Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

"God Lord!"

Mako's tearful appearance instantly ignited the long-suppressed anger within Shinka. The ominous door atop the Chest of Bliss was a place of no return; once inside, there was no escape. He then unleashed a pale blue light from his palms and struck at the guards escorting the girl.

"Hair-piercing palm strike!"

The divine fire, fueled by rage, was so powerful that even a captain-level ninja would have to temporarily evade its attack. However, the guards were clearly not strong enough to be captain-level.

"Bang!"

"Thump~"

Before they could even scream, their hearts were blasted apart by the ghostly divine fire. Moments later, only three people remained alive in the entire area.

"Sorry I'm late."

Protecting the panicked Zhenzi behind him, Shenhuo faced the elder with a slightly cold expression. Time had passed, but this familiar scene filled the three present with mixed feelings.

"Divine Fire, you shouldn't have come."

The elder looked at the stubborn Shenhuo and sighed slightly. He had always treated this young man as his disciple and had not only taken him out of the chakra training camp where he could only enter and not leave, but also taught him many of the secret techniques of the Kusagakure style.

"Elder, I'm sorry, Mako is more important to me than my own life."

Slowly reaching for his sword, even though the two were now on opposite sides, Shenhuo still showed great respect for the elder. If it weren't for this old man, he and Zhenzi would have starved to death on the streets long ago, becoming food for other refugees. So when he drew his sword, his face was filled with deep apology.

"Boom!"

"Sigh~ You just ruined your last chance at life."

Having lived for so many years, the elder had witnessed all sorts of life, death, love, and hate, so he was not moved by the bond between Shenhuo and Zhenzi. His expression remained indifferent. After hearing the eager plea of ​​the Box of Bliss, he shook his head with some regret and said something that left the two of them bewildered.

"Elder, you're getting old; you might not be my match."

Shenhuo, who had recently been promoted to elite captain, was very confident in his abilities. In his view, the elder, who was already on his last legs, was no match for him, a young man.

"Get out of my way, Elder, I don't want to hurt you."

He brandished his sword, executing a beautiful flourish, and Shenhuo's tone carried a faint threat. The reason he had just used his lightning speed to instantly kill several fully armed guards was to intimidate the elder and make him back down.

"If you hadn't killed them, you might have had a chance to survive."

The elder remained unmoved by the threat of the divine fire. Instead, he looked with some regret at the guards lying lifeless on the ground. If these people were still alive, they could completely replace the woman named Zhenzi. However, due to the youth's impulsiveness, someone in the arena had to become a sacrifice for the Box of Bliss.

"I don't want any reinforcements coming. I've already knocked out all the fighters outside. No one will be coming anytime soon."

To ensure his own safety, Shenhuo used his position to knock out and tie up his colleagues who came to protect him, thinking that if Zhenzi really encountered any danger, he would forcibly take them away and fly away.

"You young people are still too impatient."

The elder was deeply disappointed by Shenhuo's unorthodox behavior. His cloudy eyes held a strange look, making the two of them feel uneasy.

"Bang!"

Knowing that the longer he delayed, the less likely he was to escape, Shenhuo disregarded his unease and brandished his sword, charging towards the elder who stood frozen in place.

"God Lord!"

As the blade of divine fire was about to strike the old man, Mako's childhood memories flooded back. This kind old man, who was like a loving father, had truly saved her and the God-King from the brink of death. They could not, under any circumstances, turn their swords against the old man who had saved their lives.

"Don't worry, I won't kill him. At most, I'll leave him unconscious for a while."

The divine fire that used the back of the blade to attack did not really intend to harm the old man; at most, it would knock him unconscious so that they could take the opportunity to escape.

"Divine Fire, I'll teach you one last lesson."

Facing the sharp wind of the blade, the elder did not dodge. Instead, he slowly raised a large, wrinkled hand. As a flame-like red light shone, he spoke in a very cold voice.

"Do not be soft-hearted towards anyone who stands in your way."

The next moment, Shenhuo, who was wielding the sword, felt as if his whole body was being scorched by flames. The chakra he had just refined also disappeared instantly, and his dried-up meridians lost all vitality. Unable to bear the excruciating pain, he fell to the ground in a sorry state, letting out painful howls.

"Ah~ Ah~ Ah!"

"God Lord!"

The sudden turn of events caused Mako, who was already worried, to cry out in alarm. She stumbled and ran to Shinka's side. Seeing the young man's pained expression, the girl quickly checked his condition and discovered that red, tread-like lines had appeared out of nowhere on his skin, radiating a scorching heat.

"This is."

Shenhuo, who was having difficulty breathing, forced himself to prop his head up despite the pain, and looked at the old man whose red light had dissipated. The doubt in his eyes lingered for a long time.

"Divine Fire, if you endure a few more years, you might also be qualified to learn this move."

[Fire Release: Heavenly Prison]

This technique is a secret art unique to the Elder lineage. It involves driving chains that bind chakra into the enemy's body, restricting their chakra refining, and simultaneously rendering them unable to fight.

"Hmm"

Unexpectedly, the old man had been hiding a divine fire. His face was full of resentment. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't open his mouth no matter what. However, the two had already broken off relations. The former master-disciple relationship had vanished the moment the conflict started.

"Elder! Please, spare the Divine Lord! I'm willing to go in!"

Unable to bear watching the divine fire suffer, Mako wiped away her tears, stood up, and gave a bitter smile.

"No! Mako!"

Upon hearing this, Shenhuo struggled to his feet, but the fiery chains binding him twisted his expression into a ferocious grimace.

"Elder, I'll do anything if you can spare Zhenzi!"

It was a scene that seemed all too familiar. After listening to it, the elder suddenly pictured a dirty buttock in his mind, and his mood instantly soured.

"Divine Fire, if you want her to live, then go in."

An ungrateful wretch is a nuisance if left unchecked; it's better to let him contribute his remaining energy to the rise of the Grass Kingdom.

"."

Upon hearing this, Shenhuo paused, turned to look at the dark door of the Chest of Bliss, and nodded without hesitation.

"Elder, please keep your promise and do not harm Mako."

"Hmph! As long as the Chest of Bliss is successfully opened, I have no interest in arguing with a brat."

The elder snorted coldly, showing his deep disdain. Once the Box of Bliss is opened, their Land of Grass will once again lead the ninja world. At that time, they will have no time to care about these worthless nobodys.

"good!"

Hearing the elder's words, Shenhuo felt relieved. He looked down at the girl whose face was covered in tears and gently stroked her head.

"Mako, please take good care of yourself after I'm gone, and don't go hungry."

"My Lord, no!"

Sensing the young man's determination, the girl hugged him tightly around the waist, tears streaming down her face as if they were free.

"Aaaaaah~ Be gentle, it's going to break!"

The girl's slender arms nearly broke his waist, and Shenhuo screamed as he slapped her back, signaling her to let go.

"Ah! I'm sorry, God."

Seeing that Shenhuo was barely breathing, the girl quickly released her grip, her face flushing slightly.

"Phew~ How come you're getting stronger and stronger? But I'm relieved now. If anyone bullies you in the future, just give them a stun gun."

Panting heavily, Shenhuo, looking like he had just escaped a calamity, let out a long sigh and patted the girl's shoulder before speaking.

"God-King."

Looking at the divine fire that she had defeated in one move, a bold idea suddenly popped into Mako's mind.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the Box of Bliss, which exuded a chilling aura, Mako Zero Frame started her attack, suddenly raising her leg and delivering an electric cannon to the Divine Fire who was about to say some last words.

Click!

Note: The sound of an egg breaking~

"ah!!!"

The divine fire, suddenly struck hard, turned red instantly. He clutched his groin and began rolling on the ground. The elder, who was also male, saw this and, even though his testicles had long been neglected, he couldn't help but turn pale and instinctively covered his crotch.

"My Lord, I'm sorry, but it's because you're such an idiot."

The girl smiled calmly at the fallen divine fire.

"Mako, what do you want to do?"

"Gurgle~"

"Sigh~ Lord God, what if you die of hunger? Will you become a starving ghost?"

Gently stroking the head of the divine fire, the girl stood up, regretfully rubbing her rumbling stomach. Then, with her back to the door of the Chest of Bliss, she leaped into the air, freezing her final image in the dim eyes of the divine fire.

"No!!!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As the final offering was made, the Chest of Elysium let out a satisfied groan, and a black aura containing an aura of destruction suddenly rose up, as if the end of the world was about to arrive.

"It's done! It's done!"

Upon seeing this, the elder's icy face revealed excitement for the first time. He trembled as he stared intently at the full Chest of Bliss, waiting for the moment to make a wish.

"Mako!"

The fallen Shenhuo cried out miserably, his heart consumed by regret, barking helplessly.

"Stop calling her name. It is her honor to become a sacrifice. When the Land of Grass unites the ninja world in the future, I will engrave her name on a monument."

Compared to unifying the ninja world, this guy Shenhuo seems insignificant. Anyway, he's already under the control of the Heavenly Prison and can't cause any trouble. Let him witness the rise of the Grass Country before he dies!

"Boom~ Boom~"

The elder waited quietly for the Chest of Bliss to be opened. With a rumbling sound, the Chest of Bliss slowly withdrew the black energy that had been escaping. The dark door still exuded a cold aura, as if it were waiting for something.

"I've finally waited for this!"

Sensing something, the elder excitedly raised his hand and shouted towards the dark gate before him.

"Box of Bliss! Please let our Land of Grass once again become a part of this world!"

"Gurgle~"

"World"

"Gurgle~ gurgle~"

"Whose stomach is growling?!"

The wishing process was interrupted several times by eerie gurgling sounds. The sullen elder turned his head and scanned the entire scene, trying to find the culprit.

"It wasn't me."

As one of only two living people in the arena, Shenhuo subconsciously shook his head, feeling quite puzzled himself.

Why does that stomach growl sound so familiar?

"Pat-pat~ Pat-pat~"

Seeing the gurgling sound disappear, the elder, knowing which was more important, was about to continue making a wish when a series of piercing footsteps suddenly rang in his ears.

Sensing something, the elder immediately turned his gaze toward the source of the sound, only to witness a scene that left him speechless.

"Mako?!"

Shenhuo also turned his gaze over, and he exclaimed in surprise, his voice full of joy.

"Pat-pat~ Pat-pat~"

A pretty figure slowly emerged from the door of the Chest of Bliss, her small, white feet making a soft, pattering sound on the cold ground.

After the girl left, the once lively Box of Bliss instantly fell silent, and no matter how the elder called out, there was no response.

"How is that possible? What did you do?"

The elder reached out his hand with trembling hands, his usually indifferent face filled with deep astonishment.

"Mako!"

Shenhuo was unaware of the terrifying nature of the Box of Bliss. In his eyes, there was only the girl he had lost and found. Overjoyed, he struggled to his feet and ran toward the silent girl.

"Don't go over there!"

However, the elder's loud shout abruptly brought the divine fire to a halt.

"It's not her!"

With a gloomy expression, the elder scrutinized the quiet girl for a moment before speaking coldly.

"ha?"

How could he mistake a living person standing right in front of him? Shenhuo ignored the elder's warning and continued to walk, but a series of hoarse murmurs made his outstretched foot stop in mid-air.

"Eat."

The girl who returned from the door was quiet for a moment, then suddenly grinned and revealed a strange smile. Then, to the astonishment of the two, she flashed to the side of the guard's corpse that had been instantly killed by the divine fire, and her cold eyes blazed with red light.

"Mako, what are you doing?"

The girl named Mako remained unmoved by the call of the divine fire. Facing the bloody corpse on the ground, a wisp of black mist emanated from it, instantly enveloping the lifeless guard on the ground.

Both Shenhuo and the elder, their faces ashen, felt a chill run down their spines.

"Hmm"

However, her charming appearance did not please the two people present; instead, it instilled a deep sense of fear in them.

"Elder! What's going on?"

Divine Fire gritted his teeth and questioned the elder.

"Impossible, our ancestors never recorded anything like this."

The elder was too lazy to answer the question about the divine fire; with his brows furrowed, he was only concerned about why the Box of Bliss had malfunctioned.

"Fine, I'll take you down first!"

The girl who emerged from the Box of Bliss is now the only clue. The elder no longer hesitated, raised his reddened palms, and released the Heavenly Prison Technique on Mako, awakening the restraints that had long been planted in her body.

"Sizzle~ Sizzle~"

However, the result was a huge surprise to the elder. Chain-like patterns first appeared on the girl's body, but they were quickly swallowed up by the black mist emanating from her skin. No matter how he tried to activate the Heavenly Prison Technique, it remained unresponsive.

"What kind of monster are you?"

Ever since the girl came out, the elder has no longer regarded her as a normal human being. Her behavior just now, as well as her disregard for the Heavenly Prison Technique, directly led the elder to expel her from the human realm and classify her as a monster.

"Eat."

As if hearing the elder's angry shouts, the squinting girl slowly turned her head, her scarlet eyes instantly locking onto him.

"What do you want to do?"

Although Mako's eyes were terrifying, the elder, who had absolute confidence in his strength, did not back down and instead glared back.

"Whoosh~"

Hungry Mako wasn't going to tolerate the elder's bad habits. This food dared to glare at her, so she decided to try it first. Her pretty figure disappeared from the spot in an instant.

"what!"

When the elder saw that Zhenzi had disappeared, he immediately formed a hand seal with one hand, assuming a ready stance. However, he only felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a piercing pain in his arm. Looking down, he saw that the hand he had been forming the hand seal with had vanished. The intense pain made him scream in agony.

"eat"

Shinji appeared in a flash not far away, holding a bloodied arm in his hand, and once again exhaled black mist from his mouth, engulfing it.

"monster"

After enduring the pain to stop his bleeding, a hint of apprehension flashed in the elder's eyes. He desperately wanted to know the origins of this monster in human skin.

"Eat."

As if she only knew the word "eat," after tasting the elder's arm, the girl fixed her gaze on him again, her pink tongue licking her full lips, her eyes full of thirst for food.

"not good!"

The elder's heart tightened, and he could no longer hold back. He raised his only remaining hand, and a red light flashed. The combatants on duty outside suddenly felt a surge of heat in their bodies.

"Huh? What happened?"

The lower-ranking combatants panicked, thinking they had been ambushed by the enemy.

"Oh no! Quick, get to the elders!"

A few senior members who knew the Heavenly Prison Technique immediately felt a chill when they saw the chains emerging from his body. This was a signal left by the elders; he was in danger.

"Bang! Bang!~"

Amidst a cacophony of footsteps, all the combatants on duty were in position. Several of them, looking rather grim, pointed at the divine fire within the arena and shouted...

"Divine Fire, why did you ambush us?"

"That's right, that's right~"

"You bastard, you're not thinking of becoming a rogue ninja, are you?"

"Shut up! Take her down first!"

The elder, who only had one hand left, coldly silenced the chattering combatants, pointed at Mako beside him, and gave an order.

"Oh? Elder, how did you get so badly injured?"

Only then did the combatants realize that the elder, who had always been as steady as a mountain, had lost an arm.

"yes!"

Without delay, everyone drew their weapons and surrounded the silent Mako.

"Let's do it!"

Everyone exchanged a knowing glance and then rushed forward in unison.

"No!"

The divine fire, restrained by the Heavenly Prison Technique, could only bark helplessly from the sidelines, its hateful gaze seeming to devour the elder.

"What is this?"

"what!"

However, facing the menacing fighters, Mako grinned happily, and the black mist from her mouth instantly filled the entire scene. After a brief moment of confusion, everyone was entangled by the black mist and then let out terrified screams.

The elder who witnessed all of this turned ashen-faced. This monster born from the Box of Bliss must have something special about her, and since it concerns the great plan for the rise of the Grass Kingdom, he must study it thoroughly.

"What are you afraid of? Keep going!"

The first wave of fighters left no trace except for screams. The others stood there in fear, looking at each other, too afraid to go forward. When the elder saw this, he slowly raised his hand. The scorching heat made the remaining fighters swallow hard.

"Mako!"

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Shenhuo, who had been offline for a long time, stumbled over to the elder. Upon seeing this, the combatants all turned their attention to the elder, awaiting his orders.

"Don't worry about it, let him go."

The combatants made way for him, and Shinka, with a sorrowful expression on his face, slowly walked up to Mako.

"Eat."

Faced with the food delivered to her door, Mako tilted her head, slowly opened her mouth, and prepared to enjoy the delicious meal.

"Mako, I'm sorry."

Sensing that he was being locked onto by a terrifying aura, Shenhuo gave a bitter smile, laboriously raised his hand, and gently stroked the girl's hair before him.

"Eat, Eat, God, Lord."

The familiar caresses caused the girl with bloodshot eyes to waver slightly, and the elder was also attracted by this scene, his cloudy eyes darting between the two.

"Mako."

"The God of Eating"

The girl's body began to tremble violently, and the black breath from her mouth was tinged with a dark red. She raised her head and looked deeply at the helpless young man. Then, Mako's body went limp and she collapsed into his arms.

"Elder, what should we do now?"

The cannibalistic girl suddenly fainted, and the remaining fighters had no choice but to ask the elder for orders.

"Send them to prison and keep them in separate cells."

After a moment of contemplation, the elder said in a cold voice.

"yes!"

After imprisoning Mako, the elder first used the strongest material in the Land of Grass to forge a pair of shackles, and then placed several seals on the girl to barely control her riot.

After completing all the preparations, the elder, despite his severe injuries, began a detailed study and discovered that the girl needed to consume large amounts of fresh flesh and blood every day, otherwise the escaping black mist would frantically erode the seal he had placed.

After the seal was broken, the girl, still bound by her shackles, began to wreak havoc, attacking the researchers present. Whenever this happened, the divine fire that had been kept aside came in very handy. As long as it was brought in front of the rioting girl, the man-eating monster would fall into a brief silence, and the elders could take the opportunity to reapply the seal.

This use indirectly saved Shenhuo's life, but it also became a torment to his soul.

Just when Shenhuo thought that such days would never end, a huge coup occurred among the high-ranking members of the ninja clan in the Land of Grass. The one-armed elder was no match for the rising stars and was ruthlessly swept away by the new generation. He died without solving the mystery of the Box of Bliss and went to the Pure Land with regret.

The moment the elder died, the numb Shenhuo in the prison felt a sudden lightness in his body. The restraints of the Heavenly Prison Technique disappeared, but due to years of imprisonment, he had become a cripple and was unable to escape the cage.

But Mako was different. With the elder dead, the seal on her body was quickly worn away by the black mist. Freed from her restraints, she devoured everyone in the prison except for the divine fire, and then disappeared into the darkness.

Not long after, the new leader of the Grass Ninja loosened the guard on the Divine Fire, giving him an opportunity to secretly rehabilitate. On a dark and windy night, he successfully killed the jailer and escaped from the prison.

With the girl's divine fire still etched in his heart, and his eyes glazed over as he stared blankly at the road ahead, he picked up a worn-out sword from the roadside and began his search for his wife.

From the west end of the Land of Grass to the east end, the young man transformed from a handsome young man into a disheveled, bearded middle-aged man. Until he wandered all the way to a small town in the Land of Fire, where he heard rumors about cannibals, which rekindled his hope.

Looking at the anxious old town mayor before him, the frail and thin Shenhuo gently stroked the worn-out sword at his waist and slowly spoke.

"My name is Kagami! I'm a ninja from the Land of Grass. I heard you have a mission assigned to you?"

P.S.: I've finally finished writing this little side story. Some people say I'm just padding it out, but how could someone as diligent as me be padding it out?

n(｀^)n

Every character I create has a reason for existing. (End of Chapter)