Chapter 117: Prison Storm
Hōzuki Castle.
"Fire Release: Heavenly Prison."
A sealing technique developed specifically for dealing with criminals. It disables a prisoner's ability to use ninjutsu. If the prisoner tries to escape, the jutsu, under the user's control, transforms into chains that bind the prisoner in place.
The Heavenly Prison technique was in the hands of a man named Mujō, who happened to be an old acquaintance of the higher-ups in Konoha. To cooperate with Konoha, the "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison" seals placed on Uchiha Shuyu and Boruto were, in fact, fakes.
"I hope you both can reflect and turn over a new leaf here..."
"You've worked hard, Lord Mujō." A short, pudgy man walked over to take over the briefing. "I'm Mui, the warden here. Listen up, you scum who messed up in life! This place isn't like the outside world. In here, you need to remember two things. First: I am the law around here! Now then..."
"What's the second?" Boruto asked directly.
"You sure are a talkative brat!" Mui, annoyed and flustered, marched up and grabbed Boruto's blonde hair. "Second: You'd better remember the first rule! Got that? Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a kid!"
Boruto let out a pained grunt as his hair was yanked.
"Hey, Minato, why are you holding me back again?"
"I'm just worried you'll lose your temper..." Minato gave an awkward smile.
"Relax, Minato. In order to stay undercover within S.H.I.E.L.D., I'll be the most emotionless ninja ever—I won't blow my cover no matter what! Even if Boruto gets beaten black and blue... even if Naruto dies right in front of me... okay, not that part. Basically, unless Naruto's life is truly in danger, I won't make a move!"
"Is that so..." Minato chuckled, clearly unconvinced.
At that moment, led by the prison guards, Shuyu and Boruto were escorted into their cell.
Prison Storm.
"Hmm? Two new guys... and they're both kids," said Rentian, a rough-looking man with a hairy face and thunderous voice.
"Kids these days sure are something else," said Alai, a red-haired man.
"Hey, by the rules, newbies sleep on the bottom bunk," Rentian declared.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Boruto, used to having his way back in Konoha, had never been spoken to like this. Just as he rolled up his sleeves to fight back, Shuyu pulled him back.
"Just bear with it," said Uchiha Shuyu.
"Heh, take a lesson from your buddy," Rentian sneered.
"You two from the Land of Water?" Alai asked.
"Yeah, I'm Shuyu."
"And I'm Boruto."
"I'm Alai. That one's Rentian, and the guy lying on the bed is Hairball," Shuyu glanced at the muscular, Native American-looking man lounging on the bed as Alai continued, "So what'd you two do to get locked up in here?"
Konoha hadn't given them any specific crimes, and while Shuyu hesitated to come up with something convincing, Boruto spoke first: "...We committed an unforgivable crime under Konoha's Justice Act."
"Huh? But you're from the Land of Water, right? How'd you end up getting arrested here?" Alai asked.
"After committing the crime in Konoha, we fled here and got caught," Shuyu added.
"You two actually escaped from Konoha's pursuit? Not bad for your age," Rentian said, clearly impressed.
"Things haven't been peaceful in Konoha lately, which gave us a chance to slip away," Shuyu explained. Being the strongest village in the ninja world, Konoha's every move attracted attention.
"Yeah, that's true," Alai nodded. "Konoha's been in turmoil lately."
"You know about that too?" Boruto asked.
"Hey! Don't underestimate prison life! Every night at 7, we get to watch the news," Alai replied.
"Hey, Alai, you're not seriously going to accept these newbies that easily, are you?" Rentian said.
"Newcomers who've escaped from Konoha sound pretty interesting to me," Alai replied with a grin.
"Hey! Isn't that my toothbrush?!" Boruto yelled as he saw Rentian with a toothbrush tucked behind his ear. "You stole it, didn't you?! Give it back!"
Uchiha Itachi glanced at Alai and Rentian, and thought to himself: No wonder Shunhi always said prison was full of talented folks who were also charming talkers.
Clearly, Alai was the charming one, while Rentian, who had managed to steal Boruto's toothbrush despite his chakra being sealed and without Boruto noticing, was the "talent."
"If you don't take care of your stuff, anyone can take it. That's the rule in here. Want it back? Buy it from me."
Rentian was in prison for theft.
"You bastard!" Boruto couldn't take it anymore.
"Could you please give it back?" Shuyu stepped in before Boruto could lose it, trying to avoid exposing their cover.
"Didn't I just say? If you want it, buy it."
"If you don't protect your own stuff, anyone can take it—those are the rules here, right?"
"Hey, hey, Rentian, maybe that's enough," Alai interjected, sensing something was off and trying to smooth things over.
"Alai, you're giving these two brats too much credit."
As Rentian was speaking to Alai, Shuyu had already sat down right next to him.
"Huh? What is it, Alai?" Only then did Rentian notice something was wrong and slowly turned his head.
"Better watch your head. By your rules, if I take your head, that's fair game too, right?"
"Shuyu, calm down," Boruto said, nervous—this was the first time he'd seen anything like this. "It's just a toothbrush..."
"You punk, quit acting tough in front of me!" Rentian swung a punch, but Shuyu blocked it with ease.
Although the mission was to protect someone named Kuro in Hōzuki Castle, the real goal was to extract intel on a certain bandit gang from Kuro's mouth.
And for Uchiha Itachi, information extraction was child's play.
Konoha probably orchestrated this whole setup because they were worried about the village's reputation in the ninja world.
"Hahaha, ate dirt, didn't you, Rentian?" Alai laughed, breaking the tension in the cell. "Alright, let's go eat. Rentian, hurry up and return the toothbrush. We all share this cell—we still need to get along."
Rentian clicked his tongue with a dark expression and tossed the toothbrush to Boruto.
"Guess I owe you one, Rentian," Alai said with a smile, hopping down from the bed. "Come on, let's eat."
After seeing the toothbrush returned, Shuyu jumped down beside Boruto from Rentian's side.
"Hey, tell me what you guys did in Konoha..." Alai asked as he walked with Boruto and Shuyu toward the cafeteria.
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