Chapter 6 (Sasuke Retsuden)

Summary
Sasuke tries to make sense of the rocks and chickens being kept in Zansūru's secret basement, but he's interrupted by the sound of Zansūru approaching. Sasuke, who is actually working at the digsite with the other prisoners, releases the shadow clone he's been using so that Zansūru won't find him. Later, Sakura receives a message from Kakashi reporting that the Prime Minister has begun an invasion of Nagare Village and that Prince Nanara has decided to overthrow him. Sakura assumes this is what the assets Zansūru has been developing are supposed to be for, though she still doesn't know what the assets actually are. She nevertheless sends Kakashi a report about what they've discovered so far.

Sakura looks for Sasuke at dinnertime so that she can tell him about Kakashi's message, but she cannot find him. As she sits at a table to think, she is approached by Ganno, one of Sasuke's cellmates. They chat until Ganno notices Sakura's new wedding ring, prompting him to ask about her husband. Sakura speaks candidly about Sasuke, listing his many good qualities. Even though she never refers to Sasuke by name so as to conceal their relationship, Ganno remarks that Sasuke is lucky to be married to her. Sakura tries denying it, so Ganno explains that Sasuke used to gaze at the tree outside, but stopped around the time that Sakura began working at the prison. Ganno departs and Sakura looks outside, seeing that the tree's flowers resemble cherry blossoms.

Meanwhile, Sasuke sorts fruit imported from the Land of Redaku's capital with Gigi. Since fruit are never included with their meals, Gigi assumes that these fruit are exclusively for Zansūru and the prison's guards; Sasuke responds by helping himself to one. Sasuke notices a lake just outside the Astronomy Research Institute, which is not visible from the lower sections of the prison. Gigi explains that the lake was formed long ago by a meteor and that, because it's entirely comprised of rain water, it can perfectly reflect the sky above it. This gives Sasuke an idea and he promptly leaves, claiming to have a stomachache.

Sasuke finds Sakura, who has had an idea of her own: the Hoshinarabe cards do not solely correspond to constellations, but hand seals as well. She believes that, in order to reveal the polar particles that they're looking for, they'll need to perform a particular sequence of hand seals; she guesses that two of the Hoshinarabe hands, Star and Earth, indicate the necessary hand seals, as both terms are used in the description of the polar particles' hiding place. Sasuke reports that he knows where this hiding place is, and they make plans to meet up after nightfall.