Chapter 116: Hohozuki Castle

Chapter 116: Hohozuki Castle

Early the next day, Yue Yan planned to go to a shop next to the inn for breakfast. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he saw Yagura and Uzumaki Orihime coming out of their rooms too.

After sitting down in the breakfast shop and ordering the food he wanted, Yue Yan looked at Uzumaki Orihime, who, though still looking exhausted, was in much better condition than the day before.

"Your life force has been greatly sapped. Even though you're from the Uzumaki Clan, it was very dangerous. Take a good rest these ryo days. I'll take you back to Konoha later."

"Thank you, Yue Yan."

"Don't call me 'Lord'. Just call me by my name."

"Okay, Yue Yan... sir."

As she spoke, Uzumaki Orihime looked a bit hesitant.

"Yue Yan sir, I..."

Uzumaki Orihime was truly grateful to Yue Yan for saving her life. However, the thought of going to Konoha troubled her.

Uzumaki Orihime had fled when the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed. Knowing that Konoha was an ally of the Land of Whirlpools, she couldn't help but harbor resentment towards Konoha for its inaction when her homeland was in trouble. After all, it was her hometown.

Seeing Uzumaki Orihime's expression, Yue Yan more or less guessed what was on her mind. It had happened during the Second Shinobi World War, and Yue Yan wasn't well - informed about it. So, he didn't know what good words to say for Konoha.

"My sister is also from the Uzumaki Clan. When you get to Konoha, I'll introduce you to her."

Although Yue Yan pretended to be from the Uzumaki Clan in front of Kushina to get the [sealing ninjutsu], he had genuinely come to regard Kushina as his sister later on. Still, he felt a twinge of guilt deep down. Now that there's a real Uzumaki Clan member right in front of him, introducing Uzumaki Orihime to Kushina could be a form of compensation. Besides, Kushina would surely be happy to learn that there was another Uzumaki survivor in the ninja world.

Sure enough, as soon as Yue Yan mentioned that there was a member of the Uzumaki Clan in Konoha, Uzumaki Orihime's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"I swear. Her name is Kushina. She's my sister."

"I believe you."

For Uzumaki Orihime, who's been a helpless and lonely runaway for so long and suffered a lot over the years, there's no better news than knowing there are still fellow clan members alive and that she'll get to meet them soon.

Yue Yan could tell that when he first met her, there was a look of giving up on life in her eyes. Uzumaki Orihime only managed to keep going because of the baby in her belly. Now, that feeling of giving up has completely gone, and there was even a glimmer of hope for the future.

Seeing this, Yue Yan finally felt relieved. He then turned to Yagura.

"I'm going to Hohozuki Castle later. You stay here and take care of Uzumaki Orihime."

Hearing this, Yagura shook her head.

"I promised to help you find the [Box of Ultimate Bliss]. Even though we've got some leads now, I have to accompany you and see it with my own eyes."

"

 "I'm really touched by what you said, but Orihime is pregnant now. I'm worried something might go wrong if no one takes care of her."

 Hearing Yue Yan's concern, Yagura flashed a confident smile.

 "I've thought of that. There's no need to worry at all. Before, to avoid being discovered by the Sand Ninjas' Anbu and to help you investigate the clues of the Box of Ultimate Bliss more conveniently, I found an absolutely safe place. It's a rather remote village. Almost no ninjas pass by there. Taking Orihime there, she'll be absolutely fine, and there'll even be someone to take care of her."

 After thinking for a moment, Yue Yan agreed.

 After taking Orihime to the village Yagura mentioned, he entrusted her to a kind old woman, asking the kind old woman to take good care of her.

 Although Yagura had said before that the village was absolutely safe, just to be on the safe side, Yue Yan left a little Katsuyu with Orihime. If she encountered any danger, the little Katsuyu could use the Reverse Summoning jutsu to call Yue Yan back instantly.

 After resolving all the concerns, Yue Yan and Yagura headed to Hohozuki Castle.

 Hohozuki Castle is a prison and has the infamous title of a place from which no one can escape.

 The reason why no one can escape is that the lord's line of Hohozuki Castle controls a jutsu called Fire Release: Heavenly Prison. This jutsu can interfere with the chakra used to perform ninjutsu. At the same time, if the person hit uses chakra, their whole body will be enveloped in flames. They might even be burned alive. Moreover, if one is a certain distance away from Hohozuki Castle, the jutsu will be activated even without using chakra. As long as the caster is alive, this ninjutsu will not disappear.

 The only way to counteract the flames is to soak the whole body in water. But Hohozuki Castle is on an isolated island with chaotic and fierce ocean currents. Without the ability to perform ninjutsu, a ninja falling into the water around it is basically committing suicide.

 Looking at Hohozuki Castle, Yue Yan was thinking about how to find Wuwei.

 After all, all the prisoners in Hohozuki Castle are criminals. If he were to kill all of Wuwei's subordinates like he did in the Grass ninja village before, Hohozuki Castle would surely be in chaos, and it would be bad if those criminals ran out to harm ordinary people.

 Therefore, Yue Yan and Yagura planned to sneak in directly.

 The sneaking-in operation went very smoothly. No one noticed Yue Yan and Yagura, or rather, no one here ever thought that someone would sneak into Hohozuki Castle.

 Yue Yan activated his Senji perception and found a place that should be a meeting room. There, a person's chakra was connected to all the criminals in Hohozuki Castle. This person should be the lord of Hohozuki Castle.

 Although Wuwei was only the deputy lord for the time being, as long as they found the lord, they could learn Wuwei's whereabouts from him.

 At this time, there were five people wearing animal masks sitting around a stone round table in the meeting room.

 Among them, a person wearing a ram's head mask spoke in a deep voice.

"Yesterday, news came from the Grass ninja village that the Golden Thunder Beast of Konoha attacked the village, kidnapped a woman from the Uzumaki Clan, and inquired about the Box of Ultimate Bliss."

"Although that woman is very powerful and has reduced many casualties for the Grass ninja village, she's just a woman after all. Once we open the Box of Ultimate Bliss, our Land of Grass will be able to trample the other five great nations underfoot."

As he spoke, this man wearing a monkey - head mask disdainfully spoke up.

"What the hell is this Golden Thunder Beast? In front of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, he's just a bigger ant. Even if he comes now, we can keep him here. I heard he has a lot of chakra. We can throw him into the Box of Ultimate Bliss as the energy to open it."

"Anyway, the Golden Thunder Beast got his reputation on the battlefield. His strength shouldn't be underestimated." The man wearing a horse - face mask looked at the man wearing a Gataro mask sitting in the main seat. "How's the situation with Wuwei?"

Hearing the inquiry, the man with the Gataro mask slowly spoke.

"Wuwei took the Box of Ultimate Bliss and transferred last night. But the Box of Ultimate Bliss requires too much chakra to open. Even if his son is extremely talented, it's not enough. Well, if the Golden Thunder Beast dares to come to Hohozuki Castle, capture him."

"Oh? Really? Can you beat him?"

"Heh, don't believe the hype in the ninja world about how powerful the Golden Thunder Beast is. Once he's hit by the Heavenly Prison Jutsu, he'll be at our mercy..."