In its place stood a massive monstrosity.
It possessed pitch-black wings and a body that resembled dried bone. From its hideous avian beak, it let out a piercing shriek like fingernails scraping across glass.
"Satori..."
Mui knelt on the ground, his eyes vacant as he stared at the thing that had crawled out of the box.
It was not the son he had hoped for.
It was an ugly monster...
"Roar!"
The monster spread its wings, whipping up a foul-smelling wind.
It didn't attack the 'robbers' outside as Mui had expected. Instead, it snapped its head down, its crimson bestial pupils locking onto the nearest living beings—the guards and prisoners of Hozuki Castle.
Fear was its greatest feast.
"Ah! Help!"
A jailer didn't even have time to turn around before Satori's razor-sharp claws pierced through his chest.
The monster tilted its head back as if savoring a delicacy, tossing the jailer's twitching body into the air before crushing it in its jaws.
Blood splattered, staining the eerie face-shaped reliefs of the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this... It shouldn't be like this..."
Mui collapsed, his lips trembling, having lost even the strength to flee.
Just as Satori prepared to enjoy its next 'main course'—Mui—a white blur accompanied by a thunderous boom crashed through the shattered dome above.
"Ninja Art: Needle Hell!"
Long white hair, acting like living steel cables, instantly bound Satori's descending claws.
Boom!
The massive pulling force caused Satori's movement to stall. It turned its head in rage, looking at the tiny human who dared to interrupt its feeding.
The dust settled.
Jiraiya stood atop the rubble, a single hand formed into a seal. His white hair danced wildly behind him, and his face, painted with red markings, was set in a grim expression.
"That's one big fellow."
Jiraiya stared at the monster, sensing a malice so thick it was almost physical. "If this thing gets out, the Land of Grass and its neighbors are as good as gone."
"Ribbit! This thing is hideous. It's even more nightmarish than Orochimaru's experiments."
The purple toad, Gamakon, perched on Jiraiya's shoulder, his golden horizontal pupils filled with disdain. "This is the so-called Box of Ultimate Bliss? Looks more like a Box of Ultimate Ugliness to me."
"Stop being cheeky, Gamakon."
Jiraiya's expression was grave as he slammed his palms together. "This guy can read minds and sense malice; regular ninjutsu will have a hard time hitting it. I need to enter Sage Mode, but it'll take some time. You help me..."
Before he could finish, a purple paw pressed down on his wrist, forcefully breaking his seal.
Jiraiya froze, looking at the toad by his ear in bewilderment. "What are you doing? Now isn't the time to be stubborn!"
"No need for all that trouble."
Gamakon hopped off Jiraiya's shoulder, landing on the rubble-strewn floor.
He was only the size of a palm. In front of the massive monster, he looked as insignificant as a grain of dust.
However, he slowly and methodically stretched, his joints popping with a series of sharp cracks.
"Old man, the wind-up time for your Sage Mode is too long. Even with my help, it's a hassle."
Gamakon turned around, his back to Jiraiya. Within those golden horizontal pupils, a never-before-seen battle lust began to burn. "Besides, this Sage Sovereign has been looking forward to this fight for a long time."
"Gamakon, you..." Jiraiya frowned, about to scold him for being reckless.
"Just watch."
Gamakon's voice suddenly turned deep.
"Back at Calabash Mountain, I was merely a vanguard. But now..."
Boom!
A terrifying surge of purple chakra, so potent it distorted the very air, erupted from that tiny body without warning.
The ground instantly shattered, and countless stones drifted upward, defying gravity.
Jiraiya's pupils shrank. He instinctively leaped back dozens of meters.
Within the purple light, Gamakon's body began to expand rapidly.
One meter... five meters... ten meters... twenty meters!
In the blink of an eye, a purple toad as massive as a mountain stood tall in the underground hall.
He no longer possessed a bloated physique.
His once-rounded belly was now covered in hard, armor-like muscle lines. Golden Sage markings flowed across his purple skin, and his golden pupils radiated an overbearing aura that looked down upon the world.
The massive toad slowly rose, using his powerful hind legs to support his gargantuan frame.
If the previous Gamakon was an intelligent toad, then now, he was a Sage Beast King stepped straight out of myth!
"Is this... a body reinforced by Sage Chakra?"
Jiraiya stood on a distant stone pillar, watching the scene in shock. He could clearly perceive that the power contained within Gamakon's body had far surpassed that of an ordinary Summon—it had even surpassed the Tailed Beasts!
"Yours truly is now a Sage Beast King!"
Gamakon opened his mouth, letting out a roar like a clap of thunder.
The sound waves rolled out, shattering all the surrounding lanterns.
Opposite him, Satori was clearly startled by this sudden 'peer.' Its crimson eyes swiveled, seemingly evaluating the opponent's strength.
"Roar!"
Satori shrieked, its wings flapping as it turned into a streak of black lightning, lunging straight for Gamakon's face.
It was incredibly fast—so fast that even its afterimages were a blur.
Furthermore, the angle of its attack was extremely cunning, aimed directly at Gamakon's blind spot.
"Watch out! It can sense malice!" Jiraiya shouted a warning.
However, Gamakon didn't even try to dodge.
He simply raised his massive purple paw as if he were swatting a fly.
"Sense malice?"
Gamakon grinned, a savage and arrogant smile. "Then sense exactly how much malice is in this slap!"
Whish!
The giant palm swung down, compressing the air to its limit and creating a piercing sonic boom.
A hint of mockery flashed in Satori's eyes.
'Too slow...'
It read the toad's intent to crush it and even knew the exact trajectory of the attack.
All it needed to do was bank slightly to the side...
Satori's wings tucked in slightly, its body folding in mid-air in a bizarre, physics-defying dodge.
According to its prediction, the palm would graze past its feathers, and it would take the opportunity to rip open the toad's throat with its claws.
However...
The moment it thought it had dodged...
Bang!
A dull thud echoed, like a heavy hammer hitting wet leather.
Satori's massive body was struck as if by a high-speed train. Its entire face distorted and deformed instantly, and black feathers filled the air.
Kaboom!
It was slammed into the side wall by the slap, creating a crater so deep the bottom couldn't be seen.
The entire Hozuki Castle shook violently.
"How... is that possible..."
In the distance, Mui's eyes went wide, nearly bulging out of his sockets. "Satori... Satori was hit? Can't it read minds? Can't it dodge every attack?"
Jiraiya was equally shocked.
He hadn't understood that strike either.
Satori had clearly performed a dodging maneuver, so why was it still hit?
"Idiot."
Gamakon retracted his palm and blew on it as if clearing non-existent dust. "Mind reading? When I hit you, I used Frog Kumite."
Frog Kumite was the ultimate taijutsu of Mount Myoboku's Sage Arts.
By surrounding the body with natural energy, the reach of an attack extended far beyond the actual limb. That layer of natural energy inflicted 'environmental damage' that was not controlled by the user's subjective malice.
Satori could read Gamakon's fist, but it couldn't read the invisible, violent layer of natural energy surrounding it!
"Roar!!!"
An angry roar erupted from the depths of the rock wall.
Satori surged out from the rubble.
It was injured; half of its face was swollen, and its beak was crooked.
The intense pain drove it mad. It opened its mouth wide, and a black orb of energy rapidly condensed within.
It was a high-density chakra cannon, powerful enough to level this entire underground hall.
"You want to clash beams?"
"Don't you know that since ancient times, the left side always loses the beam clash?"
Gamakon looked at the black orb, the disdain in his eyes deepening. "Even back in the world of the Calabash Brothers, you'd be nothing compared to those who control fire and water."
He took a deep breath.
The surrounding natural energy swirled into his mouth like a whale swallowing water.
His already sturdy chest swelled even further, and deep blue light could be seen flowing beneath his purple skin.
That was no ordinary Water Style.
That was a Sage Art fused with Sage Chakra!
"Sage Art: Demon King's Netherworld Suppression Cannon!"
Boom!
A profound pillar of water erupted from Gamakon's mouth. It struck with such speed that it reached the opponent first.
The impact of this attack was overwhelmingly powerful. Just as Satori spat out its black orb, it was swallowed by the terrifying water pillar, and its own attack was forced back into its mouth.
"Gaaah!"
A shrill, agonizing scream echoed throughout the subterranean depths.