Hearing what Naruto said, Ryuzetsu couldn't help but feel irritated, compounded by the constant burning pain from the seal's backlash.
"Stop being so smug!" She snapped.
With that, the sound of hurried footsteps faded into the distance.
Meanwhile, Naruto just chuckled and didn't bother pressing further. He turned back and lay down on his bunk to rest. The air in the cell was stuffy, but at least it didn't smell too bad.
'Wait, no… it absolutely did.'
"Damn it!" He suddenly shot up, slamming his hands against the bars and roaring, "Which bastard didn't shower?! Come out and fight me one-on-one! I'll skin you alive!"
"Shut the hell up! Who's making noise and ruining my sleep?! I'll kill you!" A bear-like growl echoed back, "You want to die?!"
"Sleep my ass!" Naruto spat back without restraint, "You've got the guts? Then come out! I'll wreck you! All bark and no bite, huh!"
"Come on out! Did you leave your balls in your mom's womb or what?!"
More angry shouts erupted, and soon, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the prison corridor.
Next door, Ryuzetsu endured both the seal's backlash and the relentless stream of trash talk, feeling utterly numb, 'This guy was nothing like the intel had described.'
"Bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
"You think just because you're from Konoha, you're hot shit?! Don't you dare move during yard time… I'll end you!"
"You're way too cocky! You really think you can take all of us?!"
The prison block descended into chaos, with insults flying everywhere. Ryuzetsu tried to recall the intel she'd read, 'The file on Uzumaki Naruto had been brief… just a few lines labeling him as 'extremely dangerous'. There'd been no mention of him being skilled at stirring up trouble.'
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not targeting anyone specifically. What I mean is..." Naruto took a deep breath, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted with all his might, "Every single one of you here is trash!!!"
Beep …
The entire prison block fell dead silent. Even the jailers' approaching footsteps halted abruptly. Next door, Ryuzetsu nearly toppled off her bed in shock.
Sure enough, the floodgates burst open. A torrent of furious curses erupted, turning the prison into a deafening cacophony. It was like a swarm of enraged chickens and ducks had been unleashed, making everyone wish they could rip their ears off.
"Damn it!" Ryuzetsu covered her ears, the physical pain from the seal's backlash now mingling with sheer mental agony. She'd never felt so furious in her life.
'Uzumaki Naruto really deserved to die!' That was the only thought in her mind right now. But there was nothing she could do about him.
Suddenly, she realized the noise from next door had stopped. She moved to the bars and peered out, but couldn't see into Naruto's cell.
Inside his cell, Naruto figured the jailers would arrive soon, so he smugly retreated to his bunk. He's just letting the trash talk rage outside… no one even knew which cell was his anyway.
Even if they knew, they couldn't break the bars and start a fight, could they? Not to mention they couldn't break the bars, even if they had the brute force, they wouldn't dare challenge the prison system.
At most, they'd try to corner him during yard time tomorrow. But even if they didn't, Naruto would provoke them himself. He needed Mui to step in personally and fight him.
Kakashi had tasked him with stopping Kusagakure from opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss, but to Naruto, whether it opened or not was irrelevant. All he cared about was whether he could collect material for a Jashin's follower. Ryuzetsu next door had potential.
A Fire Release Shinobi with a secret technique called Dragon Life Reincarnation, her eyes even had a ripple pattern resembling the Rinnegan. Not only did she look the part, but her abilities were similarly extraordinary.
When it came to resurrection, every village seemed to have its own secret techniques.
Sunagakure has Chiyo's secret technique, One's Own Life Reincarnation Tensei, which could pull people back from the brink of death or even revive the recently deceased. Ryuzetsu's ability was similar… transferring her own life force as Chakra to resurrect another.
It was called the Dragon Life Reincarnation, but in essence, it was nearly identical to One's Own Life Reincarnation Tensei. And that was precisely why Naruto had taken notice of her.
If she only knew Fire Release Ninjutsu, she'd be nothing more than a glorified barbecue chef. But if she possessed a Kekkei Genkai, the situation would be completely different. At the very least, she had the potential to be useful.
Right now, the system only had one remaining mission line, Mission Line III. If Ryuzetsu can be 'captured' this time, the progress bar will reach eight-tenths, or four-fifths.
Just two more people, and the mission line would be complete. Given the system's usual patterns, once mission line was done, a new main quest would immediately follow, along with rewards.
The reward for Mission Line III... Well, the end result would be Naruto gaining his own faction… an utterly loyal, high-potential group known as the 'Uzumaki Ten Goddesses'.
Furthermore, there's also a reward meant for Tsunade. Though, admittedly, it felt a little one-sided. Tsunade had never blamed him, and all he'd done was apologize.
Twenty years… spring, summer, fall, winter, all reduced to nothing with a single 'I was just joking'.
He lay on the prison bed, hands behind his head, staring blankly at the pitch-black ceiling. In that moment, everything seemed to quiet down.
Tsunade… It had only been a year since they last met. Yet his memories felt so distant, as if they had faded into obscurity. There had been no news of her, as though she had vanished from the world.
Everything that had happened in the past seemed to erode with time, like old photographs yellowing with age before being stuffed into a cardboard box.
In the end, what lingered most was guilt. Maybe… there were other emotions too. Their fates had been tangled together, but as time passed, the threads only grew more brittle.
It was like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in too long, standing too far apart. They could only avoid bringing up the past to spare themselves greater awkwardness.
He turned over and drifted into a hazy sleep.