Madara frowned, looking somewhat displeased; he was interested in the Box of Ultimate Bliss, but not to the point where it was a necessity.
Madara had only heard legends about the Box of Ultimate Bliss; during the Warring States Period, the Land of Grass had nearly ruled the world by relying on it.
Legend had it that opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss could grant any wish.
However, Madara believed such legends were false; if it could truly grant any wish, the Land of Grass wouldn't have failed in the end.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss did not possess such powerful capabilities.
Seeing Madara's displeasure, Ryou released a powerful electrical current to shock the group from Kusagakure.
Instantly, the Kusagakure Shinobi were electrocuted by Ryou, howling in pain and screaming for mercy.
"Hmph, are you people just useless eaters? Don't you know that leaders are like pigs—they won't move unless pushed?"
"Why didn't you go to Hozuki Castle earlier to bring the Box of Ultimate Bliss back?"
"..."
Madara narrowed his eyes as electrical currents flickered in his hand. Was Ryou calling him a pig?
Shirakawa, breaking into a cold sweat, explained to Ryou, "Lord Ryou, the Box of Ultimate Bliss is massive; it's not something an ordinary person can move."
"Furthermore, the Land of Rain is currently blockaded by the Five Great Nations, making it difficult for us to leave."
Ryou didn't listen to the explanation, using Lightning Release to form a lightning whip and lashing Shirakawa. "How dare you! Who told you to explain? Do I care about your explanation? If I say you're wrong, you're wrong!"
"Yes, yes, yes, Lord Ryou, we were wrong, we are guilty!"
Seeing the Kusagakure Shinobi submit, Ryou was finally satisfied.
As things stood, their only option was to control the Seven-Tails to fly to Hozuki Castle, then unseal the Box of Ultimate Bliss there to release the demon Satori.
But Madara was somewhat reluctant. "The Box of Ultimate Bliss is likely just some flashy, useless thing. Forget about it."
"These Kusagakure people are useless now. Drag them away and kill them!"
"Ah?!"
The limbs of the Kusagakure Shinobi trembled uncontrollably. They all said Ryou was a beast, but Madara wasn't any better, was he?
Ryou pleaded on behalf of Kusagakure, "Ancestor, the Kusagakure people also went to Takigakure to capture the Seven-Tails. It was thanks to their intelligence that Konan and Nagato were able to smoothly enter Takigakure."
"These people have worked hard, even if they haven't achieved great merit!"
Madara nodded. "That makes sense. Then we shall continue to use them!"
Ryou added, "Ancestor, I believe the Kusagakure proposal is still viable. Hozuki Castle isn't far from Kusagakure."
"Though it's across the sea, we have the Seven-Tails which can fly."
"Tomorrow, I will control the Seven-Tails to go to Hozuki Castle and retrieve the Box of Ultimate Bliss for you, to fulfill your wish!"
Madara stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.
Currently, the Seven-Tails' Chakra hadn't recovered yet, so they could afford to wait.
In any case, Madara had waited for nearly half a century; he didn't mind a little more time.
"Fine. Tomorrow, go and retrieve the Box of Ultimate Bliss."
"Remember, you are not allowed to secretly make a wish, or I'll have your head!"
Ryou nodded quickly. "Rest assured, Ancestor, I will absolutely not use it."
Ryou said this on the surface, but he had already decided to keep the Box of Ultimate Bliss for himself tomorrow.
Madara thought the Box of Ultimate Bliss was just a flashy, impractical tool, but Ryou knew that Satori was sealed within it.
The original plan was for the Kusagakure Shinobi to bring the box, Madara to inject Tailed Beast chakra to unseal Satori, then use the Rinnegan to defeat it and turn it into a Summoned Beast for the Animal Path.
But the Kusagakure Shinobi couldn't transport it to Amegakure because the box was too large.
This way, Ryou could subdue Satori before Madara discovered its true strength, gaining a massive helper.
This was taking advantage of an information gap against Madara!
Black and White Zetsu were atop the Great Tree of Takigakure, watching the group below and listening to their conversation.
White Zetsu asked, "Can the Box of Ultimate Bliss really grant wishes?"
Black Zetsu sneered inwardly. As a shadow that had lived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths, it was impossible for Black Zetsu not to know about the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
It wasn't a tool for granting wishes at all; it contained a demon named 'Satori.'
That demon could drag people into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, brainwashing and twisting them into Satori's puppets.
The people of the Land of Grass had relied on controlling the Box of Ultimate Bliss to manipulate Satori, nearly ruling the world.
Once the Kusagakure Shinobi opened the box, they would realize it wasn't the wish they hoped for, but a demon capable of destroying them.
Black Zetsu truly wanted to see the despair of the Kusagakure Shinobi when they discovered the truth.
On the other hand, Satori did have strength; ordinary Kage or Tailed Beasts were no match for it.
But Madara could handle it.
Once Ryou brought the Box of Ultimate Bliss back from Hozuki Castle, Madara would use the Rinnegan to turn Satori into a puppet.
This would make victory against the Shinobi Allied Forces even more certain.
Since the Seven-Tails was needed, One-Tail Shukaku would have to be sealed into the Gedo Statue first.
Immediately, Madara used Genjutsu to control Shukaku and headed to the underground space, preparing to seal Shukaku into the Gedo Statue.
Ryou asked Madara, "Ancestor, do you need our help with the sealing?"
Madara shook his head. "To seal Shukaku, who has the least chakra, I can manage alone!"
In the original work, when the Akatsuki wanted to seal a Tailed Beast into the Gedo Statue, they gathered ten top-tier Shinobi for several days of work, using the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals to extract the Tailed Beast from the Jinchuriki's body and seal it into the Gedo Statue.
Even Shukaku, with the least chakra, required three days of sealing.
However, for Madara, so many people weren't necessary.
He was the true host of the Rinnegan and the absolute master of the Gedo Statue.
During the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Madara directly controlled the Gedo Statue to release the Gedo Mazo Chains, instantly sealing the Nine Tailed Beasts within it.
One might argue there was a prerequisite: the Gedo Statue had already sealed seven Tailed Beasts beforehand and already had suppressive power over them.
Obito could control the Gedo Statue to release the seven Tailed Beasts and then easily put them back in.
This showed that once a Tailed Beast was sealed inside, it wasn't a one-way change; it was a two-way street, and they could be released at any time.
But Obito's situation differed from Madara's; the Eight-Tails and half of the Nine-Tails had never been refined by the Gedo Statue, yet Madara still easily sealed them into it.
Ultimately, Nagato's use of the Rinnegan was too crude; he had never mastered the true power of the Rinnegan.
After Madara left, Ryou became assertive again. "Boys, to celebrate our victory in capturing the Tailed Beast, we're having a victory banquet tonight."
"All expenses will be paid by me!"
The Kusagakure Shinobi were immersed in the joy of opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss tomorrow; they were somewhat uninterested in Ryou's suggestion but pretended to be happy to humor him.
They were currently thinking they wouldn't even sleep, wanting to go to Hozuki Castle overnight to retrieve the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
But one must take things one step at a time; given the current blockade of the Land of Rain, it wasn't easy for them to leave with their own strength.
They could only hitch a ride with Ryou tomorrow to go to Hozuki Castle.