Satori!

Inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the environment was eerily similar to the hell described in Fuma's past life.

The place was filled with skeletal creatures, their eyes glowing red with bloodlust, letting out pitiful cries.

Yet, they were condemned to sink into the blood-stained earth, their bones and flesh gradually dissolving into wisps of black smoke, eventually merging with the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

A chilling wind blew within the box, scraping against the skeletons, grinding away layers of bone dust.

This only heightened the resentment in their eyes, their hungry gazes fixed on the sole conscious being—Fuma. He was the only one among them still in control of his mind.

This hellish scene, however, did nothing to interfere with Fuma's meal. In fact, the atmosphere around him seemed to complement the Box of Ultimate Bliss without the slightest bit of disharmony.

*Crunch... Crunch... Crunch...*

Fuma picked up a leg bone and crushed it between his sharp teeth as if it were tofu, letting out a satisfied belch.

The pure negative energy was a rare delicacy in the Shinobi world, even among the many types of chakra Fuma had absorbed over the years.

Standing up, Fuma surveyed his surroundings. The surging energy of blood mingled with the hellish winds of the box, both competing to absorb the energy released by the dissolving skeletons.

When Fuma was first drawn into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the winds inside immediately tried to invade his mind, as if aiming to turn him into one of the mindless undead, eventually making him a part of the box itself.

Unfortunately for the box, Fuma possessed the power of [Inseparable Union]. His body and mind were deeply interconnected, and this illusion or spiritual invasion had no effect on him whatsoever.

"The Box of Ultimate Bliss truly is extraordinary," Fuma mused.

After Uchiha Madara made his wish from the outside world, the negative emotions within the Box of Ultimate Bliss coalesced into a physical entity, manifesting as a young version of Madara.

Although formed from negative energy, this demon was brimming with life force. If it were to merge with Madara, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.

But Fuma, unaffected by the box's control, easily tore apart the newly-formed young Madara, snatching away Madara's victory.

To Fuma's surprise, the shattered young Uchiha Madara didn't merge with him as expected. Instead, it dissipated into black smoke once again, vanishing into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, leaving Fuma with only a portion of the energy.

*Gulp... Gulp... Gulp...*

Fuma's blood energy devoured greedily, repairing his broken body.

Madara's final attack had torn apart Fuma's body, which hadn't sustained real damage in years, nearly pushing him to the brink of death.

"No wonder it's called Chibaku Tensei. The legendary technique that created the moon and sealed away Kaguya, the ancestor of all chakra," Fuma muttered.

The immense gravitational pull from the Chibaku Tensei core, combined with the repulsive force from three Shinra Tensei techniques, had left Fuma feeling utterly powerless. His body simply couldn't withstand such overwhelming force.

Fuma had no doubt that if he faced Madara in his prime, he would have been obliterated by Chibaku Tensei in an instant, with no chance of resistance. He would have merely become another tool to entertain Madara.

"But that old man should be on the verge of death now, right?" Fuma's eyes gleamed with a murderous light.

When Madara unleashed Chibaku Tensei, Fuma noticed his withered skin, the blood tears streaming from his Rinnegan, and his exhausted, helpless posture as he collapsed onto the ground—a clear sign of reaching his limit.

"And then there's Limbo: Hengoku. Using such advanced Rinnegan techniques must have taken a heavy toll on Madara as well," Fuma thought coldly.

"If I ever cross paths with him again, today's humiliation will be repaid a hundredfold."

This battle with Madara had left Fuma frustrated. He had essentially used his own blood as a means to wear down Madara, forced to endure the Uchiha's relentless attacks passively.

To put it bluntly, Fuma had been nothing more than a punching bag, and his only hope of victory lay in Madara exhausting himself to death.

At this point, Madara was in his old age, cautiously managing his chakra and still planning to use Fuma as a sacrifice. His slow, calculated strategy had cost him the chance to deal a killing blow, allowing Fuma to find an opening.

If Madara had unleashed his most powerful techniques at the start of the fight, with the intent to kill Fuma outright, the outcome of the battle might have been entirely different.

The clash with Madara also deepened Fuma's understanding of the Rinnegan. It was indeed a power capable of making one lose themselves—no wonder Nagato from the original timeline claimed to be a "god."

The foul-smelling wind mingled with Fuma's blood energy, transforming into pure energy that revitalized him. His body was healing at a visible rate, and something unexpected was happening within him.

Fuma closed his eyes, inspecting his abilities. [Earthly Furnace] was pulsating with excitement, its text gradually blurring, as though it was on the verge of evolution.

"Something's not right. This feels strange," Fuma thought.

The [Earthly Furnace] was a technique Fuma had created to stabilize his body with chakra. It was a balanced and steady ability, characterized by gradual, calculated growth.

The text of [Earthly Furnace] should have been bold and solid, exuding a solemn aura. But now, it was twisting, infused with a sense of violent greed.

"This evolution doesn't seem right," Fuma realized.

Whenever Fuma reached a new level of strength, his abilities would evolve along with him.

To ensure the best possible outcome, he would typically offer a fitting "sacrifice" before the final moment of evolution, rather than letting it happen naturally.

"How interesting... The influence of the Box of Ultimate Bliss is so powerful that it's affecting the evolution of my technique? No wonder this weapon was crafted by the Sage of Six Paths himself."

Fuma chuckled. Under the current circumstances, he had no choice but to let [Earthly Furnace] evolve as it wished.

For now, he needed to focus on restoring his strength and finding a way to escape from the Box of Ultimate Bliss as quickly as possible.

At that moment, the skeletons inside the box stopped their wailing and rose from the blood-soaked ground, slowly gathering in one direction.

Fuma frowned and punched out, shattering the skeletons into dust, but their fragments stubbornly floated back together, drawn by an unseen force, forming a single entity.

"hoho...what do we have here? A visitor? I haven't had a visitor for so looooong~"

A hoarse voice murmured. Accompanied by the chilling wind and dark energy, a massive demon appeared at the center of the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Fuma narrowed his eyes. He recognized this so-called demon. In the original timeline, this was the monster into which Mui's son had transformed, known as "Satori."

"Indra? It's been centuries, and you still haven't been fully killed by Asura?"

Satori gazed at Fuma, speaking slowly.

Clearly, the demon had mistaken Fuma for someone familiar.

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