Chapter 490

Kakashi and the others are working hard to investigate for evidence.

Ryuhi contacted the top brass of Kusagakure to prepare for the coming turmoil.

Yokokawa Tsutomu had no idea that in the eyes of Kusagakure, he had already been marked for death.

Right now, Yokokawa Tsutomu was annoyed—extremely annoyed.

Because recently, Kusagakure had been hounding him like a mad dog, causing Yokokawa Tsutomu to suspect whether there was a mole in his faction leaking information, and whether Kusagakure knew something.

But since things had come to this, even if Ryuhi personally came to the Kusakage's office to interrogate him, Yokokawa Tsutomu would not stop his plan.

As for clients, Yokokawa Tsutomu had ordered that no mission requests be fulfilled until the Box of Ultimate Bliss was opened.

After punching Yokokawa Tsutomu, Mugetsu did not pursue further, but instead treated Uzumaki Karen.

"Such an important matter, Elder Ryuhi, why didn't you report it to the leader?" The Kusakage Anbu seemed to already envision Mugetsu massacring people within Kusagakure.

Seeing the other's attitude, Ryuhi couldn't help frowning, but because there were more important matters, he had to ignore it for now.

When the wooden door completely fell, the empty office came into Ryuhi's view.

"This is a life-or-death political struggle. If we of the Kusagakure faction don't act, then utter disaster will befall us." Mujou said with a serious expression.

As the one who opened the box, the Box of Ultimate Bliss would grant his wish.

Mugetsu's action left Yokokawa Tsutomu even more bewildered—after betraying him, instead of quickly killing him, he turned around to heal Uzumaki Karen.

Although he didn't know what the Box of Ultimate Bliss was, that thing required chakra, and members of the Uzumaki clan all possessed considerable chakra.

"Karen, is it? I will remember that name. Thank you for your contributions to Kusagakure and the Land of Grass." Yokokawa Tsutomu activated his secret technique and began to sacrifice the chakra within Karen's body.

"Tell me Yokokawa Tsutomu's location quickly. Don't waste time."

"Retsuyou Mugetsu is now in Kusagakure, and besides him, there may be other Konoha ninja lurking here. The only way to minimize losses now is for Yokokawa Tsutomu to voluntarily confess his crimes."

Yokokawa Tsutomu remained calm, not getting flustered. He had fully prepared to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss; no accidents would happen.

"Found me so soon?" Sensing the disturbances around the underground base, Yokokawa Tsutomu was a bit surprised.

"Mujou!" Thinking Mujou had been deceived, Yokokawa Tsutomu shouted sternly.

Seeing that Ryuhi had already discovered them, the Kusakage Anbu stopped pretending.

Boom! Boom!

After absorbing enough chakra to open it, the Box of Ultimate Bliss erupted with immensely powerful chakra, and a pillar of energy shot through the ceiling of the underground base, straight into the clouds.

"We've already put in so much effort. Even if the other side finds out, we have to continue. As long as we open the Box of Ultimate Bliss, everything will be fine." Mujou replied in a deep voice.

Now it was the most critical step, and Yokokawa Tsutomu didn't want any accidents.

"At this most crucial moment, you happened to arrive in Kusagakure. Perhaps this is fate." Looking at the unconscious Uzumaki Karen, Yokokawa Tsutomu revealed a smile.

Just as Yokokawa Tsutomu relaxed and continued sacrificing Uzumaki Karen,

Feeling the chakra inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss rapidly growing stronger, Yokokawa Tsutomu was immensely pleased, even thinking that if he ever had a granddaughter, he might name her Karen to thank her for her contribution to Kusagakure—though Karen had not volunteered.

The Kusakage Anbu shook his head. "Once the leader opens the Box of Ultimate Bliss, then not just Retsuyou Mugetsu, even if another Yellow Flash were to show up, Kusagakure would have nothing to fear."

"Retsuyou Mugetsu is in the village?!" The Kusakage Anbu's confident expression vanished, his pupils sharply dilated.

Worried, Yokokawa Tsutomu summoned his most trusted subordinate, Mujou, to discuss the next steps.

Radical? Their Kusagakure faction was all about being radical!

Yokokawa Tsutomu truly felt that Mujou as his successor was not a waste of training—not only was he skilled, but his aggressive momentum was even fiercer than when he himself was young.

"Indeed, once you get a bit older, you're not as capable. Good thing I have you, Mujou. You're right—the most important thing now is to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss; nothing else matters." Yokokawa Tsutomu smiled, patting Mujou on the shoulder in agreement.

"The leader is handling important affairs. No one is allowed to enter." The Kusakage Anbu said expressionlessly.

Upon hearing Mugetsu suddenly mention Uzumaki Karen, Kakashi instantly had a flash of insight, understanding why the Kusakage had kept Uzumaki Karen back then.

Since he was gambling, of course he had considered the consequences of losing. But the Kusagakure side had discovered things much faster than he expected, making his originally ample time somewhat insufficient.

Ryuhi looked confused, remembering that Yokokawa Tsutomu, like him, didn't believe in that legend. So why, at this juncture, was he so brazenly using his authority to work toward opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, a huge suction force came from inside the Pleasure Box, and Yokokawa Tsutomu, who was closest to the Pleasure Box, was directly sucked in.

When Ryūhi reached the door of the Kusanin leader's office, the Anbu guarding the door reached out to stop him.

To prevent traitors, Yokokawa Tsutomu moved the Pleasure Box to a different location every day; except for the ninja who needed to deliver chakra that day, no one else knew where Yokokawa Tsutomu would be.

It's almost ready to open, just a little more.

"Contact the frontline units and tell them to deliver the next batch of chakra as soon as possible." After some thought, Yokokawa Tsutomu felt it was necessary to open the Pleasure Box quickly to avoid unforeseen troubles.

"What's wrong with you all? Why does everyone look like they haven't slept well?" Ryūhi entered the office building and found that the ninja he encountered all looked listless and tired.

That was a ruthless person who had once killed a Jinchūriki on the eastern battlefield of the Land of Fire; even with the help of ninja forces, it proved his terrifying strength.

However, something shocking and puzzling happened to Yokokawa Tsutomu: Wu Chang seemed not to have heard his order, didn't even look at him, and kept examining the Pleasure Box.

Doing this would basically mean a complete showdown with Kusano Hana, and would also offend some clients.

If it weren't for his chakra being exhausted, even if he couldn't win, he would have fought desperately against a faithless person like Wu Chang.

The only explanation he could barely accept was that he had misjudged; Wu Chang was not loyal to the Kusanin and had a wish he desperately wanted to fulfill.

Yokokawa Tsutomu, sent flying backward, slammed hard into the hard Pleasure Box.

…

"Wu Chang, how could you betray the leader! Your current strength and status are all due to the leader's training." The nearby Kusanin couldn't help but curse loudly.

Bang!

As Wu Chang passed by Yokokawa Tsutomu, he suddenly threw a punch, sending Yokokawa Tsutomu flying.

If it weren't for Uzumaki Karin, he might not have been able to open the Pleasure Box before Kusano Hana discovered it.

Now he had no time to think too much; as long as he could open the Pleasure Box, everything would be fine.

He was clueless about gathering intelligence, but when it came to fighting, he struck hard.

Yokokawa Tsutomu looked at Wu Chang with eyes full of anger and confusion. He didn't understand why Wu Chang would betray him at this time.

A ridiculous thought crossed Yokokawa Tsutomu's mind: Wu Chang had fallen in love at first sight with Uzumaki Karin and couldn't bear to see her die, which led to his betrayal.

At the same time, Yokokawa Tsutomu's supply of ninja corpses was also depleted, yet the Pleasure Box was still stuck in that awkward bottleneck of being close to opening.

Underground base.

This was a plan he had long considered: he wanted to become stronger, stronger than the Shinobi Master Sōsuke, who had defeated Demi-God Hanzō. Then, the Kusanin Village and the Land of Grass could develop steadily under his protection.

More Kusanin didn't even have the strength to curse anymore; they could only stare at Muyue with angry eyes.

"Do you think I'm the only one who knows what you've been doing? Konoha's ninja have already tracked you down, but they just haven't made a move yet." Ryūhi knew he couldn't change the minds of Yokokawa Tsutomu's subordinates with just a few words, so he directly brought up Konoha.

Seeing that he couldn't get useful information from the Kusanin Anbu, Ryūhi had no choice but to gather all of Kusano Hana's ninja to search, and at the same time informed Muyue about Yokokawa Tsutomu.

But the ninja who needed to deliver chakra that day could only leave in the early morning, so Yokokawa Tsutomu's whereabouts were almost impossible to expose.

After collecting the evidence, Ryūhi first handed it over to Muyue, then, under Muyue's instructions, brought the evidence to the Kusanin leader's office.

Wu Chang turned to look at Yokokawa Tsutomu, then nodded and moved.

"Gather the elders." After deep thought, Yokokawa Tsutomu prepared to act immediately.

Other positions could be overlooked, but mission assignments were the core of a ninja village.

"Shiki, can you sense the location of the bugs on Karin?" Muyue looked at Aburame Shiki.

Seeing this, Yokokawa Tsutomu silently input all his chakra into the Pleasure Box, making up for the last missing bit.

"Wu Chang, go out and intercept. This is a critical moment, and I don't want to be disturbed." Yokokawa Tsutomu turned and said to Wu Chang.

Kakashi once again felt Muyue's meticulousness. If Muyue hadn't been worried about Uzumaki Karin's safety and had Aburame Shiki place special bugs on her, then finding Yokokawa Tsutomu now would not have been an easy task.

"Then let's go find that Yokokawa Tsutomu quickly. As long as we defeat him, the mission is complete." Obito's spirits lifted; finally, they had reached the part he was better at.

Whether it was Ryūhi, who opposed him, or Wu Chang, who betrayed him, he would have many options to deal with them at that time.

As the sacrificer, Yokokawa Tsutomu could clearly feel the gradually strengthening chakra inside the Pleasure Box.

"Move aside. No matter what he is handling, he must give me an explanation today!" Ryūhi didn't give face to the Kusanin Anbu.

"When the client arrives and sees you like this, will they have confidence in our Kusagakure's abilities?" Ryūhi couldn't help but scold.

"..."

With a loud boom, the enormous box of Kōraku, which had been sealed for who knows how many years, began to tremble. Some parts of the face-mask fell off, its mouth opening upward and downward like a demon's gaping maw, revealing a darkness within so deep that no light could be seen.

"Kōraku no Hako, open." Yokogawa Tsutomu stood before the Kōraku no Hako, staring warily at Muzuki, and used the connection from the sacrifice to convey his intent to the box.

Aburame Shiki condensed chakra, performed hand seals, nodded, and began to lead the way.

"That guy isn't thinking about opening that box, is he?" Ryūhi thought of the box among Kusagakure that was rumored to grant wishes.

"Elder Ryūhi, don't waste your efforts. I have no idea where the leader is right now."

Following Muzuki's plan was far better than a chaotic revenge. Not only did it reduce the workload, but Konoha also gained greater benefits.

Yokogawa Tsutomu increased the sacrifice speed and prepared to feed Uzumaki Karei entirely to the Kōraku no Hako.

"I also want to ask Yokogawa Tsutomu why he didn't consult me about such an important matter as cooperating with Iwagakure!" Ryūhi replied angrily.

Yokogawa Tsutomu did not know how to use the Kōraku no Hako, but after the box opened, he had a vague feeling that this was how it was used—that the box had consciousness.

He had kept the secret so well, yet Kusakana had found him so quickly. Should he say it was worthy of his lifelong nemesis?

Then, to protect what he had already achieved, he would be forced into a civil war with Kusakana to make her submit. Now this outcome was much better.

"To the death? Not quite—we're all from Kusagakure." Yokogawa Tsutomu thought Mujō was a bit too radical.

In the end, Ryūhi was better at collecting evidence quickly, finishing gathering solid evidence faster than Kakashi and the others.

He had never imagined Mujō would betray him, since Mujō was his heir. His interests were Mujō's interests, so how could Mujō betray himself?

Yokogawa Tsutomu showed a thoughtful expression; he had to admit Mujō's decision was very radical.

"Where did Yokogawa Tsutomu go? Take me to him, before he makes a huge mistake." Ryūhi ordered the Anbu.

Ryūhi's face turned completely dark. Not at work in broad daylight at such a critical moment. Combining that with the state of Kusagakure he observed along the way, Ryūhi had a bad feeling.

Bang!

"Yokogawa Tsutomu, you have the nerve to secretly join the war but not to face me?" Ryūhi kicked down the door of the Kusagakure leader's office and shouted.

He had already gone this far—the entire Kusagakure had entered the war between Konoha and Iwa. It was impossible to withdraw easily. Only opening the Kōraku no Hako could break the deadlock.

Ryūhi didn't waste words; he directly struck the Kusagakure Anbu. Since Yokogawa Tsutomu had made a grave mistake, the Anbu under his command must also have problems.

"If the Kōraku no Hako cannot be opened, the village's power cannot increase. Under Kusakana's questioning, you, Lord Yokogawa, will have to take responsibility and resign. If Konoha gains an advantage in the coming war, they will also hold Kusagakure accountable..."

"Make me stronger—extremely strong!" Yokogawa Tsutomu said in a deep voice.

"In other words, Teacher Muzuki, you have won over the conservative faction in Kusagakure. Now we just need to eliminate the radical faction led by the Kusagakure leader." Kakashi analyzed.

Kakashi hadn't expected Muzuki, acting alone, to have quietly accomplished something so important.

Whether from the perspective of interests or emotions, he could not find a reason for Mujō to betray him.

"Elder Ryūhi, please stop obstructing the leader. Only he can lead our Kusagakure to prosperity and strength." The Kusagakure Anbu instead advised Ryūhi not to oppose Yokogawa Tsutomu.

Muzuki looked indifferent. They were scolding Mujō; what did that have to do with him, Muzuki?

Ryūhi was speechless. Did he want to obstruct? Konoha's Retsuyō Muzuki had infiltrated Kusagakure!

The Kusagakure Anbu said nothing more, but neither did they step aside.

"Since Kusa has discovered it, there's no need to hide. Stop Kusagakure's daily work and have all ninjas refine chakra to send into the Kōraku no Hako, so that it opens as soon as possible." Mujō further suggested.

"Everyone, fully refine chakra and send it in. Every bit of chakra you output will become the foundation of Kusagakure's rise!" Yokogawa Tsutomu encouraged the Kusagakure ninjas while sending the delivered corpses into the Kōraku no Hako.

Mujō seriously analyzed for Yokogawa Tsutomu the difficulties that Kusakana and Kusagakure might face next.

"Judging by Kusa's actions, they may already know about the cooperation with Iwa. I wonder if someone defected to Kusa's side, or if Kusa investigated it themselves." Yokogawa Tsutomu said.

If Yokogawa Tsutomu continued sacrificing, it might adversely affect Uzumaki Karei's body.

Although their philosophies differed, they were all for Kusagakure; it didn't have to be a life-or-death struggle.

"Sorry, Elder Ryūhi, I had insomnia last night." The Kusagakure ninja made up an excuse.

Among all the Kusagakure ninjas present, Yokogawa Tsutomu had given Mujō the privilege of not needing to input chakra, yet Mujō betrayed him like this.

Kakashi and the others, who were already near the base, quickened their pace. Long Fei and the other Grass Flower members saw this and quickly rushed over.

The Grass Ninja ANBU beside them quickly nodded and carried out the order.

Boom!!

Since it was time to close the net, Mu Yue used the Flying Thunder God Technique to call a halt to the Kakashi Team and the Nara Suzaku Team, who were still conducting investigations, indicating that the intelligence gathering work was complete and they could proceed to the next stage.

He wasn't stupid; reporting to Hengchuan Nu would mean completely offending Konoha to death. Once Konoha freed up its hands, sending even a single ninja unit would be enough to trample the Grass Ninja Village, and all Grass ninjas would be finished.

Hengchuan Nu nodded. That was what he thought too.

As time passed, one after another, Grass ninjas lay on the ground gasping from excessive chakra consumption. Soon, most of the Grass ninjas looked like they were done for.

He personally leaned towards there being a mole. If Grass Flower had really uncovered solid evidence on their own, Long Fei would have long brought the evidence to rub it in their faces.

The Grass Ninja ANBU tried hard to stop Long Fei, but he was no match for Long Fei to begin with, and because he had been repeatedly supplying chakra to the Box of Bliss all yesterday, his body was weak. In two moves, he was knocked to the ground by Long Fei.

Hengchuan Nu could not see the scenery inside the box through the opened part. Although it was just an ordinary box that looked somewhat large, he felt as if there was a boundless dark world inside.

Hengchuan Nu was dumbfounded. No matter the reason, he felt he had misjudged. How had he chosen such a successor?

Mu Yue grabbed Uzumaki Hualing and moved a little farther away, then sensed his Flying Thunder God mark. It was inside the Box of Bliss, and unlike Uzumaki Naruto's case that time, he had not lost perception.

ps: Today is 5k. I feel that with a bit of effort, getting back to 8k tomorrow shouldn't be a problem.