"Lord Feng, we've received intelligence that... a treasure left behind by the Sage of Six Paths has recently appeared in the Land of Grass."
Several days later, as Ning Feng stood atop the Rain Village tower gazing into the distance and waiting for news from the ongoing manhunt, an ANBU operative suddenly appeared behind him and knelt on one knee.
"The Land of Grass?"
Ning Feng turned toward the ANBU and asked calmly,
"A treasure left behind by the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Yes... that's what the intelligence reports indicate."
The ANBU quickly lowered his head.
"I understand. You may leave."
Ning Feng waved him away casually.
"A treasure of the Sage of Six Paths?"
A possibility immediately surfaced in his mind.
Coincidentally, after Obito had finished rooting out spies within the Land of Rain, he had turned his attention toward neighboring countries.
After all, Uchiha Madara was the kind of person bold enough to hide right under someone's nose.
For all they knew, he could be watching Ning Feng from nearby.
Unexpectedly, their investigation revealed that the Land of Grass possessed a treasure supposedly left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
Because the world was still in a state of war, infiltrating the Land of Grass had proven difficult. Obito had gone through tremendous effort to obtain this information.
As for a Sage of Six Paths artifact in the Land of Grass...
The first thing Ning Feng thought of was the Box of Paradise.
The treasure chest that contained the monster known as Satori.
In the Blood Prison movie, Satori had been a rather troublesome creature.
It could read people's hearts and predict their intentions.
However, from Ning Feng's current perspective, the monster was only mildly troublesome.
After all, Sage Mode Naruto had defeated it without much difficulty.
Its greatest ability was merely mind-reading.
"Still, the creature inside that box does have ties to the Sage of Six Paths."
Ning Feng pondered.
If he could communicate with Satori and learn more about the Sage of Six Paths...
And perhaps uncover information regarding the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path...
Then he wouldn't have to passively wait for Madara's next move.
If he could figure out how to control the Demonic Statue himself, he could become the second Sage of Six Paths.
Right now, his biggest obstacle was that he had no means of controlling the statue.
And without that, he had no way of accessing the Ten-Tails.
"I'll go take a look."
Ning Feng quickly made his decision.
As for whether he could suppress Satori...
If he unleashed a large enough area-of-effect attack, would mind-reading even matter?
The Land of Grass was a small nation located between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
It seemed isolated from the outside world, surrounded by nature on all sides.
Just looking at it made one feel it was an ideal location for a secret base.
So Obito's suspicions hadn't been unreasonable.
"So this is the Land of Grass... then Hōzuki Castle should be over there."
Ning Feng took out a scroll and compared it against his surroundings.
The source of the intelligence regarding the Sage's treasure wasn't located in any village.
Instead, it came from a prison situated on an island not far from the mainland.
A prison jointly established by the Land of Grass on behalf of various nations.
It was surrounded by the sea on all sides and housed a large number of dangerous criminals.
Its name was Hōzuki Castle.
Many important criminal shinobi from various countries were imprisoned there.
They were all subjected to a special sealing technique that prevented them from using chakra.
"This prison is larger than I expected..."
Ning Feng had already prepared a cover identity.
A criminal from the Land of Rain.
His plan was to infiltrate the prison and investigate quietly.
As for the sealing technique...
Did they really think a jutsu cast by an ordinary jōnin could restrain him?
"Hey, brother, what crime landed you here?"
One of the few prisoners being escorted alongside him called out from behind.
Because the world was currently at war, very few criminals were being sent to Hōzuki Castle.
That was why Ning Feng had been able to arrive immediately rather than waiting for a large batch of prisoners to be transported together like in the original story.
And because it was wartime, the escorting shinobi were noticeably stronger than he remembered.
"..."
Ning Feng didn't respond.
He simply continued following the people ahead.
"Tch. What a bore."
The prisoner who had spoken spat disdainfully.
"We're already here. What are you pretending for?"
Ning Feng remained silent.
If he weren't trying to keep a low profile and avoid attracting Madara's attention, a shinobi who dared speak to him like that would have had grass growing over his grave long ago.
After a lengthy journey, they finally arrived at a place surrounded by cliffs and raging seas.
The terrain was extremely treacherous.
The distant ocean churned violently with hidden currents.
"So a place like this really exists..."
Ning Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Dark clouds permanently hovered overhead.
One glance was enough to make a person feel oppressed.
Even the architecture was built almost entirely in gloomy, muted colors.
The group climbed a long flight of stairs before arriving at Hōzuki Castle's main gate.
The enormous gates slowly opened.
"Everyone, you've now arrived at Hōzuki Castle."
"Next, Lord Mui, the warden of Hōzuki Castle, will address you all. Listen carefully!"
As the escorting shinobi finished speaking, a thin, pale-faced middle-aged man stepped forward.
Dressed in black robes, he exuded an unfathomable aura.
What followed was likely the same speech he had given countless times before.
After serving as warden in this depressing place for so many years, he had probably become completely numb to the routine.
"I am the person in charge here. My name is Mui."
The black-robed man spoke expressionlessly.
His voice was utterly flat, devoid of emotion.
As though introducing himself and explaining the rules were nothing more than duties to be completed.
"The fact that you've been sent here means your village no longer trusts you."
"In other words... you no longer have any value."
After speaking, Mui deliberately swept his gaze across the newly arrived prisoners.
No one stepped forward to challenge him.
Good.
That meant there would be no need to make an example out of anyone.
Mui nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed this batch of prisoners already understood the rules of Hōzuki Castle.
Since nobody intended to cause trouble, he could save himself some effort.
The sooner he finished his speech, the sooner these newcomers could be sent to their designated areas.
"Since all of you appear familiar with the rules, I won't waste time with unnecessary explanations."
"Someone will guide each of you shortly."
Mui nodded toward the escorting shinobi.
The restraints on Ning Feng and the other newly arrived prisoners were immediately removed.
"I hope all of you will spend your time here reflecting on your actions."
"Unless your village submits an official request for your release, I suggest you behave yourselves and patiently await the day you leave this place."
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