“Four more hours, Sir Ninja.”
Shisui sat on the boat, dressed in the attire of the Uchiha Clan. Hearing the boatman’s estimate, he couldn’t help but let out a slight gasp.
Although Hokage-sama had promised not to worry about matters concerning the Uchiha Clan, Shisui remained uneasy.
To return faster, Shisui disregarded his Chakra consumption and continuously used the Body Flicker Technique, traveling from Konohagakure to the coast in half an hour.
The boat pitched and rolled in the waves, and Shisui closed his eyes.
He needed to quickly recover his Chakra and return to his peak condition.
“We’ve arrived, Sir Ninja. The boat can’t go any further. The rain ahead is too heavy.”
Shisui opened his eyes, lifted the boat curtain, and looked at the torrential rain ahead.
Counting out 1000 ryo, Shisui placed it in the boat’s cabin, then stood up, leaped onto the water’s surface, and attached Chakra to his feet.
The rain struck his body. He took a deep breath and ran towards his destination.
[Notification: An individual suspected to be Uchiha Shisui is running below, heading towards Hozuki Castle.]
Rimuru, floating above the clouds, was spacing out. Bat Wings flapped instinctively. Hearing Great Sage, his spirits instantly lifted.
“Uchiha Shisui, interesting. Why is Shisui here?”
“Never mind, I won’t think about it. My speed is much faster than Shisui’s. I’ll get the Box of Paradise first.”
Rimuru activated [Mind's Eye Clairvoyance], “seeing” Hozuki Castle a hundred kilometers away, and laughed with his hands on his hips.
“Hahahaha, I’ve arrived. Grass Hidden Village would never have imagined the Box of Paradise would disappear without a trace.”
Rimuru had never underestimated Grass Hidden Village. As a former modern person, he knew heroes were as numerous as the carp in a river.
Grass Hidden Village had spent decades setting up their plan, so they must have several backup plans. There might even be a larger force behind them, making it difficult for Rimuru to win by simply reacting to their moves.
Therefore, Rimuru decided to take a different approach—to flip the table directly.
That’s right, Rimuru intended to enter Hozuki Castle and use [Predator] to devour the Box of Paradise.
This action might seem reckless, but besides a madman or a genius, who would think of someone being able to infiltrate hundreds of meters underground and make tens of tons of the Box of Paradise disappear without a sound?
Dealing with the Box of Paradise was like this.
Grass Hidden Village needed to make many preparations to open the Box of Paradise.
However, Rimuru considered many more factors when he devoured the Box of Paradise.
In comparison, Rimuru held a significant advantage.
Flying rapidly to the sky above Hozuki Castle, Rimuru transformed into a Slime and descended towards Hozuki Castle amidst the strong winds and heavy rain.
After using [Great Sage] to mask the sensor barrier, Rimuru landed steadily on a pyramid-shaped roof.
[Optical Camouflage has been used.]
Through [Mind's Eye Clairvoyance], Rimuru instantly locked onto the room where the Box of Paradise was stored.
He rolled down the sloping roof, and the moment he landed, he used [Water Manipulation].
Water condensed into a one-millimeter-thin sheet, supporting the blue Slime and preventing any traces from being left behind.
Simultaneously, he wrapped his body in Magicules, and combined with the Shadowed Sealing Technique, it was enough to be immune to all sensory Ninjutsu.
Rimuru controlled the thin water sheet, like navigating a small boat, gliding silently through Hozuki Castle's intricate pathways.
The raindrops pattered loudly on the ground, masking the faint sounds of its movement.
With the aid of [Mind's Eye Clairvoyance], it constantly monitored the movements of the patrolling ninjas and skillfully avoided their sight.
“Arrived.” Rimuru looked up at the wooden door before him and the tall floors above.
This was the room of Mui, the Lord of Hozuki Castle, which connected to an underground passage.
Through [Mind's Eye Clairvoyance], he detected someone inside.
[Notification: The human inside is Mukyu, the son of Mui, Lord of Hozuki Castle.]
Rimuru slid to the window of the room.
He mixed [Paralysis Spray] into a ball of water and threw it through the window.
The instant it entered the room, [Water Manipulation] controlled the water ball, transforming it into countless invisible water droplets.
Those tiny water droplets spread silently through the air, slowly drifting towards Mukyu’s location.
Mukyu was sitting at his desk, flipping through books with annoyance. After all, in another 16 days, he would be offered as a sacrifice to the Box of Paradise.
Suddenly, his head grew heavy, and before he could react, he slumped onto the desk.
Seeing that Mukyu had taken the bait, Rimuru quickly jumped up, and 5-centimeter Bat Wings grew from his Slime body.
He used [Ultrasound] to neutralize the subtle sounds of the Bat Wings flapping, then flapped them desperately, carrying Rimuru through the window.
He flew to Mukyu's side, confirmed that Mukyu had completely lost consciousness, and then proceeded upwards along the wooden staircase.
Flying up six flights of stairs, Rimuru extended [Steel Wire] towards a bookshelf against the wall and pulled the third blue book from the left in the middle of the bookshelf.
As the book was pulled, the middle of the bookshelf recessed inward and then moved to the right, revealing a door.
Flying through the door, he found a spiral iron staircase inside.
[Notification: For every 100 meters descended, there is a Kusagakure Jonin on guard.]
Is that so?
Rimuru peered downwards. Below was an unfathomable darkness.
To be safe, he decided to jump directly.
Flying to the middle of the spiral staircase, Rimuru retracted his Bat Wings and let his body fall freely.
When he had descended about 100 meters, Rimuru “saw” the Kusagakure Jonin patrolling there. The Jonin was vigilantly watching the stairs ahead but didn't notice Rimuru falling from the middle.
Depositing all the way down, Rimuru saw eight Jonin.
Just before landing, Rimuru regenerated his Bat Wings and flapped them rapidly.
With a *snap*, Rimuru landed steadily.
Because the Box of Paradise could tempt people’s hearts, Grass Hidden Village had not sent anyone to guard this area.
After landing, Rimuru quickly surveyed his surroundings.
The lighting here was dim, with only a few oil lamps emitting a faint glow illuminating the area.
A smiling face looked directly at Rimuru.
The Smiling Face of the Box of Paradise.
Rimuru circled the Box of Paradise, observing it, and had Great Sage analyze it.
“Hmm, representing the four emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.”
Returning to the front of the Smiling Face, the Slime body began to enlarge, gradually covering the Box of Paradise.
[Predator] activated!
As [Predator] activated, Rimuru’s body became like a hungry beast, rapidly devouring the Box of Paradise.
“Phew.” Rimuru returned to the size of a table tennis ball.
Because the Box of Paradise contained thousands of years of accumulated negative emotions, Rimuru did not intend to analyze it immediately and decided to store it temporarily in his Stomach.
Even with [Emotion Control] and [Great Sage], Rimuru dared not guarantee he could withstand this onslaught of emotions.