Almost everyone in the meeting room was captivated by the strange phenomena emanating from the divine treasure chest.
They barely had time to react before Jiraiya and Tsunade struck.
Besides, even the strongest among them were only jonin-level ninjas.
How could they possibly stand against Jiraiya and Tsunade?
As for Lord Mui, although he had sensed danger early on,
he still couldn't match Jiraiya's strength.
The moment they clashed, Jiraiya overwhelmed Mui with superior taijutsu skills.
Then, using his extended hair, he quickly bound Mui's entire body.
As one of the Legendary Sannin, his power was no exaggeration.
At the same time, Tsunade unhesitatingly activated the [Strength of a Hundred Seal]. Her immense chakra pressure radiated outward.
With a single punch, she shattered an entire wall, showcasing her raw brutality!
This terrified everyone else in the room.
All of them froze, afraid to make any rash moves.
Of course, what made them most uneasy was the obvious forehead protector from Konoha worn by Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Konoha! They're Konoha ninja!"
"Damn it! We've been exposed..."
"Discovered? What do we do now?"
Many began panicking.
For the sake of their own villages' interests, they had dared to risk secret alliances.
But right now, their alliance hadn't even been finalized yet.
None of them were ready to openly oppose Konoha, one of the Five Great Hidden Villages.
"Everyone, stay exactly where you are!"
"Konoha ninja are conducting an operation here. Your secret plot has already been discovered."
"If you want your villages to remain unharmed, then stay put and don't move a muscle!"
The moment Tsunade finished speaking,
Jiraiya immediately sensed the danger — after all, this was enemy territory! The secret gathering place of more than ten smaller hidden villages...
By threatening them like this,
wasn't Tsunade practically forcing them to attack? Forcing them to kill and eliminate evidence?
Although Jiraiya wasn't afraid of these 'insignificant minions,'
he had no intention of causing a massacre here either!
...
"What are you waiting for?"
"The Konoha Village has discovered our plan. We absolutely cannot allow these two to leave alive!"
"Otherwise, the Land of Fire won't let any of you escape!"
"If you'll all suffer for it — every last village of yours!"
Bound and helpless, Mui bellowed, inciting the gathered ninja around him.
Hearing this, many of them indeed showed fierce expressions.
Clearly, Mui's provocation had worked.
No one could be sure they wouldn't return for vengeance once they got back.
It seemed better to just kill them now and erase all traces!
"Tch, this is getting complicated!"
"Tsunade, we need to retreat first!"
Jiraiya frowned, immediately making a decisive command.
Then, he quickly created two clones and prepared to retrieve the Box of Paradise at the center of the room.
However, at that very moment,
the Box of Paradise at the center of the meeting room suddenly emitted a massive surge of purple light.
And it began shaking violently.
As if something desperately wanted to break free from inside.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent tremors shook the room.
The ancestral seal placed by The Mui Family on the box was quickly broken.
The next moment...
The box opened.
The grotesque face carved onto the "joyful side" of the box suddenly opened its huge mouth.
Then, nearly tangible chakra and malice spilled out, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
Looking at the box that had just burst open,
Mui, who was restrained by Jiraiya, also froze in shock.
"Why?"
"I have clearly not yet removed the cursed seal; I haven't even made a wish yet. How could the box open by itself like this?"
"That's impossible!"
"Has the artifact already sensed my wish and granted it automatically?"
...
In the next instant,
Before anyone nearby could react,
A pitch-black shadow shot out from inside the box.
It rapidly expanded and transformed into an enormous, black, hideous monster.
Standing six or seven stories tall—nearly twenty meters high—it smashed through several floors of the building as soon as it emerged.
The beast had wings on its back, oversized arms and legs, but no head.
Instead, there was only one large, fanged mouth growing beneath its ribs—a horrifying sight indeed.
Ancient beast of calamity: Satori! (image added)
As soon as this beast Satori came out, it began rampaging wildly.
Slaughtering the surrounding ninja indiscriminately.
And consuming their corpses—
Either swallowing them whole,
Or directly tossing them into the mouth of [The Box of Paradise] as chakra fuel.
Within mere seconds,
Nearly ten ninja had died without exception.
...
"What kind of monster is this?"
"It actually came from inside the box?"
"So this... is the power you summoned with your wish to oppose the Five Great Hidden Villages?"
Jiraiya's heart chilled as he stared at the massive, grotesque monster.
He tightened his grip on Lord Mui's throat and bellowed angrily,
"No!"
"This wasn't my wish!"
"I haven't even made a wish yet..."
"I don't know what happened either—why did this monster show up?"
"This was supposed to be the all-powerful Box of Paradise!"
Lord Mui was just as stunned.
His hidden intent all along had been to use [The Box of Paradise] to bring back his son—
Who had been devoured two years ago in an experiment when Mui ran out of chakra.
But why had such a hideous monster appeared instead?
"Do you have any way to control it? Tell me now!"
"N-No, it's completely beyond my control..."
Cursing loudly, Jiraiya gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Dammit!"
Tsunade shouted, "Jiraiya, what do we do now? This monster..."
"Let's try to defeat it first and reseal it!"
"Got it!"
Tsunade roared and activated her [Strength of a Hundred Technique], then charged at the monster with earth-shaking strength.
However, the monster was way faster than Tsunade had anticipated.
Moreover, it seemed to anticipate an opponent's attacks in advance.
It dodged Tsunade's strike effortlessly,
Shot straight up into the air, crashed through the ceiling, and flew outside.
Continuing its frenzy of slaughter.
"What incredible speed!"
"This monster isn't ordinary at all!"
Tsunade clicked her tongue in amazement.
She had considerable confidence in her Taijutsu skills.
But unexpectedly, that huge monster dodged her easily.
It showed how incredibly agile the creature was…
"Tsunade, I'll distract the monster!"
"You handle interrogating this guy and see if you can find a way to close that box—or even better, trap the monster inside again!"
Jiraiya quickly assigned tasks, remaining remarkably calm.
Don't be fooled by his usual perverted, irresponsible act—he's solid when it comes to battle.
"Got it!"
After saying that, Jiraiya released Mui from restraints and leaped powerfully upward.
Together with two clones, he soared through the large hole in the ceiling and landed outside.
Ready to face off against that monster.
...
And just as Mui, who had barely escaped confinement and hadn't even had time to feel relieved,
Instantly received a powerful punch from Tsunade.
He flew backward and smashed into the far wall. Hard. Almost got himself lodged in the stone.
The impact left Mui's entire body aching terribly—as if all his bones had shattered.
And that was even while Tsunade was deliberately holding back some of her strength.
Otherwise, that punch alone would've killed him on the spot...
"This is the power of Konoha?!"
"Just *any* kunoichi can have this much power?"
"That's impossible!"
Mui mentally screamed in despair.
After all, he considered himself one of Grass Village's top experts.
Decades ago, he'd already achieved Jonin-level strength.
Now, backed by his clan's ancient jutsu, his power could rival even an average Kage.
Yet now, he'd been instantly defeated by two random ninja from Konoha?
Is there no hope for someone like me?!
Right now, Tsunade had no intention of wasting words on this ambitious city lord.
In an instant, she rushed toward the wall and threw another punch.
Smashing violently into Mui's stomach.
Nearly knocking the bile straight out of him!
"Talk!"
"How do we shut that box? How do we defeat the monster?"
"I...I don't know!" Mui rasped painfully.
"Bang—"
Another punch flew...
Tsunade: "Will you talk now?"
Mui: "I really don't know!"
Tsunade: "Fine then—die!"
Without hesitation, Tsunade raised her right hand again, channeling chakra into it. Her eyes burned with intense killing intent.
Clearly, the next strike—
Would send Mui straight to his grave!
"W-wait!"
Panicked, Mui quickly shouted to stop her.
And immediately confessed:
"There might be a way!"
"Tell me!"
"Destroy the box! If you destroy its core, it should eliminate the monster too!"
"Really?"
"I wouldn't dream of lying!"
Tsunade turned her gaze toward that eerie [Box of Paradise].
She couldn't confirm whether he spoke truthfully.
But it was definitely worth trying.
With her superhuman strength, destroying a simple box shouldn't pose much difficulty, right?
Better yet, it might permanently end this mission in one fell swoop.
If it failed, she could always deal with Mui later anyway!
With this thought,
Tsunade immediately turned around and strode toward the [Box of Paradise].
Prepared to test whether she could smash it completely.
So she didn't notice either.
Just as she turned around, Mui, who had seemed almost paralyzed moments ago, suddenly flashed a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
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