBU revealed the identity of the mysterious renegade, Maki could not help but draw a sharp breath.
Zi Ao—
A B-rank missing-nin, formerly a member of Sasori of the Red Sand's mobile puppet unit.
Before defecting, Zi Ao had been a chūnin. After Sasori's defection from Sunagakure, Zi Ao had disappeared from the village as well.
Compared to ordinary missing-nin, puppeteers were far more unpredictable. Learning that Shiraishi had killed Zi Ao in a one-on-one confrontation was something that completely overturned the common understanding of many Sand shinobi. Their first reaction was simple—
There was something wrong with this kid.
He was not born into a major clan.
He possessed no known bloodline limit.
He was merely a civilian-born ninja.
So why did he have such strength?
And it was not just Zi Ao.
Behind Quicksand Ravine, Shiraishi had also single-handedly killed two other renegades. In effect, Shiraishi alone had completed a mission that should have been evaluated as A-rank.
"Should we take him to ANBU?" someone asked.
"No," Maki said calmly. "I will question him myself."
Though suspicion had already taken root, Maki chose to wait until Shiraishi regained consciousness before personally interrogating him about the details of the mission.
"But—"
"Do not draw conclusions so easily," Maki interrupted. "Sunagakure is not Konoha. In the Land of Wind, genius is an extremely rare luxury."
The Land of Wind was poor. Its national strength had been declining year by year. Although the Fourth Kazekage was actively coordinating with Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure to encircle Konoha, Maki was not optimistic about Rasa's policies.
Compared to the powerful Iwa and Kumo, Sunagakure had very few cards to play. Even if negotiations succeeded, it was highly likely that Sunagakure would still be the first to clash with Konoha at Kikyo Pass.
If that happened, the village's situation in the coming war…
Maki's intuition told him that this frail-looking boy might one day change everything.
After several hours of emergency treatment, Shiraishi finally woke up. Upon receiving the news, Maki arrived with several ANBU members.
"Regarding the details of this mission," Maki said calmly, "can you explain them in full, Shiraishi?"
Shiraishi described the deployment at Quicksand Ravine and the unexpected variables in great detail. When he reached the part about supporting Arakawa, he explained that he had used a draw-cut technique combined with his self-created Whirlwind Blade to snipe the enemy.
"Whirlwind Blade," Maki repeated. "Is this a jutsu you created yourself?"
"Yes," Shiraishi replied. "It's an extended application of wind-attribute chakra. While training in draw-cut techniques like Iaijutsu, I came up with the idea of extending Wind Release onto my weapon."
From start to finish, Shiraishi cooperated fully with Sunagakure's investigation. For him, it was better to transform the higher-ups' perception of his techniques now than to keep hiding them forever.
A self-developed jutsu…?
As a village that specialized in Wind Release, Sunagakure had detailed records of wind techniques from all nations. Although Whirlwind Blade resembled many existing Wind Release jutsu, based on the hand seals and power Shiraishi submitted, it was unquestionably a solid C-rank Wind Release technique.
Following Shiraishi's notes, Maki personally formed the seals and executed the jutsu. Two powerful circular wind blades formed and shot forward, slicing through the air with terrifying force—stronger than Shiraishi's own version.
The theory, seals, and development details all checked out. Even the ANBU members' attitudes began to shift.
During the previous Chiyuki incident, ANBU surveillance had clearly seen how relentlessly this young genin trained his draw-cut techniques and Iaijutsu. Developing Wind Release: Whirlwind Blade atop that foundation no longer seemed absurd.
For a civilian ninja like Shiraishi—whose mission rewards barely covered daily expenses—acquiring powerful jutsu was extremely difficult. Self-development was, in fact, his only path.
Of course, most shinobi could never accomplish something like this. In Sunagakure's history, such individuals were nearly nonexistent. Konoha's Orochimaru had a somewhat similar background—but Orochimaru had been taught directly by the Third Hokage. His starting point had been far higher than Shiraishi's.
After accepting Shiraishi's explanation, Maki's tone grew sharper.
"Then how do you explain killing Zi Ao? He was a missing-nin whose strength was very close to jōnin-level."
"He had no defense against my self-created Telekinesis Technique," Shiraishi answered.
"Telekinesis?" Maki asked. "The same self-created jutsu you submitted in that earlier report?"
Maki remembered it clearly. That report was precisely what had drawn his attention to Shiraishi in the first place.
"Because externalized telekinesis is more tangible than ordinary genjutsu," Shiraishi continued, "reversing its application onto myself allows me to enter a special state of levitation."
As he spoke, Shiraishi released his telekinesis. Instantly, countless blue lights surrounded his body, and he slowly began to float upward.
Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique?
No—this wasn't Light-Weight Rock Technique. Movement generated through externalized telekinesis was noticeably heavier and less refined than Earth Release.
"When I first created telekinesis," Shiraishi said, "I realized it was only a beginning. With further development, mental energy externalization can be adapted into techniques completely different from the existing ninjutsu system."
Just as Maki and the others were preparing to conclude the questioning, a calm, delicate voice suddenly rang out:
"Then perhaps you can explain this as well."
The tent flap was pulled open.
A young female jōnin stepped inside, her cold gaze fixed on Shiraishi as if she had finally caught him by the collar.
"I personally examined Zi Ao's puppets," she said flatly. "Their internal mechanisms were destroyed by a special form of Magnet Release. So, Genin Shiraishi—can you explain that?"
The moment Magnet Release and the Third Kazekage were mentioned, the atmosphere in the tent instantly tightened.
Killing intent surged.
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