Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 304 The Box of Ecstasy

The optimal time for infiltration was missed, and his clone returned to his main body, conveying the entire process of how he successfully staged the drowning accident. But Sasuke wasn't in a hurry; he had obtained information more valuable than infiltration.

Yesterday, near dawn, a peculiar ship traversed the more treacherous waters behind the island and stealthily approached the shore. Due to the distance, Sasuke could only make out a few colored blocks, among which a child imprisoned in a square cage shone eerily brightly in his vision—clearly a Jinchūriki. The reason he was certain it was a child was because the cage was so small; an adult could easily lift it. There was no other possibility than that it contained a child.

For Naruto's sake, Sasuke naturally read through all the existing information on Jinchuriki worldwide. However, he didn't know if that information was accurate, because the part about Naruto was ridiculously inaccurate. He could only make sure that he remembered what these Jinchuriki looked like and what their known abilities were.

Of the nine tailed beasts, eight currently have jinchūriki. If Orochimaru's information is largely accurate, then only Naruto, Gaara, and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki are the youngest, so the one captured could only be one of these three.

He could recognize Naruto's chakra at a glance. Gaara was not taken into consideration, so the only one who could be captured next was the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu.

Although Sasuke has a kind heart, he is a pragmatic person and would never do something as foolish as rushing down to save someone. Faced with this situation, his first action was to recall the information he had reviewed before leaving the house.

Takigakure is a village that would never release a Jinchūriki. It's said that Konoha went to great lengths to obtain this information, demonstrating how deeply hidden the Jinchūriki is. The ultimate target of this mission, the Box of Elysium, is a tool that can grant wishes by paying a sufficient price. So... is that price an enormous amount of chakra? And does it have to be the chakra of a Tailed Beast to meet the requirements? The careful escort suggests that the target likely lacks the ability to fight a fully-formed Tailed Beast, and the Jinchūriki is not in immediate danger.

They... probably won't be in such a hurry to start the experiment, right?

As it turns out, human patience is unpredictable.

"Human Jinchūriki are really hard to please. Even with three times the dosage, they still managed to wake up halfway through."

"After all, it is a seven-tailed fox. Fortunately, we have Lord Wuchang's Heavenly Prison Technique, otherwise we would have been buried at the bottom of the sea."

"Thank you for your hard work, little brother."

"..."

"Finally, I've got a Jinchūriki."

"The bright future of Kusagakure is about to arrive!"

"It's time to open the box."

"Opening the box requires concentration, please let my brother and me stay alone."

The four elders, wearing animal masks, trusted the village implicitly and had given everything for it, including their son Wuwei. They quickly disappeared from the room, leaving only Wuchang, who was holding the girl, standing to the side.

As the mechanism fell, the strange human face that had plagued Kusagakure for decades appeared from behind the wall. Wuwei gestured to Wuchang to place the girl on the table, as his lifelong wish was about to be fulfilled, and he remained remarkably calm.

"Are you sure you want to do this, brother?" Wuchang put the girl down and unlocked the Heavenly Prison. He knew his brother better than anyone else, which was why he asked this question.

Wuwei approached the unconscious girl and gave an irrelevant answer: "As long as the Heavenly Prison Secret Technique is passed down, our clan will not perish even if we lose Grass Village."

Wu Chang silently withdrew; between the village and his bloodline, he ultimately chose the latter.

The shock of having her chakra drained was enough to wake the girl again, but this time she was too weak to struggle. Even the tailed beasts were exhausted by the strange box. But just as the box burst out of the secret room and nearly collapsed, the villain who had captured her protected her, carried her away from danger, and rushed into the secret passage on the other side of the cliff without hesitation.

The box was opened, and everything here was no longer his concern. His only task was to ensure the safety of the Jinchūriki. As long as the Jinchūriki was safe, there was still room for negotiation with the major powers. It was a pity he wouldn't be able to witness his elder brother's wish being fulfilled.

However, the filial piety he had imagined did not materialize. The box was opened, and Wuwei did not grant the wish that Caoyin had hoped for. Instead, he yearned to see Wugou again. Ten years ago, his father, blinded by honor, only realized his mistake at the moment of loss and has endured humiliation and hardship to revive his son until now.

His wish came true; the box released his long-awaited son. But before he could even finish a word, Wugou's arm pierced his chest.

“Father, you were wrong.” The cheerful and outgoing boy in my memory smiled wickedly, even sticking out his tongue to lick the blood on his hands. “You shouldn’t have opened the box and let me out.”

The box did indeed fulfill the wish of non-action, but what returned was no longer human, but a demon that had crawled back from hell. In an instant, this demon revealed its true form, shedding its human shape, growing wings, and becoming a monster with only four limbs and a mouth, indiscriminately destroying everything in its sight.

Not long after the Jinchuriki was escorted into the city, Sasuke, who had just finished breakfast and rested for a while, was awakened by a huge commotion above. He immediately sprang to his feet, left the shallow cave, and ran wildly up the cliff face.

The barrier in his field of vision was disappearing. He didn't know what was happening above, but his intuition told him that the box had been opened. A chilling power was spreading everywhere, and even though he wasn't a sensory type, he felt uncomfortable all over, as if he had encountered something disgusting.

This is what they call the box that grants all wishes—it really is a trap!

Now, let's first confirm the situation and then decide whether or not to call Naruto, since that guy is quite busy.

Although Sasuke is in a state of "defection", he still has a sense of responsibility as a ninja of the five great nations. If the box causes too bad a result, he will really risk being caught to take action.

Because that utter idiot would do the same thing.