"Mui! What are you doing?!"
The commotion on the other side escalated. The higher-ups of Grass-Reality let out pig-like shrieks, as if they'd just heard something horrifying, and screamed in unison.
"No!!!"
Hozuki Castle collapsed into the flames, more and more walls toppling like a scene from hell. Ryuzetsu stumbled toward them, looking like she'd lost her soul.
"Box of Ultimate Bliss, please bring my son, Muku, back to life!" Mui shouted.
No matter how the story twisted and turned, it always returned to this point. Mui carried immense guilt over his son, and no matter what happened, he would always seek to resurrect Muku.
But unfortunately, the Box of Ultimate Bliss didn't have the power to revive the dead. What emerged from it was only a demon… a monster wearing human skin.
Even Obito would have exhausted his entire lifespan and the Rinnegan to resurrect the dead. More importantly, he needed a backdoor from a bastard to pull Rin's soul back from the Pure Land.
Reversing life wasn't the hard part. The Sage of Six Paths didn't enter the Shinigami's Pure Land simply because he was an outsider. The Otsutsuki Clan never had a concept of natural death… their essence was simply switching bodies like changing clothes.
But humans were different. Even Shinobi couldn't escape death. Even if flesh could be remade and life force replenished, what about the soul?
Who could just casually walk up to the Shinigami, slap him on the shoulder, and say, "Hey bro, I need a favor"?
The last guy who tried that was named Sun Wukong, and he ended up smashing the Queen Mother of the West's heavenly peach banquet with his staff.
Not to mention a relic left by the Sage of the Six Paths—even if the Sage of the Six Paths himself were still alive, he could only revive someone who had just died. The trick was to pour life force into the body before the soul returned to the Pure Land.
As for the Box of Ultimate Bliss, its actual effect was obvious… it was just a demon-making machine.
"Muku…" Ryuzetsu clutched her right arm, staring blankly at the massive Box of Ultimate Bliss before her.
A bloody light etched a giant seal on the ground as a vicious, grotesque demonic shadow rose into the air. White steam mixed with crimson mist seeped from the cracks of the box.
The box opened, and out stepped a young man with hollow eyes. His face was cold, his hair slightly disheveled, and his movements stiff and unnatural… like a wolf in human skin, clumsily learning to walk.
Naruto stayed where he was, unmoving. He had initially planned to act, but now he just wanted to observe.
"This box seems pretty interesting." He mused, stroking his chin as he began eyeing the Box of Ultimate Bliss with greed.
His original reasons for voluntarily entering Hozuki Castle were simple: First, to complete Kakashi's mission and resolve the chaos caused by the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
Second, to recruit Ryuzetsu, the naive young woman, to replenish the ranks of the Jashin's Followers.
Coincidentally, recruiting Ryuzetsu overlapped with Kakashi's mission objectives. After forming a Jashin's Contract with her, Naruto's only remaining purpose in staying at the prison was…
To wait for Mui to resurrect his son, Muku, giving Ryuzetsu closure, before destroying the box, killing the rampaging Wu Wei, and eliminating any other irrelevant witnesses.
But now, he'd changed his mind. He could kept the box for now and sold later.
It suddenly occurred to him that relics of the Sage of the Six Paths might be worth a fortune, so instead of destroying it, why not keep it? As for nobodies like Mui and Muku, he'll just kill them.
Mui stared at the stiff, unnatural movements of Muku as his son slowly approached him. For a moment, he was at a loss, too overwhelmed to notice the obvious signs of something wrong.
Perhaps it was the weight of his guilt toward his son that made him hesitate. His lips parted, but no words came out. He couldn't even bring himself to meet Muku's eyes, eyes filled with indifference and murderous intent.
"Muku... I'm sorry. It was my fault."
Muku ignored him completely, staggering forward before suddenly thrusting his hand straight through Mui's chest. Caught completely off guard, Mui's pupils dilated violently as his body arched like a shrimp.
Blood splattered like blooming flowers. His heart had been completely pierced.
Amid Ryuzetsu's horrified scream, Mui slowly collapsed into a pool of his own blood.
"Mui… is dead?"
As the crowd gasped, Muku let out a distorted shriek, his body swelling monstrously like a beast. In an instant, his form expanded dozens of times, revealing a massive, demonic figure resembling a grotesque bat-creature.
Its hideous appearance made everyone freeze in terror, their eyes locked onto the scene unfolding before them.
"A demon... We released a demon!"
The higher-ups of Grass-Reality trembled, their legs giving out beneath them. They had just witnessed Muku, who had emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, kill the warden, Mui, as easily as snapping a chicken's neck.
The prison guards, who had been lying in wait, rushed forward. Ryuzetsu also moved, tearing off her headband to reveal... a head of flowing white hair.
"Muku! Snap out of it! Don't lose yourself!"
Naruto watched Ryuzetsu's dramatic performance from the sidelines and couldn't help but roll his eyes, 'Is this really how you reveal your identity? Just taking off a headband? Shouldn't you at least…'
'Wait, no… shouldn't she at least change her outfit? It's not like everyone here was blind! Did she really think wrapping her chest and wearing a headband was enough to pass as a man?'
'Heh, pathetic!'
Muku, or rather, the monstrous demon now possessing his body, was already in a frenzy. There was no way it would listen to some human woman.
With a furious roar, it swung its massive claw at her.
With a bang, Ryuzetsu barely dodged in time as the ground shattered beneath the force of the strike. Covered in dust, she rolled away, only to realize the creature wasn't pursuing her.
"Muku!" She shouted again.
"Stop yelling. That thing is an evil entity." Naruto said calmly, stepping forward with his arms crossed, "The Muku you knew was assimilated long ago. Only his memories remain."
"How do you know all this?!" Ryuzetsu snapped, turning to him, "Wait… you knew from the beginning!"
"I don't know. I just figured it out after nearly dying as a sacrifice." Naruto replied, cracking his knuckles with a series of sharp pops.
"Save your breath. Whatever that thing is, we're dragging it straight to hell."
"What?" Ryuzetsu stared at Naruto, but found that the other party had no intention of using Chakra.
Nearby, the massive Satori glared at Naruto, its grotesque face twisting into a mocking grin. Just as it was about to sneer, its eyes suddenly locked onto something behind Naruto…
An equally enormous Shinigami's phantom!