Near the Land of Grass, in the center of a turbulent sea, stood a solitary island. This island was the infamous Hozuki Castle, notorious throughout the ninja world.
On the island, countless jagged, sharp reefs pierced the sky like the fangs of a giant beast. This island was constantly battered and eroded by turbulent waves, emitting an ceaseless roar like the low growl of a giant beast, with deep shimmering water surging onto the shore in layers.
It was not just an island, or a castle, but also a prison.
"Has the intelligence collection for the ninja world been completed for this period?"
"It has been placed in your office, Lord Mui."
The man named Mui walked along the narrow, deep stone corridor, followed closely by a respectful prison guard.
"Mm." Mui was expressionless and did not look back.
He wore the distinctive red and black robes of the castle lord, or warden. His footsteps echoed faintly on the stone slabs, and his eyes glinted with a cold, hard light in the dim glow of the wall lamps. On either side of the stone corridor were neatly arranged thick iron-barred cells. Light sparingly penetrated the iron bars, casting dense shadows of the gratings on him.
In his ears were chilling moans and wails—voices of men, women, old, and young—intertwining like cotton wool, making the lamps on the stone walls flicker as if about to extinguish. These sounds were not screams of pain but rather the low groans of patients tormented by illness in their final moments, filled with the negative emotions of having lost all hope for life.
Bang!
As Mui passed some cells, several emaciated, grime-covered arms suddenly stretched out from the gaps in the iron bars, their fingers spasmodically clawing at Mui. In one cell, a small figure even huddled in the shadowy corner, head buried deep in its knees, body trembling slightly, emitting a whimper like a dying small beast. Pairs of bloodshot eyes—numb, crazed, malevolent, hollow…
However, Mui's footsteps did not falter in the slightest, nor did his peripheral vision shift by even half a degree. He walked as if through a forest constructed of negative emotions, continuing onward expressionlessly.
Because no one knew better than him what kind of people were imprisoned in this so-called Hozuki Castle.
Hozuki Castle was a prison jointly funded by various countries and entrusted to the Hidden Grass Village for management, specifically for detaining ninja who had committed serious crimes. Imprisoned here were ninja from various nations who had committed "unforgivable sins" in the ninja world.
What constituted "unforgivable"? Slaughtering civilians, stealing secrets, assassinating nobles, researching forbidden jutsus…
Manic individuals who would slaughter hundreds or thousands, or even skin and dismember people on a whim, were commonplace here. The crimes of these individuals were each sufficient for immediate execution. But execution was sometimes not the best option. Some prisoners held secrets, some were entangled in complex political relationships, and some, their very existence, served as a deterrent or bargaining chip…
Thus, Hozuki Castle came into being—a "trash can" that confined filth and danger, allowing the nations to keep them out of sight and mind.
Every lord of Hozuki Castle was held by a clan member who could use the "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison" jutsu. Imbuing this jutsu into a prisoner's body could restrict them from gathering chakra. Therefore, there were no intense ninjutsu confrontations within Hozuki Castle, only the most primal, barbaric physical combat, mental torture, and silent despair. Because without the ability to use chakra, and given the whirlpool-filled nature of this sea area, no one could swim out of it alive.
Ninja stripped of their power were like fierce tigers with their claws and teeth pulled, able to do nothing but cling to life in cold cages through their residual savagery and will to survive, enduring endless time. In Mui's opinion, for these inhuman madmen, this was the best punishment.
Of course, the Hidden Grass Village accepted this commission not out of any goodwill…
Click.
Mui reached the end of the stone corridor and pushed open a heavy door. The hinges emitted a dull groan. Inside the door was his office.
"If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Mui spoke to his subordinate behind him, then stepped into the office and closed the door. Compared to the damp chill outside, it was only slightly drier here, but at least it shielded him from the sickening sounds and gazes from outside.
The oil lamp cast a flickering halo, illuminating the massive desk and the stacks of scrolls piled high on the bookshelves.
"Hoo…"
Mui took off his outer robe, draped it casually over the back of a chair, and then sat down, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh of fatigue. His gaze fell upon the scroll placed on the corner of the desk. It was the monthly routine intelligence collection. On this isolated island, this was the only way to learn about events happening in the outside world. The disadvantage was the delayed information.
He casually picked it up, unrolled it, and his gaze quickly swept across the lines of text. Most of it was insignificant trivia. However, as he continued to read, the next piece of intelligence made his pupils contract.
[Large numbers of unidentified individuals are flooding into the Land of Hot Water. Initial intelligence indicates this is due to the joint exploration of an underground palace, located a kilometer beneath the surface, by the Cloud Village, Leaf Village, and Stone Village.]
[Several survivors took away powerful, unknown ninja tools. After this news leaked through unknown channels, it attracted countless greedy individuals, like vultures drawn to carrion.]
[The Land of Hot Water is powerless to blockade it, but the underground palace is mysterious and unpredictable. Those who ventured in saw only a colossal stone statue that shook their souls within a large empty cavern, nothing else.]
[However, according to intelligence personnel, another strange door was discovered behind the statue. This door, embedded in the stone wall, is suspected to lead to a deeper layer of the underground palace.]
[Many attempted to forcibly open this door, either by testing it with chakra or touching it with their flesh. Anyone who approached it, regardless of who they were, had their chakra completely drained by the giant door. Their bodies visibly withered and shriveled in moments, turning into ashes in an instant. The sight was horrifying; the living are warned to stay away.]
[This door has been dubbed the 'Maneater Door'. Although the treasures within are coveted, no one currently dares to approach it, and it has become a forbidden zone that everyone speaks of with dread.]
"Maneater Door, consumes chakra and flesh…"
Mui repeated the words from the intelligence report, syllable by syllable, his voice dry and hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against his throat. Others seeing this intel might only find the door strange, but to him, it was exceptionally familiar. Because beneath his feet, beneath Hozuki Castle, there was something similar that also fed on chakra and flesh.
—The legendary Box of Ultimate Bliss, said to grant any wish to its opener.
The Hidden Grass Village chose to accept the commission to manage Hozuki Castle precisely to abduct prisoners and drain their chakra into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, thereby opening it and realizing their wish to revive the Hidden Grass Village.
The two were so similar, both exploiting human desires, luring them to sacrifice their lives and chakra…
"Could that underground palace also be something similar to the Box of Ultimate Bliss?"
Mui's eyes flickered continuously, pondering the possibility of this hypothesis.
Just in that deadly silent moment,
Boom!!
An earth-shattering roar, as if the entire island in the sea had been fiercely smashed by a giant hand! The heavy stone desk violently jumped, and the piled-up scrolls were ignited by the oil lamp, flying and scattering like a rainstorm! The ceiling groaned under the unbearable weight, and large amounts of dust and broken rock fell rustling down!