"Soon, someone will come find you to discuss rebuilding Kusagakure and managing Federation affairs."
"How many prisoners are still held in the Hōzuki Castle?" Gakuya asked.
"Two hundred seventy-five in total," Mui replied.
Gakuya gave a faint smile. "Good. Take care of them. This will be their final year."
"I understand." Mui's expression didn't waver. He knew what Gakuya meant—those prisoners would become nourishment for the Federation.
Most of them were chunin, formerly shinobi from the Five Great Nations. Many had achieved merit before committing offenses severe enough to warrant imprisonment, but not execution. So here they stayed—until now.
Gakuya was about to execute them—not in the traditional sense, but by transforming them into resources.
The research lab had developed a one-time-use Sage Art Curse Seal. When combined with the Hero Water from Takigakure, it could temporarily elevate a chunin to the power level of a jonin.
The Hero Water was Takigakure's most treasured substance, extracted from the giant tree that hides the village and only produced once every century. It could boost a user's chakra tenfold, though at the cost of their life force.
Since Takigakure had little to spare, it needed to be diluted for mass use. That job would fall to the research division—they'd be thrilled to experiment with such a potent substance.
The disposable curse seal granted instant access to Curse Mark Level Two. But the price was steep: severe and irreversible bodily harm.
When combined, the two formed the perfect tool for war—a terrifying army of 275 jonin-level shinobi. Not even any single Great Nation could field so many high-level fighters at once.
This would be one of Gakuya's trump cards.
(Author's note: During the original Fourth Shinobi World War, the Five Great Nations fielded roughly 90,000 shinobi. Including those left behind to guard the villages, the total was around 100,000. True jonin are one in a thousand—so there were likely only about a thousand jonin across the entire alliance.)
...
Leaving the Hōzuki Castle, Gakuya returned first to Ryūchi Cave. He planned to use his Tenseigan to see what was sealed within the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Activating the Tenseigan, he gazed through the seals—and into a swirling abyss of darkness.
In that instant, he was hit with a tidal wave of pure rage. It was the fury of something that wanted to burn the entire world to ashes.
But Gakuya remained composed. He closed the Tenseigan and took a deep breath, calming his mind.
Just then, he heard a familiar voice from outside the vault.
"I heard from Garaga that you were here! Come on, let's play some three-card poker!" The teasing voice belonged to Ichikishimahime as she floated into the chamber.
She stopped dead when she saw the black box.
"Wha—! The Box of Ultimate Bliss? How do you have that?" she gasped, scrambling to her feet.
"You know what it is?" Gakuya asked. "Can you tell me about its origins?"
"No, no way. That's something that belongs to Ryūchi Cave—"
Before she could finish, Gakuya cut her off.
"I've come up with a new card game lately. Want to try it?"
Ichikishimahime instantly changed her tune.
"Of course I'll tell you! That box isn't even a secret in the Three Great Sacred Grounds."
"Back in the era of Shinobi Religion, there was a forbidden land called the Land of Euphoria. It was said to grant power to anyone who entered it."
"But those who sought that power were all corrupted and turned into monsters. The Sage of Six Paths eventually sealed the evil of that land into the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
"A few hundred years ago, an ambitious human managed to unseal it and wreak havoc. But the Three Great Sacred Grounds, along with the strongest human warriors of the time, managed to seal it away once more."
"Anyone who enters the box is swallowed whole and becomes a monster capable of sensing a single overwhelming emotion. If someone lived their life consumed by fear, the creature would be able to sense the fear of others."
"I see..." Gakuya nodded.
True to his word, he then taught Ichikishimahime a new card game, even sharing some useful strategies.
...
Leaving Ryūchi Cave, Gakuya returned to Otogakure with Uchiha Hikari. They headed down into the underground prison facility, now reinforced with powerful sealing jutsu.
Without authorization, anything—living or dead—entering this prison would be instantly suppressed.
This place was modeled after Konoha's own seal chamber and was typically used to store failed experiments from the research labs.
But unlike back then, there was no second Hyuga Gakuya lurking around to break in.
Soon after, large numbers of researchers arrived. Gakuya had Hikari summon them with a message: they had recovered a relic of the Sage of Six Paths. The moment they heard that, not just the mystics, but even the biologists came running.
"Mokushū-sama, can we see it? Just a peek?"
The crowd swarmed around him, barely containing their excitement.
Gakuya wasn't irritated—they were always like this. Their curiosity often pushed them past normal boundaries.
He just chuckled. "Everyone, please step outside the sealing chamber. The object is dangerous."
"Of course! We'll watch from out here!" The researchers quickly backed off and watched eagerly from behind the iron gate.
Gakuya summoned the enormous black box. The grotesque faces appeared once more, each sealed behind a mask.
"I've confirmed it," Gakuya said. "This box contains a mysterious power."
"It's a force that doesn't belong to the chakra system. Anything placed inside—living or not—will be transformed into a monster."
He then repeated the explanation given by Ichikishimahime. The scholars all began murmuring, exchanging theories and hypotheses.
"My goal is simple," Gakuya said. "I want you to study this thing and find a way to harness its power."
At that moment, a White Zetsu emerged from a hidden elevator, standing silently beside Gakuya.
Everyone recognized it. White Zetsu had long since replaced human subjects as the standard test material. Some labs were even growing them artificially.
Now that all the pieces were in place, Gakuya didn't hesitate. He extended his hand toward the Box of Ultimate Bliss and unleashed a massive surge of chakra. The sealing masks clattered to the floor one by one.
Controlled by Gakuya's spiritual sphere, the White Zetsu walked up to the box and spoke blankly: "I want power."
The box's massive maw sprang open and sucked White Zetsu inside. The suction force turned toward Gakuya next, trying to draw him in as well.
"There's no chakra... I don't sense any chakra at all. This power... it's not part of our system!" one scholar gasped in awe.
Gakuya quickly performed a series of hand seals. Black chains shot out from the void and wrapped around the box, combining with seals left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. The suction abruptly stopped.
His spiritual connection to the White Zetsu was cut off entirely.
After waiting a minute, Gakuya released the bindings and made a wish aloud.
"I want White Zetsu to return."
The mouth opened again—and White Zetsu stepped out.
But it wasn't the same creature. Its once white skin was now jet black, covered in dark scales. Fangs jutted from its mouth, and claws curled from its hands. It had completely transformed.
And that was after only a minute inside. If it had stayed longer, the mutation would've been even more extreme.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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