Chapter 68: Lizard's Pact

"Lord Kiyoshi."

After signing his name, Kiyoshi was addressed by a voice from the massive, castle-like white lizard before him.

"My name is Shiromari, the chief of the lizard clan. It is an honor to form a contract with a powerful one such as yourself!"

Unlike the haughty Gamabunta of Mount Myoboku or Manda of Ryuchi Cave, this lizard spirit spoke politely, which made Kiyoshi feel a warm sense of goodwill.

"Shiromari, is it?"

Had it been one of those arrogant summons, Kiyoshi would not have hesitated to teach it a lesson.

He got straight to the point. "So, how do I free you?"

This wasn't a regular summoning technique; releasing the contract required a special method. 

Otherwise, considering how long Shiromari's previous contractor, Koza, had been dead, Shiromari should have returned long ago, loyalty aside.

"All you need to do is form these six seals in order: Tiger, Snake, Rat, Bird, Horse, Hare," Shiromari replied. "The spell left by my former contractor will then be undone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kiyoshi performed the seals in sequence.

"Release—"

With a roar, the ancient castle-like structure began to tremble as a powerful gust of wind swept through, revealing the enormous form of the white lizard. 

Shiromari appeared in front of Tsunade and Shizune, dwarfing everything around him.

"With that kind of size, swallowing that loudmouth Gamabunta would be no issue," Tsunade remarked with her hand on her chin, sizing him up. 

"Compared to him, even Jiraiya's great toad summon isn't that much bigger."

Of course, sheer size didn't always equate to strength. Though, if this lizard was at his peak, he would certainly not be weak.

As one of the legendary sanctuaries, Mount Myoboku had a rich legacy. Among the toads, Gamabunta wasn't even the strongest.

This giant lizard, however, likely ranked among the top of his clan's summoning beasts.

"Thank you very much for your help, Lord Kiyoshi…" Shiromari's voice echoed across the ancient ruins, his lengthy tongue extending to curl around the newly signed summoning contract and swallowing it into his belly.

"I must now return to the land of my clan, but call upon me or any lizard of our clan whenever you wish."

With that, Shiromari, weakened from the prolonged confinement, dispersed into a cloud of smoke, vanishing from sight.

"It's been a productive day, hasn't it?" Kiyoshi smiled.

Securing a contract with the lizard clan was undoubtedly useful. He was intrigued by their chakra-concealing abilities—something he planned to study when time permitted.

"Indeed…" Tsunade nodded. 

Shiromari's exceptional concealment ability was impressive; even ordinary Sharingan users would have struggled to detect him. 

Not even Kiyoshi, with his excellent sensory skills, had sensed anything unusual.

In the heat of battle, such an ability would surely be invaluable.

"Congratulations, Kiyoshi." Shizune smiled. 

She herself had a contract with the Slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, so she didn't need other summons. 

However, unlike the likes of Gamabunta or Manda, she could not summon a massive slug due to her limited chakra.

Just as Kiyoshi was about to speak, he sensed something unusual in the distance.

Familiar chakras were approaching, and he smirked. "Seems like a few old acquaintances are paying us a visit."

"Root?" Shizune scowled, hugging Tonton tightly. "Those guys just won't leave us alone."

"Your Jutsu hasn't worn off, has it, Kiyoshi?" Tsunade asked, her brows furrowed.

He shrugged. "Danzo doesn't have that kind of skill. Besides, I doubt they're after us this time, or they wouldn't send so few people."

Apart from Root members, Kiyoshi sensed two unfamiliar chakra signatures. 

He had a good idea of what was happening. Before losing consciousness, he had used Kotoamatsukami on Danzo, implanting a few commands:

First, Danzo was to send people to find Karin and her mother in Kusagakure and relocate them safely to Konoha. 

Second, he was to locate Kubisaki Castle, a place that had been destroyed fifty years ago, and retrieve the summoning contract hidden within its lizard-shaped ruins. 

Third, Danzo was to gather all classified information on secret techniques, forbidden jutsus, and sealing techniques accumulated by Root and Konoha, to be accessed by Kiyoshi's clones as needed.

Unexpectedly, Danzo's people seemed to be handling both of the first two tasks at once. 

Kiyoshi, Tsunade, and Shizune had stumbled upon Kubisaki Castle, just as they sensed the chakra leaking from Shiromari's feeding and managed to claim the summoning contract first.

Kiyoshi sighed at the irony.

"So, they got here too late, huh?"

"It's Lady Tsunade and her companions?"

"Retreat." 

A handful of black-clad figures appeared in the distance, but upon seeing Tsunade and Kiyoshi, their expressions shifted drastically, and they turned to flee without a second thought.

They didn't know Kiyoshi's true strength, nor did they understand what had really happened that day. 

Instinctively, they assumed that the person who nearly took down their leader, Danzo, was none other than Tsunade, the legendary healer with an unfathomable strength, now deeply feared within Root.

In fact, Danzo had even ordered his men to avoid any confrontation with Tsunade and her students. 

Should their mission objectives clash with hers, they were to abandon their mission and avoid blame for failing it. So naturally, seeing Tsunade made them want to run.

"Wait."

Tsunade noticed that they were carrying two unconscious females—one a young woman, and the other, a little girl, both with strikingly red hair. This triggered her suspicions.

She called out to them firmly, "Those two you're carrying—who are they?"

Root members tensed, alarmed that Tsunade had noticed the red-haired Uzumaki survivors.

"Lady Tsunade, these two are the last remaining members of the Uzumaki Clan. We rescued them from Kusagakure," the lead Root member reluctantly explained. 

"Due to their unique chakra, Kusagakure treated them as healing elixirs...their fate would have been grim had we not intervened…"

"As the Uzumaki Clan was once an ally of Konoha, we intended to bring them back to raise them properly."

Of course, they left out the fact that they were acting on Danzo's orders.

Root members bore Danzo's curse seal, which prevented them from speaking of him; attempting to do so would result in full-body paralysis.

"The Uzumaki Clan?" Shizune exclaimed in surprise.

"Kusagakure? Healing elixirs?" Tsunade's brows knitted, her face darkening as she spotted raw bite marks on the unconscious woman's arms.

Those wounds were enough to make her blood boil. 

She was all too familiar with the unique abilities of the Uzumaki Clan, and it wasn't hard to imagine what these two had endured. So, she didn't doubt the truth of Root's words.

Without another word, Tsunade commanded, "Leave them with us. You may go."

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