"M-my lord… could you maybe fly a little slower…"
Meanwhile, high over the Land of Grass, Karin couldn't help making a timid request to the Uchiha Chizumi carrying her.
This was her first time ever flying through the sky. At first, she had thought it was exciting—but as Uchiha Chizumi kept accelerating, Karin started feeling like the cold was numbing her entire body.
"That's right, meow! Chizumi, slow down a little, meow!"
It wasn't just Karin who couldn't handle Chizumi's speed. Even Kitsujiro was starting to struggle with the freezing wind caused by flying so fast. That thick fur of his simply wasn't enough to resist the low temperatures at that speed.
"My mistake. I didn't notice…"
Uchiha Chizumi replied a little helplessly. Because of Radiance Release, he hadn't really felt cold in a long time. And with the Box of Ultimate Bliss waiting in Hōzuki Castle, he had unconsciously pushed his speed too high.
At the same time that Chizumi slowed down to account for Karin and Kitsujiro, Mui had already led the Grass ninja to the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
"So this is the Box of Ultimate Bliss… the thing that once nearly let our Land of Grass rule the world…"
One of the Grass ninja stared at the box in fascination. He couldn't help reaching out to touch it—and the instant he did, the chakra inside his body began flowing into the Box of Ultimate Bliss almost against his will.
"Our old sacrifices in the Land of Grass used to involve offering up people."
"But in the last few years, I've realized the Box of Ultimate Bliss doesn't actually need people. What it wants is chakra."
"Based on my earlier calculations, if the number of prisoners in Hōzuki Castle stayed the same, it would take another twenty years to reopen the box."
"But if we had a tailed beast jinchūriki, that time might be shortened considerably."
Mui looked at the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and the expression in his eyes was unexpectedly gentle.
His son, Muku, had been the last sacrifice offered to the Box of Ultimate Bliss—or rather, the victim of Kusagakure's internal struggle.
His strength had made the old men in Kusagakure wary, so they had offered Muku to the Box of Ultimate Bliss as a sacrifice.
Normally, after thousands of years of precedent, a sacrifice would be drained of all chakra and die. But perhaps because enough chakra had accumulated at that exact moment, Mui's son had not been drained dry.
Instead, he had been swallowed by the box.
Mui believed his son hadn't died. He believed Muku was trapped inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss. That was why he had spent all these years drawing chakra into it—to open it again and bring his son back out.
Of course, he had no intention of explaining any of that to these Grass ninja.
He had already decided that the moment Muku was released, he would leave Hōzuki Castle with him immediately.
As for these Grass ninja, Mui couldn't care less whether they lived or died.
"If we can use the Box of Ultimate Bliss to defeat Uchiha Chizumi, then maybe our Grass Village really can finish what our ancestors failed to do a thousand years ago and use it to unify the shinobi world!"
One of the Grass ninja was already daydreaming in broad daylight. He had practically started planning how, once the box's power was released, he would march it straight into Konoha and make Konoha's ninja experience the same despair they had faced.
"Maybe."
Mui had no interest in those fantasies about ruling the world. All he cared about was pushing these Grass ninja to pour in chakra faster so he could rescue Muku.
And in truth, they were even more eager than he was.
They had no idea what exactly was inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss, but they believed that once it opened, Kusagakure would gain the power to rule the shinobi world. Under those circumstances, how could they not be eager?
As the Grass ninja selflessly contributed—and as the prisoners in Hōzuki Castle contributed as well—the Box of Ultimate Bliss began to emit a faint glow.
That glow felt like a sign that it was on the verge of opening.
"Not enough! Not enough! Still not enough!"
"I can feel it—the Box of Ultimate Bliss is only just short of opening!"
"Stop holding back! Refine as much chakra as you can and pour everything into the box!"
"I read in the records that the Box of Ultimate Bliss can grant any wish. Once it opens, even if you're about to die, you can just wish to be restored!"
The instant Mui saw that faint glow, he threw out every rumor about the box, whether true or false.
And hearing that, the Grass ninja really did start going all out.
They were beginning to understand why Mui had insisted on staying in Hōzuki Castle all these years. After all, nowhere in Kusagakure's records did it say that the Box of Ultimate Bliss could actually grant wishes!
"Once the box opens, I'm going to wish for invincible strength!"
"I want eternal life!"
"I want endless wealth and supreme status!"
By now, every Grass ninja had gone a little mad. They thought they finally understood how the Land of Grass had once nearly ruled the world a thousand years ago through the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
It turned out all you had to do was make a wish.
In fact, they couldn't help thinking that if the Sage of Six Paths hadn't shown up and sealed the box away, then their ancestors' wish might already have come true.
And now, in this era, as long as they wished for dominion over the shinobi world, who could possibly stand against the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss?
Under Mui's eager gaze, the Box of Ultimate Bliss really was beginning to open.
A crack had already appeared, and as more and more chakra poured in, the opening grew wider and wider.
At that moment, even Mui himself could no longer hold back. He started feeding his own chakra into the box as well.
Because he feared that perhaps… perhaps all it needed to finally open was just that little bit more chakra from him.
As greater and greater amounts of chakra flowed into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, something inside it seemed to stir, as though it had been awakened.
"Let me go first! Me first!"
One of the Grass ninja shoved the others aside and dropped to his knees in front of the box.
But before he could say a word, Mui—who had conserved far more chakra than anyone else—kicked him away.
"Box of Ultimate Bliss, I wish for my son Muku to be returned to me!"
Everything happened too quickly. Before the others even understood what was happening, Mui had already made his wish.
And by then, the Grass ninja finally realized something terrifying.
The rumors about the Box of Ultimate Bliss granting wishes were probably true—but no one had ever said it could grant an unlimited number of wishes.
What if it could only grant one?
"Mui, you bastard! You bastard!"
"Even if you bring your son back, don't forget—Uchiha Chizumi is already on his way here!"
One of the Grass ninja, who had just barely thought he saw hope, now screamed at Mui in fury.