The reason Grass Country had gone to such lengths to plant Karin in Konoha and steal the Nine-Tails was to activate the war weapon known as the Box of Paradise.
Earlier, after his archive access had been upgraded, Shinji had gone out of his way to investigate the Box of Paradise, just in case.
The Box of Paradise had been mentioned in many historical documents and legends.
Several hundred years ago, when the Shinobi World was still in the Warring States period, Grass Country had used the Box of Paradise to sweep through several neighboring nations and establish a vast empire.
During that era, Grass Country had indeed been able to throw its weight around in the Shinobi World.
However, the Box of Paradise was ultimately beyond the power of humans to tame.
As time passed, Grass Country gradually lost control of the Box of Paradise, and the empire that had risen thanks to it quickly collapsed.
That chapter of history slowly faded into the past.
After the First brought an end to the age of chaos, the Shinobi World bid farewell to the tumultuous Warring States period and entered a relatively stable era of hidden villages.
Grass Country soon established its own shinobi village, Kusagakure. But once the age of hidden villages began, Kusagakure's strength was no match for the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It quickly became a second-rate village and lost all influence in the Shinobi World.
The harsh reality and the glory of the past made the shinobi of Kusagakure suffer under the weight of the contrast. So they pinned their hopes on the Box of Paradise, hoping to use the war weapon to rise to power once more.
"Perhaps that's why demons were able to infiltrate Kusagakure so easily!"
Shinji sighed.
He hadn't been idle these