Naruto reappeared near the border of the Land of Fire, the closest point he'd set for his Flying Thunder God relative to the Land of Grass.
'First time I've traveled this far on my own.'
Finally leaving that place... a profound sense of relief washed over him, so deep it felt like it reached from his soul down to every last cell. Having escaped Konoha's oppressive air, his spirits soared. He took a long, deep breath. The scent of fresh grass filled his lungs, clearing his head.
'Alright, let's see where I am.'
He scanned the horizon. An endless grassland stretched out before him, a lush forest at his back. Closing his eyes, he focused, sensing for the ki signatures in the surrounding area. After a moment, his eyes snapped open.
The strongest concentration of ki, and the most powerful signatures within it, was to the northwest.
'Must be Kusagakure,' he thought, setting off in that direction.
The Land of Grass was caught between giants. Tucked between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, it had the Land of Rain to its south and the Land of Waterfalls to its north.
Compared to its neighbors, it was laughably weak. Konoha and Iwagakure didn't need any introduction. Amegakure, in the Land of Rain, was led by Hanzo the Salamander, a man feared across the shinobi world as a demigod. Under his rule, they'd once tried to become a sixth great nation, picking fights with Konoha, Suna, and even the Land of Iron, sparking the Second Shinobi World War.
They didn't win, but it was a testament to their strength. And Takigakure, while not known for many powerful shinobi besides Kakuzu, was the only village outside the Five Great Nations to possess a Tailed Beast, the Seven-Tails.
Kusagakure, by contrast, was nothing. It had no great leader, no real military might, and no famous shinobi to its name. It was just background noise. If they were known for anything, it was for being adept at studying and copying other villages' ninjutsu.
And while the country had a Daimyo, the man was incompetent, more interested in his own pleasures than governing. The whole nation was corrupt, which was why its gambling dens were nearly as famous as the Tanzaku Quarters.
But none of that mattered to Naruto at the moment. He had followed the strongest Ki signature, flying so fast he hadn't paid much attention to the landscape below. Now that he'd arrived, something felt off.
Ninja villages were almost always built inland. Kusagakure was no exception. And yet, before him stretched the boundless sea.
'I overshot it, I went too far' he realized.
Before him, on a solitary island, stood a colossal city. Imposing towers with steep, gabled roofs rose into the sky, their white walls broken only by narrow, slit-like windows. The entire structure felt heavy, sturdy, and oppressive. The vast, cavernous spaces inside seemed to swallow what little light pierced the gloom, creating a deep sense of shadow. The constant crash of waves against the surrounding cliffs only added to the suffocating tension.
Overhead, the sky was a bruised, inky black, as if a storm was permanently frozen in place. Miles away, the sun shone brightly, but here, clouds as thick as a quilt smothered everything. The darkness didn't just block the sun, it felt like it devoured the light itself.
This definitely wasn't Kusagakure. He'd followed the strongest ki in the Land of Grass all the way here. The most powerful signatures were all concentrated in this one city.
'So, Kusagakure doesn't have the strongest group in the country? This place is?' he wondered. 'Then where the hell am I?'
A sea breeze ghosted across his face, carrying the salty, fishy smell of the ocean mixed with damp earth and... blood. The scent was fresh.
It was only then, looking down from the sky, that he truly took in the city's design. The square layout, the tall towers... it looked less like a fortress built to keep invaders out and more like one designed to keep people in.
'A prison?' The word flashed through his mind.
A dazed look crossed his face. 'Definitely the wrong road.'
The place he'd arrived at was Hozuki Castle, an isolated prison near the Land of Grass. Built by Kusagakure on commission from the other nations, it was designed to hold troublesome shinobi on a small island surrounded by the sea. The name came from the "Hozuki Fruit," or groundcherry, that grew all over it. Also called 'Alkekengi' or Japanese-Lantern fruit.
The inmates weren't just missing-nin or common criminals. Most were political prisoners, shinobi who couldn't be held in their own villages, often because they had ties to a Daimyo. It was one of the stranger truths of the shinobi world: the Daimyo, not the Kage, were the true rulers. The villages and their Kage were essentially just employees.
The Wind Daimyo cutting Sunagakure's funding was what had pushed them into attacking Konoha years ago. The Daimyo held an almost untouchable status, their authority absolute.
These Daimyo were like... the Celestial Dragons in One Piece. Except maybe not quite so suicidal.
Even during wars anything is allowed against commoners, ninjas, no matter who they are, as long as they aren't related to Daimyo, a whole country could be razed to the ground but Daimyo's castle cannot be touched or all the other Daimyo's would band together to issue the highest bounty they could on anyone who hurt them. Kisame only escaped that fate due to Obito and Black Zetsu running interference.
'This place feels... familiar.' The layout reminded him of a story from one of those old movie reels. He remembered the main plotlines of Naruto pretty well, but he'd only seen a few of those side-story films. The plot here was something about him getting framed, captured, then turning the tables... after getting beaten up a lot first, of course. Naruto getting glimpse of life as a prison bitch. 'I only remember it because the poster was cool.'
He couldn't recall the characters, but one thing stuck out: a treasure, supposedly one of the Sage of Six Paths' ultimate weapons.
'What was it called again?'
'The Box of Ultimate Bliss? Something I would expect Jiraiya to chase after.' What a ridiculous name.
They said it could grant one wish, right? Except it didn't grant wishes, it just summoned destruction.
'Sounds a lot like that Holy Grail from Fate series, doesn't it?'
Lost in thought, Naruto descended toward the strange prison city.
'Well, since I'm already here,' he mused, a slow grin spreading across his face, 'might as well pick up a souvenir.'
A thought struck him. 'Maybe I'll give the box to Sasuke. He'd love it.'
--**--**
Narrator:
"Previously... on Naruto: Rogue Mode Activated!"
Having finally escaped Konoha's metaphorical cage, Naruto soars across the skies of the Elemental Nations... only to accidentally land in a literal one.
Enter: Hozuki Castle. Shinobi Alcatraz. The place where troublesome ninja, and inconvenient truths, go to rot.
Meanwhile, the real Kusagakure waits unbothered, unaware that Naruto has taken a very scenic detour into forbidden history.
With blood in the air, secrets underground, and 'wish-granting' doom-boxes just sitting around unclaimed...
Will Naruto sneak inside like a proper infiltrator...
Or just walk through the front door in disguise with dramatic entrance?
Will Naruto experienced bliss?
Will he actually give it to Sasuke?
Find out next time on:
"Escape from Konoha! Straight Into Solitary!"
===============
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