The Land of Grass.
Its territory was not vast, situated between the Land of Rain to the south and the Land of the Waterfall to the north. The interior was mountainous and crisscrossed by rivers, offering some unique scenery for those who cared to appreciate it.
However, due to its relatively desolate environment and inconvenient transportation, the Land of Grass had not flourished like the Land of Hot Springs, leveraging its local resources.
It was debatable whether barren mountains and harsh waters could nurture wicked people in the ninja world, but it could certainly foster a large number of ninjas who lived by plunder, theft, and other criminal acts.
Such was the Land of Grass.
Despite its small size, it was home to two ninja factions that ordinary people feared.
One was the Grass Hidden Village, composed entirely of bandits who subsisted on plundering the resources and population of other ninja villages. Their roots had been severed by Tsunade and Manda during the Second Great Ninja War. The other was the Ghost Lantern Castle, located not far from the Grass Hidden Village.
Ghost Lantern Castle was situated on a small island surrounded by water, southeast of the former Grass Hidden Village site, bordering the Land of Fire.
The island was rich in water sources and grew abundant Physalis alkekengi, or 'ghost lanterns,' giving the castle its name.
Connected by the water routes that traversed the Land of Rain and the Land of the Waterfall to the north and south, and bordering the resource-rich Land of Fire, coupled with the frequent passage of ninjas from the Five Great Nations escorting prisoners along these waterways, Ghost Lantern Castle, a maximum-security prison for ninjas, was quite famous among them.
...
In a quiet clearing outside Ghost Lantern Castle, Mu, the lord of the castle, hid in the shadows, silently watching the two children fighting before him, his eyes filled with nostalgia and anticipation.
The boy was named Muky. He was his son.
The girl was the last heir of the Ryumei clan of the Grass Hidden Village, named Ryūzetsu.
Both had just passed the age where they could refine chakra. They were currently engaging in a battle of clumsy taijutsu and taunts.
"This time, I'm definitely going to beat you."
Little Muky, for the umpteenth time, declared this grand ambition to his playmate before exerting force in his arm.
"Hmph, Muky, you big dummy, boasting again!"
"You want to beat me, huh..."
Ryūzetsu, a girl of only a few years, lacked the strength of boys her age. With a startled cry, she was thrown by Muky, who was like a little tiger, landing on her backside.
"You little brat, do you know how strong I am now?"
"To tell you the truth, this is just a fraction of my unfathomable strength."
"If you can't even handle this, you definitely won't be able to withstand my next attack."
Seeing her awkward predicament, Muky laughed heartlessly for a while, then began to form hand seals in a serious manner.
"Take this!"
"This is an incredibly powerful ninjutsu I secretly learned while Father was cultivating. You'll be able to brag about being defeated by this move for a lifetime!"
"Fire Style - Heavenly Prison Jutsu!"
Muky shouted arrogantly, and as he completed the hand seals, chakra rapidly gathered in his hands.
Mu, listening from afar, heard his son utter the jutsu's name and a flicker of surprise lit up his eyes.
"Does Muky have such strong talent?"
"Truly..."
Under Mu's expectant gaze, Muky thrust out his reddened right hand. Five crimson chakra ropes shot from his fingertips, fell to the ground with a *pat* after half a meter, and dissipated.
"Huh?"
Muky scratched his head in confusion, looking at the fading ropes on the ground.
"I remember Father used it just like this..."
Ryūzetsu, who was rubbing her backside and curiously wondering what powerful ninjutsu Muky had secretly learned, froze at the sight. Then, she pounded the ground with her hand and laughed until tears streamed down her face.
"Hahahaha..."
"This is... hahaha... this is the super powerful ninjutsu you were talking about..."
"Big dummy, you're killing me... hahaha..."
Mu's face also stiffened, his expectant gaze instantly shattered by his son's clumsy execution.
"He's still too young..."
"Insufficient chakra reserves are one problem, and not understanding the chakra flow for the Heavenly Prison Jutsu is another."
"It seems I was overthinking things..."
"I wonder if he'll be able to help me accomplish that one thing when he grows up..."
Mu sighed with regret.
"That one thing..."
"Do you mean sacrificing chakra to the Gokusho Box to fulfill your wish of resurrecting your wife?"
A strange male voice suddenly sounded behind Mu.
Mu's heart leaped, and a fine sheen of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.
"To be able to get behind me without me noticing... this person's strength..."
As Mu was a powerful individual accustomed to dealing with the worst scoundrels in the ninja world, his mind raced. He immediately suppressed his fear and launched an attack.
"Fire Style - Great Heavenly Prison!"
A burning, scarlet cage formed instantly as Mu turned around, precisely trapping the man standing behind him.
Seeing his attack succeed, Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"No matter how strong you are, within the prison, you won't be able to use any chakra."
"This way, I can ask this fellow how he knew about the Gokusho Box and about me."
After regaining some composure, Mu finally raised his eyes to carefully examine the man trapped within the Heavenly Prison.
The more he looked, the more familiar the man seemed...
"Lord Orochimaru?"
Ghost Lantern Castle maintained good relations with the higher echelons of the Five Great Nations and thus collected information on ninjas from various countries, especially from the closest village to the castle, Konohagakure in the Land of Fire.
What strong ninjas Konoha had, what their names were, what their specialties were, what their past achievements were, and so on...
As the lord of Ghost Lantern Castle, Mu was intimately familiar with this information.
"You recognize me..."
Orochimaru chuckled and, under Mu's shocked gaze, slowly walked out of the flames of the Heavenly Prison towards him.
"The chakra-sealing effect of the Heavenly Prison is completely ineffective. Why?"
Mu swallowed hard, his voice dry as he asked.
"Although the Fire Style - Heavenly Prison Jutsu possesses the ability to completely seal the chakra within a ninja, it also has some weaknesses that cannot be ignored."
"It's ineffective against ninjas who specialize in taijutsu, it's ineffective when it encounters water, and..."
"It has no effect on natural energy."
"Lord Mu, am I correct?"
Orochimaru took the initiative, repeating Mu's unspoken thoughts.
"How could this be..."
Mu's fear intensified.
He couldn't understand why Orochimaru knew so much about a ninjutsu that was only passed down within the Ghost Lantern Castle lineage.
"Father!"
Muky, who was dejectedly enduring Ryūzetsu's teasing in the distance, had his attention drawn by the suddenly appearing Heavenly Prison. His heart leaped with joy, and he pulled Ryūzetsu's hand as they ran towards the two.
"Some things are not suitable for discussion in front of children."
"Lord Mu, if you wish to know more, why not invite me into Ghost Lantern Castle for a visit?"
Mu, who had been shielding the two children behind him, froze. He stared at Orochimaru's smiling face for a moment before nodding gently.
"It is certainly an honor to have the future Fourth Hokage visit my Ghost Lantern Castle. You are most welcome."
"Lord Orochimaru, please!"