Kazekage Ninja-Chapter 42: The Prison Break (2)

"Breaking out through the front gate? Are you out of your mind?"

Uekusa Kenji stared at Aotu Tailuo in disbelief.

"Keep your voice down! Do you want the whole prison to hear us?"

Aotu Tailuo glanced around nervously, ensuring no one was paying attention, before continuing, "The strongest defenses are often the weakest in terms of manpower. That's our only chance to break through."

"That logic makes sense, but what about the three iron gates? How do you plan to deal with those?"

"Don't worry about that. I have my methods. The real question is, are you in or not?"

"Why me? Your Yuexi faction has plenty of fighters, far more than us."

"Because, in all of Abyss Prison, you're the strongest fighter."

The older man chuckled bitterly. "Kid, are you joking with this old man?"

Aotu Tailuo smirked mysteriously. "Not at all. You may not be the strongest now, but with this, you will be."

He pulled a small syringe out of his pocket.

"The antidote to the weakening serum! How did you even get your hands on this?"

Uekusa Kenji reached out to grab it, but Aotu Tailuo swiftly dodged, keeping it out of reach.

"Hold on, we're not done talking yet."

Kenji paused, narrowing his eyes. "Fine. That was hasty of me. But even if you can get past the three iron gates, what then? How do you plan to survive the endless desert outside? And what about the pursuit team that will inevitably come after us?"

Aotu Tailuo chuckled. "You used to be the head of Sunagakure's personnel department. You've seen my record, haven't you? Have I ever been careless or left loose ends during a mission?"

Kenji thought back. Indeed, every mission on Aotu Tailuo's record had been executed flawlessly, with meticulous planning and perfect outcomes. (Though Kenji hadn't seen his later records after being imprisoned.)

"You have outside help!" Kenji immediately realized the crux of the plan. Without external support, escaping the Abyss Prison would be meaningless.

"Exactly," Aotu Tailuo admitted without hesitation.

"From whom?"

"That, I can't tell you. If you betray me ahead of time, I'd be dead with no burial site to speak of."

"And if you don't give me any assurance, why would I trust you with my life?"

"Well, that's the dilemma, isn't it? Right now, you have two choices. Either trust me and take a gamble with this plan, or stay here and live out the rest of your days in Abyss Prison. Given your past as the personnel minister, holding so much intel on Sunagakure's inner workings, you're never getting pardoned."

Kenji fell silent. Everything Aotu Tailuo said was true. He wasn't even sixty yet. Spending the next twenty or more years in this hellhole wasn't a life he wanted to consider.

"Fine! I'm in. Tell me your plan."

"Not so fast. First, take this."

Aotu Tailuo pulled out a small white wax pellet from another pocket.

"Seven-Day Gut-Wrenching Poison!"

Kenji's eyes widened in shock. This infamous toxin was true to its name—within seven days, without the antidote, it would cause an agonizing death.

"Sharp eyes. You can tell just by the wax coating. Take it, and you're one of us. Otherwise, how can I trust you're not just pretending?"

"You—!"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm a petty man. I don't trust promises. Swallow it, and I'll give you the antidote after we escape. Refuse, and I can't risk trusting you."

Kenji hesitated for a moment before extending his hand. "Give it here. I'll take it."

Aotu Tailuo smiled, scanning their surroundings before handing over the pellet.

Without a word, Kenji swallowed it in front of him.

"Good. Straightforward. I like that."

"Enough with the nonsense! Tell me the plan."

"Alright, I'll keep it brief. In five days, during the exercise period, a sudden incident will occur. The gang from the laundry room will attempt a breakout. Of course, even if they succeed, they won't last two days. But the Abyss Prison guards will have to send a significant number of personnel to track them down, leaving the defenses thinner."

As he spoke, a patrolling guard passed by. The two immediately stopped talking, and Aotu Tailuo casually lit a cigarette.

Once the guard was out of earshot, Kenji urged, "And then?"

"That night, I'll find a way to unlock my cell door. From there, I'll head to the control room and open all the cells in the prison."

"How do you plan to unlock your cell?" Kenji asked skeptically.

Aotu Tailuo smiled without answering. Instead, he placed a hand on Kenji's shoulder, sending a surge of powerful chakra into his body. The force made Kenji tremble.

"You've already…" Kenji trailed off, realizing the truth. Of course, someone who could obtain the antidote to the weakening serum would have used it on himself first.

"After that, the elders' faction, the Yuexi faction, and the remnants of the gang will all stage a massive riot. Their target will naturally be the laundry room's exit. With such chaos, the guards will focus all their efforts on suppressing the riot. The defenses at the main gate will likely be reduced to fewer than thirty men."

"Thirty guards? That's manageable. The two of us can handle them. But what about the three iron gates?"

"Not the two of us—there will be three of us."

"Three? Who else?"

"The one in the Black Cell—Kazama Xu."

"Kazama Xu! You even roped her in…?" Kenji's eyes widened in shock.

"That's right. With her Dust Release, those three iron gates are just decorations."

Kenji pondered the plan. It seemed solid, with a high chance of success. But then a thought struck him.

"What about the others involved in the riot?"

Aotu Tailuo shrugged. "Can't be helped. Without some blood sacrifice, this won't work. But I doubt they'll all be killed. Anyway, we can't worry about that now. Don't tell me you're suddenly feeling sentimental?"

Kenji sighed. "Of course not. But we've been stuck here together for so long…"

"Spare me. You've sold out plenty of your 'brothers' during your years as a spy in Sunagakure," Aotu Tailuo retorted disdainfully.

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