"Kusagakure, under my leadership, will rise to glory again."
Muwei looked down at the Kusagakure elders who had fallen to the ground, his expression solemn and his eyes deep.
"For this future, I must trouble the four elders to sacrifice themselves."
"No, Muwei, you can't do this!!"
The sheep-faced elder and the others didn't understand at all; anger, curses, threats... harsh words burst from their mouths, extremely noisy.
Kakuzu's face showed impatience. The masked creature forcefully gripped the four people's necks, and the cursing instantly stopped, leaving only a few whimpers.
His gaze turned to Hiruko, "Should your poison be improved? Next time, don't let them have the ability to speak again."
"Easier said than done." From inside Hiruko, Sasori let out a cold snort. His first priority in developing drugs was to deal with enemies.
But making some secondary poisons wasn't impossible. These people were indeed annoying.
Kakuzu controlled the masked creature, rolled up the Kusagakure ninja elders on the ground, and threw them in front of the Paradise Box. Sasori followed behind, likewise throwing the unconscious Jonin.
Seeing the terrifying statue in front of them, the sheep-faced elder and the others felt that disaster was imminent. The shadow of death loomed over them, making it hard to breathe.
Compared to others, they knew too well the consequences of being swallowed by the Paradise Box.
Fear filled their hearts, and the sheep-faced elder regained some composure.
"Muwei, no matter what deal you've made with them, you're playing with fire. Without us, you can't control Kusagakure. You're asking for your own destruction."
"Playing with fire? Elder, you understand this principle too late. You shouldn't have cooperated with the Akatsuki organization in the first place."
Muwei's eyes were indifferent, and he ignored what the Kusagakure ninja elder said.
Reaching this point was forced by the situation. All he could do was try his best to protect the village.
His hands quickly formed seals, and the Paradise Box responded to his technique. Instantly, a ghostly wind howled within the cave, as if entering a ghost realm.
The statue's ghost face opened its mouth, and a dozen strange tentacles stretched out from within, pulling the four elders and the unconscious ninja into its maw.
"No..."
The wails and curses instantly subsided into silence. Muwei lowered his eyes and clasped his hands together in front of his chest.
Crack crack...
After swallowing these five Jonin, the Paradise Box immediately released an extremely violent Chakra. The walls of the cave cracked and crumbled into powder, revealing four hideous ghost faces.
"The amount of Chakra is enough."
Muwei's eyes flickered, and he pressed the mechanism on the wall. The gears clicked one after another, and the cave began to shake violently.
"This place is going to collapse. Let's go outside."
Muwei reminded him, and his figure disappeared from the spot.
"..."
The three stood firmly on the ground. After the dust settled, the huge box was revealed outside.
"This is the Paradise Box? It does look a bit intimidating."
On the treetop, Yakushi Kabuto looked down at the ominous box, a trace of gravity flashing in his eyes.
Beside him stood a handsome young man with black hair and black eyes, named 'Muku', who was Muwei's son.
Capturing this child to persuade the Kusagakure Jonin Muwei was not a problem for Kakuzu and Sasori.
The real problem was Yakushi Kabuto, whose position was uncertain.
Assassinating the four elders under his protection was particularly risky. Even Sasori was unwilling to easily make an enemy of a ninja who had mastered Sage Techniques.
It took some effort to persuade Yakushi Kabuto. After some back-and-forth negotiation, Sasori made a concession and handed Muku over to Kabuto to control. This was the key to controlling Muwei.
Muwei glanced at his son without saying anything, but turned to look at Kakuzu.
"Now we can open the Paradise Box at any time, as long as the method you provide is correct."
Muwei already knew that the Paradise Box was not a wish-granting tool. The legendary ability to conquer the world relied on the monster within—Satori.
Kusagakure's heritage was broken and incomplete. They had long lost the means to control 'Satori'. This method was provided by the Akatsuki organization.
People's hearts were unpredictable, and Muwei did not easily trust others. But the technique they easily learned from his bloodline made him have to believe.
The reason for betraying the Kusagakure elders was based on this. If the Akatsuki organization did not give him the opportunity to control 'Satori', the monster would destroy the entire Kusagakure after leaving the Paradise Box.
Facing Muwei's suspicion, Kakuzu crossed his arms. "Just try it. If anything happens, we'll help you stop it."
Before the mission, Zetsu provided information that 'Satori's strength was roughly equivalent to a tailed beast. Even if he and Sasori were alone, they wouldn't be too afraid of a tailed beast.
"I hope you're not just talking big."
Muwei took a deep breath, strode to the front of the Paradise Box, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Open it, Paradise Box!"
Instantly, a strange purple glow lit up on the box. The four hideous ghost faces resembling a cow, horse, dog, and monkey let out a series of wails that shot directly into people's hearts through their ears, arousing desire and flashing hatred.
Yakushi Kabuto's heart sank. Even though he had become a 'Sage', he couldn't help but be momentarily confused . Layers of illusions appeared before his eyes, showing the scene of Nono's death.
"This is really evil."
Yakushi Kabuto's eyes narrowed, and his mind cleared. He glanced at the ferocious-looking Muku beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Wake up."
This kind of mind-targeting ability was different from ordinary genjutsu. Chakra could only be used as an aid; personal willpower was key.
Kakuzu was very old, and Sasori had experienced a lot. They were not ordinary people and were hardly confused by the illusion.
But Muku was different. He was only eleven or twelve years old, and his mind was far from mature. With Yakushi Kabuto's help, he barely managed to stay awake.
Woooo...
Wails continued to come from the 'Paradise Box'. Before long, the purple-black light on the face facing Muwei became even more intense. The hideous beast face opened its mouth, which was bottomless, revealing the darkness and depth hidden within the box.
Looking directly at that darkness, everyone present felt a deep malice.
A figure slowly stepped out of the maw. Its limbs were slender, its body thin, but its face was blurry, as if constantly changing.
"Muwei, you traitor, you didn't expect us to be able to come out and find you so soon."
The true face of the sheep-faced elder flashed past, followed by the cow-faced, dog-faced, and monkey-faced... and all the ninjas who had been thrown into the Paradise Box in the past.
Men, women, old, and young, their voices were different, but they seemed to merge together, emitting a clear malice towards this world.
Muwei's face changed drastically, and he quickly retreated, turning his gaze to Sasori and Kakuzu.
"Your method is not a problem, but this thing cannot be completely controlled. Before that, you have to let it vent its emotions..."
Kakuzu interrupted him and said calmly, "In other words, we need to fight?"
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