Sasuke recognizes the symbol of the cult of Jashin on his opponent's mask.
"None shall interfere with the task the Lord Jashin assigned to us."
Clang… clang…
Sasuke trades blows with the Jashin cult member.
"So, the prion warden Mui collaborated with the evil cult members of Jashin." Sasuke turns towards Mui, who is slowly approaching the Box.
Mui turns around and is surprised to see Sasuke utilize his chakra and fight against the masked figure.
"I didn't expect someone to dispel the curse seal of my clan. Looks like Konoha has some capable people."
Swoosh… Swoosh…
Maroi, Ryūzetsu, and a few other hidden spies from different villages jump out of their hiding spots and attack Mui.
Clang… clang…
The four animals masked elders of the Fruit Faction reveal themselves and intercept the group.
"Magnificent!" They glance at the giant box and marvel at its beauty.
"Now our fervent wishes shall be fulfilled!"
"Mui, make haste and activate the box. Mui, fulfill your duty as the gatekeeper of this box. Only you can remove the seal of the box." The animal-masked figure speaks hysterically.
"I won't let you!"
Shiing…
Sasuke activates his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Chirp… chii…
He creates a lightning blade and stabs through the body of the masked cult figure.
"Since this box is so important to you, I will destroy it. Amaterasu!"
Sasuke activates the ability of his left eye.
Fwoosh…
Black flames erupt from his focal point and engulf the giant box.
"Futile effort!"
Mui turns towards him and remarks.
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss is impervious to any physical and chakra attacks. Forget about destroying the box; even scratching the surface of the box is an impossible task."
The dying cult member grabs Sasuke's hands and chants some incoherent words. Sasuke senses the abnormality of the evil fanatic and uses his Chidori to pierce through the latter's heart.
Guffaw…
The evil fanatic pukes out a mouthful of blood on Sasuke's clothes and recites some unknown words.
"Oh no!"
Sasuke senses an abnormal amount of chakra gathering near the latter chest.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames engulf the fanatic member, but the latter smiles at Sasuke.
Crackle…
Deep blue flames burst out from his body and extinguishes the Amaterasu flames.
"These flames… they…"
Sasuke is shocked to see his Amaterasu flames getting overwhelmed by the blue flames.
Before he could react further, a sealing formation appear on the ground.
"I have fulfilled my purpose, Lord Jashin!"
The masked cult member utters these words before his body vanishes into blue flames. The sealing formation creates a powerful curse and crawls over Sasuke's body. The blood on his clothes turns into blue flame chains and immobilizes him.
Argh…
Sasuke struggles to break free from the influence of the chakra.
"This is a curse to restrain my movement and chakra!"
He also senses that the blue flames are slowly draining his vitality.
Mui ignores the commotion and stands in front of the giant box.
Kachik…
He bites his thumb to draw some blood. Mui makes a seal on his palm and makes quick hand signs while reciting unknown words. He performs the sequence of actions for a minute and finally claps his palm.
"Oh, Box of Ultimate Bliss!"
Tears flow from Mui's eyes as he completes the recitation.
"Heed my wish… Let me see my son, Muku!"
"Mui, you?! What are you doing?" The four animal-masked figures panic at Mui's words.
"Hurry up and wish for the restoration of Kusagakure." They attempt to rush toward Mui to wake him from his dream.
"Ah!" Maroi, Ryūzetsu, and the rest of the spies are shocked by Mui's words.
"We won't let you!" They hurriedly block the four masked elders.
"Oh, Box of Ultimate Bliss! Heed my wish… Let me see my son. Muku!"
Mui recites his wish to the box.
"Mui… you are making a big mistake. The village won't forgive you for your crime." The elders warn him in an attempt to wake him up.
But Mui, who seems to be possessed by a spirit, ignores them and recites his wish to the box like a lunatic.
SHOOOM…
The giant box absorbs the crimson pillar of energy and releases another pillar of dark purple energy.
"This chakra!"
Sasuke narrows his eyes as he senses the sinister chakra.
"This is the negative chakra!"
Goosebumps run across everyone's body as the malicious negative chakra influence the surroundings.
Pitch-black clouds appear in the sky and a faintly visible miasma slowly spreads in the vicinity of the box. The air becomes too heavy to breathe. Most prisoners with weak body collapse on the ground while clutching their throats.
The giant demonic face on the box slowly opens its mouth.
"The Hidden grass vanished from my heart long ago! Yes, from the day I lost Muku ten years ago!" Mui answers their questions and continues to supply his chakra to open the box.
"Damn you, traitor!"
The elders shriek in fury. The Ram-masked elder releases a horde of snakes from his sleeves.
"Be careful!"
Ryūzetsu swiftly warns them.
Maroi and the rest of the spy retreat and avoid the assault of snakes. They chop the head of any snake that approaches them. Upon death, the snakes turn into black fumes and vanish into the surrounding.
The four elder uses this opportunity to surround Mui. Each of them stretches their palm towards Mui's neck.
"You have deceived our trust. We will punish you according to the laws of the village."
A faint purple light illuminates their hands as they decide to execute Mui.
"It's too late!" Mui smirks and releases his tightly clasped palms.
SHIING…
The box of Ultimate Bliss releases a sharp screeching sound
Thump…
A powerful pulse of negative chakra escapes from the box together with the sound.
Guffaw…
Everyone, including the elders, the spy group, and the prisoners, falls on their knees while holding their chests in agony. Only Mui and Sasuke are left standing.
Mui is unscathed since he is the gatekeeper of the box while Sasuke resists the influence of negative chakra with his powerful chakra.
Mui glances at him and remarks.
"I am surprised you are able to resist the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss while in your current state."
The curse mark slowly extends all over Sasuke's body. The latter grits his teeth and riles up the chakra in his body.
'It will take me another fifteen minutes to break free from the influence of this curse. I was careless. I didn't expect that fanatic to sacrifice his life to cast a powerful curse to immobilize me.'
Tap… Tap…
The sound of footsteps echoes in the surroundings as a pair of legs emerge from the pitch-black mouth of the demonic mask on the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
A deafening silence engulfs the environment as a pale figure with jet-black hair slowly walks out of the mouth. The eerie red glows in his eyes fade away to reveal gray eyes. The figure is barefoot and tattered clothes with multiple holes through them.
"A person?"
Maroi, Ryūzetsu, the other spies, and the prisoner are surprised to see a living person walk out of the Box.
"Muku?"
Ryūzetsu silently utters. Tears flow from her amethyst eyes.
"Muku! Is that you?"
Tears flow from Mui's eyes as he slowly moved towards the latter.
"My son!"
He confronts the black-haired figure with overflowing tears.
"F… father!"
Muku slowly raises his head and mutters.
"Muku… forgive me…"
Mui grits his teeth and clenches his fists as he apologizes to Muku while being overwhelmed with self-reproach.
"I… I was wrong! I shouldn't have listened to the elder's order and sacrificed you to the Box. Forgive me…"
Muku slowly walks towards Mui with tumbling footsteps.
"Father…"
Swish… stab…
Muku's right hand pierces through Mui's chest before the latter could react.
Keugh… Bleurgh…
Mui spits out a mouthful of blood as Muku's hand cleanly stabs through his body.
Splash…
Blood splashes on the ground As Muku withdraws his hand and flicks it to wipe the blood.
Slick…
He licks the remnants of his beloved father's blood on his hand and remarks.
"Yes… Father… you were wrong! You should not have let me out of the box.
Everyone's eyes widen in shock at the betrayal of Muku and his subsequent action to murder his own father.
"YOU! WHO ARE YOU?!"
The animal masked the elder question Muku with fear.
"Me?"
Muku points the bloodstained figure toward himself.
"Did you forget about me already? It has been only ten years!"
He slowly walks towards the four elders with unhurried footsteps.
"I am Muku, the son of Gatekeeper Mui. A pawn that you lot sacrificed to achieve your goal."
Muku stretches his arm.
Swish…