Interrogation

It was said that the lowest level of the Hokage Building housed the Anbu's offices. Xingran had never joined the Anbu, nor had he ever been brought there for interrogation, so he could only rely on rumors and guess whether he'd finally get to see the Anbu headquarters' true face this time.

Clearly, Xingran's wish wasn't coming true. After descending to the second underground floor, the two Anbu who had led him there stopped in front of an unremarkable iron door. Without any further explanation, they gestured for him to enter, then closed the door and left.

"Yamanaka Xingran, of the Yamanaka Clan. Let me see... still under Hai Yi's guardianship. Then you'd better be prepared. You should know that when facing Konoha's interrogation squad, the only wise choice is to spill everything you know."

As Xingran entered the room, the pitch-black environment made him slightly uncomfortable. Suddenly, a deep voice echoed from the darkness—heavy, thick, carrying a gloomy undertone.

Right after the man finished speaking, a bright light flared up, shining directly at Xingran. It felt awful—this was treatment reserved for prisoners being interrogated. He was a Konoha ninja, and he hadn't done anything wrong. He should have been sitting in a sunlit office, sipping green tea while telling his story to a note-taker.

It took several seconds for Xingran's eyes to adjust. The room had no windows—not that windows would matter underground. It was about fifteen square meters. On a table sat a desk lamp. On one side of the table were two ninja wearing Konoha headbands; on the other side was a low wooden stool. Sitting on it would put you a head shorter than the people across the table, amplifying the pressure. This was a standard interrogation room.

"Sit. Start from the day you left the village and tell me everything, from start to finish, in detail." The same speaker spoke again. As Xingran sat on the low stool, he finally noticed who was across from him.

A face covered in hideous scars, paired with the oppressive glare of a yakuza boss, and a black trench coat—this was unmistakably Konoha Special Jonin Morino Ibiki. It was said the scars on his face were left behind by enemy torture.

The captain of the Anbu Torture Department. He served as the proctor for the first exam during the Chunin Exam that Naruto and the others took. He could thoroughly understand a person's psychology and excelled at manipulating their mind, earning him the nickname "Sadistic Proctor."

No wonder he mentioned Hai Yi. The two of them—one from the Torture Department, the other from the Intelligence Department—were both captain-level and cooperated frequently.

The person sitting beside Ibiki was far more unremarkable. Not only was his face and hairstyle plain, but his attire was just standard chunin gear. Xingran didn't pay him much attention.

Since neither of them was wearing masks, and Xingran had no interest in ogling muscular men, he naturally deactivated his X-ray Vision after seeing them.

X-ray Vision and Super Hearing were the earliest abilities Xingran had manifested. After a few days of control training, while he couldn't use them with precision yet, simply turning them on and off was manageable.

"That day, the captain told us our squad could finally take on a B-rank mission. We were all excited. The target was a group of bandits roaming into the Land of Fire, but most of them were actually rogue ninja wearing Iwagakure headbands. The captain said that ever since the Third Tsuchikage admitted defeat in the war, a wave of rogue ninja had emerged from Iwagakure, unwilling to accept the Tsuchikage's weakness and choosing to leave the village... I'm a Sensor Ninja—our Yamanaka Clan always fights in that role—so I was usually at the back of the formation. But this time, the enemy made a wide detour to surround us, and they attacked me first, since I was at the rear... I detected them just before they struck. Since it was my first time in combat, I was nervous. While shouting a warning, I threw the shuriken from my tool pouch, but I accidentally tossed out an Explosive Tag... They probably weren't rogue Stone Ninja. Stone Ninja don't have that many people using Water Release, and their Water Release skill was strong. But no, never mind... My leg was injured. I knew I couldn't escape, so I fired a distress signal on my own. Before I passed out, I saw the captain's head get cut off. I don't know anything else."

On the way here, Xingran had already replayed the details of that day's annihilation in his mind. So when Ibiki asked, Xingran sat on the low stool and began recounting the events.

Ibiki listened intently, but his sinister gaze made Xingran feel like he was being seen through, which was deeply unsettling. As a result, Xingran's account came out a bit disjointed.

After hearing Xingran's story, Ibiki's face remained expressionless. No one could tell what he was thinking. Xingran figured he had been cooperative enough in telling them everything, so he prepared to stand up and leave.

Just then, Ibiki's low voice rang out: "Standard procedure. Confirm it once more."

Xingran was confused. He had half-risen and turned to look at Ibiki. Confirm it once more? Did he have to tell the whole story again?

But the moment Xingran turned his head, a pair of hollow eyes appeared right in front of him. Their gazes locked for less than a second, and Xingran dazedly sat back down on the low stool.

Without any visible movement from the ordinary ninja beside Ibiki—just a single glare at Xingran—Xingran obediently recounted the annihilation story once more.

This was standard practice in the Torture Department: first give the subject a chance to tell their version, but trust the results of their own interrogation more. Using genjutsu to hypnotize the subject, they could then cross-reference the self-reported information and dig out details even the subject hadn't noticed.

Xingran was the sole survivor of Team 16. Konoha had to be cautious. If multiple people had survived, it would be easier to accept, but with only one survivor—even if he was from a famous secret technique clan—they couldn't rule out the possibility of defection or mind control. So the interrogation wasn't just about Xingran's account; other tests and methods were essential.

And this time, Ibiki caught something they had initially overlooked. Although the attackers were disguised as rogue Stone Ninja, most of them used Water Release techniques. This suggested the enemy was likely Mist Ninja trying to frame Stone Ninja and reignite tensions between Konoha and Iwagakure. But it wasn't that simple.

Through Xingran's memories, Ibiki noticed that these people might not be from Kirigakure at all, but Kumogakure in disguise. Not only were they strong in Water Release, but their taijutsu was also formidable. Crucially, while some parts of their skin were well-hidden, certain areas revealed bronze-black skin—a detail that was very telling. Xingran had initially wanted to mention it in his first account, but thinking that many people living near water also had bronze skin, he held back to avoid misleading his own side.

Please recommend this novel.