Simultaneously, within the delivery room, Uzumaki Tomoe was a portrait of agony.
Drenched in sweat, she strained with every fiber of her being to bring her child into the world, yet she remained stuck at the brink—as if an invisible force were obstructing the birth.
The entire Sand Medical Department was in a state of high-alert panic. Despite their advanced diagnostic equipment, they could find no physical reason for the complication.
Their only conclusion was that Tomoe's body was simply too weak to sustain the labor.
Too weak? She was of the Uzumaki clan. How could her life force be weak? Even Kushina Uzumaki had survived the extraction of the Nine-Tails for a period; such was the legendary vitality of their kin.
Arakawa Arashi was deeply disappointed in the medical team. While the Sand had made meteoric leaps in technology and power, they still lagged far behind Konoha in medical ninjutsu. Now, they couldn't even manage difficult labor.
"Lady Chiyo!"
As the most experienced midwife in the Sand, Chiyo rushed to the medical wing upon hearing the news.
Though she wasn't entirely clear on the nature of the relationship between the Kazekage and this woman, the potential loss of an Uzumaki scion was a matter of grave importance.
She had no desire to be mocked by Konoha's medical ninjas in the future.
Chiyo examined Tomoe, her expression tightening with concern. The labor was indeed failing, and outside, the rampage of the Box of Ultimate Bliss was keeping Shiraishi pinned down.
The Battle in the Sky
To suppress the surging natural energy, Shiraishi held nothing back. As the dragon sigils in his eyes deepened in hue, his Sage Mode intensified.
With a horizontal sweep of his claws, he sent the faceless puppet reeling. Though half its torso was shattered, the Box's energy continued to knit the puppet back together.
Hagoromo had originally created the Box of Ultimate Bliss to mass-produce Sage Mode warriors. Unfortunately, most humans couldn't withstand the raw natural energy and were discarded as failures.
The late Yamaji Mochun had spent her life chasing the Box for this very power, only to be consumed by it.
The shattered fragments of the puppet's body transformed into a swarm of foul-smelling "Blood Sand," lunging at Shiraishi.
In this pseudo-Sage state, the puppet's sand control was far superior to its previous life.
It desperately tried to expand the battlefield to the village below, but Shiraishi's combination of Inorganic Reincarnation and Magnet Release kept the conflict localized within a massive silver desert floating in mid-air.
Below, the shinobi of the Sand watched in awe. "Lord Kazekage's sand control has reached a level we can't even comprehend."
"If you can't comprehend it, you'll never catch up to him," a young Genin wearing the Yamaji crest remarked, his eyes burning with fanatical admiration.
"Yamaji Kumatake... you're just a Genin, how dare you speak like that?" one of the seniors retorted.
Kumatake didn't care. As the sole remaining prodigy of the three Sand-style lineages, his hunger for knowledge was insatiable.
"Lord Kazekage established the library and the scientific ninjutsu worldview precisely because he wanted the collective strength of the Sand to rise. If we only lament the gap between him and us, we waste his efforts."
"You have a sharper tongue than even Tomoki," a feminine voice laughed from behind him. It was Roshi, a pink-haired kunoichi.
Uzumaki Tomoki, Yamamichi Kumatake, and Roshi—the strongest trio of this year's academy graduates.
They had been assigned to the same squad under the tutelage of Shikasa, the Jonin Commander and Shiraishi's confidant. This placement alone signaled the high expectations the Sand's leadership had for the next generation.
The Icy Conclusion
Above, Shiraishi unleashed a massive tidal wave of searing silver sand. The faceless puppet responded by opening the rift in its head, emitting a void-like suction intended to tear the environment apart.
The Box is reaching its limit...
Sensing the instability of the Box's core, Shiraishi leaped. A massive, silver dragon-shaped aura roared past him.
"Sage Art: Cold Flame Dragon Breath!"
The Extreme Cold Flame, combined with the Dragon Breath, instantly freezing the Blood Sand inch by inch. Even the toxic mist in the air was turned into sparkling, translucent ice crystals.
The Extreme Cold Flame, as the evolved form of his Azure Flame, acted as a perfect counter to the distorted reality-warping tools of the Box.
The faceless puppet crumbled, unable to break free from the icy prison. Shiraishi watched the fragments fall, showing no joy. Had the Box not reached its energy threshold, he would have been delayed even longer.
This Box cannot remain.
As the puppet disintegrated, Shiraishi drew his silver blade. With a burst of strength, he swung the sword in a devastating arc.
The cyclone of the strike shredded the puppet's remains and pulverized the residual energy of the Box. Shiraishi then produced a large scroll, resealing the floating Magnet Release field.
The battle was over, but the sky above the Sand remained dark with thunderclouds and a sudden, torrential downpour.
The Birth of Two Stars
In the medical wing, Tomoe's life force was fading. Sensing the interference of the Sage of the Six Paths, Shiraishi raised his silver blade to the heavens.
He allowed his Sage Chakra to broadcast his intent like a megaphone through the atmosphere.
"If you succeed in stopping this child's birth today, I will find the reincarnations of Asura and Indra at any cost and erase them in their cradles with the same ruthlessness."
The reincarnations Shiraishi spoke of were merely the vessels for the Sage's lingering chakra-will. If the Sage was willing to break the rules to stop Tomoe's child, it was clear that the "Children of Destiny" were due to be born again soon.
Facing Shiraishi's threat, the massive black clouds above the village remained silent for a long moment before finally dissipating.
Seconds later, a baby's cry pierced the air, echoing throughout the Hidden Sand.
The unique chakra fluctuations in the infant's cry gave even Shiraishi a strange, premonitory sensation.
Tomoe had used every ounce of her strength to deliver twin girls. Pale and exhausted, she managed a faint, relieved smile before her eyes drifted shut.
"Karin... Tomoko..."
With her final breath, she named the two girls. Uzumaki Karin and Uzumaki Tomoko had finally entered the world.
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