To prepare for any possible reactions from Kumo, Konoha unified its stance, raised its alertness, and established countermeasures.
One of the most critical decisions was recalling Sakumo Hatake from the Eastern Front to deal with any potential attack from Kumo. In today's ninja world, if Sakumo Hatake were placed on any battlefield, aside from facing off against the Third Raikage, there would probably be no one capable of defeating him.
It may be that the previous generation was so strong that their sons seemed relatively weak—a matter of comparison rather than capability.
While Haseo was attending a high-level meeting, the Anbu had already begun an urgent and "humanely brilliant" interrogation of the captured Kumo prisoner. They interrogated him while providing timely medical treatment, making sure he wouldn't die.
Beyond physical torture and psychological torment, Konoha had countless ways of extracting intelligence from prisoners. Soon enough, they learned that Kumo's envoy squad had previously obtained information and maps concerning the Uzumaki clan from food served at their lodgings.
This result had nothing to do with the enemy's willpower or resistance to pain; it was entirely due to the Anbu ninja's diligent work.
Based on this intelligence, Kumo had been able to plan last night's precise operation.
After obtaining such clues, the Anbu first narrowed down those who had access to the food supply, then began thorough searches and inspections until eventually capturing the Kumo spy embedded within Konoha.
Considering the timing of Kumo's envoy team arriving in Konoha, the spy must have felt great urgency when contacting them, meaning his actions weren't impossible to trace—which is why the Anbu managed to catch him so smoothly.
If the spy had just a bit more time, the outcome might have been different. Someone capable of engaging in espionage for an extended period in such a hostile environment must always remain vigilant.
Such spies understand all too well the consequences should they ever be exposed.
Yet now, he was still exposed.
The Anbu wasted no time interrogating the spy, giving him far more 'care' and attention than the original prisoner—hardly surprising, given how much more hated spies are than regular enemies.
It wasn't just about last night's incident. The Anbu needed to determine how much intelligence the spy had passed on during his time hiding in Konoha and whether any of it posed serious threats.
No secret the spy held remained hidden under the Anbu's sudden investigation. They even dug up details like whether he was born prematurely or had a hard time coming out. Yet despite all that, there was no way to uncover things even the spy himself didn't know.
Another night passed before the Anbu completed their interrogation work. Not long after, Haseo arrived at one of the Anbu's underground secret interrogation rooms.
"Lord Haseo."
The Anbu Squad Leader approached immediately. This unfortunate incident had been under his responsibility from start to finish, and now—even though he wore a mask—his exhaustion was unmistakable... Add in the previous surveillance operations, and it was likely he hadn't slept properly for at least fifty hours.
Haseo nodded slightly and asked, "I've heard that the spy has been captured and interrogated. Is there any result yet?"
This guy had been commanding the Anbu lately with a bit too much enthusiasm, as if they were truly his own subordinates.
"Yes, Lord Haseo. The spy is a chunin who has been hiding in Konoha for five years. His age..."
Haseo waved him off—there was no need to go into details. He wasn't particularly interested. Given the time frame of the infiltration, there was a high chance this spy belonged to the so-called "converted" type, meaning he may have once been a Konoha ninja himself.
"Do we have any news regarding the missing members of the Uzumaki clan?" Haseo asked specifically.
"On this matter... it seems the spy genuinely knows nothing related to the Uzumaki disappearances. He might not even be aware of the missing Uzumaki's existence.
Our investigation shows that he only provided limited intelligence support to Kumo and did not personally participate in last night's activities targeting the Uzumaki clan."
The Anbu Squad Leader explained.
That the spy knew nothing about the missing Uzumaki probably was indeed the truth. His hopes looked dashed.
"Did you extract this information directly from his mind through mental intrusion?"
"Yes. Whether through his own confession or the results obtained via mental invasion, the conclusions are consistent."
"Is there a possibility that there are other Kumo spies within Konoha?"
"Even if more exist, we won't be able to identify them through this one. Even among Cloud's spies, there are absolutely no connections between them. All communication is strictly one-way, which means there are no intersections or overlaps among different spies."
That made sense—if such connections existed, Konoha could take them all out at once. Haseo could recall only one instance where spies worked together... perhaps because he had an unusually close relationship with spies himself.
"What about the methods used by the spy to exchange intelligence with Kumo?"
"Through trained birds and special summoned beasts."
Let's go. Take me to see him.
The lead had gone cold.
The Uzumaki District had already been cleared up, and obviously no trace of the missing persons—or their bodies—had been found there. That was precisely why Haseo had come to the Anbu headquarters. But as it turned out, they hadn't found anything either.
Considering the heightened security measures across Konoha in these past two days, it would be impossible for the missing individuals to have left the village unnoticed. After all, Konoha's barrier was built by the Uzumaki from the start—who would ever ignore their own clanspeople leaving?
Therefore, those who went missing must still be somewhere inside Konoha. But how exactly could one find them?
Led by the Anbu Squad Leader, Haseo stepped into one of the prison cells—and laid eyes upon the rather pitiful sight of the captured spy.
"After the interrogation, this person has no further value, right?" Haseo asked.
"Yes, but Lord Haseo is planning to…"
Actually, there was still some minor use for the spy—feeding false intel back to Kumo. However, given that Kumo controlled the entire information pipeline, such minor deceptions would almost certainly be seen through.
"I want to question him again myself. Although I'm not skilled in interrogation techniques, I just wouldn't feel at ease without asking a few questions personally, especially if he's using [Consciousness Sealing] to block us out… If the target has a tight mouth and possesses Consciousness Sealing inside his mind, then we might miss out on some key intelligence."
The Anbu Squad Leader opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He felt Haseo's words were an indirect challenge to the Anbu's professionalism.
Ignoring the squad leader's emotions, Haseo approached the bound spy who was tied spread-eagled against the wall and directly asked, "On the night before last, during the chaos your side created, an eight or nine-year-old child went missing within the Uzumaki District. What do you know about it?"
The spy weakly lifted his eyelids to glance at Haseo before replying, "...I don't know... I'm not aware..."
His voice was frail, but he had clearly answered Haseo's question straightly. Obviously, his consciousness remained quite clear.
Haseo gave a slight nod. "Maybe your fragile state is making you feel a bit... reluctant to talk. That's fine. I know a very special scrub master, extremely effective at removing dead skin. Believe me, once we give you a proper rubdown, you'll be itching to tell us everything."
"Lord Haseo, mere physical torture will be ineffective against this kind of spy..."
Understanding something from Haseo's words, the Anbu squad leader reminded cautiously, but Haseo chose not to heed the professional opinion. Instead, he performed the Summoning Jutsu and summoned Katsuyu.
Then, under Haseo's command, Katsuyu began splashing acidic liquid onto the spy's feet.
Haseo's description wasn't inaccurate, even though Katsuyu wasn't exactly a scrub master. Indeed, she was exceptionally good at removing dead skin—but what she stripped off wasn't limited to just that.
It also stripped away dead flesh and even bone.
In no time, the spy's lower legs started dissolving away, their flesh dripping onto the ground like wax melting from a burning candle.
But this molten wax brought no joy whatsoever.
It was hard to believe that someone so broken could still scream that loud.
"Let me ask again: Regarding the missing individual from the Uzumaki clan, what do you know?"
"W-what…eve…r…don't kn-know…"
"Your perseverance deserves praise, so now you gain another chance to prove it."
Haseo wasn't cruel nor did he enjoy torture for its own sake, yet he held absolutely no sympathy toward spies.
Thus, he repeated the question five times in total, moving progressively upward each time—from the feet all the way up the body.
Unfortunately, the final answer remained unchanged—"I don't know."
...
Haseo stepped out of the prison cell, took a deep breath through his nose, and said, "At this point, we'll have to assume that this spy genuinely knows nothing at all."
The squad leader glanced into the prison cell behind him. The sight inside was enough to sober anyone up — and believe him, he was wide awake now.
"Haseo, I think he really doesn't know anything."
Weird. As an Anbu agent, how could he actually believe what a spy said?
After all, sometimes Haseo is just being too modest. He didn't understand interrogation — he's clearly an expert at it. His skills had even surpassed those of the Anbu pros.
Haseo, however, shook his head. "You don't understand human nature. There's still a possibility this person is holding back secrets. We can never truly know where the limits of one's perseverance lie."
"..."
The squad leader really wanted to tell Haseo that people should trust each other more. If someone was willing to turn into slime and then let himself get completely dissolved, why wouldn't he just tell the truth?
So who's the one not getting human nature around here?
Well, whoever lacks humanity is exactly the one who doesn't understand human nature.
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