The others had no idea what Sasuke was talking about. From his words, they only understood that he wanted to use the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
They didn't really care about that sort of thing.
Now that the Box of Ultimate Bliss could be considered Konoha's property, no matter who it was given to, it was something Aoba, the Hokage, needed to think about. As frontline ninja, all they needed to do was carry out orders.
And seeing how confident Sasuke looked, Aoba also fell into deep thought.
What he was mainly worried about was Sasuke being controlled by a massive amount of negative emotions and losing his rationality, or undergoing a drastic change in personality. Yet the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan could not be separated from negative emotions.
Uchiha Itachi probably used a very similar method.
That really did turn it into a dead loop.
But compared to letting Uchiha Itachi help Sasuke awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, using the Box of Ultimate Bliss seemed more convenient.
After all, the monster inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss was pure negative emotion, and it wasn't that hard to deal with.
Even if Uchiha Sasuke's rationality was eroded by negative emotions, what he would be thinking about would probably just be defeating it, or taking revenge on Uchiha Itachi.
It wouldn't be like after learning the truth behind Uchiha Itachi's defection and awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, where he might end up lost for a long time, and maybe even go to an extreme and defect entirely.
If that happened, Aoba really wouldn't have the face to look Mikoto in the eye.
After thinking through all of this and making comparisons, Aoba ultimately chose to go along with Sasuke's idea and nodded.
"Once the Grass Country matter is fully wrapped up and everything is prepared, I'll notify you."
"Okay!"
Sasuke could no longer hide the excitement in his heart. The corners of his mouth twitched nonstop, as if he wanted to burst out laughing but was forcefully holding it back.
'No, no, I can't laugh yet!'
The Mangekyo Sharingan, the true ultimate power of the Uchiha clan.
He was about to obtain it.
When that time came, he would make the Uchiha clan great again. [T/N: Make Uchiha Great Again!]
Aoba didn't want to bother with Sasuke, who was desperately suppressing his grin, wanting to laugh wildly but holding it in.
He could already imagine what Sasuke would be like once he truly awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
He then turned his gaze to Ryuzetsu, who, after scolding Mui earlier, had gone completely silent and faded into the background like a little nobody. He narrowed his eyes.
"As for you…"
A sense of being stared at by some dangerous creature immediately rose in Ryuzetsu's heart. Her body trembled slightly, and she suddenly regretted speaking up earlier.
"I–Is there something wrong?"
"Ahem!"
Noticing Aoba's direct, fixed gaze, Tsunade gave an unhappy light cough.
Feeling Tsunade's unfriendly look, Aoba quickly said, "Sensei, there's a very special bloodline limit in her body. Maybe we can study it."
"A special bloodline?", Tsunade looked suspicious.
"It's a bloodline called Dragon Life Reincarnation. It can transfer one's own life force to another person, and can even achieve a revival effect," Aoba explained.
"Revival? That amazing?"
The word "revival" immediately piqued Tsunade's interest.
Although she didn't say it out loud, she had already developed the idea of reviving Kushina.
Tsunade also looked at the somewhat frail Ryuzetsu with a surprised expression, clearly not expecting such an ordinary-looking girl to possess this kind of bloodline.
Ryuzetsu nodded timidly, but thinking of her own life, she quickly added, "But my bloodline can only be used once in a lifetime. After using it, I'll die."
"I see."
Hearing that it was a life-for-a-life exchange, Tsunade felt a bit disappointed for a moment. Even so, this bloodline was still not to be underestimated, and it was worth researching.
"Then we'll draw some blood and chakra for research. I'll need you to cooperate."
"O–Okay."
Hearing that it was just blood and chakra, Ryuzetsu let out a long sigh of relief.
If she were asked to actually demonstrate it, this bloodline really would cost her life.
Tsunade took out a syringe from a sealing scroll that contained various basic medical tools and drew about 400 cc of blood from Ryuzetsu.
As for chakra, that was handed over to Uzumaki Kasui, who was skilled in sealing techniques.
After all that was done, the matter of Hozuki Castle came to an end.
———
Just like before, Aoba left behind two Wood clones and then led the group toward the daimyo's residence.
What surprised them was that by the time they arrived, the daimyo's residence already had its gates wide open, in a state of welcoming the royal army.
The Grass Country daimyo, along with a group of Grass Country ministers who had been placed under genjutsu by Yakumo and Yuhi Kurenai, were all standing respectfully in the main hall of the residence.
The Grass Country daimyo was woodenly reciting the surrender notice that Shikamaru had just wracked his brain to write, then having his subordinates spread it throughout the entire Grass Country.
This result was somewhat unexpected to Aoba, but also completely reasonable.
In countries that had ninja villages, military force was naturally concentrated in the ninja village. The daimyo's personal guards were at most a group of selected guardian ninja, plus samurai who had been indoctrinated since childhood.
It was perfectly normal that they couldn't stop a team that had Yakumo, who could be called a strongest-tier hax existence.
Just as Aoba had told Mui earlier, before nightfall, the news that the Grass Country had surrendered, and that from that point onward all affairs within the territory of the Grass Country would be managed by Konoha, spread throughout the entire Grass Country.
And it also spread to neighboring countries, as well as to those nations that had been closely watching the situation ever since the declaration of war against the Land of Snow.
———
[Raikage Building]
A document titled "Grass Country Surrender Letter" lay on the desk.
This was a document transmitted from within the Grass Country at the fastest possible speed using a special secret technique.
After reading its contents, not only the Fourth Raikage, but even the usually calm and collected Cee showed shocked expressions.
If it were just that Konoha had taken down the Grass Ninja Village within half a day, no one would find that surprising.
That was precisely why the Five Great Ninja Villages occupied a transcendent position. Aside from the Amegakure of the past, which produced a so-called demigod of the ninja world, no small ninja village could hold out for even a day under the full force of a Five Great Ninja Village.
What truly shocked them was that Konoha hadn't just taken down the Grass Ninja Village, but had directly taken down the entire Grass Country.
Although the document stated that it was a special military operation launched against the Grass Country at the request of the Land of Snow, and that Konoha would govern the Grass Country from now on, the fact remained that as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha had launched a military action against another country without any prior notice and without the permission of its own daimyo, and had occupied that country.
This behavior had completely violated the one-country-one-village system established by the First Hokage.
This was an act that went against the ancestral rules.
At the same time, it also violated the agreements between the daimyo of the Five Great Countries, as well as between the Five Great Countries and the daimyo of other nations.
If Konoha's ninja dared to attack the Grass Country today, would they dare to attack the other Four Great Countries tomorrow?
The daimyo of all countries definitely wouldn't sit back and do nothing.
"Raikage-sama, now that Konoha has taken the Grass Country, they'll have to first stabilize their internal situation and deal with the daimyo of the various countries. Should we continue preparing for war?", Cee asked the Fourth Raikage.
"…", After a brief silence, the Fourth Raikage still nodded, "Keep preparing. If the Fire Country daimyo can't give a reasonable explanation, then this war probably won't be one of passive defense. We may have to take the initiative."
———
It wasn't just Kumogakure. On the other side, Iwagakure, which had suddenly come into direct contact with Konoha, was also making the same preparations.
And just on the day after Konoha's blitzkrieg¹ against the Grass Country, an envoy from the Fire Country daimyo's residence arrived in Konoha, carrying a certain kind of ill intent.
[1] Blitzkreig: An intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory.]
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