Prison

Rock Lee groggily opened his eyes. The corners of his mouth split slightly, revealing a row of white teeth with several missing. His smile was forced.

Judging by the way he looked, he seemed to want to raise a hand in a thumbs-up, but he lacked the strength and failed to complete the motion.

"Of course! Youth is the most wonderful thing in this world!"

Your Reincarnator Number is 008.

In light of your current physical condition, the Novice Mission has been revised.

Mission: Restore your health.

Reward: Instant Calculation, issued.

Penalty: None (Novice Mission One-time Exemption).

The sudden flood of information in his memories took Rock Lee a long while to process before he finally came back to his senses.

"Ah?"

Looking at the mission panel before him, Lee immediately wilted.

The Main God's authority was impossible to fathom. There were hundreds of millions of methods in the Exchange List to restore his body to normal. The simplest was to spend a certain number of Reward Points on a "Full Body Repair."

But the only things he could move now were his eyes and mouth. He had no way to carry out missions at all, nor did he have any source of Reward Points.

"Source of Reward Points..."

Lee always felt as though he had overlooked something. The harder he thought, the less he could grasp the key point.

"Poor kid. Gaara has already started loving this world, yet you still got beaten into a wreck..."

Watching Lee scratch his head in frustration, Wang Yan could not help but sigh with emotion. "The power of fate truly is mysterious."

Kimimaro and the others had held back far less than Gaara. Even Tsunade was not the least bit confident that she could heal Lee.

"I've already given you the opportunity. Whether you can seize it depends on you."

As he sighed, Wang Yan acted with a thought.

The mark he had left on Danzo back then had stirred.

Konoha.

The recently constructed Water Prison.

The Anbu ninja patrolling under Tsunade's orders were nowhere to be seen. Within the empty underground prison, only heavy breathing and the rippling of water could be heard.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shiranui Genma, Yamashiro Aoba, Namiashi Raidō, Morino Ibiki, Ebisu, Gekko Hayate, and the others were all imprisoned here.

Their cells were forged from refined iron and inscribed with various independent fuinjutsu formulas. Even if several were destroyed, they would not completely lose their effect.

Since someone came to inspect and repair them every day, these powerful elite ninja had no chance of escaping.

The entire Water Prison was a massive sealing formation. Those imprisoned within could not mobilize Chakra to perform any ninjutsu.

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps drew nearer.

A man dressed in a Japanese-style kimono appeared inside the Water Prison.

The Third Hokage raised his head, his expression complicated. It was impossible to tell whether there was more hatred or relief in his tone. "Danzo!"

That's right!

The newcomer was none other than Shimura Danzō.

His complexion was rosy, and the eye that had once been wrapped in bandages, along with the bandages themselves, had been exposed.

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, which contained Kotoamatsukami, had been taken by Wang Yan. Even the string of Sharingan embedded in his arm—enough to trigger those with trypophobia—had all been ruined during the test.

Yet this had also turned misfortune into a blessing for him.

Having received Hashirama Cells, Danzo possessed far greater vitality than others his age. His physical and mental energy were both abundant; he did not resemble his aged appearance at all.

Danzo gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a pitying glance and said coldly, "I'm here to save you."

The Third Hokage's drenched hair clung to his wrinkled face. At those words, his eyes filled with furious flames, but although his lips moved, he could not say a single word.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had no such reservations and immediately began cursing.

"Danzo! You traitor! I curse you to die a horrible death!"

"You owe us an explanation! The situation was urgent back then. Where exactly did you go? Why did you violate our agreement?"

"You treacherous scoundrel!"

"You'll never become Hokage!"

Rage had blinded them. All their former composure had been cast aside, leaving only the purest release of emotion.

Why had they fallen into this situation?

The Three Ninja faction was the most important factor, but the other side had not used any schemes. They had simply crushed them with overwhelming strength.

If they had not considered Konoha their homeland, the Three Ninja could probably have flown the banner of another hidden village and directly wiped out Konoha entirely!

Thus, compared to Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, the two advisors of Konoha's Elder Council hated Shimura Danzō, who had abandoned them, even more!

"Enough!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was weathered and low, like an old lion driven from the pride after defeat. Though some of his former majesty remained, he ultimately lacked conviction.

He looked at Danzo as though looking at a stranger. "What price do you need us to pay?"

"Loyalty." Danzo looked pleased with himself.

"Impossible!"

The Third Hokage gave his answer without hesitation.

Danzo merely sneered twice, then waved both hands. The iron bars and fuinjutsu formulas throughout the Water Prison were instantly destroyed.

After doing so, he left behind a few words and turned to leave.

"You have nothing, while I still have Root in my hands! As long as I live, the real Konoha has hope of rebirth! You can only choose me!"

"The fake Konoha higher-ups reacted quickly. I've killed all the guards of the Water Prison. If you want to die, then stay here."

The prison cells had become prisons in name only. They could leave at any time.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura both ran out of their cells and supported him from either side.

"Let's go, Hiruzen! Danzo is right. We have no choice!"

"Ah..."

The Third Hokage sighed and did not resist.

He could accept stepping down and yielding his position to someone more worthy, but he could not accept the Three Ninja usurping power.

Watching the Third Hokage escape alongside Danzo, Shiranui Genma, Yamashiro Aoba, Namiashi Raidō, Morino Ibiki, Ebisu, Gekko Hayate, and the others exchanged glances before following as well.

Having made the wrong choice from the very beginning, they could only follow this path to the end.

In the end, only three people remained in the Water Prison.

Asuma Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's son, did not agree with his father's choice.

As one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, he could accept defeat, but he could not accept betraying Konoha!

That's right—betrayal!

In Asuma's eyes, Konoha was Konoha. There was no distinction between real and fake. There was nothing wrong with the Three Ninja holding power at the top.

Besides, Kurenai Yuhi, the woman he loved, had chosen to remain in the Water Prison.

Asuma tidied the thick beard that had grown over the past few days, trying to make himself look a little cleaner.

He asked his secret lover, "Kurenai, do you regret it?"

The sensitive and delicate woman gave him a tender smile.

No answer was needed. Everything was understood without words.

Asuma subconsciously reached into his pocket, intending to light a cigarette, but found nothing.

Smiling, he pushed open the cell door, walked to Kurenai Yuhi's side, and pulled her into his embrace.

The two held each other tightly.

Only for this moment, even if they died tomorrow, it would be worth it.

As the saying went, wherever one's heart found peace was home.

Wherever Kurenai was, that was his home.

A moment later.

Asuma let Kurenai rest in his arms, then called out to the Bald Jonin doing handstand push-ups in the cell opposite. "Hey... Guy, why aren't you leaving with them?"

"...19,004, 19,005, 19,006..."

Might Guy paused for a moment, then replied in an enthusiastic voice, "I'm training! I haven't finished one hundred thousand yet! I can't give up halfway! If I can't do one hundred thousand handstand push-ups, then I'll do fifty thousand laps of shuttle runs!"

Only after he finished speaking did he belatedly realize, "Eh? Asuma! Are you and Kurenai dating?"

Hearing that answer, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma did not know whether to laugh or cry.

That slow-witted idiot had actually turned the prison into a gym!

Never needing to think about anything else, always focusing solely on training no matter the time—he truly was someone to envy...

Lee: "I'm seriously injured and can't move. I need Recommendation tickets for a Full Body Repair. Could some kind-hearted person give me a Recommendation ticket? Once my body recovers, I'll teach you the Eight Inner Gates! I, Rock Lee, swear in the name of youth!"