In the underground space of the Land of Rain, Kin stared thoughtfully at the Box of Ultimate Bliss before him.
As far as he knew, this thing contained a monster named Satori and could turn anyone trapped inside into a puppet.
In theory, with proper control...
...it still couldn't do much.
At best, its power barely reached the level of an average Kage—and not even one of the strongest.
Dreaming of unifying the shinobi world with this thing was pure fantasy.
Even Uchiha Madara, who harbored ambitions of unifying the shinobi world, had been thoroughly beaten into submission by Hashirama Senju.
The creature inside might not even be a match for Kin's true form, and releasing it required an enormous amount of chakra.
But who didn't need chakra these days? Kin hadn't even reached the third layer of his Chakra Internal Energy yet.
Feeding it to the box would be a waste.
It was truly a useless relic—too worthless to keep, yet too regrettable to discard.
It might not even be a creation of the Sage of Six Paths. Something this weak probably wouldn't have caught his attention.
Still, Kin was intrigued by its technology. He placed his hand on the box and channeled chakra into it, only for the energy to vanish without a trace.
"Can't study it."
Kin sighed helplessly. The chakra he sent inside was instantly devoured, let alone allowing him to examine its internal structure.
Without chakra, there was no way in the shinobi world to inspect an item sealed by ninjutsu.
For now, it would have to stay here.
"Whatever. I'll deal with it when I have a chance to open it later."
Kin had other matters to attend to.
He formed hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, another Kin emerged, eyeing the massive Box of Ultimate Bliss with interest.
This was the real Kin. He turned to his clone and asked,
"You wiped out Hidden Grass?"
Wasn't this thing supposed to be in Hidden Grass?
The clone rolled its eyes.
"See for yourself."
Without waiting for the original to prepare, it "poofed" into a puddle of flesh and blood.
Memories flooded in.
Kin staggered, nearly collapsing, and massaged his temples for a long moment before recovering.
"Too much time apart really does have side effects."
Though flesh clones could exist for extended periods, the sheer volume of memories they carried upon dispersal could temporarily incapacitate him.
"I can't wait six months to recall them anymore. It'll have to be monthly. Any more delays, and my brain might not handle it."
Rubbing his temples to ease the throbbing pain, Kin began slowly digesting the influx of memories.
Once fully processed, he muttered,
"So you really did wipe out Hidden Grass."
His clones were too good at causing trouble. In such a short time, they'd already destroyed a hidden village. A few more days, and they might've picked a fight with a major village.
Did they not know their own limits?
Then again, since they couldn't die, they might as well go all out.
Turning back to the Box of Ultimate Bliss, Kin couldn't resist testing it with his chakra, even though his clone had already tried.
The chakra disappeared without a trace.
"This thing's a pain to research."
Kin scratched his head.
He made the same choice as his clone: leave it here for now.
When he had enough chakra, he'd release Satori and see if it could be studied. But to summon Satori, he needed a vessel.
Kin fell into thought.
A vessel was easy to find.
Raising his hand, the hilt of the Demon-Slaying Thousand Blades appeared in his grip. As chakra flowed into it, fragments of the blade emerged from his body, assembling into a shattered longsword on the hilt.
Rolling up his sleeve, he sliced off a large chunk of flesh from his arm.
"This technique is seriously unpleasant."
Kin sighed, but the limitations were clear. For a realistic clone, this was already a light price to pay.
His hands flew through seals.
The flesh writhed, rapidly forming a human body, complete with clothing.
"Your turn now." Kin patted his clone on the shoulder.
The clone hesitated. "I feel like I'm on a 24/7 shift."
Since it shared Kin's memories, it knew its purpose—clones existed to work.
"Don't put it like that."
Kin shot the clone a sidelong glance.
"When are we not working 24/7?"
The clone's memories synchronized with the original upon dispersal. Wasn't the original effectively working around the clock?
The clone fell silent, deep in thought.
"I'm heading out. See you."
Darkness enveloped Kin's body, leaving the clone behind, staring blankly at where the original had vanished.
Back in Konoha, inside his lab...
Kin had been holed up here for days without stepping outside.
The flood of memories left him feeling slightly drained.
Pushing the door open, he stepped out into a hallway lined with labs. From one with its door ajar, voices drifted out.
"Can't you just lie still?"
"You're making me uncomfortable. How am I supposed to lie still?"
Kin sucked in a sharp breath. What kind of scandalous talk was this?
Curious, he peeked inside.
Two Uchiha clan members—Uchiha Ryūsetsu and Uchiha Tobi—were inside.
Tobi lay on a bed while Ryūsetsu pressed an instrument's electrode into his eye.
Into his eye.
Kin's eyelid twitched.
He cautiously spoke up, "That thing goes on the eyelid."
The two jumped in surprise.
"Good day, Captain!" they said in unison, bowing.
Kin waved a hand. "Carry on. And again—it goes on the eyelid."
Tobi shot Ryūsetsu a glare, while Ryūsetsu turned away, whistling innocently.
These two clearly had some history.
Kin quietly retreated, giving them space to sort it out.
As he walked down the hallway, the sound of a heated scuffle echoed behind him. He shook his head.
"Moral decay these days..."
Just then, Tsunade stormed down the corridor, charging forward with rage in her eyes. Kin naturally stepped aside to let her pass.
To his surprise, she stopped right in front of him.
"Your technique toys with people's souls!"
Tsunade had received partial research notes from Kin about resurrection, complete with a step-by-step progression plan.
But the deeper she delved, the more she realized the technique he'd provided was far more sinister than Edo Tensei—it could manipulate souls.
Kin had shared a fragment of the Soul Illumination Technique with her. Through her research, Tsunade had uncovered its true nature.
Kin hesitated before asking, "Lady Tsunade, is it possible... the technique doesn't exist yet?"
Tsunade's furious expression froze. While the technique could indeed manipulate souls, it was far from complete.
If it were finished, Kin wouldn't have needed her help to research it.
Taking a deep breath, Tsunade snorted coldly and strode away.
Was this how unrepentant he was about his mistakes?
Truly, the princess of Konoha.
Kin clicked his tongue as he watched her leave.
(End of Chapter)