The prisoner's name was Iwahashi.
Three years ago, he had been a Chunin from Iwagakure.
After a border mission, every member of his squad had been registered as dead, but only two bodies had been recovered.
Iwahashi had never returned to his village.
He had taken a new name in the Black Market and survived by escorting clients, collecting debts, and attacking caravans.
The job in Liuchuan Town had paid more than any other he had accepted.
"Who hired you?" Kakashi asked.
"I don't know their names."
Iwahashi leaned against the bedside, his voice still weak.
"The intermediaries were different every time. Some delivered medicine, some delivered routes, and some only told us what time to strike."
"Why did you leave traces of Iwagakure ninjutsu?"
"They required it."
"What about payment?"
"Half money, half a new identity."
Iwahashi looked at the two sets of orders on the table.
"They said they'd erase our old records after the mission. Now it looks like they weren't erasing records. They were erasing people."
His testimony explained how the attacks had been carried out, but it could not directly prove who was behind them.
A rogue ninja could invent any story to stay alive.
Kakashi made no promise of immunity.
"Your safety will be protected through records and witnesses. Your responsibility for taking part in the attacks will also be handled according to the evidence."
Iwahashi gave a bitter smile.
"So you won't release me, but you won't kill me either?"
"Those were never the only two choices."
Three people recorded his testimony independently.
Each time Iwahashi finished a passage, the recorders exchanged their papers to check them, marking only discrepancies without changing his wording.
The medical ninja also recorded traces of medication and his state of consciousness, preventing anyone from later dismissing his