It was the sixty-seventh year of Konoha.
Early morning.
"Yuzuru! Yuzuru!"
Amid the noisy calls, Yuzuru opened his eyes in confusion.
Immediately after, Tsunade, Kushina, Mikoto, and the others burst in, all dressed up beautifully.
Seeing how excited they looked, Yuzuru asked curiously, "What's going on? Why are you all dressed up so nicely this early in the morning?"
Tsunade walked over with a smile and skillfully began helping him get dressed.
As she worked, she explained, "Yuzuru, today is the completion ceremony of the Everlasting Imperial Palace. We need to go cut the ribbon."
"Is that so?"
A hint of anticipation appeared in Yuzuru's eyes.
This Everlasting Imperial Palace, designed based on a garden from his previous life and built upon the Angkor Fortress of the Sky Ninja Village, had finally been completed after several years of construction by the finest craftsmen in the shinobi world.
Urged along by the others, Yuzuru left the village together with Tsunade and the rest.
Arriving at the Valley of the End, he was instantly struck by the magnificent palace garden before him.
There was only one thought in his mind.
It was simply too beautiful!
It looked luxurious and grand, radiating wealth and elegance. Compared to the other buildings in the shinobi world, it was like heaven and earth.
Tsunade, Kushina, Mikoto, and the others were overjoyed.
Although they had come every few days to check on the progress, seeing the completed palace still filled them with excitement.
Yuzuru at least had memories from his previous life as a reference, but for them, this was their first time seeing such architecture.
The sheer visual impact was beyond words.
"Alright, let's go take a look inside."
Holding the layout map, Yuzuru led everyone in.
Once inside, it felt like stepping into a paradise.
"Sisters, come take pictures!"
"Wow, I love the scenery here!"
"If I lived in a place like this, I wouldn't feel bored even staying indoors all day."
"…"
As they chatted, Tsunade and the others ran off in all directions with their cameras.
Meanwhile, Yuzuru headed to the central control room.
Sensing his presence, the Zero-Tails, which had been dormant, suddenly opened its eyes.
"The chakra I supplied to the Zero-Tails last time has already been used up..."
Feeling its weakness, Yuzuru frowned.
With his chakra reserves, periodically supplying it would be enough to sustain the palace's energy consumption, but it was still somewhat troublesome.
Assigning a large number of White Zetsu or others to provide chakra would also complicate the operation of the palace.
"The Zero-Tails can absorb negative emotions to gain energy. If there were something that could continuously provide it with negative emotions..."
Yuzuru pondered for a long time before his eyes suddenly lit up.
If he remembered correctly, there was a treasure in the Grass Ninja Village called the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
It was said to be a ninja tool from the era of the Sage of Six Paths, sealing within it a monster formed from human negative emotions—Satori.
In the original story, Satori possessed endless energy.
The Grass Ninja Village once dreamed of conquering the shinobi world by opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
However, opening it required sacrificing a large number of lives and chakra, something they lacked, so the plan was shelved.
Over time, the Box of Ultimate Bliss became little more than a legend.
But Yuzuru knew it truly existed.
If he could seal together Satori, which continuously emitted negative emotions, and the Zero-Tails, which absorbed them, then the Eternal Palace would never have to worry about its energy supply again.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and a smile appeared on Yuzuru's face.
Such a brilliant idea could only have come from him.
Without hesitation, Yuzuru informed Tsunade and the others before disappearing on the spot.
————
Grass Ninja Village.
Kenfu was deep in thought when Yuzuru suddenly appeared before him.
"Yuzuru-sama?!"
"What brings you here?"
Startled, Kenfu immediately stood up and knelt respectfully.
Back then, he had imprisoned two members of the Uzumaki clan and had nearly caused the destruction of his village at Yuzuru's hands.
Fortunately, through his quick thinking, he had been spared and allowed to continue governing the Land of Grass under Yuzuru's authority.
As Yuzuru's influence grew, he had not seen him again.
Now that he had suddenly appeared, what could it be for?
Cold sweat formed on Kenfu's forehead as he frantically recalled his past actions.
He hadn't... made any mistakes, right?
While he was lost in thought, Yuzuru spoke, "Kenfu, do you know about the Box of Bliss?"
Kenfu froze for a moment before quickly replying, "Yuzuru-sama, the Box of Bliss is a secret treasure of our Grass Ninja Village. However, the cost to open it is too great, so we sealed it on an offshore island."
"Currently, it should be guarded by Mui."
After speaking, Kenfu quietly let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed this visit wasn't to settle accounts with him.
"Yuzuru-sama, should I notify Mui to bring the Box of Bliss here?"
Yuzuru waved his hand. "No need. I'll go myself."
With that, his figure vanished.
————
Hōzuki Castle was a town built on an island.
Long ago, various nations had commissioned the Grass Ninja Village to build a ninja prison on the island to detain criminals.
As the population grew, it gradually developed into a town.
Because a sour berry plant called "Hōzuki" grew nearby, the place came to be known as Hōzuki Castle.
"This should be the place."
Yuzuru quietly stepped out of the Kamui space.
He didn't alert anyone and went straight to Mui's room.
"Who's there?!"
The moment Yuzuru appeared, Mui spun around sharply.
At the same time, he formed hand seals and struck toward Yuzuru's chest.
Smack!
Yuzuru easily grabbed his arm and twisted it slightly.
Crack!
Mui let out a scream as his arm dislocated.
"Who are you?!"
Clutching his injured arm, Mui retreated, preparing to press the hidden alarm button beneath his desk.
As the current warden of Hōzuki Castle, his room's security was quite thorough.
"Mui, take a closer look at me."
Hearing Yuzuru's words, Mui frowned and stared at him for a few seconds.
Then, his eyes widened in shock.
"Y-Yuzuru-sama?!"