"You're right. How could something like that possibly exist? If it did, you humans would've long lost control of your greed and used it to rule the world. There's no way it would've lasted until now."
Gamabunta took a long drag from his pipe and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"That thing isn't something you can deal with easily."
He'd heard of the Box of Ultimate Bliss before—its terrifying reputation wasn't unfounded. Anything that could read people's hearts was bad news.
"Something like an all-powerful wish-granting machine could never exist," Kiyosuke said, shaking his head. "Right now, the most important thing is figuring out how to kill or seal Satori."
"If there were a controller, that'd be one thing," Gamabunta replied. "You could just kill or capture whoever was controlling it, and Satori would obediently return to the Box. But there isn't. This is the worst-case scenario—Satori's completely out of control, and I've got no way to handle it."
Kiyosuke frowned as he saw Satori flying toward them.
"Looks like we don't have time to think it over. Anyone he's managed to grab has already been thrown into the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Now he's coming for us."
"Tch! What a pain!"
Satori beat his wings, and a flurry of black feathers fell from the sky like a torrential downpour.
Gamabunta leapt aside, soaring into the air. From his back, Kiyosuke inhaled deeply and unleashed a roaring sea of flames.
But Satori's massive wings stirred up a gale, scattering the firestorm into nothingness.
"Whoa, not bad!" Kiyosuke snorted. He raised his palm, and a huge fireball began to form above it, blazing brighter and brighter before he launched it skyward.
Boom!
The fireball burst apart midair, breaking into a rain of blazing red meteors that came crashing down toward the earth.
"Gamabunta, don't hold back. Just charge straight in!"
"Hey, brat, don't you dare hit me by mistake! If you do, I won't forgive you!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Kiyosuke grinned as Satori darted around to avoid the falling fireballs. The attacks rained down in completely random patterns—no fixed trajectory, no predictable rhythm.
Let's see you read that, he thought.
Satori's ability relied on reading minds—predicting attacks based on the thoughts of his enemies. But this time, even Kiyosuke himself didn't know where the next strike would land. It was all left to chance, forcing Satori to rely on pure instinct.
"Kid, not bad!" Gamabunta bellowed as he charged through the rain of fireballs, not a single one touching him. Under Kiyosuke's control, every falling meteor avoided his summoning partner completely.
Satori, however, wasn't as lucky. His massive body couldn't dodge everything; fireballs smashed into him one after another, scorching patches of flesh and releasing a nauseating burnt smell into the air.
"Now eat this!"
Kiyosuke leapt high and slammed his fist into Satori's body with crushing force.
Boom!
Satori was sent hurtling backward but managed to stabilize himself midair, wings flapping violently.
"So you're attacking like that, huh? Don't underestimate me!"
"ROOOOAAAAAR!!!"
Satori's mouth opened wide, unleashing a thunderous roar. The deafening sound rattled Kiyosuke and Naruto's eardrums, making their heads spin.
"Watch out!" Gamabunta shouted. "Damn it! Even I'm feeling this!"
The roar carried powerful mental interference, clouding their senses and leaving them dizzy.
Taking advantage of the moment, Satori dove down at blinding speed, grabbed Gamabunta by the leg, and hurled him straight into the ruins of Hōzuki Castle.
"Boss!!"
Naruto shouted, rushing after him.
"Tch!" Kiyosuke followed close behind.
That thing was really troublesome. Even summoning the Black Snake wouldn't help—Satori could read its attacks easily. And since it could fly, the snake wouldn't even be able to reach it.
They landed beside the collapsed section of the castle where Gamabunta had crashed.
"You alright?" Kiyosuke asked.
"How the hell could I be alright?! That damn bastard! When I get my hands on him, I'll tear him apart!"
Gamabunta cursed, struggling to his feet. He was badly injured—just moving made him wince.
"Gamabunta, you should fall back," Kiyosuke said. "We'll handle this."
"What, you think I'm scared?! You think I'll retreat in the middle of a fight? I've stared down the Nine Tails before, you think I'll run from this thing?!"
His voice was thick with pride and irritation. He wasn't about to let some human kid look down on him.
"No, that's not what I meant. Whatever, have it your way," Kiyosuke sighed. He wasn't about to argue—it wasn't his summon, after all.
"Get ready, Naruto. We're going in."
"Right!"
They shot forward together, moving in perfect sync.
Satori immediately read their intentions, twisting out of the way of Kiyosuke's flames and dodging Naruto's Rasengan just as easily.
Satori swung his massive arm, the sheer force of it creating a gust that sent Naruto flying. He tumbled across the ground several times before finally stopping—his Sage cloak and markings vanished in an instant. The time limit for Sage Mode had run out.
"Damn it!"
"Naruto, move!" Kiyosuke shouted.
Satori's mouth opened again, chakra surging and condensing into a dense sphere—a blast similar to a Tailed Beast Bomb fired straight at Naruto.
Gamabunta leapt in front of him, taking the full brunt of the attack to shield his summoner.
The explosion sent shockwaves through the air. When the smoke cleared, Gamabunta was barely standing, gravely wounded.
He gave Naruto a final glance before disappearing in a puff of smoke, returning to Mount Myōboku.
"Boss!!"
A thunderous voice echoed from above as two figures descended like meteors wrapped in lightning and fury.
Satori flapped his wings, retreating a few steps back as the ground shook beneath their landing.
The Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee had arrived.
The Raikage's body crackled with lightning, while Bee stood beside him cloaked in the chakra of the Eight-Tails. Before the Box of Ultimate Bliss appeared, their spy inside Hōzuki Castle had already sent a signal. They'd raced here without delay—only to find a monstrous creature attacking Naruto.
They didn't hesitate to jump in.
"What the hell is that thing?" the Fourth Raikage growled, glaring at Satori.
"Yo! Leave this monster to me, yo! Yeah!"
Behind him, octopus tentacles unfurled as the Eight-Tails materialized in full form inside the castle ruins.
Seeing Satori perched atop the Box of Ultimate Bliss, even the Eight-Tails' voice turned grim.
"Be careful, Bee. That's the Box of Ultimate Bliss—and the creature Satori that came from it."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The Eight-Tails quickly explained, telling him what the Box and Satori really were.
"Hah! Then it's up to the great Killer Bee to take him down! Fool, ya fool!"
"Asakawa! What the hell is that thing?!" the Fourth Raikage demanded.
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss created that monster," Kiyosuke explained, his eyes narrowing as Satori and Killer Bee clashed in midair. "It's gone berserk because there's no controller. It won't stop until it's dead—so we'll have to kill it first!"
"Then that's simple enough!!"
With a roar, the Fourth Raikage charged straight ahead like a bolt of lightning.