A prison is the end of evil, but also its converging point. Especially in a high-security prison like this, a slight disturbance could escalate into a large-scale brawl within minutes.
However, none of this concerned Naruto, for he simply did not leave his cell.
Hozuki Castle Prison divided male and female inmates into two separate sections. The male section was larger with a wider activity area. Naruto's current cell, number 233, was in the female section.
The cell had three solid walls, with its front made of square pillars, each over a dozen centimeters in diameter, reinforced and wrapped in thick iron plating. The door lock was unusually large.
There were no lights in the cell. Naruto lay on the bed, gazing at the stars through the head-sized window. The walls were thick, and the window too small, showing only a sliver of the outside world.
His first day in prison felt somewhat novel, and he tossed and turned for a long time, unable to sleep.
Today had been fairly smooth. Naruto, embracing his inner recluse, staunchly refused to leave his cell. Even for meals, he would carry his tray to a corner and eat alone.
He was terrified of any accidental bump turning him into a boy.
The rest of his time was spent studying.
After half a day of restless turning, still unable to sleep, Naruto decided to find his fox spirit to play with.
Setting up the messy chessboard, Naruto turned to call his fox spirit, "Big Fox, come play!"
"Almost done reading. Give this old man five more minutes," Kurama replied, lying in the bathtub, his tails gently swaying in the water, stirring up whirlpools.
Other than that, there wasn't even a single bubble in the water.
At this moment, the water temperature was 850 degrees Celsius and still rising, nearing the combustion temperature limit of ordinary coal, assuming the coal in this space had a limit.
Yet, Kurama's expression remained calm. He truly wasn't afraid of heat. If anyone doubted it, he could perform the trick of scalding his tail with boiling water right then and there.
Five minutes later, Kurama, wielding a mithril staff, added a name to the list of unfinished works before joining the chess game.
The first game, Naruto won. Looking at the fox spirit, who was furiously and unwillingly arranging the tiles, Naruto scoffed, "You're so bad, you pick your feet."
"This old man has paws," Kurama retorted flatly, Don't get cocky. Just wait for the next round.
After the second round, Kurama took a sip of sake, "You pick your feet, you're so bad."
This brat never learned. No matter how many times he mocked, it always came back to him, yet he never tired of it.
"Can you stop mimicking me?"
"Mind your own business, hic," Kurama took another gulp of ice-cold cola. The chilling cola and the scalding hot water exchanged heat through his body, like a dual experience of ice and fire.
Kurama couldn't help but tilt his head and let out a breath, "Hoo."
Compared to now, his past life felt like a waste.
Naruto shot him a disdainful look, "Be careful not to catch a summer cold."
That night, the boy and the fox played late. Naruto then looked at some sealing jutsu before falling into a deep, hazy sleep.
He thought everything would go smoothly until Mui dragged him in front of the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Unexpectedly, an accident occurred the very next day.
That night, Naruto was teasing Kurama when he suddenly heard the sound of the door opening. He opened his eyes, startled. He saw two prison guards, and they were men.
This was the female prison section, for crying out loud.
The older prison guard opening the door rattled his keys, chatting and laughing with the other man, "That fat old hag is really something else. I had to bribe her with two packs of Land of Fire specialty cigarettes just to get the keys."
"You're thoughtful, Brother," the other guard flattered. He looked young, around twenty-four or twenty-five.
Click. The door opened. The older guard lightly nudged the younger one, "Alright, go on in. I'll pick you up at five tomorrow morning. But if you're quick, I can wait for you outside."
"You're joking, Brother," the young guard walked into the room, waved back, "See you tomorrow morning."
"Then I won't bother you, Brother." The older guard hung the keys on his belt, turned, and left.
Naruto stared blankly at the guard in the room, his mind filled with the chaotic daily life depicted in various prison movies he had watched.
The more he thought, the more alarmed he became.
No, what do you mean by this? Even though I look like a girl right now, what I've got is bigger than yours!
Sticking to the door, he watched the guard walk away. Only then did the young guard turn around, reaching into his embrace. "Don't be nervous, I..."
"Bang!"
What greeted him was a leg bound by chains. The leg struck his head, and the guard, unable to withstand the force, slammed his head against the nearby wall.
Withdrawing his leg, Naruto twisted the chains back to their original position. Although prison in movies seemed chaotic, this is ridiculously chaotic! In broad daylight, with everything clear, I, a man, almost dropped the soap in a women's prison?
The young guard fell to the ground, his hand from his embrace revealed. In his hand was a Hozuki Fruit, also known as a ground cherry.
Now Naruto couldn't figure out his intentions. You sneaked into a female prison in the middle of the night, put on such a thrilling show, just to give me this handful of fruit?
No, not for me, it must be for Karin. Could it be that you're playing at true love?
He walked over and checked, finding he still had a pulse. Naruto had a clone take his place in prison, then teleported the guard to a deserted island, intending to wake him up and ask his purpose.
"Splash!"
A bucket of water was poured over his head, but the young guard didn't stir.
"Splash!"
"Holy crap, you're kidding me." Looking at the still unconscious guard, Naruto felt something was amiss.
If he didn't wake up, what would happen tomorrow morning?
After pouring a few more buckets of water and seeing he still wouldn't wake, Naruto quickly dragged him to a private clinic in the Capital of Fire.
Watching the doctor retract his glowing green hand, Naruto asked, "How is he?"
The doctor pried open the guard's eyes, shined a light, and said, "He likely suffered a head injury as a child that wasn't treated in time. He has a skull fracture, which led to..."
The doctor rattled on, and Naruto barely understood half of it. He interrupted, asking, "When will he wake up?"
"At least half a month." Seeing Naruto's expression worsen, he added, "If you can find someone from the Yamanaka Clan, it might be a day or two earlier."
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. Naruto's expression grew even worse. What's the difference? Do I care about one or two days?
"Forget it, just keep him here for now," Naruto said helplessly. Now that things have come to this, I'd better figure out a way to fix it.
He searched the guard and found an ID tag, discovering his name was Shouhei.
Naruto didn't understand the meaning nor did he care. After stripping him of all his clothes and gear, he left the hospital and returned to the deserted island.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Releasing a hundred clones, Naruto held up the ID tag and asked, "Which one of you is Tie Zhu?"
Naruto decided to have a clone use Transformation Jutsu to fill in for a while, so he needed to find the best actor.
Tie Zhu remained silent. This mission was a bit arduous. Knowing only the name but not the past, simulating someone else's life without a single slip-up for at least half a month—this was too difficult. He didn't know if he could accomplish it.
However, difficult doesn't mean there's no challenge, he thought. After figuring it out, Tie Zhu took out a steel helmet and placed it on his head.
Naruto directly tossed the ID tag to him, "Good. From now on, you are Shouhei!"
Tie Zhu saluted, his gaze firm, "Mission accomplished, guaranteed."
Naruto walked over and patted his shoulder reassuringly, "I'm counting on you."
After making arrangements, Naruto returned to the prison with Tie Zhu.
Early the next morning, Naruto woke up early. He first sent the clone that had been sleeping with Jiraiya to Mount Myōboku, then he and Tie Zhu, who had transformed into Shouhei, waited for the older prison guard to open the door.
Rubbing his hair with muddy water into several messy strands, Naruto asked, "How is it? Does it look like it?"
Tie Zhu looked at him, feeling something was missing. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head, and he said, "Tear a few more scraps of cloth, make your eyes red, and add some tear stains at the corners of your eyes."
"Good idea." Naruto reached into the blanket, tore off a few pieces, threw them outside, and then rubbed his eyes hard.
"Alright, it looks like it now."
Before five o'clock, the older prison guard arrived early. Hearing footsteps, Tie Zhu instantly got into character, collapsing onto the ground, looking utterly exhausted and weak.
At first sight of him, the older prison guard panicked slightly, his hand shaking as he opened the door. But then he saw Naruto, wrapped in a blanket, with matted red hair, vacant eyes staring at the ceiling, and tear stains at the corners of his eyes. He instantly understood and joked, "Little brother, you didn't go that hard, did you?"
"Well, I couldn't let your two packs of cigarettes go to waste, Big Brother," Tie Zhu tried to stand up, then his legs suddenly gave out, and he sat back down. "Big Brother, give me a hand."
"Alright." The older guard draped Tie Zhu's arm over his shoulder, "You played yourself to death, kid."
"Hehe," Tie Zhu chuckled. "I'm no good today. Please take me back to my quarters, Big Brother."
"So you're not going to work today?"
"Can you help me ask for leave, Big Brother?"
"No problem, no problem. Let me lock the door first." With Tie Zhu draped over him, the older guard locked the door and helped him walk away.
Under the blanket, Naruto let out a soft sigh of relief. He had successfully pulled off the first step.
On the other side, Tie Zhu was being supported. The two didn't walk fast. Along the way, Tie Zhu carefully observed his surroundings.
After helping Tie Zhu back to his room and onto his bed, the older prison guard glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "You rest first. I'm going now. I'll come see you tonight."
"Mmm, thank you," Tie Zhu waved.
"Don't mention it."
Watching him leave the room, Tie Zhu waited another ten minutes, then got up and rummaged through the room for information.
There wasn't much. He only found a duty roster and some clothes.
Tie Zhu was distressed. Why is this guy so uneducated? He doesn't even have any work documents...
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