In the Grass Country, at Hōzuki Castle!
"So, you're saying you want to become part of Hōzuki Castle?"
Mui looked at the group of Grass Country ninja in front of him—there were even several jōnin from Kusagakure among them—and a cold sneer spread across his lips.
"Yes, Lord Mui. We're all willing to submit to you. If you're willing, we'll even support you in becoming the Grass Shadow!"
One of Kusagakure's elite jōnin looked at Mui. Even though he was furious at Mui's attitude, the threat of death still forced him to bow his head and put on a submissive front.
"Support me in becoming the Grass Shadow?"
"I think what you really want is for me to stand in for you and go up against Uchiha Chizumi from Konoha!"
The sneer on Mui's face deepened. He wasn't stupid, and he wasn't deaf either. In fact, he understood the Kusagakure lot better than anyone else did. Combined with everything that had happened in the Grass Country recently, there was no way he couldn't see through them.
"If Lord Mui can keep Uchiha Chizumi outside Hōzuki Castle, wouldn't that prove your strength is worthy of becoming a Kage?"
"Besides, Lord Mui, we've already sent ninja to Konoha."
"The Grass Village and Konoha have been allies for many years. Once Konoha learns that Uchiha Chizumi has slaughtered so many people in Kusagakure, they'll definitely send someone to stop him."
"You might not even have to fight Uchiha Chizumi at all, Lord Mui. You'd just need to hold out until Konoha's reinforcements arrive."
The leading Grass ninja put on a respectful expression, making it seem as if everything he said was for Mui's benefit.
"More likely I'll be dead by Uchiha Chizumi's hand before Konoha's reinforcements ever arrive."
Mui just let out a cold laugh.
In his eyes, these Grass ninja were still every bit as naïve as ever. Did they really think that by slapping some meaningless title on him, they could force him to step in for them when disaster came?
Right now, all Mui cared about was reviving his son, Muku. He had absolutely no interest in welcoming this crowd from Kusagakure.
"And don't forget what Hōzuki Castle is. This place is a prison."
"You really brought yourselves right to my doorstep. Are you not afraid I'll just throw every last one of you into a cell?"
Mui stared at them. He could already tell the Grass ninja had split up. The group standing in front of him was only about half of Kusagakure's remaining ninja.
But…
Even if it was only half, if they really decided to storm Hōzuki Castle, Mui still wouldn't be able to stop them.
"Hōzuki Castle may be the Grass Country's prison, but are you really clean yourself, Mui?"
"Don't think Kusagakure doesn't know what you've been doing here."
"We came to Hōzuki Castle, and whether you like it or not, you're helping us resist Uchiha Chizumi."
"According to the reports, that Uchiha Chizumi has eyes that can see through sin itself."
Another Grass ninja had clearly run out of patience with Mui's excuses. His eyelids kept twitching. He had a bad feeling Uchiha Chizumi wasn't far from Hōzuki Castle already.
If they stayed standing outside the castle any longer, he was afraid Chizumi would show up and catch them all at once.
"That's right. We came to Hōzuki Castle fully intending to drag you into this with us."
"In the rumors, no sin can escape Uchiha Chizumi's judgmental eyes. Since we've already come here, he'll probably reach Hōzuki Castle before long."
"With the power of that strange thing you've got, plus all of us, it's not like Uchiha Chizumi can't be killed."
Another Grass ninja stared at Mui and bluntly exposed his greatest trump card.
Kusagakure might not have paid much attention to Mui over the years, but Hōzuki Castle sat within the Grass Country's borders, so they still knew some things about him. According to those rumors, Mui possessed a treasure left behind by the Sage of Six Paths himself.
By now, Mui's face had gone frighteningly dark.
He hadn't expected these Grass ninja to be shameless enough to say it outright—that they intended to drag him down with them.
And deep down, Mui knew perfectly well that what he had done wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. Over the years he had ruled Hōzuki Castle, he had repeatedly drained prisoners' chakra and fed it into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Compared to these Grass ninja, the sins on his own hands probably weren't any lighter—if anything, they might be even heavier.
At this point, Mui genuinely wanted to slaughter every one of them where they stood.
But he knew that wasn't realistic.
Even if he could activate the Box of Ultimate Bliss, doing so required an enormous amount of chakra.
"If you want me to help you resist Uchiha Chizumi, then pour all of your chakra into the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
Mui clenched his gloved hand so tightly his knuckles creaked.
He knew exactly how much guilt he carried. Over the years, he had extracted chakra from countless prisoners in Hōzuki Castle and fed it into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
But chakra was tied directly to both a ninja's body and mind. The number of prisoners who had died in Hōzuki Castle because their chakra had been drained to sustain the box was far from small. You could even say the Grass Country's criminals were no longer enough to feed it.
The biggest reason Hōzuki Castle had been able to maintain an alliance with Konoha was because Konoha handed over its most dangerous criminals for Mui to imprison there.
"Activate the Box of Ultimate Bliss…"
After hearing Mui's words, the jōnin from Kusagakure fell silent.
According to the ancient legends of Kusagakure, their village had once almost conquered the entire shinobi world through the Box of Ultimate Bliss, until the Sage of Six Paths sealed it away, and only then did Kusagakure fall into decline.
"Our chakra alone might not be enough. Drain every prisoner in Hōzuki Castle dry!"
"No matter how strong Uchiha Chizumi is, can he really fight the Box of Ultimate Bliss itself—the same thing that once fought the Sage of Six Paths?"
The leader of the Grass ninja made his decision without hesitation.
Pouring all their chakra into the Box of Ultimate Bliss would shorten their lives, maybe even leave them powerless for a while.
But if they didn't activate it, then the outcome waiting for them was death at Uchiha Chizumi's hands.
"Then hurry!"
Mui stopped wasting words.
Four years ago, his son had been devoured by the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Ever since then, he had been trying to gather enough chakra to feed it, but he had still fallen far short of the amount needed to truly open it again.
Now that these Grass ninja had been driven to a dead end and were willing to offer up their chakra, Mui couldn't help feeling a surge of anticipation—
the anticipation that he might finally be able to free his son, Muku, from the Box of Ultimate Bliss.