"You think a mere grain of sand can talk big?"
Seeing Mui again, Seisui's lips curved into a mocking smile.
He drew his long blade — and vanished from sight.
"Flying Raijin!"
Before Mui could even react, Seisui appeared behind him.
A flash of silver — slash! — and blood sprayed into the air.
As Mui collapsed to the ground, Seisui stepped on his chest, leaned down slightly, and asked softly,
"Do you like this feeling?"
"Heh... kid," Mui choked, coughing blood. "You act so damn strong—I actually thought you were."
"So you're all bark after all."
The blood spilling from his lips only grew thicker as Seisui pressed his foot down harder.
"Binding Art — Fire Style: Heavenly Prison!"
Mui forced his shaking hand to grab Seisui's ankle, his palm glowing faintly red.
Feeling the strange chakra crawling up his leg, Seisui raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? You still had a trick left?"
"But tell me—" he pressed down sharply "—does it matter?"
"Trash like you... think you're worthy to dance before me?"
Crack! Crack-crack!
The sound of ribs breaking filled the air. The splintered bones pierced Mui's organs, snuffing out his life completely.
"Boring."
Looking down at the lifeless corpse, Seisui shook his head in disappointment.
Just then, the leader of the pacifist faction stumbled over, trembling violently. When he saw Mui's corpse, his legs nearly gave out beneath him.
His strength wasn't much different from Mui's and if that man had been slaughtered in a blink, his own fate would be no better.
He wanted to run.
But as the only remaining authority in Kusagakure, he had no choice but to step forward—for the village's sake.
Seisui casually bent down, picked up Mui's chakra blade, and tucked it into his pouch.
A weapon made from chakra-conducting metal—of course it was his now.
Spoils of war belong to the victor.
He never cared about morals anyway.
Strict with others, lenient with oneself.
That had always been his way of life.
He could be good to his friends, but to his enemies... even grinding them to dust would be mercy.
Watching the pacifist leader's trembling legs, Seisui gave him a harmless, almost gentle smile.
"That one—Mui. He had family?"
The man swallowed hard, stammering, "Y-Yes! He has a wife... and... and a newborn child."
Seisui said nothing.
He simply tossed a kunai to the ground with a clink, then met the man's eyes.
"You understand what I mean."
The pacifist leader shut his eyes in pain, then nodded heavily.
"I understand."
They had known each other for years—same village, different beliefs.
But now, staring at Mui's corpse, the man could only sigh deeply.
Don't blame me, Mui. You brought this upon yourself.
"I'll... do it right away."
Turning around, he left without another word.
Seisui watched him go, then turned his gaze to Panda Wu, who was still rampaging outside, scattering little clay pandas everywhere.
When cutting grass, you remove the ROOTs too.
It was one of the lessons he'd learned from countless films in his previous life.
If not for the need to maintain the illusion of peace in the ninja world, he would've erased the entire Kusagakure today.
After a moment of silence, Seisui smiled again, the same carefree grin as always.
"Minato, Haru — protect her," he said, glancing toward the red-haired girl, Mina.
"I'll go pick something up."
"Got it!" Haru nodded, fan in hand. "What are you getting?"
"A box."
Seisui made a rectangular gesture with his hands.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss — a relic once used by the Sage of Six Paths himself.
It was said that whoever opened it could have one wish granted.
But Seisui, having watched the movie in his previous life, knew better.
The box didn't grant wishes.
It contained a monster—a living embodiment of destruction and fear.
Legend had it that in the era of the Sage of Six Paths, Kusagakure had nearly conquered the world because of it.
If someone opened the box again, the monster within would reawaken.
An unstable threat—best removed.
He didn't need anyone to guide him. With his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he had already sensed the box's location.
Before long, he found it—a towering chest nearly four meters tall, engraved with the faces of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure on each side.
Seisui stared for a moment, then backed away.
It was too large to carry.
He'd thought about storing it in the Panda clan's dimension, but decided against it—who knew what those giant pandas Might Duyo with it?
When he returned, he called out, "Minato, come with me. I've got something interesting to show you."
"Something interesting?" Minato scratched his head, puzzled.
"You'll see," Seisui said with a grin, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along.
From behind, Haru watched their backs suspiciously.
She'd wanted to follow, but seeing Mina still dazed and trembling, she stayed by the girl's side instead.
Meanwhile, Minato was already gaping in front of the colossal chest.
"What is that?!"
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss," Seisui replied. "A tool said to have been used by the Sage of Six Paths himself."
"They say whoever opens it can have one wish granted."
"Seriously?" Minato looked doubtful. "If that's true, then why's Kusagakure like this?"
"Because it's nonsense," Seisui said, knocking Minato lightly on the head. "Open it, and you'll just unleash a monster named Gū."
He crossed his arms. "I never learned sealing techniques, so I'll need you to seal it—and take it with us."
Minato thumped his chest confidently. "Leave it to me!"
He knelt down and began forming hand signs.
Just then, the pacifist leader reappeared—his kunai still stained with blood, his expression blank and hollow.
Seeing him, Seisui nodded slightly. He wasn't worried about betrayal—his Mind Eye of Kagura had been on the man the entire time.
"This box will serve as compensation," Seisui said calmly.
"And I'll take one hundred million ryō as medical expenses for my clan. Then we'll call it settled."
The pacifist leader glanced at Minato performing the sealing jutsu and nodded. "Thank you, my lord, for your mercy."
He couldn't help the bitterness in his voice.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss had brought only ruin to their village.
If it had never existed, perhaps Kusagakure wouldn't have split into warring factions—or suffered this fate.
As for the one hundred million ryō... painful, but survivable.
Satisfied, Seisui nodded.
For a minor nation like this, that amount was enough to cripple them for years.
Outside the village, Kakuzu grimaced as he watched Panda Wu's rampage from afar.
"Why is it another panda?!"
"Did I offend some panda god or something?!"
Watching explosions go off one after another around the massive creature, Kakuzu began retreating carefully.
"This damned place better not be rigged with explosive tags too..."
Back inside, Minato finally completed the sealing technique.
As he held up the finished product, Seisui frowned.
"Why'd you seal it into... a mask?"
Minato blinked. "Grandma Mito said this sealing jutsu works best when bound to a mask. I happened to have one, so... I used it."
"Is that a problem?"
Seisui waved a hand. "No. No problem."
He just couldn't help thinking of the Uzumaki shrine—the masks stored there that could summon the Shinigami.
Don't tell me each of those masks hides something like this...
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged.
Whatever. Not my problem.
Pocketing the mask, Seisui turned toward Minato. "Let's go."
"It's time we head back to Konoha."
"Right." Minato nodded, then hesitated. "That girl... she still seems kind of... off. You think something's wrong up here?" he asked, tapping his head.
"Stop overthinking it," Seisui said, rolling his eyes. "After what she's been through, it'd be weird if she wasn't like that."
He sighed softly. "The Uzumaki clan just keeps getting bigger, huh?"
"Yeah," Minato smiled. "Grandma Mito was right to make you the clan leader."
"The Uzumaki Clan—led by a man named Yuki," Seisui muttered dryly. "It's like having four and five of them show up."
He shot Minato another glare and chose not to respond further.
After all, Mito had made him clan leader without even asking—
and that was why, from the start, he'd dared to call himself head of the Uzumaki clan.
Just as the two walked out of the village—
BOOM! BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rocked the ground.
Seisui's face twisted. He slapped his forehead.
"Crap! I forgot to tell Brother Wu it's over!"
In the next instant, his figure vanished, darting straight toward Panda Wu.
Minato watched him go, sighed quietly, and walked back toward Haru and Mina.
Having someone like Seisui around was Kusagakure's misfortune—and its destiny.
This battle would leave the village crippled for years to come.
But none of that was his concern.
Moments later, Panda Wu finally came to a halt.
He looked down at the ruined village—now cratered and uneven from countless clay panda explosions—and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Tch tch. Didn't even get to use my Clay Giant Panda."
"What a waste."
Seisui, standing beside him, fell silent for a long moment.
Clay Giant Panda...?
He'd never heard Wu mention that before.
But just picturing a twenty-meter-tall clay panda charging toward enemies, bouncing as it exploded...
He could only sigh.
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