"Y–You… how do you know?"
Mui's expression once again returned to the same disbelief as before.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss had always been the Grass Ninja Village's greatest secret. Even up to today, only he himself and the few elders present knew about it.
He had no idea how the other party had learned of it.
"How I know isn't something you need to worry about. As an employee benefit, I'll help you open it, and let you see with your own eyes what's actually inside," Aoba said casually.
He knew very well what Mui had done in the movie in order to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss and revive his son.
"Really?"
At this moment, intense longing appeared in Mui's eyes as well.
It was rumored that the Box of Ultimate Bliss possessed the power to grant the wishes of its holder.
So many years ago, for the sake of his own ambition, he and these elders of Hozuki Castle had tried to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
But at the time, because the chakra they had prepared was insufficient, his son Muku was sucked into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, his life and death unknown.
As a result, he abandoned his ambition and devoted himself wholeheartedly to using the Box of Ultimate Bliss to see his son again.
That was why, over the many years he served as warden of Hozuki Castle, he had been secretly siphoning chakra from the prisoners.
But after all these years, the combined chakra of those prisoners was still nothing more than a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Had hope finally appeared now?
However, what Aoba said next plunged him once again into an unknown fear.
"As Hokage, I naturally won't go back on my word. But when the Box of Ultimate Bliss is opened, you may not get the result you truly want."
"W–What do you mean?"
After hearing this, Mui's heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling immediately arose.
Aoba glanced around at the scene.
The guards had basically already put down their weapons, and the prisoners had been brought back under control. He knew that matters on this side were essentially over.
Seeing Tsunade and the others, who were also somewhat curious, he felt that taking a little time to explain wouldn't hurt.
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss is a ninja tool from the era of the Sage of Six Paths. According to legend, it has the power to grant the holder's wishes. However, when it is opened, it must devour an enormous amount of chakra, and it will trigger catastrophic consequences. I believe Warden Mui has already experienced this personally."
Recalling the moment when Muku was swallowed by the Box of Ultimate Bliss, pain surfaced on Mui's face, but he still explained.
"My son, Muku, was born with chakra far exceeding that of ordinary people. We originally planned to use his chakra to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and then realize our grand ambition of conquering the ninja world."
"?"
As soon as this was said, everyone present except Aoba showed expressions of surprise, especially the Konoha ninja.
'Conquer the ninja world?'
'Who do you think you are, the First Hokage?'
Before coming, Aoba had already given a rough explanation. Inside the box was just a monster similar to a tailed beast. Wanting to conquer the ninja world with something like that made the ninja world seem way too cheap.
Mui was immersed in his own pain and naturally didn't care about the strange looks in the eyes of the Konoha ninja. He continued speaking.
"But back then, we underestimated just how much chakra the Box of Ultimate Bliss required. At the instant it was opened, Muku was sucked into the Box of Ultimate Bliss…"
"Just as I thought, you bastard are the one who got Muku killed!"
Right as Mui was recounting this, a female voice filled with hatred and fury interrupted him.
Following the sound, they saw a girl wearing a green headscarf, with short white hair and dark skin, staring at Mui with eyes full of resentment.
Aside from her anger, however, she didn't make any extra moves.
Seeing this, Aoba simply didn't bother paying her much attention. The girl wasn't very strong, though her bloodline limit was somewhat interesting.
He continued looking at Mui.
"So all these years, you've been secretly draining the prisoners' chakra and injecting it into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, all just to see your son again, right?"
"Huh?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Ryuzetsu, who had been full of resentment just moments ago, froze on the spot.
She had originally thought Mui was someone who would stop at nothing for power, even sacrificing his own son. After all, he looked exactly like a deadpan villain.
She hadn't expected such a reversal.
"Yes," Mui's body trembled slightly as he nodded heavily. Then he remembered what Aoba had said earlier and urgently asked, "Y–You just said that I wouldn't get the result I want. What does that mean?"
Aoba didn't continue to tease it out and said directly,
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss can't truly grant people's wishes. Sealed inside it is a monster called 'Satori'. That monster strengthens itself by absorbing negative emotions. It is essentially a conglomeration of negative emotions. After the holder uses the Box of Ultimate Bliss to make a wish, it will possess the holder and release massive amounts of negative emotions to control them."
"That's also why opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss causes catastrophic consequences. Your son was directly swallowed by the box, and after so many years, he has most likely already had his mind completely controlled by it. His will would have long since been forcibly linked to the Box of Ultimate Bliss, losing his sense of self."
'Massive amounts of negative emotions?'
Among the crowd, Sasuke, who had previously been rather uninterested, caught a key phrase in Aoba's explanation and immediately reacted, his eyes lighting up.
But seeing that the conversation between Aoba and Mui wasn't over yet, he didn't interrupt at this moment.
"H–How could this be?", After hearing all this, Mui stared blankly ahead. His dark green eyes seemed to have lost all their light, leaving only decay and deathly stillness.
After struggling for over a decade, dedicating everything to seeing his son again, was this really how it would end?
After a strenuous effort, Mui struggled to prop himself up, then, under the astonished gazes of everyone present, suddenly slammed his head heavily against the ground before Aoba.
"Lord Hokage, no matter what, please allow me to personally witness the opening of the Box of Ultimate Bliss. I am willing to offer you my absolute loyalty!"
Aoba's expression didn't change much as he gave his instructions.
"Once the situation in the Land of Grass stabilizes, I'll let you see it. For the next couple of days, focus on maintaining stability in Hozuki Castle. Just wait patiently."
"Understood!"
With Aoba's further treatment, Mui quickly regained his ability to move, and immediately went off to organize the guards to clean up the aftermath of the battle.
"Aoba!"
And just as the conversation between Aoba and Mui ended, Sasuke, whose eyes had been shining the whole time, impatiently walked up to Aoba.
"Aoba, when that thing opens, will it really release massive amounts of negative emotions?"
"This…", Aoba saw through Sasuke's thoughts at a glance.
He wanted to use the negative emotions from the Box of Ultimate Bliss to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
'It is an extremely bold idea. But honestly, it might actually work.'
Still, it was risky, so he offered a reminder.
"Sasuke, I know what you're thinking, but this is too dangerous. One mistake, and you could end up being controlled by those negative emotions."
"There's no way that would happen!"
The three tomoe in Sasuke's eyes spun as he displayed his greatest source of confidence and pride.
The Uchiha clan's bloodline would not lose to the negative emotions of some mere monster.
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