Chapter 92: The Tiger Descends the Mountain!
Three days ago, Kusagakure.
The once ironclad prison of the shinobi world, Hozuki Castle, now lay in ruins. The cries of Kusagakure shinobi echoed, and dismembered corpses littered the ground, turning the site into a scene reminiscent of hell on earth.
The castle's warden, Mu, kneeled weakly on the ground, coughing up dark, congealed blood, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The once impregnable defenses of Hozuki Castle, shattered by a lone figure.
The shinobi guarding the castle were Kusagakure's elite, consisting of twenty jōnin. Even facing a Kage, Mu was confident of holding his ground, or even defeating them.
But in a mere instant, a display of overwhelming force had rendered all the Kusagakure shinobi incapacitated.
To Mu's horror, the invader headed straight for the Box of Ultimate Bliss, examining Kusagakure's greatest secret with familiarity.
After Mu's failed attempt to secretly open the box, Kusagakure had sealed it in Hozuki Castle, treating it as top-level confidential information.
In Mu's mind, no one outside the upper echelons of Kusagakure knew the box's location.
What Mu didn't realize was that Uchiha Madara, with his legion of White Zetsu, viewed the shinobi world transparently, there was almost nothing hidden from him. However, the area now sealed under the Uzumaki clan's barrier, the Uchiha compound, was no longer within Madara's sight, which frustrated him.
The former clan head, now unable even to gaze upon his ancestral home?
"What a bore, these weaklings disgust me," came the low, somber voice. Madara, with white hair and clad in pale armor, spoke indifferently.
Mu lay trembling on the ground, surreptitiously gathering chakra to mend his incapacitated body.
"Perhaps, there's still hope," Mu thought, employing Kusagakure's secret technique. Using Fire Release: Heavenly Prison, he could potentially bind his opponent's chakra, preventing them from performing ninjutsu.
If he could just touch this person, the tide might turn.
Mu, head lowered, awaited the opportune moment to strike back. His mind raced, comparing this figure with known powerhouses, but none matched this invader.
Who was this person that had invaded Hozuki Castle?
With a sidelong glance at the intruder, Mu's heart skipped a beat. A detail terrified him—those peculiar eye patterns glimmering with violet light.
Realizing the intruder possessed the legendary Rinnegan, believed to be the pinnacle of ocular jutsu only the Sage of Six Paths held, Mu played dead, heart in turmoil.
Remembering his attempts to unlock the Box of Ultimate Bliss months ago by sacrificing his son, he guessed wildly.
"Could it be that seeking the Sage's power invited his wrath upon Kusagakure?" he wondered. "Is this divine punishment?"
The oppressive force of the Rinnegan made Mu prostrate himself, but as the pressure peaked, it subtly ignited his rage. Mu grew up in Kusagakure, enduring conflict and poverty. Through a fortunate encounter, he survived the chaos, unlike many Kusagakure shinobi who perished young.
Having recently emerged from the Second Shinobi World War, Mu grasped a deep truth: small nations in this world existed only as buffers or pawns for great nations, summoned and discarded at will.
As a leader in Kusagakure and warden of Hozuki Castle, he sought the Box of Ultimate Bliss to revive Kusagakure from its dire state. He found an ancient relic, sacrificed his son, but failed to unlock it.
In despair, he confessed to the Kusagakure high command, only to learn his tragedy was a result of internal factional strife and a lie about the box's opening conditions.
Madara's remorseless invasion killed Kusagakure's leadership before they could share the true method of unlocking the box.
"What superb craftsmanship, the legends must be true," Madara mused, examining the box with a nod of approval. His slightly stooped frame regained a touch of former glory with White Zetsu's support.
Eyeing the box, Madara coldly laughed.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Fiery torrents, hot enough to fracture the earth, engulfed the box, filling the chamber with horrifying crackles.
Mu watched the display in fear, noticing even his fledgling anger dissipate, a bitter smile on his lips. Such power was insurmountable for him.
"This level of Fire Release... Could he really be the Sage of Six Paths?" he pondered, impressed by the elder Madara's might enhanced by White Zetsu.
Though Madara wasn't the Sage of Six Paths, he was the Sage's descendant.
Smoke cleared, revealing the box unmarred, retaining its deep, dense black exterior. Madara nodded in satisfaction, finding the undamaged box worthy of the Sage of Six Paths.
"Almighty Pull!" Mu was levitated, drawn toward Madara. Gritting his teeth, Mu tried to resist but found his chakra unresponsive, as if also bound by Heavenly Prison.
Madara's Rinnegan flared, and Mu fell into a genjutsu, unable to escape.
"Reveal the secrets of the Box of Ultimate Bliss," Madara commanded.
Mu's eyes reflected the Rinnegan, responding dully:
"I heard it requires sacrificing something precious, I sacrificed my son but failed to open it."
Several dying Kusagakure leaders were also captured by Madara, who extracted their souls with his Rinnegan, uncovering the truth about the box.
The internal strife over the box split Kusagakure into factions: one seeking to seal it forever, fearing its destructive potential, and the other aiming to use it to revive Kusagakure.
Deceived by lies about sacrificial requirements, Mu moved to open the box, seeking to revive the village.
The conditions to unlock the box were having specific techniques and sacrificing tailed beast-level chakra. Kusagakure's Hozuki Castle was part of the plan to collect enough chakra from captured shinobi for this purpose.
Madara's interest in the box stemmed from doubts about his own plans. While he trusted Nagato's talents with the Rinnegan, he feared he might not be the final executor of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Thus, preferring to seize opportunities while he could still act, Madara decided to unleash another grand performance on the shinobi world, seeking a chance to restore his youth.
Even with a fraction of his former vitality, Madara believed he could sweep away the Five Great Nations and assemble the Ten Tails himself.
His methods to rejuvenate himself went beyond ordinary medical ninjutsu, relying only slightly on the Gedo Statue to delay aging. The Box of Ultimate Bliss, however, as the pinnacle of the Sage's tools, held greater promise.
Madara donned his armor with White Zetsu's help, extracting life force from the Gedo Statue, preparing to reclaim his fearsome legacy by attacking Kusagakure.
"The techniques resemble those of the Outer Path, intriguing," Madara laughed maniacally.
However, even this mighty shinobi was surprised by the meager chakra yield from Hozuki Castle's prisoners.
Only remnants of shinobi with any strength would be here, temporarily detained or plotting escapes.
Yet, Madara uncovered a treasure—a talented Uzumaki orphan, as young as Nagato. A red-haired girl, bearing scars and bruises from vicious abuse at Kusagakure's hands.
Madara, seeing her, reaffirmed his resolve for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
"This world is rotten to its core, purification through the plan is necessary," he stated coldly.
"What's your name?" he asked the girl.
Unlike others, she did not fear him. Mistreatment had honed her senses to malice, and she felt none from this imposing figure, sensing his indifference but no ill will.
"My name is Uzumaki Kasai."
Watching her, Madara's mind drifted to an old memory of trying to help a child in Konoha, only to frighten him. The moment emphasized his alienation from the village.
A hint of reminiscence touched him as he summoned several White Zetsu, instructing them.
"Take her back, let her stay with Nagato for now."
Playfully, the Zetsu carried Kasai, their green chakra soothing her wounds. She, witnessing this first instance of care, felt touched and saddened by the contrast.
Her life, until now, knew only cruelty.
As the Zetsu departed, Madara remained stoic, accustomed to their presence after years of seclusion. In a sense, he had become a seasoned caretaker.
"To summon more chakra-rich shinobi—let's bait the Five Great Nations with this box," he calculated.
A simple, savage plan: lure the Great Nations' shinobi to the box, converting them into sacrifices for his rejuvenation.
Even without outside sacrifices, Madara's power could suffice. Yet, sensing the box's dark aura, he remained wary.
"Opening the box is no trivial feat," he mused. Avoiding Mu's folly, he planned to use the Great Nations' shinobi as pawns.
Finally, Mu, aimlessly rising, wrote desperate pleas for aid to the Great Nations' Kages, urging them to help with the box.
Madara, prepared for their response, didn't fear their arrival. A flash of steel took Mu and Kusagakure's leaders' lives, leaving White Zetsu copies in their place.
Madara, looking towards Konoha, smirked coldly.
"Will that Taijutsu enthusiast come?" he wondered. If so, Madara resolved, they would not leave.
Eyes gleaming, full of battle fervor, Madara felt a rare tremor of excitement.
The stage was set; the tiger had descended the mountain.