Chapter 46: The Casket of Supreme Bliss

The ramshackle door creaked sharply. Yu Higashino looked over and saw a little girl with red hair stepping out from a nearby house. She didn’t notice Yu and his companion at first, gazing off into the distance, as if waiting for someone to return home.

Red hair, a girl, Grass Ninja Village—these traits instantly revealed her identity to Yu: Karin Uzumaki.

Ah, at this point in time, Karin was still living in the Grass Ninja Village. Yu hadn't considered this detail before. She watched the horizon for a long while, but the person she waited for never appeared. Turning her head, she finally noticed Yu and his companion.

Yu sat beneath a tree, Kakuzu stood beside him; both motionless, their faces shadowed and cold beneath the leaves.

“Ah!” Karin started, frightened, and without waiting for a reaction, she hastily fled back into the house.

Did we scare her? Yu wondered. Are we really that intimidating?

He glanced at Kakuzu.

“Kakuzu, you frightened the child.”

“Huh?” Kakuzu was briefly taken aback, an odd expression crossing his face before he quickly masked it again.

“Sorry, sir.”

“Forget it,” Yu replied casually.

Yu had always liked Karin as a character, and felt sympathy for her, but absent any particular incident, he couldn't just approach her and declare his intentions. Dismissing thoughts of Karin, he returned his gaze to the sunset, though his mind remained restless.

Karin’s presence stirred his memories, bringing to mind the original storylines of the Grass Ninja Village: besides Karin, the main events involved Orochimaru’s disguise and the ‘Box of Ultimate Bliss’ featured in the movie.

Orochimaru’s plot was still far off, but the Box of Ultimate Bliss, as far as Yu remembered, had always been in the village.

“Kakuzu, have you heard of the Box of Ultimate Bliss?” Yu asked.

“The Box of Ultimate Bliss?” Kakuzu pondered. “I think I read about it in some ancient text. It’s said to be a tool once used by the Sage of Six Paths—those who open it have a wish granted. The Grass Ninja once opened it and nearly unified the world, but something happened and the village almost perished. Since then, two opposing factions emerged: ‘Fruit of Grass,’ the militarists wanting to revive the village, and ‘Flower of Grass,’ the pacifists against war.”

Kakuzu recited everything he knew, and as he finished, a realization dawned on him.

“So that’s your goal, sir—the Box of Ultimate Bliss.”

“No,” Yu quickly cut off Kakuzu’s wild conjectures.

Kakuzu’s account matched the rumors in the original story, but the reality was different: the Box was the ultimate weapon of the Sage of Six Paths’ era, capable of controlling a monster called 'Satori,' which trapped enemies inside. Those imprisoned would, through a special technique, become puppet-like ‘allies.’

The legend of wish-granting likely arose because the Box's power enabled its wielder to fulfill any desire, eventually morphing into the myth of granting wishes.

Yu truly had no interest in the Box; he’d only asked to confirm its existence in the ninja world. He hadn’t been sure if this world included the storyline from the movies. Apparently, it did. Still, any elements clearly out of place—like that special episode of Naruto featuring a real wish-granting lamp—probably wouldn’t exist. If such a thing truly did, the chaos would be unimaginable.

Seeing Kakuzu’s knowing expression, Yu couldn’t help but emphasize again, “My goal really isn’t the Box of Ultimate Bliss. The rumors aren’t true—it can’t grant wishes.”

“I see,” Kakuzu replied thoughtfully.

Just when Yu thought Kakuzu had finally stopped overanalyzing, Kakuzu added, “So you do have a goal, sir.”

Yu fell silent for a moment, his tone cold as he said, “You’re right, I do have a purpose. But I won’t tell you, nor do I intend for you to do anything about it. Understood?”

“Understood.” Kakuzu responded solemnly.

With that settled, Yu was relieved not to have to argue about pointless matters with Kakuzu anymore.

He continued watching the sunset. It wasn’t long before the sun fully disappeared below the horizon.

“It’s getting dark, let’s head back,” Yu said, rising to his feet.

At that moment, he noticed someone approaching from afar—a woman with red hair, her face a blend of exhaustion and numbness, her clothes somewhat disheveled, revealing ugly bite marks here and there.

The marks were unsightly.

Yu and Kakuzu passed the woman, who bowed slightly as if in greeting. After walking a short distance, Yu glanced back. The woman stood outside the dilapidated house, tidying her clothes. When she finished, she patted her face—her hand seemed to possess a kind of magic, for with each pat, the numbness and exhaustion on her face faded, replaced by a gentle smile.

“Karin, Mommy’s home,” she called, knocking on the door.

Yu didn’t look back again, but from a distance, he tossed a healing technique her way.

Yet the sounds behind him continued.

The door creaked open.

“Mommy, you’re finally back.”

“What’s wrong, Karin?” The woman’s voice was tense.

“There were two strange people under the tree just now. They were scary!”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Mommy’s home now, and Mommy will protect you…”

Yu was already far away; the rest of their conversation faded from earshot.

Returning to the center of the Grass Ninja Village, Yu felt the place was even more rudimentary than before.

For some reason, his thoughts returned to the woman from moments ago, and he felt a growing aversion toward the village.

In the original story, the Grass Ninja Village had committed many repulsive acts: the incident with Karin and her mother, where a person was bitten to death and drained, even targeting a young girl; the Box of Ultimate Bliss incident, where they sought to unify the world at the cost of sacrificing a promising youth as a ritual offering.

Such things likely occurred in the Leaf Village too—in fact, certainly did—but Yu had never witnessed those firsthand. Yet those ugly bite marks, he had seen with his own eyes...