"What is that!?"
The same question arose simultaneously in the minds of Haku, Sasuke, Karin, Ido, Neji, and Kimimaro as they observed Grass Village.
In Grass Village…
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss!?"
With a single glance, Ichiro Hirayama, an elder of Grass Village, recognized the monster soaring from the underground palace as the creature named "Satori," sealed within the "Box of Ultimate Bliss" according to ancient records.
"They succeeded?"
Gazing at the war weapon he had once dreamed of, Ichiro Hirayama felt no joy—only a chilling dread, as if his heart had plunged into an icy abyss.
Whoosh.
Satori, spreading its wings, casually flapped them, unleashing a storm that sent the Grass shinobi, who had formed defensive arrays against the demons, flying.
Then, with a spiraling dive, its razor-sharp claws effortlessly pierced the airborne Grass shinobi.
In an instant, blood sprayed, and severed limbs scattered!
The bloodshed further frenzied the demons, driving them into a deeper madness!
As he watched the war weapon meant to revive the Land of Grass—the Box of Ultimate Bliss—mercilessly slaughter Grass Village's shinobi, an absurd feeling surged in Ichiro Hirayama's mind.
After wreaking havoc, Satori seemed to notice Ichiro Hirayama in his elder's garb among the crowd. It dove straight for him.
"Protect the elder!"
"Quick, use ninjutsu!"
"Don't be afraid!"
The Grass shinobi roared hysterically, frantically forming hand seals.
Within moments, earthen walls rose from the ground, shielding Ichiro Hirayama.
Satori followed, its claws stabbing toward Ichiro, protected by layers of earthen barriers!
Boom!
Satori, a beast dozens of meters tall with claws over ten meters long, easily pierced through the earthen walls with a deafening crash, ultimately impaling Ichiro Hirayama's body.
Looking down at the massive claw piercing his chest, Ichiro Hirayama muttered, "Truly worthy of our Land of Grass's war weapon…"
Nearby, Ryuran witnessed the scene and cried out in horror, "Elder!"
Ichiro Hirayama raised a hand to stop Ryuran from approaching, shouting with his last breath, "Hurry, lead everyone to break out in groups!"
On a rooftop…
Gazing at Satori, a killing machine in the distance, Kokushibo's face betrayed both surprise and uncertainty.
He hadn't expected the seemingly frail Grass Village to harbor such an eerie monster. Indeed, this creature from the "Box of Ultimate Bliss" felt uncanny even to him, an Upper Moon demon.
A Grass Village elder serving at his side spoke, "My lord, that is Satori, once our Land of Grass's war weapon that dominated the shinobi world!"
In Hidden Leaf Village…
A communication hawk landed in the communication team's aviary.
A communication shinobi quickly retrieved the small scroll tied to the hawk's leg, decoded the encrypted message, and hurriedly delivered it to the Hokage's office.
In the Hokage's office…
Upon reading the reconnaissance team's report, the Third Hokage's expression grew stern.
The situation had escalated beyond his expectations. He hadn't anticipated the Akatsuki's decisiveness—launching a coup in Grass Village the moment they detected Hidden Leaf's involvement.
"We can't let Grass Village fall into the Akatsuki's hands!"
The Third Hokage made an immediate decision.
With a wave of his hand, he instructed a materialized Anbu, "Notify the other four Kage. The situation has changed. There's no time for a slow assembly. We'll rendezvous in the Land of Grass!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Anbu, not daring to delay, rushed to relay the order.
Soon, several waves of communication hawks took flight from the aviary!
As the hawks soared toward various parts of the shinobi world, a large contingent of Hidden Leaf shinobi completed their assembly and set out under the Third Hokage's personal command.
In the Land of Rain…
Konan hurriedly entered the central tower, finding Nagato. "We just received word—there's been a change in Grass Village!"
Clearly, though the Akatsuki had gone into hiding, their intelligence network remained active, diligently gathering information on the five great villages and the tailed beasts.
Since Grass Village had no tailed beast, the Akatsuki paid it little attention. But a civil war in Grass Village was significant enough for them to receive timely intelligence, regardless of their focus.
"Undying monsters?"
Reading the report's contents, Nagato's expression darkened.
Konan nodded lightly. "Yes, their characteristics closely resemble those mysterious enemies with 'Lower' etched in their eyes who attacked us last time."
Nagato's face grew even grimmer. "It's them again!"
Lower Moon demons had once ambushed Rain Village, and Upper Moon demons had rampaged across the shinobi world under the Akatsuki's banner, burning, killing, and plundering.
Thus, these mysterious enemies with 'Upper' and 'Lower' in their eyes harbored undisguised hostility toward the Akatsuki.
The Akatsuki had conducted targeted investigations into them.
However, these 'Upper' and 'Lower' entities were highly elusive, and despite significant effort, the Akatsuki had only uncovered vague information.
Konan asked, "Nagato, what do we do?"
"These creatures are a threat to us!" Nagato paused, then declared, "Gather our forces. This time, I'll lead the team myself to root them out!"
In a dark cave in the Land of Rain…
Zetsu emerged from the ground, addressing Obito within the cave. "Things are getting lively in Grass Village. Those undying monsters have all come out to play!"
"Oh?" Obito's interest was piqued.
Zetsu continued, "Nagato has decided to personally take action to flush them out!"
Obito pondered for a moment. "Could this be a trap set by the five great villages?"
Zetsu shook his head. "Unlikely. The five great villages currently believe those monsters were created by our Akatsuki and are assembling forces for a purge."
Obito nodded. "Nagato must not fall now. Gather our people—we're going along!"
Nagato's Rinnegan was the key to all their plans.
Thus, regardless of any differences, Obito had to ensure Nagato's safety until the Ten-Tails was revived.
Zetsu grinned. "Perfect timing. Shennong has completed the Zero-Tails, and the Sprite has fully recovered. Let them accompany you!"
"Alright," Obito agreed.
Zetsu seemed to recall something and added, "Sasuke Uchiha, who awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, might also join the five great villages' purge. You might run into him this time."
Obito understood implicitly. "I'll keep an eye out."
When he first learned that Itachi's younger brother, barely ten years old, had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Obito was filled with shock.
But he quickly realized this was an opportunity to manipulate Itachi.
If he could lure Sasuke into the Akatsuki, Itachi would have no choice but to serve him loyally…