Later in the evening,
"All prisoners and security personnel gather in the exercise hall. This isn't a drill! I repeat… all prisoners and security personnel gather in the exercise hall…"
One of the guards releases an announcement.
"Huh! What's going on? Why are they summoning everyone to the exercise hall?" The prisoners gossip among themselves.
"Did something happen again? Or someone attempted to escape?" A prisoner asks one of the guards.
"Some higher-ups from Kusagakure came for an inspection. So, all of you behave yourself. Perhaps your attitude might impress the higher-ups and reduce your punishment." The guards issue a warning as he unlocks the prison cells.
"Now, I am curious about it!" The prisoners walk towards the exercise hall with some excitement.
"I can smell some drama!" Another prisoner remarks.
"Hehe… it has been a while since something interesting happened in this bloody place." The prisoners grin.
Sasuke and Ryūzetsu glance at each other.
'I got some news this afternoon. These people might be the higher-ups of the Fruit faction. We must be careful with our actions.' She warns him.
'Mm… I will keep it in mind.' Sasuke assures her and glances at the entrance of the prison.
A few minutes later, all prisoners gather in the exercise hall.
"Why did they gather us here? What's going on?" The confused prisoners gawk at each other.
At the top of the bell tower,
Mui glances at the prisoners with narrowed eyes. Four figures in animal masks of a goat, ram, monkey, and bull beside him.
"Mui, your incompetence is disappointing." The goat-masked figure rebukes him.
"The flower faction might have grown wary of our activities. They might take action to thwart our plans."
"I am deeply sorry for my incompetence. I will personally hunt down the spy and execute him." Mui bows and apologizes to the higher-ups.
"There is no need for that!" The ram-masked figure waves his hand.
He opens his palm and releases four snake-like beasts from his hand. The snakes quickly slither down and enter the crowd.
"What are these?" The prisoners swiftly avoid them. The snake hisses at the prisoners and randomly wraps around a prisoner and bites their neck.
"What… what's this? Get away from me!" The prisoner attempts to get rid of the snakes, but the snake bites their neck and releases their venom.
The skin of their victim turns purple. This further agitates the prisoners and some of them weave hand signs to attack the snake with a jutsu.
ARGH… Ugh…
The celestial fire prison seal on their body activates and lights them up on fire. Other prisoners quickly avoid them like the plague.
Sasuke recognizes one of the prisoners as a jounin from Konoha. He takes a step forward to save the latter, but someone tugs his sleeve from behind.
"Give it up!"
Ryūzetsu's voice echoes in his ear.
Tch…
Sasuke grits his teeth and stops his rash movement. He calms his mind and reflects on his action; he took in a moment of spite.
'The success of this mission depends on me. I can't destroy everything at this stage.'
One by one, the snakes filter out every spy among the prisoners. One of the snakes slithers towards Sasuke and wraps itself around Sasuke's neck.
'How did it recognize my identity as a spy despite my concealment as a spy?'
Shiing…
Sasuke activates his Mangekyo Sharingan for an instance cast a powerful genjutsu on the snake. In a frame of a second, his eyes return to normal.
The snake slithers down his body and proceeds to another prisoner. A similar situation happens with Ryūzetsu. The snake on her body slithers away after sniffing her body for a few seconds.
Phew…
Ryūzetsu heaves a sigh of relief.
"He isn't a spy?! I thought he was one." Mui skeptically stares at Sasuke.
"It's impossible to deceive these Shinjitsu snakes. These special snakes are mutated creatures born from the special chakra of the Ultimate Box of Bliss. These snakes possess the ability to sense fear, hostility, and other negative emotions of other beings. So, they serve as the perfect tools to differentiate allies from enemies. Also, he still has the celestial fire prison seal intact on his body. So, it should not be possible for him to infuse chakra." The ram-masked figure remarks.
After an hour, the snakes get rid of every spy and return to the ram-masked figure's side. He waves his sleeves and collects the snakes.
"We have important things to discuss, Mui."
The four-animal-masked figure turns around and leaves. Sasuke senses a gaze on him. He raises his head and notices one of the animal masked figures.
Hmm…
"What's wrong?" Ryūzetsu inquires.
"It's nothing!" Sasuke shakes his head and returns to his prison cell with the rest of the prisoners.
"I am surprised you were able to deceive those snakes." Ryūzetsu stares at Sasuke in amazement.
"I have my means, but I am surprised by how you did it?" Sasuke replies to her with a question of his own.
"There is a special herb at the foothill of this mountain. These herbs release a special aroma that dulls the senses of this snake." Ryūzetsu pulls out her necklace from her clothes to reveal a small pouch at its end. The pouch produces a faint distinct smell.
"Anyway… there is no doubt it. Those people are definitely the higher-ups of the Fruit faction. Looks like they are about to take action. I have to inform the elder about the situation. If possible, I would like your assistance in this matter." Ryūzetsu requests him.
"I will assist you to the best of my abilities." Sasuke nods and leaves the hall.
Later in the night.
'It's about time. I remove this pesky seal.'
Sasuke activates the sealing key and removes the celestial fire prison seal from his body. His flow of chakra returns to normal and the restraining feeling on his body vanishes.
Sasuke gathers a few wisps of chakra at its fingertips.
Swish… swish…
He makes some quick hand signs and creates shadow clones. The shadow clone lies down on the bed and pretends to sleep. Sasuke conceals his presence and camouflages his body to escape from his cell.
He swiftly flickers through the hallways and arrives before Mui's office.
Shiing…
Sasuke activates his Sharingan and peeks inside the room.
'Looks like no one is here!'
He closes his eyes and senses the chakra in his surroundings.
'Found him!'
Sasuke notices Maroi sneaking around in the castle.
Whoosh…
He flickers behind Maroi and reveals his presence.
Whoosh…
Maroi swiftly coats his hands with lightning chakra and attacks him.
Chirp… chii…
Sasuke blocks Maroi's attack with his bare hands. He grabs Maroi's arm and overpowers him.
"I will spare your life if you tell me where is Mui?" Sasuke summons a kunai and places it against Maroi's neck.
"Wait… wait… hold on! I am with you guys!" Maroi raises his hands in surrender.
"I am also a spy, just like you." He reveals his identity.
"Why should I believe you?" Sasuke questions him as he presses the kunai against Maroi's neck. Blood trickles down from Maroi's neck.
"Wait… wait! I will prove my identity. Please give me an opportunity." Sasuke seals Maroi's chakra and releases him.
Phew…
Maroi heaves a sigh of relief. He wipes the blood from his neck and takes out a kunai from his pocket.
Slash…
Maroi slashes his left arm to reveal a prosthetic arm. He takes out a scroll and hands it over to Sasuke.
Hmm…
Sasuke glances at Maroi and narrows his eyes.
"A puppet user?"
Hehe…
An ugly smile appears on Maroi's face. Sasuke ignores his smile and inspects the scroll for any traps. After ensuring safety, he opens the scroll and reads its contents. Sasuke recognizes the official seal of Raikage on the scroll.
"So, you are a sleeper agent of Kumogakure!"
After a few seconds, he returns the scroll to Maroi.
"Yeah, kind of! I spent eight years in this prison to seek an opportunity to steal the box of Ultimate Bliss. These past few years, I slowly gained the trust of the higher-ups of the Fruit faction and grew closer to the current warden Mui. However, all of my hard work was for naught with the Fourth Shinobi war."
"Very well. I will trust you. So, tell me where are Mui and those Fruit faction higher-ups." Sasuke asks him.
"He is in…"