Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

But his smile still reminded Karin of the smile she had seen on Naruto during the Chunin Selection Exams.

Karin inexplicably felt that as long as Naruto smiled, the crisis would cease to be a crisis.

Even if the crisis lurks in the darkness, waiting for its chance to strike.

"You have no future!"

Four people wearing masks of a cow, a sheep, a rat, and a monkey suddenly appeared from the darkness.

The four of them reached out from four directions outside the cage, restraining Naruto.

But in the next instant, Naruto, who had been imprisoned, turned into thick smoke.

The one talking to Karin earlier was always Naruto's shadow clone!

The real Naruto is the one who truly hides in the shadows.

……

"So that's how it is. You were the spy for 'Flower' all along."

Wuwei looked at the dragon tongue, which he had already driven into a corner.

But the next moment, four masked heads rolled down in front of Wuwei.

"Who is it?!"

Upon seeing the true appearance of the head behind the mask, Wuwei's pupils suddenly contracted.

He stared in surprise at the man dressed as a guard from the Ghost Lantern Castle who had suddenly appeared in front of Ryuzetsu.

Even more surprising was the woman beside the man... Karin!

But the man did not respond.

He simply placed his hand on Longshe's shoulder, seeing Longshe's bewildered expression.

Then--

—Tequila, karin, and that man;

—Disappearing together in the eyes of inaction.

Chapter 7 It Has to Be You

When Longshe could see the scenery clearly again...

What appeared in her eyes was bright red grass.

On the island where Ghost Lantern Castle is located, red ghost lantern plants can be seen everywhere.

The dragon tongue was now surrounded by ghost lantern grass.

In the blink of an eye.

Longshe's fate was thus driven to the brink of despair by inaction.

He ended up lying comfortably outside the Ghost Lantern Castle.

What exactly is going on?

Ryusei recalled the moment when she was confronting Muwei, and Sakakibara suddenly appeared beside her.

Before Ryusei could react, Sakakibara simply touched her with his hand.

She was all alone in this grassy field of ghost lanterns.

and……

Longshe raised his hand and gently pressed it against his chest through his clothes.

The flow of chakra returned to normal.

The chakra imprisonment technique that Wuwei had placed on her, "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison," was released.

Longshe's confusion deepened.

Naruto didn't just use those prisoners as experiments for the Impure World Reincarnation.

He also took some time to study the structure of "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison".

Although I have only been Jiraiya's disciple for a short month, the benefits of having a master like Jiraiya are already becoming apparent.

Naruto successfully analyzed "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison".

Unraveling the "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison" technique was merely Naruto fulfilling a deal he made with Karin.

Unlike Ryusei, which was directed by Naruto's Flying Thunder God Technique to outside Hozuki Castle but still did not leave the island.

Naruto, who had now shed his disguise, stood on a small boat floating in the calm sea.

Beside him was Karin, who was gazing incredulously at the sea at night.

"We've left...Hozuki Castle?"

Karin looked at the island on the horizon in the direction of the small boat's stern, using the moonlight.

The island is surrounded by turbulent currents from which there is no escape once you are caught.

The Ghost Lantern Castle is located there.

Despite being in a prison that was supposedly impossible to escape from, Naruto managed to take Karin away so easily.

"I've completed my part in our deal; now it's your turn."

Naruto reminded him.

"Please...please wait a moment!"

Karin quickly closed her eyes.

Karin's inexplicable behavior is a manifestation of using Kagura's Mind's Eye.

Close your eyes, and you will open your mind's eye.

It detected all chakra within its range.

It is Karin's unique and powerful sensory ability.

Naruto didn't care about Karin's distrust of him.

Naruto was surprised by Karin's current perception range of Kagura's Mind's Eye.

Her current sensory range is wider than that of the Chunin Exams.

It seems that Karin has grown since returning to Kusagakure.

Karin's perception didn't waste much time.

After about two or three breaths, she opened her eyes again.

"Thank you."

Karin quietly thanked Naruto.

Karin didn't ask Naruto why he deliberately left Ryuze on the island after saving him.

As Naruto has already said, he and Ryusei are not on the same side.

Naruto didn't become enemies with Ryuzetsu only because of his deal with Karin.

What should we do next?

Karin asked again.

"Let's go to the Land of Fire first."

Naruto answered.

He glanced at Karin with slight surprise.

This time, Karin's demeanor was not as insincere as before when she was dealing with Naruto.

Instead, he genuinely shared his thoughts with Naruto.

He seemed to share Naruto's fate.

Upon closer examination, Karin's behavior is not surprising.

She had already confirmed that Naruto had kept his promise and allowed Ryusei to live safely.

Karin will no longer ask for more.

She quickly adjusted her mindset, completely ignoring the fact that she was already a rogue ninja in the eyes of Kusagakure.

Or perhaps, Karin never really felt a strong sense of belonging to Kusagakure.

It was only because Kusagakure was her only place to belong that she could still endure being treated like a tool by the Kusagakure ninja.

But Naruto has already given Karin another seemingly better option.

Karin herself knew that, having been secretly escorted to Hozuki Castle, she had no value to Kusagakure except for having her chakra drained.

No matter how much she deceived herself, or how much she suppressed and ignored her true feelings for Kusagakure.

But having been abandoned by Kusagakure earlier, she could no longer return to Kusagakure.

He hesitated and rejected Naruto at Hozuki Castle.

Karin was worried about Ryushita, who had also come to rescue her.

Ryuusei is Karin's only connection to Kusagakure, and the only person in Kusagakure who treats Karin as a human being.

This time, Ryuze infiltrated Hozuki Castle to rescue her, so Karin naturally couldn't ignore Ryuze.

Another reason is Karin's distrust of Naruto.

Karin and Naruto's only two meetings...

The impressions weren't good.

When they first met in the Forest of Death in Konoha, she and Naruto were simply rivals.

And now, this is our second meeting at Hozuki Castle.

Come to think of it, this isn't the Land of Grass that you can reach in a short time from Konoha.