"Opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss will really grant the opener's wish?"
Obito Uchiha frowned, sinking into deep thought after hearing about the situation in Kusagakure and the information regarding the box.
For a moment, he even considered using it to resurrect the dead. But if the box were truly that powerful, there was no way a small village like Kusagakure could keep hold of such a treasure without getting wiped off the map.
Still… their plan surrounding the Box of Ultimate Bliss caught his attention.
A tiny village like Kusagakure daring to dream of conquering the ninja world—and even trying to use the Akatsuki as pawns? That was either bold… or straight-up suicidal stupidity.
Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Obito glanced at Black Zetsu beside him.
"Black Zetsu, how much do you know about this Box of Ultimate Bliss? Can it really conquer the ninja world?"
Black Zetsu replied dismissively, "It's a decent treasure, sure. But anyone who uses it ends up becoming part of it. Useless for our plan."
"Collect the Tailed Beasts… revive the Ten-Tails…"
Thinking of this, Obito's expression darkened.
The last time he went to Konoha to find Naruto, he came up empty. Naruto wasn't there at all.
If he didn't already know that the leader of Uzushiogakure was Minato Namikaze, he would've suspected Naruto himself was running the whole damn place.
But whether it was Minato or Naruto, it didn't matter—they were now a massive obstacle to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Without capturing the Nine-Tails, the most critical piece, even if the other eight were gathered, the Ten-Tails would still be incomplete.
And this investigation of Kusagakure? It wasn't even his idea—it was Nagato's.
Ever since his clash with the leader of Uzushiogakure, Nagato had shifted focus. Instead of obsessing over the Tailed Beasts, he started expanding Amegakure and set his sights on Kusagakure, sending Akatsuki members to gather intel.
At that moment, Black Zetsu seemed to recall something.
"Kusagakure is planning to attack the teams of Kakuzu and Itachi Uchiha. Should we warn them?"
Obito's expression didn't change.
"Why bother? Let them walk into it. We'll just sit back and enjoy the show."
Although he personally recruited Itachi, the guy was never truly under his control. As for the undead freak duo—Kakuzu and Hidan—Obito couldn't care less if they lived or died.
…
Meanwhile, the war faction elders of Kusagakure received Kakuzu, Itachi Uchiha, and the rest of the Akatsuki.
After confirming their identities, cold sweat soaked the elders' backs.
Akatsuki might call themselves mercenaries, but the level of criminals in that group was insane.
Kakuzu had once tried to assassinate the First Hokage.
Itachi was an S-rank missing-nin from Konoha.
Kisame Hoshigaki had even killed a daimyo.
Still… the stronger they were, the better the sacrifice.
Thinking that, the elder forced a smile.
"Welcome, everyone from the Akatsuki. Without your help, Kusagakure wouldn't know how to deal with Iwagakure's threat."
Kakuzu spoke coldly, "Let's skip the bullshit. What's the mission? Also, any bounties from killing Iwa ninjas belong to us."
"Of course. We'll even provide extra payment."
Kakuzu nodded, satisfied. The others were already used to his money-obsessed attitude. If it weren't for Pain's orders, there was no way these four would cooperate—they'd probably kill each other first.
After some polite nonsense, the elder led them into a secret room and handed over a list.
"These are your assassination targets from Iwagakure."
At that moment, a Kusagakure ninja hurried over and whispered:
"Elder, we still haven't found any trace of Karin. Do you think she's already left the village?"
The elder's face darkened instantly.
"You can't even find a girl who's not a ninja? Useless trash!"
"My apologies… but Lord Wūwéi is looking for you. It seems urgent."
"Wūwéi is ready?"
The elder's expression shifted, then he turned back to the Akatsuki with a forced smile.
"I have urgent matters to handle. Please excuse me."
With that, he quickly left.
Kisame narrowed his eyes first.
"Itachi… this smells like a trap."
Itachi didn't reply, but he clearly had his doubts. What could possibly be more important than coordinating their mission?
He stood and moved toward the exit—only to be stopped by a Kusagakure ninja.
Without hesitation, Itachi cast a genjutsu and extracted information.
But strangely… Kusagakure hadn't set a trap for them. At least, not according to what this guy knew.
Still… ever since entering this room, something felt off.
Seeing Itachi hesitate, Kakuzu scoffed.
"A backwater village like this? They can't do shit to us. If we want, we can wipe them out anytime."
Hidan licked the blood-stained blade of his scythe and grinned like a lunatic.
"If they attack us, even better. I'll kill them all and offer them up to Lord Jashin. He'll love it."
Unlike Itachi and Kisame—the "professional" pair—Kakuzu and Hidan were a full-blown psycho combo.
One cared only about money.
The other? Just loved killing people like a damn maniac.
Naturally, Itachi and Kisame kept their distance. Nobody wanted to get dragged into their crazy bullshit.
"If you're scared, just hide—"
Before Hidan could finish, the ground shook violently.
CLANG!
Steel plates slammed down, sealing the room completely as it began to descend.
Ten seconds later—
BOOM.
The chamber hit the ground.
Kisame drew Samehada and sliced through the steel. What greeted them was a horrifying sight:
A blood-red altar.
At its center stood a massive box with a grotesque human face carved into it—the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Around it… dozens of bound ninjas, tied up like livestock waiting for slaughter.
Kakuzu's face darkened.
"So you were right… these bastards actually dared to trap us. They've got a death wish."
Itachi silently looked upward. Through a gap, he could faintly see the elder standing above.
The elder spread his arms wide, his voice echoing like a madman's.
"Welcome to Kusagakure… You will soon become part of the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
"Enjoy your last moments."
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