Sasuke Retsuden: Infiltration

Synopsis
Near the Land of Redaku, Sasuke overhears a pair of women discussing a wedding ring, recalling being told of the custom. He sends a messenger hawk, expending his search for intel on Code, returning to the Land of Redaku for the first time since Naruto was afflicted with an illness years prior. Kurama had shared with Naruto that the Sage of Six Paths suffered from the same illness. Looking through their records, they discovered the Sage recovered while visiting the Astronomy Research Institute in the Land of Redaku. Kakashi was sent to investigate, as the Land of Fire doesn't have diplomatic relations, but the situation is precarious, with the country suffering from famine, and their prime minister having taken power after the death of their king. He had become a tutor to Prince Nanara, using the opportunity to search through their records for more information. The prince couldn't read or write, so Kakashi had to teach him before tutoring him could lead to any intel. Sasuke decided to investigate on his own, Naruto too weak to stop him. He infiltrated the institute as a prisoner, the institute now functioning as a prison, to look for records of how the Sage recovered from the illness. Sasuke was introduced to his cell-mates, learning their names and sentences, and defended himself when other inmates attacked him. A couple guards try to discipline him, but director Zansūru points out everything Sasuke did was in self-defence. He advises Sasuke not to do anything too conspicuous. One of the inmates attempts to use the commotion to escape, but is killed by Menō. The prisoners watch as Menō devours the prisoner. The prisoners work while Menō patrols the area. In his cell at night, Sasuke refuses to gamble at first, thinking about Menō, but changes his mind, wanting a favour instead. He uses ninjutsu to win with dice, and wants Jiji to distract the guards if they patrol the area while he looks around. Jiji doesn't want to do it, but Sasuke leaves. He needs freedom to look for records on the Sage, and Menō is in the way. Sasuke thinks Menō is Zansūru's summon, but his permanence is unusual. Menō attacks Sasuke, immune to his genjutsu, who is forced to fight back. He is concerned with leaving evidence of a battle, but has to slash Menō's claws and torso. Menō flees. The next day, Sasuke is surprised to see Menō healed from every injury Sasuke gave him. Zansūru confronts Sasuke about attacking Menō. Sasuke attempts to use genjutsu, but Zansūru's artificial eye makes it ineffective on him. Zansūru warns him he'll increase surveillance. The prime minister wants Nanara to evacuate his village for military occupation, wishing to attack other countries to acquire land to deal with the famine, as they received no help over their lack of diplomatic relations. Kakashi infiltrates the library during the meeting, and discovers records about the Sage of Six Paths.

Trivia

 * While in the manga and novel, Sasuke used his improvised Ice Release to produce a kunai against Menō, he summoned a regular kunai from a scroll in this episode.