If I Had a Genius Son, I'd Definitely Sacrifice Him to Open the Box of Paradise

After listening to Katsushiro's account, Mui's brow furrowed deeply.

The Box of Paradise was a treasured possession of Kusagakure. They thought their security was impeccable, but somehow word had leaked, and now Konohagakure had its sights set on it.

"Hmph."

The elder Kusagakure ninja, wearing a dog-head mask, let out a cold snort, his voice filled with indignation. "They're going too far, they're simply going too far."

"Mui, if Konohagakure doesn't get the Box of Paradise, they won't give up. It's time to make a decision."

The Ox-head elder next to him sighed deeply, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

Hearing this, Mui's expression stiffened slightly.

A year ago, Kusagakure's branch had made a breakthrough in their research on the Box of Paradise.

The four elders speculated that sacrificing Muku had a chance of opening the Box of Paradise.

However, Mui was unwilling to sacrifice his son.

Things had been dragging on until now.

Now that Konohagakure was after the Box of Paradise, they might return at any time.

Mui knew he had to make a decision, but he was a father. What father in the world would be cruel enough to sacrifice his own son?

"Mui, the Box of Paradise is the only hope for the revival of Kusagakure."

"If I had a genius son, I would definitely sacrifice him to open the Box of Paradise."

The Monkey-head elder's voice was sharp.

As he uttered these utterly shameless words, his tone was righteous, as if he truly had a genius son to be sacrificed.

"The three of you may leave first."

The oldest and most senior, the Sheep-head elder, waved his hand, signaling the three to depart.

"Hey, Mui, don't forget your responsibility as a leader, and don't forget that the entire Kusagakure isn't decided by you alone."

Before leaving, the Monkey-head elder said meaningfully.

After the others had left one by one, the Sheep-head elder suddenly knelt before Mui.

"Elder, what are you doing?" Mui quickly helped the Sheep-head elder up.

The Sheep-head elder waved his hand, his expression filled with grief.

"Mui, just let me kneel."

"Do you know, I've never hated myself as much as I do now."

"A few months ago, when the three of them conspired to use extreme measures against your son and tried to recruit me, I firmly refused them."

"But now... I'm wavering."

Hearing this, Mui coldly withdrew his arm from supporting the Sheep-head elder and turned his back to him.

"Mui, you have to believe me. If there were any other choice, no one would choose this path."

Mui said coldly, "So, what exactly did my son do wrong to deserve being sacrificed by you?"

"His mistake was living in Kusagakure, and his mistake was being your son."

"..."

Mui closed his eyes in pain. "If I don't agree, do you plan to take me down first?"

Thwack.

The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.

Mui's head snapped around. He saw that the Sheep-head elder had, at some point, produced a kunai and ruthlessly stabbed himself in the chest.

Gurgle!

The Sheep-head elder pulled out the kunai and stabbed himself in the chest two more times.

Warm blood splattered onto Mui's face, leaving him bewildered.

"Mui, I deserve to die, I truly deserve to die, and those three deserve to die as well."

"But I hope you can prioritize the bigger picture... open the Box of Paradise, destroy Konohagakure, and lead... lead Kusagakure to dominate the ninja world."

Mui stared at the corpse lying in a pool of blood, frozen in place.

Stopping and starting along the way, Neji and the other three finally returned to Kumogakure successfully a month later.

After temporarily settling Kana and her daughter at Yugito's home, Neji and Yugito went to the Raikage's building to hand over their mission. They then proceeded directly to the Raikage's building to report the entire trip to Kusagakure to the Fourth Raikage A.

Upon hearing that opening the Box of Paradise could grant one wish, the Fourth Raikage A scoffed, calling the people of Kusagakure delusional dreamers.

However, when he learned that Neji had rescued an Uzumaki mother and daughter from Kusagakure, the Fourth Raikage A excitedly smashed the table with his fist.

This left Dodai speechless as he instructed someone to replace it with a reinforced iron table.

Finally, after careful consideration, the Fourth Raikage A classified the Kusagakure expedition as top secret, sealing it in a file bag accessible only to the Raikage.

The Fourth Raikage A looked at Neji and chuckled, "Neji, what reward do you want?"

Neji sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "I want a house... to settle them, mother and daughter."

"Hahaha."

Seeing Neji's embarrassed expression, the Fourth Raikage A couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Beside him, Dodai's lips curved slightly, and he then handed Neji a land deed, "This is a building under the Lord Raikage's name. It's secluded and quiet, take good care of it."

"Thank you, Lord Raikage, thank you, Senior Dodai." Neji gratefully accepted the deed.

Housing prices in the ninja world are not just high, they're exorbitant.

In the original timeline, Sakura was still worried about her mortgage after marriage.

One reason was that Sasuke neglected his family, constantly running off everywhere.

Another was the sky-high housing prices in Konohagakure.

Kumogakure was built on a plateau, making every inch of land precious and natural resources scarce, but the housing prices were astronomical.

Relying on Neji alone to earn enough through missions to buy a house would take ages.

"The deed is a personal gift from me. This is the village's true reward for you."

Neji was a little surprised.

There was more good news?!

The Fourth Raikage A produced a scroll. As chakra was infused into it, an oval jade jar appeared before Neji.

"What is this?!"

Seeing the object, Yugito's pupils contracted sharply, her face filled with shock.

"The Amber Bottle, a ninja tool left behind by the Sage of Six Paths, and its most powerful one at that. It's hailed as the ultimate divine artifact capable of sealing anything in the world. After the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers died, the Amber Bottle was shelved. Now, it belongs to you."

The Fourth Raikage A said to Neji slowly.

"A good item."

Neji didn't stand on ceremony. He patted the bottle's body and directly put it into his storage.

Neji was somewhat surprised that Yozuki A would gift him a Sage of Six Paths tool, but honestly, he wasn't shocked.

Putting aside the Tenseigan for now, just bringing the Uzumaki bloodline to the village was a great contribution, worthy of a precious reward.

Besides, any ninja tool, no matter how good, if left gathering dust, was equivalent to scrap.

It wasn't Neji boasting, but the Amber Bottle would only be used to its full potential in his hands.

Dodai suddenly spoke, "Neji, be careful these days."

Neji raised an eyebrow, "Someone's looking for trouble with me?"

The Fourth Raikage A sighed and said, "Every family has its own troubles. Even though I'm the Raikage, I can't have absolute control within the clan. A while ago, the clan head, Yozuki Fengmu, approached me, looking to find a group for you... I indirectly refused him by saying you have high standards and wouldn't fancy girls from the Yozuki clan."

Hearing this, Neji's mouth twitched slightly.

You call that an indirect refusal?

Neji rubbed his temples, "So, the Yozuki clan head wants to cause trouble for me?"

The Fourth Raikage A waved his hand, "That's unlikely. I know Fengmu; he wouldn't bully a junior by relying on his status. It's some hot-tempered young women within the clan who are planning to make a move on you."

Neji breathed a sigh of relief, "That's for the best."

Dodai cautioned, "The Raikage can't easily interfere in matters between you young people. If things escalate, you can come to me."

Neji grinned, "Don't worry, Senior Dodai, I can handle it."

The Fourth Raikage A would definitely prefer Neji to resolve this himself.

If Neji asked Dodai for help, both the Fourth Raikage A and Neji himself would be disappointed.