Thud! Thud! Thud!
Satori was pinned to the ground by the Susanoo, its massive fists slamming into the monster's body one after another. The terrifying force sent clods of earth flying up from the surrounding ground.
"It seems you can't predict my attacks," Uchiha Sasuke said from within the Susanoo, arms crossed, observing the monster before him with keen interest. "It appears my guess was correct. As long as there's no fear, you can't predict an opponent's moves."
He continued, "The reason you chose to emerge from the Box of Ultimate Bliss in human form initially was precisely to create a horrifying visual contrast, wasn't it? A refined youth versus a hideous monster. I have to admit, you certainly scared a lot of people, including that rather incompetent subordinate of mine."
"Why? What about your fear?" Satori endured the pain, staring at Sasuke in disbelief. "It's impossible for humans to see me and not feel fear!"
"True, humans do instinctively react with fear to such a grotesque appearance," Sasuke nodded slightly. "But compared to other things I've seen, aside from being a bit hideous, you're rather... average."
An image involuntarily surfaced in his mind: the first time he had seen the Nine-Tails. That was true fear. It didn't rely on a grotesque appearance. It merely lay there, watching you quietly, doing nothing, yet its sheer aura, its overwhelming presence, instilled a fear that came from the very depths of your soul. This thing before him, however—headless, with wings on its back, and a blood-red maw on its emaciated chest—certainly looked horrifying. But once you calmed your mind, you'd realize that, aside from its terrifying appearance, its actual power was nothing special.
"Do you want to live?" Sasuke asked, looking down at the monster beneath him.
"You can't kill me! As long as humans continue to fear me, I will never disappear!" Satori snarled.
"What about sealing, then? I can't guarantee much else, but I'm fairly certain I can find an alternate dimension that no one knows about," Sasuke retorted.
Satori fell silent. The interval between seeing the light of day this time and its previous sealing had been far too long, so long that it had lost all concept of time. Although it was a monster, it possessed intelligence. No living being wished to remain trapped in one place indefinitely, enduring the relentless passage of time.
"If you don't speak, I'll take it as agreement. Let's sign a summoning contract," Sasuke stated.
CLANG!
A loud noise echoed from the distance—the sound of Naruto interacting with the Box.
"I can agree," Satori conceded, a note of anxiety in its voice that Sasuke didn't fail to notice, "but you have to make that guy stop first!"
"Fine."
...
Naruto Uzumaki had just been about to go and drag Satori, the controller of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, over, only to find that Sasuke had already brought it.
"What's the situation?" Naruto asked.
"This thing's power isn't bad, and I happen to be in need of a summoning animal," Sasuke explained, gesturing to the reluctant Satori behind him.
"Its strength is barely passable," Naruto nodded slightly. He figured if its weakness wasn't seen through, this thing could still be somewhat useful—for clearing out rabble, for example. Truly strong individuals wouldn't fear it just because it looked a bit grotesque. Without fear, its predictive ability was completely useless. It was different for weaker opponents, though. Lacking a foundation of significant power, facing such a behemoth head-on would inevitably inspire terror. In other words, this creature was average against the strong but even stronger against the weak. With Sasuke's current strength, any enemy capable of posing a threat to him would, without a doubt, not fear Satori.
"The prisoners you tossed in there," Naruto said to Satori, pointing to the Box of Ultimate Bliss, "can they still get out? Their life-energy signatures are faint, but they're definitely still alive."
"The 'door' has always been open. It's just that they're lost in pleasant dreams and unwilling to come out," Satori answered quickly.
Sasuke glanced quizzically at the hideous black monster behind him. He could clearly sense that Satori's fear of Naruto far surpassed its fear of him. His curiosity was instantly piqued. What on earth had Naruto done just now to make this inhuman creature so terrified of him?
Pleasant dreams... Naruto gazed at the box. No wonder it was called the Box of Ultimate Bliss and not the Box of Terror. It was likely because those who entered this box became lost in a false "beautiful world."
"Pleasant dreams? A genjutsu world?" Naruto mused. He remembered Itachi saying that those sealed by the Totsuka Blade would be trapped forever in a drunken dream-like world.
"Something like that," Satori said. "As long as someone goes in and awakens them from their endless pleasant dreams, they can be brought out."
"You've all heard the conditions," Naruto announced to the remaining prisoners. "Who's willing to go in and bring out your comrades?"
The prisoners looked at each other, then all took a step back.
Seeing this, Naruto wore an "I knew it" expression. Although Hozuki Castle had orchestrated the incident with Yugito Nii, it didn't mean the individuals imprisoned here were innocent. On the contrary, the prisoners held here were all genuine criminals. Kusagakure merely acted as wardens; the authority for enforcement had always been held by the Five Great Shinobi Villages. These prisoners had been sent here by the Great Villages themselves.
"Since they're unwilling to rescue them," Naruto said to Satori, "you can keep the ones inside as an energy source."
"How did you know?" Satori froze, its private thoughts exposed. As the actual controller of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, how could it possibly be unable to awaken a few people? But just as this guy before him had said, these prisoners trapped in the Box were its energy source. Forcing it to awaken these prisoners itself was, in a sense, asking it to give up its own rations. It had only temporarily submitted due to the threat of force, becoming the red-eyed brat's summoning animal. But to make it kowtow to both of them and abandon its own interests? Not a chance.
"I'm not blind. The energy link is pretty obvious," Naruto said flatly.
Rustle!
A stone dislodged from above. Yugito Nii quickly dodged aside, watching the falling rock shatter into countless pieces against the reef below. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Give me your hand!" Darui's voice called from the cliff edge. He reached down and pulled her up with a strong arm.
"What was the outcome of the battle?" Yugito asked, rubbing her aching arm. Hiding on the cliff face for so long had been physically draining.
"Uchiha Sasuke turned that monster into his summoning animal," Darui said, scratching his head helplessly.
"...Freaks of nature." After a long stunned silence, Yugito managed to force out the words.
"Total freaks, the lot of them," Darui said, covering his forehead as if weary. "Deidara couldn't even beat Sasuke with Dust Release." He sighed. "A long time ago, I started suspecting... Maybe Lord Raikage was jealous of my outstanding aptitude, so he threw me into that Shinobi Squad to be tormented by those monsters again and again, hoping I'd become depressed and lose all motivation."
"Outstanding aptitude?" Yugito couldn't help but laugh, a hint of teasing in her voice. "Then how come you didn't grind them into the dust?"
"They're freaks of nature! They're not on the same level as me!" Darui protested.
"Besides Uchiha Sasuke, are the others really that strong too?"
"One with an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, one who uses Dust Release, one who uses Scorch Release, plus one from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. What do you think?"
"..." Yugito was speechless.