The next day.
On the sea, Surfer swam with a proper doggy paddle. Jiraiya followed behind him. When he got tired or used too much chakra, he would return to the Moye Treasure Brick to rest.
Naruto, as before, dragged the Treasure Brick, but this time, he had an extra chain above his head.
The chain extended over a dozen meters from his head, its end coiled like a mosquito coil. On top of this coil lay wooden planks and cushions of the same size, where Little Hishito and the two cats slept and played.
Before, Naruto had underestimated this sea. Even with large wooden planks and a raised cat carrier, seawater would still surge in and spill. Moreover, Little Hishito got seasick, though Ginger Fish Cake didn't mind; they were ship cats by nature.
This time, not only was the height sufficient to keep out water, but it also didn't shake at all, thanks to the "human head anti-shake" stabilization.
Jiraiya would occasionally look back at Naruto, who resembled a walking antenna, and inwardly wished he could hit him.
That technique is for binding Tailed Beasts, not for serving as a cat cushion. If you use it like this, your mom will cry, alright?
At night, Naruto once again "received guests" at the prison, then returned to be a good boy.
At Jiraiya's request, Naruto no longer went often, only when necessary. However, with teleportation, replacing the people in the prison was not slow at all. Not only was it not slow, but it was even speeding up.
In the prison, Zhigang, the remaining roommate of Tie Zhu, Naruko, and Moye's replacements, sat on his bed, troubled.
Not everyone was interested in Naruto, a woman who had "received" who knew how many guests. Some had a mental洁癖, while others feared catching diseases.
Zhigang was one of them.
He was troubled because he had recently discovered some anomalies.
The people around him would always inexplicably perform actions they usually didn't, but he couldn't find the source of the problem. He had once asked them about past events, and they could all answer fluently. Even if they couldn't answer immediately, they would remember after a few minutes.
It was this very point that made him feel extremely strange. He felt that the room was like a devil's den; everyone who entered would be devoured, and then an identical copy would be created.
He was also a man who loved to speculate, and the strange occurrences around him were constantly oppressing his nerves. The more he thought, the more terrified he became, to the point where he wanted to escape this isolated island.
He couldn't get out by himself, so he wanted to find a teammate, but everyone around him was suspicious, more or less unnatural, except for... Shouhei, who went first.
While the other two were making their beds, Zhigang cautiously walked over to Tie Zhu, speaking so softly that Tie Zhu almost couldn't hear him: "Shouhei, have you noticed that the people around us are a bit strange?"
"No, why?" Tie Zhu looked at him in confusion.
"You really haven't noticed?" Zhigang pulled him to the corner: "The guy next door, so-and-so, used to kick inmates during riots. Yesterday, he actually used a stick. And so-and-so from 213, used to drop rice grains every time he ate, but now he doesn't!"
Tie Zhu's eyes widened. Holy crap, brother, you're observing too closely.
He secretly pondered which clone was acting so unprofessionally and decided to dock their pay when he got back.
"No way..." Tie Zhu replied, half-believing, half-doubting.
"Why not? Even Kohana and Big Brother are a bit off. Did Kohana used to sit there staring at the moon for an hour?" Saying this, Zhigang looked back at the two making their beds.
That glance almost scared the soul out of him. The two who had just been making their beds were now squinting, their eyelids slightly lowered, and their faces grim as they stared at him.
"You don't believe me, then look..." Excitedly, he couldn't control his voice. He abruptly turned his head, only to see Tie Zhu's expression mirroring theirs, even more terrifying.
"Ugh..." Zhigang gasped, a chill running down his throat, and then... he collapsed stiffly.
Tie Zhu quickly supported him and said to Naruko and Moye, "Quick, quick, quick, pull the curtains, turn on the lights, and have the main body open the teleportation. I told you not to mess around. Look, another one's fainted."
"What's it to me?" Moye walked to the window and pulled the curtains.
The curtains slowly closed, blocking the moonlight. As the last ray of light disappeared, a湛blue sword suddenly appeared at Moye's neck. Tie Zhu leaned his head close to Moye's ear and said coldly, "I'm sorry, brother, you're exposed."
With a push of the blade, Moye dissipated into smoke.
"Clap clap clap." Naruko clapped for him.
"And you, too, play a little lighter." Tie Zhu firmly placed the blade to his own neck, and instantly slashed.
He wanted to use his own death to remind those clones to pay attention to details.
Naruto, reading a book far away in the Land of Earth, directly slammed the book onto his face. He had a headache.
This was the third incident today. Once their numbers grew, his clones would spread like a virus in the prison, seizing every opportunity to forcibly recruit people, and then spread even more wildly.
He waved his hand to open the teleportation portal, then carried Little Hishito back into the room, feeling depressed. He wanted to rub his mink to vent his anger. Little Hishito was purely caught in the crossfire. Whose fault was it that its mink fur felt the best?
Three days passed quickly, with everything proceeding as usual.
However, the guest he received tonight greatly surprised Naruto.
A dark green scarf wrapped around white hair, wheat-colored skin, and a long fleece jacket covering her neck. All signs indicated that she was the first female protagonist of this movie, Ryuzetsu.
Naruto sighed. My guests are truly diverse. There are men, women, and now even women disguised as men.
Standing at the doorway, Ryuzetsu looked at Naruto, who was humming and making the bed, feeling a bit bewildered. With such treatment, she can still hum? This woman... is so optimistic.
She had obtained this opportunity through bribery. She originally wanted to discuss some matters with Karin. She had been lurking in this prison for many years and knew that Mui would irregularly capture some prisoners for the Box of Ultimate Bliss to absorb chakra.
When Karin first arrived, the chakra she leaked couldn't be completely suppressed by the prison even then, making her guess that this person was Mui's next target.
She had thought that Karin's miserable life would make her easier to talk to, but Karin... didn't seem miserable at all.
"Aren't you coming in?" Naruto sat back on the bed and asked Ryuzetsu with a smile.
Naruto was very happy. After being here for so long, Mui had been slow to make a move against him. So many clones hadn't even found anyone with intelligence. If it weren't for the special terrain here, Naruto would have wanted to dig through this prison with a shovel.
Yet, he was just worrying about not being able to find the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and then this key figure arrived. This was truly... beautiful.
Seeing Naruto smile, Ryuzetsu was even more bewildered. After a moment of hesitation, she entered the cell and asked, "Did I... interrupt your good time?"
This woman isn't enjoying that kind of feeling, is she, to be so optimistic? I'm also a woman, and I don't have that hobby. So how will she solve it tonight?
"Hmm?" Naruto reacted two seconds later. What "good time," for crying out loud? Several burly men lining up for me every day is a "good time"!?
His expression instantly changed. He asked weakly, "Aren't you here to...?"
"No, I just want to talk to you." Ryuzetsu found a clean spot and sat down. "Before... were you laughing?"
Ryuzetsu recalled. It seemed this woman had been laughing since the day she arrived, but it was a foolish laugh, the kind of foolish laugh one makes when missing a lover. She had never understood it.
"It was just a forced smile." Naruto slowly moved towards her.
Thinking of his plan, Ryuzetsu comforted her, "It must be very painful, but you know that later you will..."
"It's not painful." Naruto interrupted her with a smile, then extended his evil left hand.
"Bang."
Ryuzetsu fell to the ground. Naruto opened a teleportation portal. He only talked to her because she was the female protagonist and he was giving her face. Otherwise, he would have knocked her out a long time ago.
He sent Ryuzetsu to the deserted island. Naruto sent a clone to pick up Sasuke. He had waited so long, and finally caught a big fish.
On the other side, Akatsuki's hideout.
Deidara crushed a clay bird with his hand, his eyes burning with anger. "You stole my clothes too? Hmm."
"Hmm." Kakuzu admitted it quickly.
"Why? Hmm."
Kakuzu flipped open his ledger, tore out a page, and threw it to him, saying, "To cover losses."
Deidara opened the paper. On the front, it detailed the repair of the high tower. On the back, it detailed the repair of the sewers. Below, in small print, it recorded labor costs, food costs, material costs, and so on, so detailed that even the number and value of paper napkins were included.
He stuffed the paper into the bird's belly and threw it back to Kakuzu. Deidara formed hand seals and roared, "I've told you many times, don't measure my art with money! Hmph!"
"Boom."
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