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Chapter 64: Hōzuki Castle Lord — Mui
Mui sat at his desk, pen in hand. He paused, then resumed writing. He had a pale, severe expression. His long black hair was slicked back; a narrow fringe covered part of his right eye. He wrote faster and faster, then abruptly set down the pen. He put on a white glove with a composed face.
At that moment, Konan, Honoka, and Ryūzetsu flew through an open window and landed steadily in front of his desk.
"Akatsuki's Konan, and..." Mui stood slowly, eyes traveling past Konan to Ryūzetsu.
"Ryūzetsu, you were ANBU of Hidden Grass. Are you planning to betray the village by colluding with Akatsuki?"
Ryūzetsu bristled. "The ones betraying the village are your warmongers! They scheme to attack other major shinobi villages, frame a Nine-Tails jinchūriki, and covet jinchūriki power. Have you forgotten what happened ten years ago with Muku?"
Ryūzetsu's voice choked with tears. "Muku was consumed by the Box of Ultimate Bliss for your ambitions. He was your son. Do you want to repeat the same mistake?"
Hearing his son's name struck Mui with a flash of pain that he hid instantly. He did not argue with Ryūzetsu. Instead he asked Konan calmly, "Does Akatsuki covet the box's power?"
Konan stared at him coldly.
"You seem unsurprised by our sudden intrusion."
"Mui remained impassive. "Hōzuki Castle incarcerates many of the shinobi world's most vicious criminals, so we have detection methods. I knew the moment you appeared above Hōzuki Castle."
Suddenly something felt odd, and Mui looked down. A sheet of white paper had crept over his legs and continued upward. In a flash it reached his chest, then his neck, leaving only his head free.
"This is Paper Release..." Mui did not show surprise. He felt paralyzed below the neck, as if set in cement. Only his head could move.
"Konan, no luck yet," Honoka reported as she and Ryūzetsu returned after ransacking the office and searching the room during Mui's immobilization.
Konan pushed the paper inward to press him.
Mui did not move. He stared up at the clouds through the window as if thinking of something else.
Konan tightened the pressure.
In an instant, Mui's body dissolved into smoke and vanished.
"Shadow Clone..." Konan murmured. No wonder he had acted composed.
Ryūzetsu pointed to the direction of the underground third-level cave entrance and began to speak, but the floor trembled violently. The whole building shook. Cries of agony rose outside the windows.
"Go outside!" Konan ordered and flew out with the others. Below, the ground had suddenly split open into a massive chasm. Prisoners who had been on the yard were being drawn in. Fiery red stripes shimmered across their bodies as the Heavenly Prison seals activated and dragged them downward.
Ryūzetsu panicked. "Lady Konan, the prisoners' Heavenly Prison has triggered. It must be Mui. The chasm below leads to the Box of Ultimate Bliss. He's trying to open it. He's lost his mind!"
She explained the plan: Mui had prepared a backup. Rather than rely solely on a jinchūriki, he had been collecting chakra from prisoners. If necessary, he would sacrifice all the prisoners to open the box. He could not afford to fail.
Konan flew over the pit. Cries echoed as the pit connected down through the castle's three underground layers. Prisoners fell like dumplings to the lowest level, onto the Box of Ultimate Bliss, forming a human pile. Konan narrowed her eyes. The prisoners at the bottom had already been drained of chakra and turned into mummified husks.
Mui was mad enough to sacrifice everyone in Hōzuki Castle to try to open the box. This was his last gambit. He knew time might be short.
Below, Mui called out Muku's name in a broken voice as he forced his own chakra into the box's surface. For ten years Mui had prepared this. If there were accidents, he would immediately offer all the prisoners in a final attempt.
Konan formed hand signs at speed.
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!
A blue sphere the size of the chasm shot into the hole and transformed into an immense waterfall in midair, crashing down into the pit.