Chapter 12 Interrogation

Inoichi awoke two hours later in the Hokage's office with a splitting headache. He was laid down on a couch in front of Minato's desk. Inoichi immediately stood up to end his show of disrespect, but as soon as he stood up, he grabbed his head in pain, and a quiet moan escaped his lips.

Minato finally looked up from the paperwork on his desk and set down his pen.

"Are you okay, Inoichi-san?

Inoichi shook his head.

"I am not okay, Hokage-sama.

While attempting to interrogate a new arrival, I used the Memory Mirror jutsu to examine his memories.

He claimed that he had survived immense torture following his capture in the previous Great Shinobi War.

My jutsu should've protected me, but just in case it was too much to handle, the jutsu has a fail-safe release.

I found myself in such suffering that I couldn't end the jutsu and the fail-safe activated.

The jutsu has a natural filter on emotion and sensation, so I was incapacitated at one tenth the level of the original experience."

Minato frowned.

"I am extremely sorry that this happened to you Inoichi-san, but why did you need to tell me immediately?"

Inoichi continued.

"Its because the man claims to be from Uzushiogakure. I fear that whoever captured him is also hostile to us.

His experience suggests that maybe Iwagakure or Kumogakure developed a new form of torture.

We have to reconsider our compartmentalization and information networks.

I fear that anyone subjected to this new form of torture would leak all knowledge they have under our current system of control."

Minato was now invested. He leaned over onto his desk with his elbows.

"Is the man dangerous?"

"No sir. In fact, we believe him to be crippled from the experience. Furthermore, he confessed that he has no negative intentions to myself, Hyuga Hakuran, and Uchiha Hubei, and none of us detected deceit."

Minato spoke again.

"I want him to remain in the village. We need to find out as much as possible as soon as possible."

"Yes sir, Hokage-sama, however, he has a companion."

"What did that interrogation reveal?"

"I have not yet interrogated the companion."

"Then that is your priority number one, if you are healthy enough."

"I am able to continue to work, and I will get back to you as fast as possible, Hokage-Sama."

"Very well, dismissed."

Inioichi left the room and headed back to the T&I HQ to interrogate the man claiming to be Shijin.

Minato remained at his desk in deep thought.

Tensions remained high between the five great villages following the Third Great Shinobi War. The war had only ended in the past year, and wounds were still fresh.

If one of the villages developed a new form of torture that could bypass all the current protections, that advantage in intelligence might be enough to wage war anew, and even win.

Sandaime-sama had stepped down from his position due to the repercussions of the war, and had left the heavy burden of ensuring a continued piece on his grand-disciple.

The best possible situation is that this new form of torture was being developed by a minor power. If Konoha could identify the perpetrators, and then confiscate the technique, it would be another weapon in Konoha's back pocket.

Minato was averse to war, but knew its necessity, and one can never have too many cards up one's sleeves.

Lastly, could this man be related to the Uzumaki that had interrupted his fight with the Kyuubi?

Minato called out to the seemingly empty room.

"Kakashi, to me."

A ninja instantly appeared, wearing a dog mask and the normal attire of ANBU. The man removed the mask, revealing his white hair and a forehead protector slung across one eye.

"Reporting, Hokage-sama."

Minato smiled sadly at the young man before him. Kakashi had never recovered from Obito's and Rin's death, and still blamed himself for it. Minato often saw Kakashi at the Memorial Stone. I t pained Minato greatly that he couldn't do anything to help his student.

All that Kakashi had left was his work, and he threw himself into missions, never allowing himself to rest. It was his form of escape.

"You know that you can still call me Minato-sensei."

Kakashi remained silent. Minato continued.

"I have a new mission for you now that Kushina has delivered.

A man from Uzushiogakure just entered the village.

We have reason to believe he is a extremely valuable intelligence asset, and I will need you to monitor him and prevent him from leaving the village.

He is crippled, and should pose no threat to anyone, but I want you to make sure of it, do you understand?"

Kakashi inquired.

"Are there any other limitations on the man?"

Minato shook his head.

"No, in fact, we think him to be completely non-hostile. He is to be treated well and trusted, to a certain degree.

Furthermore, you are going aboveboard for this. Turn in your mask, and escort this man visibly. We don't want any accidents, and we can't afford to lose his trust.

Interrogation techniques are completely useless on him, and we need his full cooperation.

Speak with Inoichi-san for more information."

Kakashi handed in his dog mask.

"I accept the mission, Hokage-Sama.

Then, he disappeared.

Minato sighed and called in the next person. This guy had been extremely annoying the past few days, and weirdly insistent about rubbing salt into his wounds. Minato and his wife have not been getting along ever since Kushina found out that Minato wanted to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto. The fight had been constantly escalating, and just yesterday, it had escalated to the point where Kushina had run off to her friend's house with Naruto.

Minato would love nothing more than to chase her, but he still held responsibilities as the Hokage and was forced into setting his personal life on the backburner.

AND THEN, Shikaku had to come in and flaunt his excellent relationship with his wife and son. Minato had explained his plans and thoughts to Kushina and Shikaku multiple times, but somehow he could convince neither. His wife and personal confidante were united against him.

"Shikaku, come in please."

Shikaku Nara opened the door to the Hokage office and strolled in with his hands in his pockets. he looked around before scratching his chin and lazily slumping into one of the guest chairs. He drawled out.

"Is this about the fact that Kushina ran off to Mitoko's place?"

"No! it actual work you bum."

Shikaku sat up a little straighter. Minato filled him in on the details about Yama and Shijin. Shikaku thought for a few minutes before speaking.

"I agree with you so far, but this is a delicate situation, we're going to have to stay on our toes and play it by ear as necessary."

The two continued to speak and hash out their plans concerning the foreign duo that had entered Konoha.

Minato concluded the discussion.

"This is good for now, but we will adjust our plans after Inoichi-san finished the second interrogation."

Shikaku nodded his head and made his way to the door.

Minato stopped him.

"Please sit, Shikaku. I want to talk with you about something."

"Is this about the fact that Kushina ran off to Mitoko's place?"

Minato sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes. I don't understand what is going on, and especially why you are disagreeing with me."

Shikaku closed his eyes and thought to himself before speaking.

This is so freaking troublesome. I've got a kid of my own and a wife of my own and now I gotta help this guy with his wife and his kid. such a drag.

"Hokage-sama, I don't necessarily disagree with you. Your plans were the best possible for the village. Your plans would have preserved our strategic weapons.

Furthermore, you even considered Kushina, and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal would have let her meet Naruto once he had grown up.

The only downside is that Naruto would have been orphaned and become a jinchuuriki."

"My son is strong, and he can handle it. I have faith that he will be able to shoulder every burden that he needs to."

"And that is just like you Minato, too much duty, and too much responsibility. Your wife ran away with your son and you don't dare to neglect the office of the Hokage.

If it wasn't for that mysterious stranger, you would be dead, Kushina would be dead, and you son would be an orphaned jinchuuriki, a living reminder of the destruction of the Kyuubi.

He would not have a pleasant life."

"A pleasant life is never guaranteed for a shinobi."

"But that doesn't mean that you need to ensure misery, Hokage-sama."

Minato was frowning, this is how the discussion went every time. Shikaku agreed with him, but still told him he was wrong.

"Then, what's the better solution, Shikaku?"

Shikaku shook his head.

"There isn't a better one for Konoha."

Minato was exasperated.

"Then why?"

Shikaku held his hand up.

"If I may Hokage-sama...

Minato gestured, go ahead

"... Would you ever order me to sacrifice Shikamaru?"

The reply was instantaneous and deadly serious.

"No."

Shikaku continued.

"What if the entire village was in the balance?"

"There is no situation that would require you to sacrifice your child to save the village."

"But what if there was?

"Then I would already be dead."

Minato was staring at Shikaku with piercing blue eyes.

"We adults exist to shield the young. They are the future of Konoha, and we live for them first and foremost."

Shikaku sighed

"Then, what's the difference between Shikamaru and Naruto?"

Minato still replied instantly.

"Naruto is my son, and though he would suffer from my decisions, he would be able to handle it."

Shikaku continued to press.

"Would you seal the Kyuubi into a child that was not your own?"

"No, never."

"What if that child could handle it?"

"No, It would not be my decision to make."

"What if their parent agrees?"

"Then their parent can seal the Kyuubi if they have the strength, but I will have no part in it."

"Even for Konoha?"

"Even for Konoha. The village exists to protect the young."

"But your son is different."

"Yes."

Minato's eyes were clear. He had an unshakable faith in his son. He knew it in his heart of hearts that his son would be able to shoulder any burden, and would eventually surpass his father as a ninja and Hokage.

Shikaku was sighing.

What a fucking pain in the ass... This guy might be the worst father in the world, and I can't even tell him that...

This guy has a cognitive blindspot the size of the fucking moon when it comes to his son.

But... he does care a lot about Kushina. Okay new tactic.

Shikaku held up his hand, index and middle finger extended.

"Two final questions, and I'm done.

So you would never make me sacrifice my son for Konoha?"

"Absolutely. I would die before that."

"Naruto is your son, but is he not also Kushina's son?"

Minato was frozen. His face fell. The life and light drained from his countenance.

His eyes instantly acquired a 1000 yard stare as they glassed over, and a look of horror came over his face.

The last time Shikaku had seen him like this was at Obito's and Rin's memorial service.

Minato Namikaze was known as Konoha's Yellow Flash. He was known for his speed, and he had never moved faster than today.

Shikaku was left in an empty office, papers flying about, the Hokage gone. The last thing he had seen was a yellow flash.

Shikaku thought to himself.

I can't believe that fucking worked.

Oh wait a minute, goddammit!

That dickhead left me with all his paperwork.

What a fucking drag...

Shikaku started to tidy the office and finish all the task the Hokage just left unfinished.

Back at the Torture and Interrogation Headquarters, a very tired Inoichi with a splitting headache started to Interrogate Shijin

"Name?"

"Shijin."

"Occupation?"

"Former Shinobi."

"Strength?"

"I was never promoted to chuunin."

"What brings you to Konoha?"

"I am following my companion, but I am also a distant relative of the Uchiha clan and wish to enter their family as a servant."

The three interrogators flinched at the response. It was extremely bad news if the Uchiha bloodline had leaked. The Sharingan was one of Konoha's greatest advantages, and the risk if it was spread outside the village was immense.

"What happened to your family?"

"They were all killed."

"Do you have any living relatives?"

"Only the Uchiha in Konoha are left."

The three sighed silent breaths of relief. The problem had appeared out of nowhere and solved itself just as easily. None of the three detected in falsehood in Shijin's words.

"Why do you not display any chakra?"

"I performed a forbidden jutsu that overtaxed my system and took away my capabilities."

"Will you heal?"

"Maybe."

"What are your intentions towards Konoha?"

"I have no intentions toward Konoha, I only wish to live peacefully."

"Your companion claims that you fought together in the previous war?

"Yes, we were however defeated, and both of us were captured."

"Were you subjected to the same torture as your companion."

"No, I experienced a sort of sensory deprivation, while he was subjected to emotional torture."

Inoichi continued his interrogation, doubling back on some questions, but finding no discrepancies or problems.

Inoichi, Hakuran, and Hubei left the room to confer with each other. Inoichi spoke first.

"I've got nothing, this kid seems harmless."

The two others nodded in agreement.

"Hubei, what do you think about the whole Uchiha thing?"

"He thinks he is telling the truth at a bare minimum, we have some more intricate tests at the Clan, I'll introduce him to the Fugaku-sama."

Inoichi spoke again.

"Same as usual at this point. I'm gonna go in and inform him of the memory inspection, you two stay on your toes."

The three reentered the interrogation room. Inoichi stepped forward and informed Shijin.

"The last step in the interrogation process is a memory inspection."

Shijin took it in stride and simply nodded his head before speaking.

"Did you perform the same jutsu on Yama? I would not recommend doing that."

Inoichi was somewhat taken aback. Shijin seemed to understand the gravity of what happened to Yama. The two of them must trust each other a lot to share such sensitive information.

"I did perform the jutsu on him, but luckily the jutsu has protections in it to deal with people who have withstood torture."

Shijin nodded.

"That explains why you're still alive then. It will take a long time for you to completely recover though."

Inoichi frowned. What the heck did this kid know about anything.

"I'll be fine, thank you for your concern."

Inoichi stepped forward and performed several hand seals before placing his hand on Shijin's head.

"Memory Mirror Jutsu"

Inoichi came to his senses, and it seemed like he was in a genjutsu. There was nothing in any direction, and everything was silent with the same flat white color. No lights and No shadows.

Inoichi thought to himself.

It seems like I have jumped into the time of his life when he suffered "sensory deprivation". I've never even heard of such a technique, but it seems to not be too big of a deal.

However, I need to search his other memories, let's speed up the jutsu.

Inoichi focused his chakra and intent and shifted the speed at which he looked through Shijin's memories.

However, nothing changed. Everything he saw and felt remained that same flat white. So Inoichi speed up again.

And Again.

And Again.

Inoichi kept on speeding up the rate at which he read memories, but it didn't do any good.

Were he interacting with a normal person, he would see a lifetime of memories in a single second, but with this kid, it seemed like nothing ever changed.

Inoichi was starting to get scared. He had been scanning memories for over five minutes. Whatever genjutsu they had cast on the kid before him had lasted at least 300 lifetimes to the person inside the genjutsu.

Inoichi had presupposed that Sensory Deprivation was a joke, how could nothing be a torture, but when he thought about what it would look like to spend 300 lifetimes without stimulus, he was terrified.

Inoichi decided to end the jutsu. He cut off the chakra supply and waited the split second to get cast back into his body.

But it didn't happen, he was still trapped in the memories of the kid he was interrogating. Inoichi was somehow stuck, something had definitely gone wrong with his jutsu.

Inoichi waited for the one minute fail-safe to activate. If he didn't consciously renew the jutsu every 60 seconds, he would get ejected.

He didn't get ejected though. He waited 60 seconds but nothing happened.

Inoichi was a qualified and experienced jonin, so he was able to keep calm for the moment. If the 60 second fail-safe wasn't working, he was still in a safe environment and didn't have to worry about his body.

Within an hour, his body would run out of chakra, and he would be ejected then.

So he started to panic at the 6 hour mark. There was no possible way that he was trapped in here for that long. It wasn't possible for his chakra to last that long. He was starting to think that maybe his soul had gotten trapped in this kid's memories when he started to read them.

Inoichi was so panicked that he had forgotten something, and when he remembered it, he was horrified. The memory jutsu was still scanning at 80 years per second. and he had just scanned over 18 thousand lifetimes of memories.

And every single memory was that of the blank space with no sound and flat white in every direction, stretching to infinity.

Inoichi swallowed his fear. His jutsu just wasn't working, and it would all end soon, he just needed to remain calm.

On the 72nd hour of this experience, Inoichi was starting to go stir crazy. He had been alone with his thoughts for 72 straight hours, and he was trapped the entire time. It was indescribably awful.

So when he found himself back in his normal body, the first thing he did was heave a giant sigh of relief. He immediately sat down on the ground.

His two companions looked at him, surprised to see him collapse from an interrogation for the second time again.

Inoichi looked at them and asked.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up for so long, and how the hell did I cast that jutsu for so long? Were you guys feeding me chakra pills or some shit?

Hakuran and Hubei looked at each other before Hubei spoke.

"Inoichi, you were in there for one minute until your fail-safe activated."

Inoichi immediately shut his mouth and stood back up.

He gazed at the youth sitting at the table, and he was extremely worried for the second time today. Whoever had captured this duo was frighteningly adept in enhanced interrogation techniques.

Then Inoichi noticed something. His head no longer hurt.

Shijin met his eyes.

"I told you it would take a while to recover."

Inoichi's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

Shijin shrugged.

"Time heals all wounds."