Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

Normally, when Naruto returns to his room, he uses Shadow Clones to practice the techniques in the Scroll of Seals.

This time, however, Naruto's gaze was drawn to the white envelope lying flat on the desk against the wall.

Guards leaving the apartment to work must keep the doors open to prevent prisoners from hiding inside.

That's why the guard who took over from Naruto before was able to enter his room so easily.

"Girlfriend."

Naruto picked up the envelope and turned it over to check if it had been opened by someone else.

After confirming that everything was alright, Naruto tore open the envelope and took out the letter inside.

The letter contained mostly mundane, everyday chatter that was of no value to Naruto.

But upon closer reading, these everyday chatter items are full of incongruities.

The letter writer repeatedly mentioned the ghost lantern grass that grows everywhere outside the Ghost Lantern Castle.

That's nothing, but the letter writer had two confusing names for the ghost lantern plant.

One name for it is "ghost lantern grass".

This name appears extensively in the parts of the letter related to the ghost lantern plant.

However, a small number of names for the ghost lantern grass are extremely awkward: "the red ghost lantern grass that has not yet fully grown and can cure diseases."

The "unripened red lantern grass with medicinal properties" you sent me last time has proven surprisingly effective in medicine—therefore, there's no need to send any more. Also, I've missed you terribly since we last met.

This section doesn't seem problematic when viewed alone.

But when placed within the context of the entire letter, Naruto felt it was incredibly out of place.

Naruto read the letter again and realized that this part was some kind of code.

However, he is not the real "Sakakibara," and interpreting this passage as a code is the limit; he has no way of deciphering the true meaning of the code.

Just then, someone knocked on Naruto's door.

Naruto put the letter away and opened the door.

"Sakakibara, new prisoners have been brought in. You're the one in charge of prisoner inspections this week, right?"

The person knocking on Naruto's door was his colleague, who was delivering a work message to him.

"At this time?"

Naruto raised his questions in the usual manner of "Sakakibara".

"It's been like this lately, with a batch of prisoners being sent over every now and then—hurry up, Lord Wuwei has already gone over there to cast 'Fire Release: Heavenly Prison' on those prisoners."

"My colleague on duty urged me on."

"I see."

Naruto returned to his room, picked up the helmet from the bed, and put it back on his head.

After leaving the apartment, we headed to the prisoner's physical examination room.

Where are the prisoners I'm in charge of?

Outside the inspection room, Naruto asked the person in charge.

"The eight prisoners in temporary detention cell number 7."

"I see."

Naruto nodded and glanced at the prisoners in cell number 7.

Then Naruto immediately realized who the guard he was impersonating, named "Sakakibara," really was, and who his "girlfriend" was.

Dragon tongue.

Chapter 3 Corpse

Ryuusei, the ANBU of Kusagakure.

They belong to the "Kusa no Hana" faction, which seeks to develop Kusagakure Village in a peaceful manner.

They are in opposition to the "Kusa no Mi" faction, which controls Hozuki Castle and is led by the pro-war faction.

After completing the formal pre-prison physical examinations for the remaining prisoners in temporary detention cell number 7, Naruto called Ryuzetsu to the examination room.

Ryuzetsu's appearance was no different from what Naruto remembered.

A green headscarf wrapped around her long white hair, and half of her face was covered by long white bangs.

Naruto sat in the chair in the examination room, his eyes fixed on the prisoner information that the head of the examination room had given him earlier.

Apart from the photos, all the information about Longshe, starting with its name, is fake.

Naruto reached out and rhythmically tapped the table.

"I just handed over my shift and was just reading letters in my apartment."

He said.

It seemed like just a casual remark, a complaint about suddenly having to work overtime.

It also seemed like they were testing something.

"No wonder I didn't see any surprise in your eyes."

Ryuzetsu did indeed respond to Naruto's "talking to himself".

Moreover, the tone of voice did not resemble the attitude one would expect between a prisoner and a guard.

Naruto didn't say anything, he just continued tapping the table with his fingers.

"You're not really going to make me take my clothes off, are you?"

Ryuusei looked at Naruto and spoke.

This statement finally confirmed Naruto's identity as "Sakakibara".

Naruto never expected that the guard he randomly chose to borrow his identity from in order to infiltrate Hozuki Castle was actually a spy.

The original work mentions that there are "Kusa no Hana" spies among the guards of Hozuki Castle.

But that should be something that happens "three years from now".

But then I thought about it again, and spies are exactly the kind of people who are "three years after three years".

Naruto never expected that... he would become the "spy".

"Does this 'flower' guy really want you, a woman, to go to a prison full of men?"

Naruto's attitude towards Ryuzetsu was lukewarm.

It sounded like he was expressing concern for Longshe, but it also carried a businesslike tone.

He had no idea how much Ryusei knew about "Sakakibara," nor did he know how "Sakakibara" should behave towards Ryusei.

But Naruto was certain that the "letter from his girlfriend" was just a pretense.

This is probably the method by which "Sakakibara" transmits information and receives orders from within Hozuki Castle.

“I know you have grievances in your heart, but you are certainly aware that ‘flower’s’ situation is not optimistic, aren’t you?”

Naruto did not respond to Ryuzetsu's question.

The more she said, the more mistakes she made, and judging from Ryusei's attitude towards her, she clearly hadn't realized that the "Sakakibara" in front of her had already been replaced.

"The Grass Village is now in the hands of the 'real' faction. In the several sieges by the 'real' faction, the 'flower' has long lost its last stable ground for development, and there are not many survivors."

Despite the despairing reality, Ryuze still held onto hope: "Besides, I saw the Box of Elysium with my own eyes in Hozuki Castle. Among the 'Flowers,' no one is more suitable to infiltrate Hozuki Castle than me—I must stop Mui from sacrificing Karin to the Box of Elysium!"

"That's why, immediately after writing the secret letter, I rushed into Hozuki Castle on the day you were in charge of inspecting the prisoners."

Hearing Longshe suddenly mention korin.

Naruto finally understood the meaning of the coded message about the ghost lantern grass in the previous letter.

"Not yet fully developed" refers to age;

Treating illness refers to physical constitution;

The color of the ghost lantern is a characteristic of Karin's appearance.

Knowing the answer before looking at the question made Naruto feel that the coded language was no different from plain language.

"I understand. Let's end the conversation here. If the guards and prisoners stay in the examination room for too long, it will be noticed... I will find an opportunity to cooperate with you later."

Naruto was suddenly drawn into the political infighting of Kusagakure, but he took it all in stride.

He appeared to be taking Longshe seriously, but he was actually just trying to get rid of her first.

Naruto had no interest in the factional conflict between "real" and "flower" elements, nor did he have any interest in the uncontrollable power of the Box of Elysium.

He could have taken Karin away by himself a long time ago.

However, Hozuki Castle is indeed a very suitable place for Naruto to study the Book of Sealing.

Without worrying about Konoha getting a chance to catch its breath, they should start dealing with this traitorous Jinchuriki.

Karin won't have any problems for the time being, which is why Naruto has been holding back at Hozuki Castle.

But the arrival of Ryuzetsu forced Naruto to end this period of comfort for him.

Who knows if the Grass Ninja, who belong to the same "flower" genus as Ryusuke, have any other backup plans?

The fact that the five great nations knew about the Box of Bliss in the original story might be related to the "flower".

If the five great nations focus their attention on Hozuki Castle, it will run counter to Naruto's plan to develop in secret.

However, leaving now is just right.

During his time in Hozuki Castle, Naruto had also mastered some of the ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals.

The next step is the practical application of the ninjutsu in the Book of Seals.

……

The inspection was completed, but Naruto did not return to his apartment.

He arrived at the prison where the prisoners were being held.