Prison

Lee opened his eyes groggily, the corners of his mouth splitting into a faint grin, revealing a few missing teeth. His smile was strained.

He seemed to want to raise a hand and give a thumbs-up, but his strength failed him, and he couldn't complete the motion.

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

Your Reincarnator Number is 008.

Given your current physical condition, the Novice Mission has been revised.

Mission: Recover your health.

Reward: Instant Calculation, issued.

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

The flood of information suddenly surging into his memory took Rock Lee a long time to digest before he snapped back to reality.

"Huh?"

Staring at the mission panel before him, Lee instantly deflated.

The Main God's authority was unfathomable. There were billions of ways to restore his body to its original state in the Exchange List, the simplest being to spend a certain number of Reward Points on a direct "Full Body Repair."

But right now, the only things he could move were his eyes and mouth. He had no way to do missions, and no source of Reward Points.

"Source of Reward Points..."

Lee felt like he was missing something. The harder he tried to think, the more elusive the key became.

"Poor kid. Gaara's starting to love this world, and you're still beaten to a pulp by someone else..."

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

Kimimaro and the others had hit him far harder than Gaara ever did. Even Tsunade had no real confidence in curing Lee.

"I've given you the chance. It's up to you to seize it."

As he sighed, Wang Yan's mind stirred.

The mark he'd left on Danzō back then had suddenly shifted.

Konoha.

The newly built Water Prison.

The Anbu ninjas patrolling under Tsunade's orders were nowhere to be seen. In the empty dungeon, only heavy breathing and the sound of rippling water echoed.

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

Their cells were forged from refined iron, inscribed with various independent Fuinjutsu seals. Even if a few were destroyed, the rest wouldn't lose their effect entirely.

Since someone came to inspect them every day, these elite shinobi had no chance of escape.

The entire Water Prison was a massive sealing formation. Those locked inside couldn't mobilize any Chakra to perform ninjutsu.

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps approached from afar.

A man in a Japanese kimono appeared within the Water Prison.

The Third Hokage lifted his head, his expression complex, his tone carrying an unclear mix of hatred and relief: "Danzō!"

That's right!

The visitor was none other than Shimura Danzō.

His complexion was ruddy. The eye and arm once wrapped in bandages were now exposed.

Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, which had nurtured Kotoamatsukami, had been taken by Wang Yan. Even the string of Sharingan on his arm—enough to trigger a phobia in anyone with trypophobia—had been ruined during his probing.

But this misfortune had also brought him unexpected fortune.

Having transplanted Hashirama Cells, Danzō's vitality far surpassed that of his peers. His stamina and energy were abundant, nothing like his outwardly aged appearance.

Danzō cast a pitying glance at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said coldly, "I'm here to save you."

The Third Hokage's wet hair clung to his wrinkled face. At these words, fury blazed in his eyes, but though his mouth opened, no words came out.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had fewer scruples. They started cursing immediately.

"Danzō! You traitor! I curse you to a miserable death!"

"We demand an explanation! When the battle was critical, where the hell did you run off to? Why did you break your promise?"

"A faithless little man!"

"You'll never become Hokage!"

Anger blinded them both. All their former cunning was cast aside, leaving only raw venting.

Why had they fallen to such a state?

The Three Ninja faction was the biggest factor, but they hadn't used any schemes or tricks. They'd simply crushed everything with overwhelming force.

If not for the fact that Konoha was their hometown, the Three Ninja could have simply raised the banner of other villages and wiped out the entire village!

So more than Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, the Elder Council duo hated Shimura Danzō, who had abandoned them, even more.

"Enough!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was weathered and low, like an old lion driven from its pride after defeat—still carrying some authority, but ultimately lacking conviction.

He looked at Danzō as if at a stranger. "What price do you need us to pay?"

"Loyalty." Danzō was smug and self-satisfied.

"Impossible!"

The Third Hokage gave a decisive refusal.

Danzō only sneered twice, waving his hands. The iron bars and Fuinjutsu seals of the entire Water Prison shattered in an instant.

With that done, he left a few words and turned to walk away.

"You have nothing, while I still hold the reins! If I live, the true Konoha has hope of rebirth! Your only choice is me!"

"The fake Konoha's upper echelons reacted quickly. I've already killed the Water Prison's guards. If you want to die, feel free to stay here."

The prison was now a mere formality, open to leave at any time.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura both rushed out of the cell, flanking him and hoisting him up.

"Let's go! Hiruzen! Danzō is right—we have no choice!"

"Sigh..."

The Third Hokage sighed and offered no resistance.

He could accept stepping down for a worthy successor, but he could not condone the Three Ninja's act of usurping power.

Watching the Third follow Danzō in breaking out of prison, Shiranui Genma, Yamashiro Aoba, Namiashi Raidō, Morino Ibiki, Ebisu, and Gekko Hayate exchanged glances, then followed suit.

Having made the wrong choice from the start, they could only commit to this path to the end.

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

Asuma Sarutobi, as 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 defecting from Konoha!

Yes, defecting!

In Asuma's eyes, Konoha was Konoha—there was no true or false version. The Three Ninja holding power at the top wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Besides, his beloved Kurenai Yuhi had chosen to stay in the Water Prison.

Asuma tidied the thick beard he'd grown over the past few days, trying to look a bit cleaner.

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

The sensitive and delicate woman gave him a smile as soft as water.

No response was needed; everything was understood without words.

Asuma instinctively reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but found nothing.

He smiled, pushed open the cell door, walked to Kurenai's side, and pulled her into his arms.

The two clung tightly to each other.

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

As the saying goes, where the heart finds peace, there is home.

Where Kurenai was, that was his home.

A moment later.

Asuma let Kurenai rest in his arms and called out to the Bald Jonin in the opposite cell, who was doing handstand push-ups. "Hey... Gai, why didn't you go with them?"

"...19004, 19005, 19006..."

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

After saying that, he belatedly realized, "Huh? Asuma! Are you and Kurenai in love?"

Hearing that, Kurenai and Asuma didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

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

Without worrying about anything else, always focused solely on training—what a enviable guy...

Lee: "I'm currently severely injured and can't move. I need Recommendation Tickets for Full Body Repair. If any kind soul gives me a Recommendation Ticket, once I recover, I'll teach you the Eight Inner Gates! I, Rock Lee, swear it in the name of youth!"