Chapter 462: Why Even Fight Over the Hokage Position?!

Chapter 462: Chapter 462: Why Even Fight Over the Hokage Position?!

The figure that had emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss staggered unsteadily toward Mui.

"Muku!"

Looking at that familiar figure before him, tears of joy streamed down Mui’s face.

At this moment, he had completely lost the sharp instincts and vigilance an elite jonin should possess. He failed to notice the sinister malice hidden between his son’s brows. All that remained in his heart was boundless joy.

Whoosh...

Just as Mui stepped forward, preparing to embrace his son Muku, who had finally escaped from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the previously stumbling Muku suddenly flickered.

In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Mui.

His speed was so astonishing that even Mui, one of the strongest elite jonin in Kusagakure, failed to react in time.

Immediately afterward, a burst of excruciating pain erupted from Mui’s chest.

He lowered his head and saw that his son Muku’s right hand had already pierced straight into his chest.

Blood sprayed from the wound, splattering across Muku’s youthful face, creating an utterly grotesque and absurd sight.

Mui stared at Muku in disbelief and struggled to ask, "W-Why...?"

Muku extended his tongue and slowly licked the blood splattered across his face.

An expression of pure enjoyment appeared on his face as he narrowed his eyes and moaned,

"Ah... It’s been so long since I tasted something this sweet!"

"You... you’re not my son..."

Amid his shock and unwillingness to accept what had happened, Mui slowly collapsed to the ground.

Muku smiled.

"Not entirely."

Not far away, the four advisory elders of Kusagakure were also stunned by this sudden turn of events.

There was no doubt that the Box of Ultimate Bliss had not granted the wish Mui had just made. It had not released the real Muku, but rather a monster that looked exactly like him.

Only at this moment did they finally realize that the revival of Kusagakure they had pursued so tirelessly was nothing more than the moon reflected on water, a flower seen in a mirror—an illusion that could never be grasped.

Casting a cold glance at the four utterly terrified Kusagakure’ advisory elders, Muku wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air. Then, with a look of disgust, he said,

"A bunch of decrepit old things. Even the blood flowing through your bodies makes me sick!"

With that, he shifted his gaze elsewhere and stared toward Konoha in the distance.

Drool trickled from the corner of his mouth as he murmured,

"So much delicious blood...!"

At that moment, Muku’s originally handsome and delicate face suddenly began to distort.

In an instant, his body rapidly expanded, transforming into an enormous monster with a massive fanged maw, long slender limbs covered in razor-sharp claws, and a pair of wings growing from its back.

The monster seized the Box of Ultimate Bliss from the ground with the talons on its feet.

Then it abruptly spread its enormous wings.

Whoosh—!

Amid a raging gust of wind, it shot toward Konoha at tremendous speed.

"Th-This...?!"

One after another, the four Kusagakure elders collapsed onto the ground in horror.

......

Konoha.

With warning bells ringing one after another, the entire village had descended into an uproar.

Shouts and cries echoed through the streets, intertwining with one another and adding even more panic to the already chaotic atmosphere.

However, Konoha had already conducted several evacuation drills, so it didn’t take long for the village’s shinobi to spontaneously begin maintaining order, organizing the villagers and guiding them into the shelters in an orderly manner.

At the same time, large numbers of Konoha shinobi, organized into squads, converged from every corner of the village in front of the Hokage Building, awaiting the Hokage’s orders.

Meanwhile, atop the outer wall, Konoha patrol squads vigilantly surveyed their surroundings.

Although an ominous feeling had risen in everyone’s hearts, no one yet knew who the enemy was, which direction they would come from, or even what method they would use to attack Konoha!

Suddenly, a Hyuga clansman among the patrol squads on the outer wall pointed into the distance and shouted,

"Eleven o’clock! An unidentified object in the air is rapidly approaching!"

Everyone nearby immediately looked in that direction.

Under the glow of the setting sun sinking toward the west, a tiny black dot appeared on the distant horizon.

"Wh-What is that thing?"

"It looks like it’s flying... Is it a bird?"

"If that’s a bird, isn’t it way too damn big?!"

The bewildered patrol members began whispering among themselves.

Yet in the brief time it took them to exchange those few words, the tiny black dot that had been far off on the horizon rapidly grew larger.

Accompanied by howling winds and a piercing shriek, it came hurtling toward them at such terrifying speed that everyone was caught completely off guard.

The patrol captain roared,

"Quick! Notify Lord Hokage! The enemy has appeared!"

BOOM—!

Before his words had even finished echoing through the air, the enormous monster slammed directly into Konoha’s towering outer wall, unleashing a deafening explosion!

In an instant, dust filled the sky and shattered stones flew everywhere.

The sturdy outer wall that protected Konoha had been smashed apart with a single blow, leaving behind a breach dozens of meters wide!

Amid the rubble, the severely injured patrol captain stared blankly at the monster circling overhead and muttered,

"Wh-What the hell... is that monster?"

Just then, a hearty voice rang out,

"Summoning Technique!"

Poof!

Amid a burst of white smoke, Gamabunta of Mount Myoboku leaped into the air and swung his massive blade at the monster wreaking havoc near the outer wall.

Gamabunta’s attack came without warning.

Yet just as his enormous blade was about to strike, the monster, despite having its back turned toward him, suddenly leaped away, narrowly avoiding the slash!

Standing atop Gamabunta’s head, Jiraiya shouted,

"Damn! Almost got it!"

But after getting a clear look at the monster, Gamabunta was shocked.

"Satori!? Damn it, why does it have to be this monster? Jiraiya, we might be in serious trouble!"

......

Inside Danzo’s laboratory.

Kagami, who was in the middle of an experiment, suddenly felt his hand tremble, nearly ruining the experimental material.

Kagami frowned.

Naturally, his hand hadn’t trembled because of anything he had done. Rather, the entire laboratory had shaken just now.

Not far away, Orochimaru also stopped his experiment.

There was irritation on his face from having his work interrupted, but also a hint of curiosity toward the sudden tremor.

After all, Danzo’s laboratory was buried dozens of meters underground.

An ordinary explosion on the surface wouldn’t have been able to affect the laboratory in the slightest.

For the laboratory to experience such a powerful tremor, something major must have happened on the surface.

Danzo, who had also been inspecting the laboratory, slowly came to a stop, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Before long, two Root shinobi hurried into the laboratory.

One of them reported to Danzo,

"Lord Danzo, a monster has attacked the village! It has already destroyed part of the village’s outer wall. We suspect it may be retaliation from the Akatsuki!"

The other added,

"Lord Danzo, our forces have already assembled. Should we deploy immediately?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Danzo waved his hand.

"Remain where you are!"

The two Root shinobi froze.

They clearly hadn’t expected Danzo to order them to remain on standby. They exchanged bewildered glances before one of them cautiously said,

"Lord Danzo... that monster has already broken into the village."

Danzo’s expression immediately darkened.

"Are you questioning this old man’s orders?"

"We wouldn’t dare!"

The two Root shinobi hurriedly lowered their heads.

Danzo snorted coldly.

"Leave."

At that moment, Kagami stood up and asked Danzo,

"As one of Konoha’s advisor elders, the village is under attack. Aren’t you planning to do anything?"

Danzo replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world,

"This old man has a more important mission!"

Kagami curled his lips into a mocking smile and thought to himself,

"You don’t even dare show your face when the village is under attack, and you still want to compete for the position of Hokage?!"