422. Situation in Blood Prison

Inside the Hokage Office,

"Any words from the Hozuki castle?" Tsunade checks a report and turns to Shizune.

"No, nothing yet!" Shizune shakes her head.

"It has been over two weeks since the Kage Summit. We already sent the emergency war alliance declaration to all small hidden nations and yet the Hidden Grass refuses to cooperate." Tsunade grits her teeth.

"Jiraiya, any intel from your spies?" Tsunade turns towards the window of the Hokage Office, where Jiraiya is hanging upside down.

"Tch… here I thought of surprising you."

He jumps down and opens the window to enter the Hokage Office. Jiraiya removes his raincoat since it's raining outside.

"I do indeed have some information, and quite an urgent one at that."

He takes out a scroll from the chest pocket of his haori and passes it to Tsunade.

Tsunade opens the scroll and reads its content.

"Recently, an unusual series of the incident have been spotted in the blood prison of the Hozuki castle. Bloody mangled human bodies of prisoners were located in the vicinity of the prison. Not only that, the torturous screams of the prisoners can be heard from the blood prison. The warden of the Blood prison Mui has placed a lockdown on the prison. No outsider is allowed to visit the prison, and even the prisoners are handled from outside the prison."

Tsunade closes the scroll and turns to Jiraiya.

"Hmm… how should we handle the situation?" While Tsunade is musing over the matter.

Knock… knock...

Someone knocks on the door.

"Come in!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura enter the Hokage Office.

"You three… what brings you here?" Tsunade asks them."

"Umm… Tsunade-sama, it suddenly started raining outside when we passed by the academy. So, we thought of seeking shelter in the Hokage Office." Sakura answers in embarrassment.

"It's fine!" Tsunade waves her hand.

"O Naruto! How are you doing?" Jiraiya waves at Naruto.

"Pervy Sage! You are also here." Naruto waves and stands beside Jiraiya.

"Hey, Pervy sage! During our previous mission, I visited an amazing, incredible place. It was so much fun and I ate lots of new food and met many people." Naruto describes Redaku to Jiraiya.

"Oi, Naruto! Where is that place? It sounds so much fun." Jiraiya grabs Naruto and pulls him aside. Both of them continue to blabber and raise a commotion within the Hokage Office.

Tch…

An angry tick appears on Tsunade's forehead.

"Cut it off, you two. Here, I am grinding my mind to think of a way to deal with the Hozuki castle situation, and yet you two."

Tsunade bonks both of them.

"We are sorry!" Tears flow from Naruto's and Jiraiya's eyes and they gloomily sit in a corner and make circles on the floor with their fingers.

"What's the matter, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asks Tsunade.

Sigh…

Tsunade sighs and explains the situation to Sakura since she is her student.

"Blood prison?!" Sakura and Naruto cluelessly tilt their head in confusion.

"I have heard about it." Sasuke is the one to answer.

"Hozuki castle also known as 'the Blood Prison' is the most dangerous and vicious prison of the entire shinobi world. Its reputation is so widespread that the mere mention of this name strikes terror into the hearts of criminals. Thus, Hozuki castle is arguably the number one criminal containment facility in the shinobi world.

This prison is controlled by the Kusagakure and is located on an island in the middle of nowhere. There are multiple vicious death traps around the prison, and the prison is located on a cliff surrounded by whirlpools. There is a small town and a port on the island.

They sentenced rogue shinobis or criminals who committed heinous crimes to a life sentence in that prison and are intended to remain there until they die, or the hidden village that sent them officially requests their release."

Sasuke gives a detailed explanation of the Hozuki castle.

"You are right!" Tsunade nods in agreement and is quite surprised by Sasuke's knowledge.

"Wow, Sasuke-kun! You are so knowledgeable." Sakura fawns over him.

"It's nothing much. I read about it in the Uchiha clan library." Sasuke shakes his head.

"Hozuki castle plays a vital role in the military decision of Kusagakure and thus the strange occurrence in the Hozuki castle can't be ignored." Tsunade continues.

"That's not all! There is a legend about the Hozuki castle, though the credibility of it is questionable. But given the multiple strange phenomena we encountered in the past few years, I presume this legend leans towards the truth." Tsunade's expression turns serious.

Suddenly, the sky darkens and a lightning bolt strikes down, creating a perfect scene straight out of a horror movie.

Gulp…

Naruto gulps his saliva and grabs Jiraiya's clothes in fear as Tsunade tells the tale.

"The Hozuki castle or the blood prison exists way before the era of the Sage of Six Paths. It's said that an extremely powerful cursed relic in the shape of a box is hidden beneath the Hozuki castle. Back before the era of the Sage of Six Paths, Kusagakure used the power of the cursed relic to almost conquer the entire shinobi world." Tsunade narrates the story of the Hozuki castle.

"Why almost? Did they fail somehow?" Sakura questions in confusion.

"They did indeed fail. However, the details are unknown to the rest of the world. Some said that the relic went out of control and wiped out the people of Kusagakure. Others said that an extremely powerful figure appeared and killed everyone. That figure later sealed the box in the depths of the Hozuki castle. There are also claims that the powerful relic released a massive army of demons that devoured their summoner as a living sacrifice and then vanished into thin air." Tsunade shakes her head at the various speculations about the relic.

"However, after that incident, a certain clan took over the responsibility of managing the blood prison as its wardens, and that clan still exists to this day. Anyway, the sudden incidents in the Hozuki castle might be related to that relic." Tsunade has a serious expression on her face.

"I would have liked Minato to handle this situation. However, as the supreme commander of the Shinobi Alliance Army; he is quite busy dealing with the affairs of war with Sakumo-san." A helpless Tsunade shakes her head.

"Then, I will do it!" Naruto raises his head.

"I will sneak into the castle, figure out their secret, and escape." Naruto formulates a plan.

'This sounds so much fun, Dattebyo!' An obscene smile appears on Naruto's face.

"Hmph… do you think that we don't understand your plan?" Everyone scoffs at Naruto.

"You have been holed up in the village after the Kage Summit. Since you are a jinchuruki, the Akatsuki is hounding you. We can't let you fall into their hands so easily." Shizune shakes her head.

"But… but… I am quite strong and can handle everything on my own." Naruto clenches his fists.

"What if they sent 'him'?" Tsunade speaks with gloom.

Everyone's expression turns sour as they recall the person with Izuna's face. That person not only matches Izuna's profile, but even his strength was also as monstrous as Izuna's. During the Kage Summit, he single-handily suppressed everyone on the scene.

"I… I… I am not as strong as him." Naruto shakes his head and drops his head in depression.

"I will do it!" Sasuke volunteers.

Everyone turns towards Sasuke and ponders.

"Hmm… Sasuke might be the best choice for this mission." After a few seconds, Tsunade and Jiraiya nod at Sasuke's proposal.

"However, you can't indirectly infiltrate the prison since there are various uncanny circumstances involving that place. Also, it might affect our diplomatic relations with Kusagakure and Kusa might even turn hostile for exposing their secrets. So, we need to think of a plan and for that, we need to contact Iwagakure and Kumogakure." Tsunade formulates a plan.

The rain stops pouring, and the sky becomes clear.

Tsunade scribbles down two letters and ties them on a messenger eagle's leg to send them to Onoki and A.

'I hope this plan of ours works.'