Interrogation

Northern forest of Konoha.

The battlefield remains intact, with the ruins still standing. The Root ninjas merely cleared away the nearby puppet remains.

As for the damaged terrain and landforms, that's handled by specialized departments.

At this moment, the ninjas who had cleaned up the debris on the battlefield left, and the personnel responsible for repairing the terrain had not yet arrived. However, two new guests appeared here.

"That Scorpion guy is really useless; he can't even escape."

"That's not entirely true. The opponent is that monster, Uzumaki Katsuki. Let alone Sasori, to be honest, I can't think of anyone who could stand up to that monster."

The White Zetsu were half-exposed on the tree trunks, gazing at the desolate landscape unique to the battlefield.

"A monster... that monster truly contained both the Nine-Tails and the Five-Tails within its body. I really don't know how to collect these two Tailed Beasts."

"This is none of our business. With our small frame, we're only good for listening to gossip and acting as eyes and ears. We're not qualified to do the work of thinking!"

"Hey, can't you say it gently? I'm very sensitive."

"Stop talking nonsense, let's get going and report this matter immediately."

After babbling and spouting nonsense, the White Zetsu vanished without a trace when the professionals responsible for repairing the terrain at the Root arrived.

The Root the prison.

"Itachi, did you find anything?"

"No, these guys' brains seem to be sealed from birth. Most of their memories are inaccessible; we can only pick up scraps, which are mostly useless."

In the underground cell, the chief and Deputy Chief of the Root were gathered.

Itachi rubbed his temples, his head aching. Even with his Genjutsu, he could only glean some trivial information. What he really wanted to know, such as the leader behind them or news of Madara Uchiha, remained a complete mystery.

After obtaining Orochimaru's permission, Minato had told Itachi everything about Madara Uchiha.

Itachi did not disappoint him. After the initial surprise, he composed himself and threw himself back into his work.

Interrogating the White Zetsu imprisoned in jail.

"Is it useless? It's really a headache!"

Minato rubbed his temples, realizing he could never get used to working overtime all night, no matter how many times he did it.

Or perhaps he genuinely didn't want to work overtime. Minato is a very family-oriented man; whenever possible, he would definitely go home for dinner, shower, and sleep.

He didn't like the high-end single bed in his office, which had been purchased with public funds.

"Although I haven't gained much here, Shisui's Genjutsu is still superior to mine. If possible, I think we could let Shisui give it a try," Itachi suggested.

"Uchiha Shisui? I understand. I'll discuss this with the Lord Hokage." Minato nodded, then said, "Itachi, let's put those two monsters aside for now. Let's go meet that genius Puppet Master, Sasori of the Red Sands! Hopefully, we won't come back empty-handed again..."

Itachi pursed his lips tightly, but remained silent.

Another heavily guarded cell.

The scorpion, its limbs removed, was suspended in the center of the house by thick iron chains.

This monster baffled the veterans of the Sealing Team. Unable to seal Sasori's Chakra, they had no choice but to resort to this extreme method: dismembering his limbs, chaining his body, and assigning a large number of guards to watch over him.

To prevent the monster from escaping.

"Oh, Sasori of the Red Sands, is this our first meeting? I am..."

"The Yellow Flash of Konoha, Minato Namikaze, right? The first Chief of Root, almost seventeen years in office, isn't he? Aren't you planning to step down and hand over the reins to a younger generation?"

Scorpion had a sturdy collar around his neck, restricting his head movement, but his eyes were free to move, and he was currently staring at Minato with a chilling smile on his lips.

"Was the investigation thorough? Was the intelligence obtained from the spy you killed?"

Minato smiled and met Sasori's gaze.

"That's right, he was a spy I planted a long time ago, but he turned out to be a useless piece of trash. He couldn't even do a good job of gathering intelligence. He's utterly disappointing."

"Oh! Useless? Your Excellency is truly harsh! To be honest, I think that spy was very well hidden." Minato sat in the chair his subordinates had carried over. "The Root has conducted thirty-nine counter-espionage searches over the past ten years, but they haven't found that dead guy at all. If it weren't for your intervention, they might never have found him in their entire lives!"

"Hmph! A spy who can't gather important intelligence is meaningless, no matter how well he disguises himself." Sasori seemed very talkative. "A spy's mission is intelligence. A spy who can't get intelligence is better off dead. The village paid such a high price, not so they could come to Konoha to loaf around and wait to die."

"So, Sasori of the Red Sands, do you think a ninja who failed in his assassination attempt has any value?" Minato asked.

"Haha! Are you trying to sow discord between me and the guy behind me?" Scorpion laughed. "Lord Commander of Root, just ask me anything you want to know. I'll tell you everything I know... After all, what I know is only a small part, and I'm afraid it will disappoint you."

"Thank you for your consideration." Minato smiled gently, and without any hesitation, asked, "Then, first of all, can you tell me who the people behind you are?"

"Well! How should I put it... monsters, I guess! Those pure white guys came to me on their own, and after I killed more than a dozen of them, another guy who uses Wood Release appeared. We fought for a while and neither side could win... no, strictly speaking, I had no chance of winning. The other guy even stopped fighting on his own, saying he hoped to cooperate with me..."

"A guy who uses Wood Release? Are you sure?"

Minato's smile faded, and his expression turned serious.

"Of course it's Wood Release. My eyes aren't blind. When I modified my body, I preserved my sight completely," Sasori continued. "Anyway, I was persuaded by that guy. He helped me collect materials to make Human Puppet and could help me infiltrate Konoha. In return, I told him about the hidden graveyards of various clans."

"What did you say? You were the ones who dug up the graves in Sunagakure?"

Itachi was astonished.

He had been in charge of this matter for quite some time without any progress, and he never expected to receive the news at this time and under these circumstances.

"To be precise, it was that Wood Release ninja who did it. It has nothing to do with me. What I need to create Human Puppet are living corpses with well-preserved Chakra systems, not a bunch of skeletons."

The scorpion vehemently denied it, trying to distance itself from the situation.

"Can you tell me what you're trying to do by opening the grave but not stealing anything?" Minato asked.

"I don't know either. That Wood Release ninja just extracted some cells from the corpse and then left. Who knows what kind of research those monsters were doing?"

Scorpion wanted to shrug to express his feelings, but the heavy iron chains prevented him from moving. (To be continued)