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Mui stumbled back repeatedly, while behind him, a large number of Hozuki Castle guards, alerted by the commotion, began to assemble.
But at this moment, Mui wasn't thinking about how to brand the six monsters before him with the Heavenly Prison Seal—he was thinking about how to escape and send a warning to the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
This group—they were clearly after the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Even if Kusagakure wanted to use the Box's Power to dominate the Shinobi World, that would still fall within the normal scope of village conflict! But these strange individuals in their black cloaks adorned with red clouds?
They were obviously not a legitimate village organization. Not a village—which meant they were Missing-nin, underground operatives... What would they intend to do after obtaining the Box of Ultimate Bliss?
In the worst-case scenario, it might even be the destruction of the Shinobi World! One could never overestimate the depths these criminal dregs would sink to!
'I must get this intelligence to Konoha's Avengers!'
Konoha's Avengers—their reputation had surged recently.
The entire Shinobi World knew they were an organization dedicated to combating Missing-nin and underground operatives.
If the intelligence reached them, they would strike against these criminals, regardless of reward, simply to maintain the normal order of the Shinobi World.
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"Unwilling to speak, are you? In that case—" Pain raised his hand, and an invisible gravitational force erupted.
Mui lost his footing and was pulled directly towards him.
Though shocked by the Deva Path's ability, Mui reacted swiftly, forming hand seals as red patterns glowed on his palms.
Mui intended to strike Pain's chest with the seal the instant he was pulled close.
But in the next second, the Preta Path flickered behind Mui, locking him in a Powerful hold from behind, immobilizing him in front of the Human Path, who activated his ability and began devouring Mui's chakra.
As his chakra drained away uncontrollably, the red seal on Mui's palms vanished.
The moment Mui was restrained and his chakra was being absorbed, the Human Path placed a hand on Mui's head, using his Mind Reading technique to start extracting his memories.
One forced movement, one absorbed chakra, one read intelligence—the coordination between the Six Paths of Pain was seamless.
In the blink of an eye, they had subdued Mui, the esteemed warden of Hozuki Castle.
"Damn, scum—"
Though captive, Mui's defiant spirit hadn't diminished. Perhaps knowing his death was certain, his eyes burned with contempt and fury for the criminals.
The Deva Path's expression remained cold, indifferent to the fire in Mui's eyes.
"I see. Sealed in an underground chamber, requiring a large amount of chakra to activate, hmm?"
The Deva Path nodded, turning his palm downward. "Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull!)"
A terrifying gravitational force burst forth.
The earth trembled, tiles shattered, and a massive black casket broke through the ground section by section until the square box, radiating dark chakra, saw the light of the Shinobi World once more.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss had four faces on its sides, symbolizing Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Bliss.
Its bizarre appearance and the dark, cold chakra it emitted silenced the chaotic scene.
"Perhaps... you are a genuinely good man. Had you been born in a peaceful Shinobi World, you would have been a respected warden," the Deva Path stated, his feet slowly lifting off the ground as his form floated into the air, black cloak fluttering like that of a God.
"Unleashing the Box of Ultimate Bliss is your wish. I will help you realize it."
"Witness this!" The Deva Path pressed his hands downward. "Almighty Push!"
The repulsive force overwhelmed everyone below, forcing their knees to buckle as they collectively dropped to the ground.
The Asura Path spread his hands, and dense volleys of black receivers shot towards the downed guards and prisoners, piercing their bodies and pinning them firmly to the ground.
The Preta Path released the now chakra-depleted Mui and began forming hand seals.
The [Chakra Absorption Technique] activated, targeting all the Shinobi impaled by the black receivers.
It was as if an unseen hungry ghost greedily opened its maw, continuously drawing chakra through the receivers, channeling it all to a single point, and feeding it into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Even after everyone on the scene had lost their life force, the Box of Ultimate Bliss still seemed unsatisfied, offering no further reaction.
The Deva Path frowned slightly and began pouring his own chakra into the Box.
Finally, when the chakra reached a certain threshold, the Box of Ultimate Bliss opened its mouth.
A massive monster, comparable in size to a Tailed Beast, crawled out, roaring incessantly.
Seemingly sensing the presence of the Six Paths of Pain, it immediately attacked the Asura Path, the closest one to it.
The giant monster moved with incredible agility. Despite its enormous size, it was as nimble as a wild dog in the mountains, constantly dodging the missile attacks from the Asura Path.
Mui, struggling on the ground, pushed himself up slightly, mocking, "It's useless—Satori is not something you scum can handle."
"I see. An ability to perceive the human heart?"
The monster that emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss was named Satori. It could sense the fear and hostility within people's hearts, allowing it to read minds and predict an enemy's every move.
Beyond that, its tough hide—capable of withstanding [Sage Art: Rasengan]—and its spikes, sharp enough to pierce a Tailed Beast's body, were why Satori was known as the ultimate weapon.
"A decent ability," the Deva Path offered a neutral assessment.
"But if this is all it amounts to, it falls far short of the ultimate weapon I envisioned!"
The simplest way to deal with Satori was—
"Fearlessness is the key to soaring!"
As long as one held no fear towards this grotesque monster, its mind-reading ability would be effectively neutralized.
"Who would feel fear—or hostility—towards a being weaker than oneself?" Nagato murmured.
Within his heart, there was only pain!
An overwhelming hatred for the great Shinobi villages!
Nagato, possessor of the Sage's eyes, who regarded himself as a god, would certainly not fear a weapon left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
Just as expected, Satori's ability failed! It could no longer predict the Asura Path's movements and took several direct hits from explosive impacts.
The Deva Path raised his hand. "Stop!"
Almighty Push!
Universal Pull!
Faced with such wide-area-of-effect Ninjutsu, even predicting the attack would make evasion impossible.
Soon, Satori's body was pinned to the ground. No matter how it struggled, it could not escape the repulsive force.
The Deva Path opened his palm, and several black receivers flew out, piercing Satori's body and pinning it firmly down.
The Animal Path, who had been observing without engaging, slowly walked forward, placed an open palm onto Satori's dark surface.
Dense summoning seals spread across Satori's body.
Yes—Nagato's purpose in mobilizing the Six Paths of Pain for this journey across the sea was not to kill Satori or destroy the ultimate weapon left by the Sage of Six Paths.
He intended to—
Enslave Satori!
If the Sage of Six Paths could wield Satori as a weapon, then Nagato, possessing the Sage's eyes, believed himself worthy of inheriting this legacy!
The Animal Path's abilities were tailor-made for this.
The Animal Path excelled in Summoning Jutsu—capable of calling forth the Giant Multi-Headed Dog, Giant Crustacean, Giant Bird, Giant Chameleon, Giant Ox, Giant Rhino, Giant Panda, Giant Centipede—
The summoned beasts, like Pain himself, had black receivers embedded in them and possessed the Rinnegan, allowing shared vision.
Simultaneously, the Animal Path was adept at sealing and summoning ownerless Shinobi beasts like this one.
The ultimate weapon Mui viewed as the key to Kusagakure's resurgence was, in Nagato's eyes, merely an undisciplined—ownerless beast needing taming.
The Animal Path alone was enough to constitute an entire Shinobi squad!
Soon, Satori ceased its movements, its struggles weakening.
Gradually, a crack appeared on its faceplate, widening abruptly to reveal a purple Rinnegan exposed to the air.
Satori—the faceless monster—now possessed an eye of its own.
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