only...
Both Minato and Jiraiya were fully aware of the situation.
It's definitely not a coincidence!
Especially after Araki emphasized that it was a coincidence, it's even less likely to be a coincidence!
"Cough cough... cough!"
Suddenly, the Kumogakure ninja lying on the ground tried to say something, his face turning red with anxiety, but before he could utter a word, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he immediately lost consciousness, his life fading away.
Following this incident, several people coughed up blood one after another, and then they all died.
Just as Araki said, time was running out for these people. Now their time was up, and they were completely dead.
In such a short time, even if they wanted to save her, they wouldn't be able to get her to Tsunade's side, and even if they did, Tsunade wouldn't be able to save her.
"Is this what medical-nin like?"
Jiraiya sighed silently, recalling a remark Tsunade had made during a conversation.
" Medical-nin are the most knowledgeable about human anatomy. They can save lives, but they are even better at killing. They also know how to make someone die in the most painful way, or how to make someone endure extreme pain without dying."
When those words echoed in Jiraiya's mind, he Jiraiya thought of how Tsunade had once punched him so hard he was almost dead.
At that moment, he truly believed he was going to die.
However, after being sent to Konoha Hospital and hearing the doctor's report, he discovered that he had multiple comminuted fractures, but was not in any danger of death. He would just need to stay in bed for more than half a year before he could be discharged.
Araki now seems even more terrifying than Tsunade was at the same age!
Jiraiya kept revising his assessment of Araki in his mind. After thinking for a while, he said, "You all stay here and wait for me. I'll take these people to the village entrance and hand them over to the Anbu to deal with."
" Jiraiya-sensei, I have a request." Just then, Araki suddenly spoke up, stopping Jiraiya.
"You said it." Jiraiya was immediately puzzled.
"Could I borrow these six ninjas from Kumogakure for a bit?" Araki said with a smile.
"Just playing around?" Jiraiya frowned, not understanding Araki's meaning.
"Let me interrogate them for the Anbu ninjas first. Maybe I can get some information out of them, which will save the Anbu ninjas some work. Even if I don't get anything out of them, it'll only take a few minutes!" Araki's smile became even brighter.
"Are you... sure you can do it?" Jiraiya felt that this was against the rules, but he was still curious about what Araki was saying, especially when he thought about when Araki went to examine the Uchiha Ueki corpse.
" Jiraiya-sensei, don't worry, I guarantee those six won't die. And if you're worried about trouble, I can heal all their injuries from the torture, so the Anbu ninjas can experience their first time completely unharmed."
Araki still wore a smile, but to Jiraiya and Minato, it looked like a devil's smile.
The once warm environment now seemed to have turned considerably colder.
Jiraiya stared blankly at Araki, speechless. The fact that he could be cured like that left him completely dumbfounded.
Chapter 23 You're a real devil!
You want to interrogate these people?
Jiraiya more deeply. He still had some hesitation about this matter, since it was not exactly within their mission scope and, in principle, should be handed over to the Anbu for handling.
However, this matter is not entirely absolute, because they encountered it while carrying out a mission, and they are not planning to return to the village at the moment. If they handle it themselves, it is not entirely unreasonable.
"Yes." Araki nodded firmly.
"Then give it a try. I can't give you too much time, half an hour. If you can't get anything out of them, I'll take them back to the village. The front lines are waiting for us; we can't linger here too long." Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before nodding. He was also very curious about what Araki would do and wanted to see how things would turn out.
"Thank you Jiraiya-sensei!"
Araki's face remained expressionless as he turned to look at the remaining six Kumogakure ninjas who were already bound.
This action immediately attracted the attention of everyone present, including the ninjas from Kumogakure.
Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina were all very curious about what kind of results Araki's so-called interrogation would actually yield.
After all, everyone who comes here to do the mission is already prepared to sacrifice themselves at any time, so they can't be easily tricked into revealing anything; their mouths are very tight.
Normally, if these six Genin from Kumogakure were sent to the Anbu, it would be extremely difficult to obtain any information from even one of them.
The Kumogakure ninjas, who were bound together, glared fiercely at Araki. They had all participated in the battle and witnessed everything, including the conversation between Araki and Jiraiya, which they hadn't tried to conceal.
At this very moment.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Araki walked step by step to the six Kumogakure ninjas. He could clearly see that their faces showed expressions of resignation to death, and they seemed to be fully prepared for anything.
"Don't rush."
Araki smiled and waved to the Kumogakure ninjas, still smiling, which suddenly gave them a chilling feeling.
Araki approached each of the Kumogakure ninjas from behind, placing his hands on their shoulders. Streams of green Chakra, imbued with life force, flowed into their bodies the moment they made contact.
These Chakra did not cause them any real harm, but they blocked their Chakra pathways, causing them to instantly lose some control of their bodies.
After that, Araki took out several red pills the size of corn kernels from his ninja tool bag and put one into the mouths of the first five people. He left the last person untreated.
"???"
A bunch of question marks popped into Jiraiya's head. They were very puzzled by Araki's actions, but they didn't interrupt him and patiently continued reading.
only...
Araki's actions were vastly different from what they had anticipated.
They had expected Araki to physically assault and torture these people before healing their injuries, but instead he simply produced a small red pill, something they hadn't anticipated.
Not only that.
They are currently unsure of the pill's effects.
The items Araki took out were things they had never seen before, not even in ninja tool shops.
certainly.
Jiraiya his two companions were not the only ones who were puzzled; the five who had already taken the pills and the one who had not yet taken them were also confused.
What did you do to them?
The last person who hadn't taken the pill roared at Araki, showing no relief whatsoever at being one of the lucky ones; his entire being was filled with urgency.
They had already prepared themselves for death.
They are able to accept death.
They were not afraid of death.
but...
He couldn't bear to watch his companion suffer in such a way.
"If you're going to kill us, give us a quick death. This is the respect we deserve!" the ninja shouted again.
"Respect?"
Araki's lips curled slightly. He ignored the impotently furious Kumogakure ninja and instead moved the five people who had already taken the pills, placing them in front of the last ninja in a row, kneeling on the ground like ministers worshipping a king.
"I don't have much time, so let's take our time."
Araki's calm voice rang out, his words riddled with illogical points. Despite the limited time, he insisted on playing around, which put immense pressure on the last ninja from Kumogakure. He couldn't understand what this young boy was planning.
"Whoosh--whoosh--"
"Whoosh--whoosh--"
"..."
At that moment, the five kneeling ninjas all turned red in the face, their eyes bulged, and their breathing became noticeably heavy, as if they were having trouble breathing. It was also clear that their eyes were half-closed, their pupils were slightly dilated, their gazes were unfocused, and their consciousness was not particularly clear.
As soon as those heavy breathing began, the five people's bodies trembled, goosebumps appeared on their exposed skin, and cold sweat streamed down their foreheads.
Even from a distance, it was clear that these people were in bad shape, seemingly enduring great pain, yet they didn't scream even once.
It's not that I don't want to shout, it's that I can't!
Their vocal cords had been sealed off by Araki Chakra had previously injected.
"What exactly do you want?!"
The last remaining ninja from Kumogakure had beads of sweat on his forehead. He was indeed fearless of death, and even more so of torture. But this young man in front of him hadn't asked him anything yet, and had already fed his comrades, who were like brothers, inexplicable pills. Looking at his companions' condition, he felt very uncomfortable.
"Let's try the medicine."
Araki spread his hands casually and said, "Recently, I created a poison called 'Red Spirit,' which is what I just gave them. After taking it, they will exhibit obvious anxiety, tension, tremors, confusion, or dizziness. As time goes on, they will also experience delirium, panic, mania, hallucinations, and..."
Araki paused abruptly at the end of his sentence, then turned to look at the five people beside him who had already taken the pills, a meaningful expression on his face.
It seemed to confirm his words.
Right after Araki finished speaking.
The bodies of the five Kumogakure ninjas began to writhe uncontrollably, and bulges of tendons appeared under their skin.
These bumps seem to have a life of their own, constantly moving repeatedly within a small area under the skin.
"And this unbearable itching and tingling under the skin that's appearing now, combined with the Chakra I injected at the beginning, can directly plunge each of them into a state from which they can't escape."
"You... you're so vicious!" The last ninja's eyes were bloodshot. Seeing his companion's suffering, his mood soured. It was a feeling of others enduring pain while he alone was unaffected. He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Don't think you can get me to leak information to you like this. That's wishful thinking. I advise you to give up on that idea and just kill us. That way, it'll be quicker for both of us!"
"Kill?"
Araki shook his head with a cold laugh and said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. Are you dreaming? How could I let you die so easily!"
"Not only will I not let you die!"
"When you all feel like you're about to die, I will save you, heal you, and then try the next drug."
"And also..."
"I never intended to get any information from you!"
"I simply dislike you all, and I don't want to let you off so easily, so I'm using interrogation as an excuse to teach you a lesson."
Araki spoke one sentence after another, while simultaneously displaying a smug expression, much like a petty person who had achieved their goal.
"???"
Jiraiya and the others looked at Araki with huge question marks in their eyes. This was different from the Araki they knew before, and his expression and appearance were not Araki's normal state.
This made them feel extremely suspicious.