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Hoozuki Castle Prison, where the Box of Ultimate Bliss is located, is on an isolated island, surrounded by ocean whirlpools that only occasionally subside. To get in, one can only take a boat during these brief lulls.
Naruto would need a considerable amount of time to sneak in and accomplish his goals, so he couldn't just dig a tunnel underground and go on a rampage like he did during the exams. Therefore, besides becoming a prison guard, the only other way to get in was to become a prisoner.
Unfortunately, Naruto's identity prevented him from even being a prisoner. Being the Nine-TTails' Jinchuriki, while having drawbacks, also offered advantages diplomatic immunity! And of the highest caliber, too.
My village has only one inter-village nuclear missile; do you dare to steal it? If you do, I'll hit you. This rule might not apply to the Lightning, Earth, and Rain Nations, but it was extremely effective against other less powerful countries.
So Naruto needed to use Karin. Even if he went on a rampage in the Land of Grass Village, his crime rating would at most be three stars. Karin was different; she was a traitor, and any action she took would start at a minimum of four stars.
After sending a clone to meet Karin, Naruto reflected: Since I'm going to end up in prison anyway, why didn't I do anything with Hinata yesterday?
Meanwhile, Naruko delivered breakfast to Guren, then pulled Karin aside. "I remember you wore a Grass Village forehead protector during the Chunin Exam. Were you once a ninja from the Grass Village?" Naruko fabricated, as her main body had been either watching Hinata or spacing out during that exam and hadn't even noticed Karin.
"Mm," Karin's tone was low, as if recalling unpleasant memories.
Naruko opened Legend of the Ninja World: Snake Eye's Advent: "Then have you heard of this?"
"Mm," Karin had indeed heard of the legend of this box.
Naruko closed the book and asked, "Judging by your expression, it seems you have some unpleasant memories associated with that place."
How perceptive, Karin thought inwardly, then leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Karin remembered her mother. She was so innocent when she was little, because even when life was tough, her mother would make time to be with her, teach her to read and write. Karin still remembered her mother's smile from back then. But one day, she woke up hungry, and after her mother brought back a bag of food the next day, she never smiled again.
She remembered one summer, when she innocently asked, "Mom, it's so hot, aren't you going to wear short sleeves?" Her mother didn't reply, just looked at her with worry. As she grew older, she understood some things and listened to her mother even more.
Her mother told her there were bad people near their home, to stay indoors, and wait for her return. She listened, but what she waited for... was only a hand covered in bite marks beneath a white sheet. When that man, like a vengeful ghost, bit her arm, she learned from her mother and stopped wearing short sleeves.
Pushing up her glasses to hide her emotions, Karin replied, "Something like that."
"Do you have a grudge?" Naruko steered the conversation.
"Mm."
Naruko tossed two steamed buns to Guren, then glared fiercely at Sasuke, making a statement with multiple meanings: "If you have a grudge, then get revenge!"
Sasuke, who was sparring, suddenly felt a chill run through his body and shivered, getting his clothes grazed by his opponent.
"How do I get revenge?" Karin asked self-deprecatingly. She dreamed of revenge, but that was an entire ninja village, and she was just a medical ninja with no offensive capabilities.
"I can help you," Naruko whispered, "On the condition that you can obtain information about the box."
"You?" Karin questioned, "Do you know how many enemies I have in the Grass Village?"
"How many?"
Karin rolled up both her sleeves, revealing her arms covered in bite marks: "Guess how many people in the Grass Village have been injured?" The entire Grass Village, excluding civilians if you pulled out ten and killed five, she wouldn't kill the wrong person.
"Perhaps those people aren't as strong as you think?" Naruko tempted, "Let's leave it here for now. If you want revenge, wait for me here tonight with the information." This information was Naruto's pledge of allegiance to Karin. How strong was Karin's hatred for the Grass Village? For everyone else, the Infinite Tsukuyomi was a beautiful dream; only she was experiencing revenge.
Naruto had initially acquired the basic skills of a major ninja world figure: using others' hatred to achieve his own goals. Unfortunately, his Talk no Jutsu was too low, lacking sufficient manipulative power. However, he had a helper. After Naruko "killed" herself (dissipated), another clone appeared and made a few gestures to Sasuke.
After the clone left, Sasuke stopped sparring and walked to Karin, asking, "What did he say to you?" Karin told Sasuke everything she knew, giving a brief summary. "If you want to, do as he says," Sasuke said before turning back to the sparring ground, "and I'll help."
"Sasuke!" Karin exclaimed in delight, her eyes moist, and then she dashed off to find information. Naruto's words were completely forgotten by her. At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind: Sasuke is going to help me get revenge!
Guren, who was eating a bun, was speechless. This girl is too naive. How could she fall for such a simple honeytrap?
On the other side, Naruto sent his clone to prepare items to deal with the Grass Village.
In the evening, Naruto brought Karin and Sasuke to the Land of Grass. Naruto leafed through the documents. Orochimaru's base had a lot of information, but the important parts were hidden by him. Karin, combining her experiences in the Grass Village with the documents, finally gleaned that only the phrase "a celestial prison from which no one can escape" was useful to Naruto.
Lighting the area with an oil lamp, Naruto arranged sofas for the two, then spread the documents on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose, and said, "Let me analyze this..."
Sasuke glanced sideways. Here we go again, his amazing analytical skills. From childhood to now, although he had only seen Naruto analyze things less than five times in total, each time left a deep impression on him. That analytical ability, almost like prophecy and scene recreation, amazed him.
Taking out a red pen, Naruto circled a few words and said, "No one can escape' means they're locked up in a prison. So, how many prisons or jails are there in the Land of Grass?"
Karin thought for a moment and said, "I know of 48. There should be many more I don't know about."
Holy crap, why so many? I thought there were only a few. Organizing his thoughts, Naruto continued, "Now let's analyze 'celestial prison.' To be called a 'celestial prison,' it definitely wouldn't belong to the human world; at the very least, it would be far from human habitation. How many such prisons are there in the Land of Grass?" Since there were too many, he decided to eliminate some first.
"Three: Hoozuki Castle, Qingguan Temple, and Zhifan Temple."
"Now, let's think in reverse. 'No one can escape' implies it might be permanent imprisonment. Which of these three is it?"
"Hoozuki Castle. It holds the most heinous criminals, never to be released."
Naruto slapped the table, stating unequivocally, "Excellent! Then the box is in Hoozuki Castle."
"Really?" Karin was a bit doubtful.
"Mm," Sasuke replied to her. He was extremely confident in Naruto's analytical results. This analytical ability was also why he usually spoke so few words. If he can analyze that the box is in Hoozuki Castle with less than ten words, why should I say more?
"So you want me to be imprisoned in Hoozuki Castle, and then you'll swap me out?" Karin asked.
"Mm," Naruto nodded. This was the agreed-upon plan between him and Karin: first, help Karin get revenge in the Grass Village, then let Karin be captured and imprisoned. Finally, he would use teleportation to swap Karin out, allowing her to live in Hoozuki Castle under her own identity. The steps were complicated, but in summary, it was one sentence: I help you get revenge, you send me to prison.
"But first, we need to ensure Karin isn't killed before she's imprisoned."
Sasuke pondered for a few seconds, then replied, "I have someone in mind."
"Who?" Naruto asked.
"Suigetsu."
"Why him?!" Karin had a very low opinion of Suigetsu because of his caustic remarks.
"Suigetsu's ability allows him to remain hidden near you for a long time."
Naruto: "..."
Damn you, Sasuke!