Naruto: About the Fact That my Brother is Madara

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The western region of the Land of Fire, in a remote and unremarkable village

"I'm so exhausted…" Eri muttered, feeling a dull ache in her ankles.

After three days of forced marching, the squad had finally reached the border.

For over a year now, multiple regions within the Land of Fire had been plagued by incidents of villagers vanishing without a trace.

The intelligence division suspected that foreign ninja were stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

After all, even Senju Tobirama had secretly abducted ninjas from the Land of Lightning for the sake of developing his jutsu.

But what remained a mystery was—why target ordinary civilians?

If it were a case of human trafficking, it still wouldn't explain why even elderly grandmothers in their eighties were among the missing.

Who in the world had such… peculiar tastes?!

At first, Konoha hadn't taken the matter too seriously. But when three successive teams of shinobi disappeared, including squads led by jonin, the higher-ups finally began to realize the gravity of the situation.

It just so happened that Kyōsuke's disciples had been complaining about the dullness of their assignments, so he made a decision—he would personally take on this S-rank mission.

It would serve as a valuable experience for his students as well.

"Here, let me carry you." Haruto, seeing that Eri was struggling, didn't say much. He simply crouched down, offering her his back.

The princess had initially intended to refuse, but after a slight pause, her eyes flickered with thought. Blushing slightly, she allowed her companion to lift her onto his back.

"T-Thank you…" she murmured shyly.

"No need to be so formal. We're comrades now," Haruto replied naturally.

Not far away, Kurama Jun stroked his chin thoughtfully, as if he had just realized something.

"...Impressive," Kyōsuke silently shook his head. He couldn't help but think to himself—his son was already being wrapped around her little finger.

In matters like these, girls would always mature faster than boys.

Haruto, whose mind was entirely focused on training and becoming stronger, likely had no clue what romantic affection between the opposite sexes even meant.

To him, Eri and Jun were the same—companions he was determined to protect.

Had Jun been the one struggling just now, Haruto would have crouched down just as readily.

Watching quietly from the sidelines, Kyōsuke wasn't even sure whether he should commend his son for treating everyone so equally.

Setting aside the matters of the younger generation, he focused on expanding his sensory perception, remaining vigilant for any possible ambushes lurking in the shadows.

Before long, the squad arrived at the village entrance—the site of the most recent disappearance.

"Something's not right."

The moment they set foot in the village, Uchiha Haruto—who had the keenest perception—suddenly sensed that something was terribly amiss.

It was too quiet.

No matter what had happened, a rural village should never be this silent.

There were no voices, no footsteps. Not even the clucking of chickens, the quacking of ducks, or the distant barking of dogs.

A heavy sense of foreboding settled over them.

"Damn it, we're too late," Haruto muttered, his expression darkening. He turned to his teammates. "The situation is unclear. I'll send a shadow clone to scout ahead first."

"Got it."

"We'll follow your lead."

Seeing this, Kyōsuke nodded approvingly.

At least the brat wasn't completely reckless.

Had Haruto suggested splitting up, the enemy lurking in the shadows would have surely picked them off one by one.

In that case, let alone Eri—who specialized in healing—even Jun might not have had time to activate his kekkei genkai in the face of a surprise assault from multiple enemies.

Kyōsuke would have had to step in and clean up the mess himself.

And that would have defeated the whole purpose of this mission—training the squad.

BANG!

It wasn't long before Haruto's shadow clone uncovered their hidden foes—and the gruesome scene of countless corpses strewn across the ground, piled up as if awaiting transport.

"You bastards… who the hell are you?!" Haruto's anger erupted.

He hadn't expected this.

This group was completely insane—they had slaughtered an entire village, leaving not a single survivor.

Were they madmen?!

"Well, well… a bunch of brats this time, huh?" A mocking voice sounded.

From the shadows, a squad of unknown shinobi emerged.

Their leader swept his gaze over Kyōsuke—the only adult present—before curling his lips into a sneer.

"You don't need to know who we are," he said coldly.

"All you need to understand… is that soon, you too will become food."

Food?

Kyōsuke frowned in confusion.

The situation was turning out to be even more complicated than he'd anticipated.

"Leave their leader alive," he instructed his students.

This group was no weaklings—their leader alone possessed chakra on the level of an elite chunin.

Unfortunately for them, that was still far from enough to contend with his three disciples.

Illusions ensnared the enemy, while a swift body flicker technique cut them down in an instant.

Before Eri even had the chance to take action, the battle was already over.

Grabbing hold of the squad leader—whose legs had been completely crippled—Kyōsuke wasted no time with pointless interrogation. Instead, his Sharingan spun, casting a powerful genjutsu.

At once, the enemy's mind was stripped of resistance, forcing him to speak the truth.

"We… capture people… and send them… to Kusagakure…"

"…Hōzuki Castle."

— Hōzuki Castle.

A prison for shinobi, established by Kusagakure, under the commission of multiple nations.

It was located on a small island near Kusagakure, completely surrounded by the sea. The island derived its name from the ghostly lantern fruit—Hōzuki—which grew abundantly there.

The castle was always governed by a clan that specialized in the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison technique.

By branding prisoners with this sealing jutsu, they not only suppressed their chakra but also prevented any attempts at escape.

Even someone as powerful as Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, had once been unable to break free from this fire-based prison seal.

Yet, despite everything Kyōsuke had learned, one question remained unanswered—

Why was Hōzuki Castle abducting people on such a large scale?

Wait.

A sudden spark of realization flickered in Kyōsuke's mind.

He finally understood.

The Box of Ultimate Bliss!

These lunatics… they must be after that cursed box.

The Box of Ultimate Bliss—a mythical relic said to grant a single wish to whoever opens it.

According to legend, it was an ultimate weapon from the era of the Sage of Six Paths himself.

Its four sides bore four human faces, each representing an emotion: Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure.

In ancient times, Kusagakure had nearly conquered the entire world with the power of this box.

But what people did not realize was—

It never actually granted wishes at all.

Instead, within its depths lurked a monstrous entity, born from devastation and fear.

The tale passed down through history was not one of conquest—

But of near annihilation.

The entity sealed within the box had once brought the shinobi world to the brink of destruction.

Now that Kyōsuke had connected the dots, he was no longer surprised by Hōzuki Castle's actions.

However, an even deeper question emerged within him—

If the Box of Ultimate Bliss was so malevolent…

Then why did the Sage of Six Paths create it?

With Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's power, apart from Kaguya, no being in existence should have posed a threat to him.

So why would he forge such a terrifying artifact that consumed human lives?

Unless… it served some kind of purpose.

"If not meant for destruction, then perhaps… it was intended for an experiment."

"The Sage… Kaguya… devouring human life…"

"Human lives… which could also be understood as devouring chakra…"

A bold and unsettling thought suddenly took root in Kyōsuke's mind.

Could the Sage of Six Paths have used the Box of Ultimate Bliss to cultivate a Chakra Fruit—just like the God Tree?

Just like Kaguya had in the beginning—

But instead of harming innocent people, he slowly collected chakra from the prisoners inside Hōzuki Castle over centuries.

The process may have been slow, but time was on his side.

After thousands of years of accumulation, the chakra sealed within the box…

Might have reached an unfathomable level.

"…Maybe I'm overthinking this," Kyōsuke murmured, though his voice lacked conviction.

Yet, despite his words, his gaze burned with an intensity unlike ever before.

Because if his theory was right—

If there truly was a Chakra Fruit hidden within the Box of Ultimate Bliss…

Then could he seize it for himself?

Regardless of whether it was possible or not, Kyōsuke had already made up his mind.

He needed to visit Hōzuki Castle in person.

..

..

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[Chapter End's]

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