Following the Grass Ninja, Zou Hyuga concealed himself atop a roof.
He watched Orochimaru and the Grass Ninja enter the passage. He suspected that the Box of Ultimate Bliss was hidden beneath Kusagakure, and activating his Byakugan only confirmed that suspicion.
He could not see the Box of Ultimate Bliss itself, but he saw densely packed sealing jutsu formulas.
Although these sealing jutsu formulas were inferior to Konoha's, they effectively obstructed his Byakugan. To investigate further, he would have to sneak beneath Kusagakure.
But Zou Hyuga did not do so. Stealth was not his strong suit.
Entering rashly would only get him discovered by Kusagakure and Orochimaru. After that, there was no telling whether the Akatsuki would send reinforcements.
He did not want to draw the Akatsuki's attention and increase his risk of exposure for no reason.
In a sense, what he was doing was even more radical than Nagato's actions.
Before long, when he saw Orochimaru and Kimimaro emerge from the passage, Zou Hyuga slipped into the shadows and quietly returned to the inn in Kusagakure.
He had not been at the inn long when Oto returned from gathering intelligence, carrying some snacks. Upon seeing Zou Hyuga, she hurriedly said:
"Zou, there's been movement at Hozuki Castle lately. A large number of death row prisoners have been escorted to Kusagakure. It looks like they're going to be executed here."
Zou Hyuga nodded slightly. He remembered that opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss required absorbing an enormous amount of chakra.
Another of the Box of Ultimate Bliss's abilities was equally troublesome: devouring lives and creating mindless puppets.
Kusagakure's mass transport of prisoners undoubtedly indicated that the Box of Ultimate Bliss was about to open.
With that in mind, Zou Hyuga went out again.
After passing the mission reception office, Zou