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In the underground chamber, a long-haired middle-aged man stood before an experimental table.
Surrounding him were four individuals clad in long robes, each wearing a mask shaped like a different beast.
Their gazes were fixed on the experimental table.
The person on the table had their limbs restrained, eyes covered by a blindfold, and mouth gagged with a leather strap, rendering them completely immobile.
The long-haired middle-aged man pressed his palm against the person's abdomen. Suddenly, the individual floated into the air, and a massive surge of chakra burst from their chest, converging onto a door adorned with strange carvings.
Then, the person crashed heavily back to the ground.
"How did it go?" the person with the monkey-head mask asked, staring at the door, which showed no reaction.
"Damn it, failed again!" the one with the bull-head mask said angrily.
The long-haired middle-aged man took a deep breath and addressed the others: "It's no good. The chakra isn't enough…"
"Damn it, we have no way out! If we can't activate the Box of Ultimate Bliss, we're all dead!" the dog-head mask wearer declared.
"This was supposed to be an internal matter in the Hidden Grass Village. How did the 'Grass Flower' faction manage to hire a 'ninja organization'? Don't they claim to oppose war?" the sheep-head mask wearer said, clenching their fists.
The middle-aged man furrowed his brows. "Don't forget, the Anbu chief was part of the 'Grass Flower' faction. His death has created dissenting voices within them."
"They hired Akatsuki. How strong is this organization?" the monkey-head mask asked.
"They seem to have quite a reputation in certain circles," the dog-head mask replied.
"They're already at our doorstep, and you're still discussing Akatsuki's strength?" the middle-aged man sighed.
"Mui, watch your words! You belong to the 'Grass Fruit' faction. Are you thinking of rebelling?" the sheep-head mask wearer snapped.
Mui's brows knitted tighter, and he fell silent.
The sudden war in the Hidden Grass Village had caught many off guard.
On the surface, the village leader's death was attributed to his dissatisfaction with the corruption among his subordinates, making him a target who was eliminated when the opportunity arose—this was the official story.
In reality, the truth was far different.
The Land of Grass had once had the chance to become the most powerful nation among the ninja villages, but at the critical moment, it fell short, leaving countless ninjas from the Hidden Grass Village in regret. The source of their former strength lay in the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Over the years, the "Grass Fruit" faction had been desperate to reclaim the Hidden Grass Village's past glory, but the "Grass Flower" faction firmly opposed it. The village leader had sided with the "Grass Flower."
When he learned of the "Grass Fruit" faction's plan to activate the Box of Ultimate Bliss, he vehemently opposed it and was promptly killed by members of "Grass Fruit."
The Anbu chief had raised a pivotal question—who killed the leader?—and intended to use it to pressure "Grass Fruit." As a result, he was secretly eliminated by them.
Thereafter, "Grass Fruit" intensified their pressure on "Grass Flower," repeatedly persecuting their members. Ultimately, "Grass Flower" was forced to hire Akatsuki to halt "Grass Fruit's" atrocities.
With Akatsuki's intervention, the battle had become overwhelmingly one-sided.
In this context, "Grass Fruit's" desperation for the Box of Ultimate Bliss grew ever more urgent.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss could fulfill the wishes of whoever opened it, and "Grass Fruit's" wish was undoubtedly to make the Hidden Grass Village powerful again, even to the point of annexing forces from other villages.
Mui was fully aware of the entire sequence of events, but he also knew that opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss required an enormous amount of chakra. None of the ninjas imprisoned in Hozuki Castle possessed such reserves.
"What do we do now? Without opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss, we're all doomed," the bull-head mask wearer said.
"We have no choice but to fight Akatsuki. They only seem to have four people," the monkey-head mask suggested.
"But each of them has terrifying combat power, and there's even one who can't be killed…" The dog-head mask wearer's voice cut off abruptly as they turned toward the exit. "Someone's here."
"Who's there!" the other three shouted in unison.
Mui also glanced toward the exit and saw a young boy appearing in their view, looking somewhat nervous.
"Muku!?" Mui exclaimed in surprise, staring at his son.
"Father…" Muku managed a weak smile.
"I remember your son is a genius in the Hidden Grass Village, right?" the dog-head mask wearer suddenly said. "They say he's the number one prodigy."
"What are you trying to do!?" Mui asked, alarmed, turning to the dog-head mask.
"He's a ninja of the Hidden Grass Village. He should contribute to its future, shouldn't he?" the dog-head mask wearer said softly, lowering their head slightly. "What do you all think?"
The monkey-head mask nodded. "Exactly. As a ninja of the Hidden Grass Village, how can he fear death?"
"Muku, you must have the resolve to sacrifice for the Hidden Grass Village, right?" the sheep-head mask wearer asked.
Muku looked at Mui in panic. "Father, I…"
"This… He's still a child. Let's see if there are other options…" Mui stammered.
"Mui! Don't you have the Land of Grass in your heart?" the dog-head mask wearer rebuked. "If you can't even sacrifice your own son, how can the Land of Grass rise again?"
The others remained silent, and that silence often imposed unbearable pressure.
"I…" Mui swallowed hard, sweat beading on his forehead. He still refused the dog-head mask's proposal. "Let's wait a while. He's young, and his chakra isn't sufficient. If we fail, there'll be no second chance."
"Fine, for now. But if the situation becomes critical, even if the chances of failure are high, Muku will have to participate," the sheep-head mask wearer sighed.
"Absolutely!" Mui breathed a sigh of relief, glaring at Muku before forcing a smile and leaving the underground chamber with the others.
As soon as he returned to his study, Mui heard screams echoing from outside.
"What's going on?" The dog-head mask wearer stepped forward to the window, looking down from above. Hozuki Castle was in complete chaos.
People were fighting in pairs throughout the castle grounds, bodies already littering the floor. The guards protecting the fortress had fallen as well, with countless dead and injured.
Houses in the distance had begun to burn, the flames spreading to neighboring buildings.
"Akatsuki… Akatsuki has breached the castle!" the dog-head mask wearer said in panic, turning around. "We're finished."
"How is that possible!?" Mui rushed to the window and looked inside the castle.
These ninjas were already desperados who killed without blinking. Now, they were unleashing their full savagery.
"I'll go stop them…"
"Are you trying to escape in the chaos!?" The dog-head mask wearer grabbed Mui by the collar. "This place holds ninjas from other villages. Can you bear that responsibility?"
"Responsibility? Then tell me what to do!" Mui snapped back, glaring at the dog-head mask.
"Do I even need to tell you?" The dog-head mask wearer's gaze fell on Muku.
Mui's eyes widened in fury. "You dare!?"
…
Midorima had planned to slack off by following behind Kisame, but unexpectedly (or perhaps inevitably), he was found by Zetsu.
"Lord Pain says he wants things to get a bit more 'lively' here," Zetsu said.
"How lively?" Midorima asked, puzzled.
"Start a few fires and burn the place down. That shouldn't be hard for you, right?" Zetsu smiled.
Midorima was filled with confusion.
Normally, Zetsu wouldn't appear on the battlefield.
Did he have another objective?
Midorima couldn't figure it out, but he still set a few fires, burning several buildings while beginning to speculate on Zetsu's true purpose for this visit.