Chapter 95: The Ambition of the Grass; The Box of Ultimate Bliss
"Hiruzen, these hyenas are playing a much bigger game than we realized," Danzo reported, his voice tight with a mix of annoyance and genuine surprise.
"The Hidden Grass has an ambition that caught even me off guard! If we hadn't captured that elite squad and squeezed the leads out of them, their conspiracy might have stayed buried. Those scavengers actually think they can rule the Ninja World!"
Danzo's aura was murderous. "You were right, Hiruzen. We cannot allow a village like this to continue festering on our borders!"
Hiruzen didn't answer immediately. He took a long, slow drag from his pipe, his eyes scanning the intelligence scrolls Danzo had provided.
According to the data compiled by the Anbu and deep-cover scouts over the last few months, the internal politics of the Hidden Grass (Kusagakure) had split into two violently opposed factions.
One was the Flower of Grass—a group that advocated for peace and the traditional role of a neutral buffer state. The other was the Fruit of Grass—the hardline expansionist faction.
Currently, the "Fruit" was in power. The "Flower" had been purged or driven into hiding, and the village was now a radicalized military junta.
The reason for their sudden, suicidal boldness—kidnapping ninjas from the Great Nations and walking a tightrope of international law—was finally clear. It wasn't just greed for bloodlines.
The Grass had found their "God."
Their trump card was a relic from the era of the Sage of the Six Paths: the Box of Ultimate Bliss (Gokuraku no Hako). Legends claimed it was the ultimate weapon, capable of granting a "Great Wish" that could reshape reality. Grass folklore said an ancient ancestor had used the box to nearly conquer the entire continent, only failing at the final hurdle.
Opening the box required more than just the complex unsealing formulas; it required a staggering sacrifice of chakra to "feed" the mechanism.
This was the truth behind Hozuki Castle. The international "Blood Prison" was a cover. The Grass was using the deepest levels of the dungeon to house high-chakra captives, systematically draining them to provide the "fuel" needed to unlock the box.
Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke, his expression non-committal.
Rule the world? He doubted it. If the box were truly that powerful, the Senju and Uchiha wouldn't be the protagonists of history; the Grass ancestors would be.
Hiruzen had seen the Treasures of the Sage of the Six Paths before. After Tobirama's death, the Cloud Village had recovered the items from the Gold and Silver Brothers. They had tested them extensively. While the items had terrifying "gimmick" abilities, the chakra drain was so immense that even an elite Jonin would be paralyzed after one use. They were strategic liabilities disguised as assets.
The "Sacrifice" mechanism of the box reminded Hiruzen of old fairy tales from his past life—Pandora's Box or the forbidden artifacts of dark myths.
"Hiruzen, we cannot let the Grass retain possession of such a dangerous relic," Danzo added, looking for a reason to escalate. "My research indicates that the box was last opened two hundred years ago. Witnesses at the time described its power as rivaling a Tailed Beast in its destructive potential!"
Under the old Hiruzen's leadership, he likely would have offered a diplomatic warning to avoid conflict. But Danzo was still worried his friend might revert to his "Soft" habits.
"I know, Danzo. I know," Hiruzen said with a smirk, catching the worry in his Assistant's eyes.
"The Cloud couldn't master the Sage's tools, but we shouldn't assume the Grass will fail. Even if we don't care about the box's 'power,' we need it for R&D. Studying the sealing mechanics of a Sage-era artifact is invaluable for our own medical and military projects."
"Besides... we have a score to settle with the Cloud and the Stone. Having a Sage tool in our vault is a deterrent they can't ignore."
Danzo nodded vigorously. He used to view the Three Great Sage Regions—the Sannin's summon homelands—as just a source for powerful pets. But after seeing Hiruzen turn "Toad Oil" and "Snake Scales" into a multi-billion Ryo pharmaceutical empire, he realized the "Sage" brand was Konoha's true "Unfair Advantage."
According to Danzo's intel, the Grass wasn't just holding Uzumaki captives. They had "harvested" ninjas from every major village and a dozen minor ones.
Drunk on the promise of the box, the "Fruit of Grass" had become clinically insane. They believed that once the box opened, the wrath of the Five Kage wouldn't matter.
"Regarding the prisoners and their descendants," Hiruzen said slowly.
"If they are Leaf citizens or have ties to our clans, they are to be 'repatriated.' Once we liberate Hozuki Castle, I want the High Commission to oversee the vetting. If they want to join the Leaf, we process their citizenship immediately."
"It's not just the Uzumaki girl," Hiruzen added, his mind on the secret vault below.
My Master is waiting for his rescue.
"Repatriation? Shouldn't we treat them like the Iburi? Labor-contractors first?" Danzo asked.
"No. This is different," Hiruzen corrected. "This was an administrative failure. We let our people be taken. Treating them like refugees instead of family after we rescue them would be a PR disaster. It would make our 'Will of Fire' look like a transaction."
"But," Hiruzen added with a glint in his eye, "the vetting must be absolute. I want the Yamanaka, the Kurama, and the Uchiha to handle the interrogations. I want to know everything they saw inside that village."
Hiruzen smiled inwardly. With Tobirama's "new face"—the Izuna-clone—he knew certain Uchiha elders would probably jump over the table to "vouch" for him. They'd be so busy trying to hide the fact that they'd found a "Lost Prodigy" that they'd become Hiruzen's most compliant allies.
The irony of an Uchiha elder protecting Tobirama Senju is going to be the highlight of my year, Arata thought.
He also didn't have to worry about the "DNA test." Tobirama had already "awakened" his new body's eyes. A teenager with a natural Two-Tomoe Sharingan was the ultimate "Uchiha ID card." No one would doubt his blood.
"I understand, Hiruzen."
Danzo nodded. He had stopped arguing by default. He had learned that Hiruzen's "Kindness" was usually just a more elegant way of getting what he wanted.
"This strike must be a display of overwhelming force. I want the world to feel the tremors when we hit the Grass. We seek absolute deterrence."
"We will uphold our reputation for 'Generosity' and 'The Spirit of the First Hokage'... while we rob the Grass blind of every scroll and artifact they possess."
Hiruzen's voice turned cold and commanding. "Summon the High Commission. We set the strategy today. We strike tomorrow."
Danzo snapped to attention. Finally! The 'Hard' Hiruzen is back!
I was worried for a second, Danzo thought. But it seems I'm not just learning from Hiruzen... he's starting to act more like ME!
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