The iron cell door creaked open.
Dim light from the hallway spilled onto the stone floor as Ino stepped in first, her expression unreadable.
Behind her came Sai, face calm but eyes alert, and three ANBU, masked and silent, a tension in the air like drawn wire.
“Time to get you out of the sack,” Ino muttered, kneeling beside Sasuke and placing her fingers in a seal.
One by one, the restrictive jutsu seals burned away into soft blue light.
Chains clinked to the floor with a final thud.
Sasuke didn’t say a word.
She flexed her wrists slowly, testing muscle, bone, ligament—everything stiff but intact.
Her arms arched back with a few satisfying cracks of joints being reminded they exist.
She rolled her neck.
More cracks.
She stood, her legs unsteady only for a moment.
Sai offered a brittle smile.
“Don’t try anything funny. We have orders to restrain you.”
Sasuke didn’t even glance at him.
She straightened her back, reasserting poise, her silence sharper than any kunai.
Ino made the seal for Mind Body Switch, then nodded a moment later.
“She’s clean. No mental traps or chakra booby traps.” Then she pulled out fresh clothes—dark navy pants and a simple grey blouse.
“Put these on. You’re getting an upgrade.”
“Where are you taking me?” Sasuke asked as she changed, unbothered by their presence.
“You’ll be held in the Hokage’s guest room.
Under surveillance.
Sasuke nodded silently.
Once fully dressed, Sasuke followed them out.
The dungeon hallway was cold stone and silence.
But once they reached the tower’s upper levels, sunlight poured across the marble like a forgotten blessing.
Sasuke squinted slightly, the brightness nearly stinging.
Even still—four ANBU surrounded her, two flanking behind, two ahead.
Ino walked beside her, arms crossed.
“You know, I never thought the girl we all admired would end up marrying the class clown.”
Sasuke’s eye twitched.
She didn’t turn her head.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Ino teased.
“Just saying—Naruto’s fan club is gonna be pissed. I can already picture some of them trying jutsu-fueled black magic to curse you for stealing their golden boy.”
Sasuke’s fingers twitched subtly.
A faint flare of chakra prickled behind her eyes.
He has fan girls now?
Ino smirked, sensing the ripple.
“Oh yeah. Fan club, merchandise, a weird gossip scroll called Uzumaki Weekly… War hero, remember? He’s practically the Leaf’s golden flame.”
Sasuke’s lips were neutral, her expression unmoved, but her gaze narrowed ever so slightly.
Of course he’d have one.
Idiot.
They reached the guest quarters—a modest but elegant room with a tatami floor, a low table, and a futon already laid out.
Ino led her in and gestured vaguely.
“You’re not allowed to leave the room without escort. You’ll be watched at all times. Don’t try to suppress your chakra—you’ll trigger a response seal. No summoning animals, no seals, no scrolls. No escape.”
Sasuke scanned the room.
A moment later, her Sharingan flickered to life—just briefly.
Six chakra signatures, all female ANBU.
Hidden poorly.
Probably intentional.
Ino stepped back.
“Try not to kill your wedding guard detail, okay?”
Sasuke igno her.
She walked calmly to the low table, picked up the Konoha Daily, and unfolded the front page.
There it was.
A smiling Naruto, giving a peace sign beside Kakashi.
The headline?
“Peace Hero Naruto Uzumaki Soon to Wed!”
She stared at it in silence, then turned the page.
Sat down.
Crossed one leg over the other.
And began to read.