Soul Search

Ye Lan slowly closed his eyes...

The air gradually grew still.

After quite a while, Ibiki slowly opened his eyes. This meant that his search had come to an end.

At the same time, Ibiki's face was filled with deep confusion.

He had just used the Anbu's exclusive Soul Search Technique, which allowed him to directly obtain fragments of an interrogated person's memories and thus gather intelligence.

Yet what puzzled him was that no matter how he searched, he could not find any useful information in the boy's mind.

All he found was the scene from two hours ago, when the boy had been captured by the Anbu. But that was of no use at all.

Ibiki quietly stared at the boy before him, who called himself Lan.

Could this kid have amnesia? Or is he really a war orphan who forcibly forgot his earlier memories?

The reason he thought this was because he had clearly felt that Ye Lan had not resisted his technique in the slightest. On the contrary, he had been very cooperative!

Ye Lan opened his eyes as well and quietly looked at Ibiki.

Seeing the clear gaze in the boy's eyes, Ibiki let out a soft sigh. "Sigh... it seems I really wronged you."

Ye Lan rolled his eyes. "Then why don't you hurry up and let me go?!"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Ibiki's face. He brought his hands together, and the cage binding Ye Lan instantly vanished. The surrounding scene changed accordingly, returning to the small dark room Ye Lan had entered before.

Ye Lan sat in the chair and stretched, then turned his head and asked, "So, can I leave now?"

Ibiki remained standing as he said, "Of course. You can leave whenever you want."

"Oh!"

Ye Lan deliberately answered loudly, then strode toward the exit. He had no desire to stay in that oppressive little dark room any longer.

"Kid, wait a moment."

Ibiki's voice came from behind him again.

Ye Lan turned around impatiently. "Big Brother Ibiki, what is it now?"

"Hm?"

Ibiki froze.

"How do you know my name is Ibiki?"

Hearing that, Ye Lan cursed himself for letting it slip.

He hurriedly replied, "Because I heard several Anbu brothers mention it on the way here."

"Mm..."

Ibiki did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he said to Ye Lan, "I stopped you because I wanted to tell you that from now on, you are a citizen of Konoha. I'll report your information to the Third Hokage, so don't worry about that. He should arrange a place for you to stay. Also, if you run into any difficulties in the future, just give my name. The Anbu Interrogation Department will always welcome you."

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the system's hidden mission and successfully obtaining the Ninjutsu Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Ye Lan was stunned for a moment.

Is this him acknowledging me?

He had not expected Ibiki's attitude toward him to change so drastically. Ibiki had even said that the Interrogation Department welcomed him.

However, Ye Lan had never held any ill will toward Ibiki. On the contrary, he rather liked Ibiki's bold character and clear sense of right and wrong.

"Thank you, Big Brother Ibiki. I'll think it over carefully."

Ye Lan shed his earlier arrogant attitude and said this to Ibiki with a smile.

Ibiki stood where he was, watching Ye Lan leave step by step. It was not that he absolutely needed Ye Lan to join the Anbu; he simply had a very favorable impression of him and felt that Ye Lan was someone worth cultivating.

After all, not everyone possessed such a calm and unhurried temperament.