Chapter 24: Escalating Torture
Ran walked over to Li Yao, crouched down, pried open his right hand, and removed the sharp shard of the shattered bowl. He also collected every other fragment scattered on the ground—along with the chopsticks.
Since the Third Hokage had left, Ran had remained in the interrogation room.
His mission: make sure Li Yao didn't get a chance to commit suicide.
Only after ensuring everything was clear and that Li Yao had no opportunity to quickly end his life did Ran release the body-freezing technique.
Once he regained control of his body, Li Yao didn't try to kill himself again.
He knew perfectly well that with Ran in the room, he couldn't bite off his tongue or bash his head against the wall—he didn't stand a chance.
So he simply sat on the floor, his empty eyes still locked on that nightmarish torture bed.
Heh…
Heh…
After sitting for a while, Li Yao suddenly started laughing. But his laugh sounded nothing like joy—it was filled with despair, like a man weeping while smiling.
Smack!
Smack!
As he laughed, he began slapping himself—left cheek, right cheek, back and forth.
"You coward!"
"You worthless coward!"
"You piece of trash!"
"You useless garbage!"
He cursed himself with each slap, filled with regret.
Why hadn't he ended it yesterday?
If he had, he wouldn't have to face any more of this inhuman torture.
Smack!
Smack!
From the corner, cloaked in stealth, Ran watched as Li Yao slapped himself repeatedly—but he did nothing to stop it. He simply observed.
Li Yao didn't know it, but even if he had really slit his wrist yesterday, he wouldn't have died.
That kind of wound? Ran could fix it in minutes.
The Third valued him far too much to allow a suicide.
He was destined to remain trapped in the Third Hokage's blood-soaked hell.
—
Over the next week, Li Yao's screams echoed daily from the interrogation room.
After all ten fingernails had been pierced, his ten toenails met the same fate—every single one punctured.
But the pain no longer hit as hard as before.
His screams grew weaker day by day.
It was clear—Li Yao's body was rapidly adapting to the pain.
Or more accurately—his spirit was collapsing.
This collapse wasn't just fainting.
It was the kind that led to death.
—
One morning.
Li Yao sat on the floor, slowly eating noodles from his bowl. His eyes were still hollow, but deep inside—a flicker of disbelief shimmered.
"I actually survived?"
He had endured that kind of pain—and lived.
It had hurt, unimaginably so—
But he had made it through. At least for now.
He no longer thought about suicide.
"Maybe... I can save myself?"
"Yes. I can save myself."
As soon as the thought of self-rescue took root, Li Yao couldn't stop thinking about it.
He had to get out.
He had to survive.
He had to kill the Third Hokage.
He had to kill every last person in Konoha.
He had to destroy the world.
Lowering his head, his bloodshot eyes gleamed with hatred. His entire world turned crimson.
Yes.
He couldn't die like this.
He had to live.
And he would repay every ounce of pain he had suffered—a million times over—to the Third, to Konoha, and to this entire world.
He hated it all.
He hated this world with its "little Japanese" language.
He would burn it all down.
His thoughts solidified. He would live. He would save himself.
—
But how?
How could he escape?
To get out of here, he needed either overwhelming power—
Or the ability to vanish completely, escaping all detection.
Clearly, he had no power.
Not in a few years, not even with training, would he have enough strength to break out of Konoha.
That left one option:
Evade detection completely.
What ability could let him sneak past ANBU's perception and slip silently out of this prison?
The Perfect Transformation Technique.
The first thing that came to mind was the jutsu his predecessor's father, Kimura Takuya, had nearly completed before giving up in despair.
If he could develop the Perfect Transformation Technique, he might have a chance to escape.
Takuya had taken it all the way to the final step.
Shadow clones were nearly perfect—except for the flaw of visible chakra.
Even Hashirama's Wood Clones were realistic, but Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan could still detect a difference.
But shadow clones?
Even the Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—with her Rinnegan and Byakugan—couldn't tell them apart.
If he could hide the chakra signature and apply the transformation to himself—
He could become a chakra-less bird.
If he escaped in that form, no one could detect him.
The only problem left—was how to make chakra undetectable or vanish completely.
"How can I hide or eliminate chakra?"
Li Yao pondered that question all the way until nightfall—with no clear answer.
But there was no rush.
He needed to increase his chakra first.
Whatever he attempted, chakra was the foundation.
Without enough chakra, he couldn't maintain any jutsu, no matter how perfect.
He needed chakra.
He needed to live.
His eyes burned with resolve. If he could survive the Third's torture, then given time—he would escape.
—
Night.
The determination in Li Yao's eyes trembled again—
As the Third entered the room, carrying a glowing long needle—
And pulled down Li Yao's pants.
"Y-you… what are you doing?!"
The Third ignored him, grabbed his genitals, adjusted the position, and looked back at Li Yao, who was now frantically thrashing in horror.
"Don't worry. Pain comes in many forms. You've still got a lot to experience."
"KILL ME!"
"PLEASE JUST KILL ME!"
Li Yao finally realized what was coming. And he was terrified.
He had thought that nothing could hurt worse than the needle under the nail.
And he had survived that.
But when the Third pulled his pants down, he realized—he was wrong.
He had overestimated his mental endurance.
The nail torture? That had only been the appetizer.
This—this was the main course.
And even before it began—he was already falling apart.
Just earlier that day, he had resolved to survive. To escape.
Now?
He just wanted to die.
"PLEASE! JUST KILL ME!"
Li Yao begged again, pleading for mercy.
But the Third Hokage didn't flinch.
To him, anything done to an enemy was justified.
And this—this wasn't even worth his pity.
"AHHHHHHH—!"
A scream tore from Li Yao's throat so piercing it could shake the entire Hokage Tower.
There were no words to describe the agony he felt in that moment.
(END CHAPTER)
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