Chapter 22: Suicide?
Li Yao awoke in the middle of the night.
Of course, in the interrogation room—where daylight never touched—he had no idea whether it was day or night. Not that it mattered.
The moment he regained consciousness, the pain from before he passed out returned in vivid memory. His left hand instinctively recoiled.
The stabbing pain didn't come.
But the lingering ache deep in his thumb reminded him clearly: none of it had been a dream.
Huff... Li Yao exhaled, relaxing his hand.
At least it wasn't like before... but—
He froze.
Strangely, the leftover pain in his thumb wasn't as intense as he expected.
Normally, that level of pain would've had him howling.
But now... he didn't feel much at all.
Turns out, a person's tolerance is only limited by how much pain they've endured.
And he—had survived that kind of pain.
"But... can I survive it again?"
He asked himself.
He was now lying on the floor—not on that terrifying bed—but his heart still trembled in fear.
Li Yao struggled to sit up. Though still shackled, the restraints had been loosened. He could at least lie down or stand up now.
Sniff, sniff...
A faint warmth and savory scent crept into his nose, stirring his appetite again.
He stood up quickly.
Clang!
Clang!
Chains clinked as his stomach growled in hunger.
In the dim candlelight, he spotted a steaming bowl of ramen placed on the floor in front of him.
He stepped forward—just within reach.
He immediately sat down, picked up the chopsticks, lifted the bowl, and began wolfing it down.
Only after several huge bites did he slow down.
With the sushi from before and now this, Li Yao's energy and clarity of thought gradually returned.
He quieted, slurping noodles while scanning the room.
Suddenly, he froze. Then instinctively backed away.
In the corner—not far away—stood a lonely emergency stretcher. Or rather, an execution table. Cloaked in shadow, it loomed like a beast watching him, starved and ready to strike.
One glance—and Li Yao's body shuddered uncontrollably. He quickly turned his head, taking several deep breaths to calm himself.
He was still in the interrogation room. Which meant—
He was still alive.
The Third hadn't killed him?
What was the Spirit Transformation Technique?
What did the Third want him to say?
What exactly did he want to know?
Trying to piece together the events before his blackout, Li Yao found himself confused. After a long silence, he began contemplating his current situation.
First—because of the transmigration, his mutated consciousness had fused entirely with this body. He couldn't undo it even if he wanted to.
As long as he was alive, his soul, body, and chakra were fully fused.
That meant—genjutsu and memory-probing techniques were ineffective.
So the only way for the Third to uncover what he wanted—was through Li Yao's own mouth.
But he knew nothing about the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Which meant—no matter what he said, if the Third didn't get what he wanted, the torture wouldn't stop.
"So... how long I live depends on how long I can endure the pain."
"And... how long before the Third loses his patience."
Either way, there was only one end: death.
Heh...
Li Yao laughed bitterly.
Death?
Maybe that was the best ending.
Just remembering the pain before he blacked out made his whole body tremble.
"Can I endure that kind of pain again?"
"Even if I manage to survive the next round, what about the one after that? Or the one even worse?"
I can't!
He didn't need to think—he already knew the answer.
He could not endure that kind of inhuman torture.
Eventually, he would beg the Third to kill him.
But clearly, the Third wasn't going to do that any time soon.
Which meant only one path remained.
"Suicide."
Yes—suicide.
If he didn't want to go through that hell again, he had to end it himself.
This wasn't an anime. He wasn't the protagonist.
And if he was, he wished he weren't—he couldn't take the pain.
But when he smashed the bowl and picked up a shard, pressing it against the artery on his left wrist—
He couldn't do it.
His hand trembled violently. No matter how he tried, he couldn't press down.
Yes, the pain from the needle under his nail was unbearable—worse than death.
But the fear of actual death now froze him completely.
Huff... huff... huff...
Eyes wide, he stared at his wrist, breathing heavily.
Keep living in agony?
Or die now?
The two thoughts clashed endlessly in his mind. He couldn't decide.
Eventually, he flung the shard away and began slamming both hands against the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His palms quickly turned red.
He was furious.
Furious that even now—when everything was hopeless—he lacked the courage to end it himself.
He knew that even if he somehow withstood the next torture session, and the one after that—it wouldn't matter.
In the end, he would still die.
The Third would never let him go.
Better to die now than suffer and still die later.
And yet—even knowing this—
He couldn't do it.
He was weak. A coward. He feared pain. And, somehow, feared death even more.
He was so angry.
Angry at the heavens—why had they let him transmigrate?
He'd been living just fine on Earth. His life wasn't glamorous, but it was content. Why was he sent here?
And if he had to transmigrate—why not make him die first?
Why did it have to be a simple blink, a dream-like transition?
Having never felt death, how could he not fear it now?
All night, Li Yao stayed curled on the ground, ranting at fate.
Eventually, he fell asleep.
—
The next day.
Li Yao couldn't tell if it was day or night. But judging from the timing of the food ANBU brought and the type of meals, he guessed it was now daytime.
After three meals, Li Yao figured evening had arrived.
The interrogation room was quiet, but as time passed, his heart pounded faster and faster.
Click...
The door creaked open.
At the sound, Li Yao's body froze. His heartbeat stopped for a moment. His face was filled with terror as he turned toward the door.
That man—the one who made his pupils dilate and his body tremble—walked in.
The Third Hokage.
Still wearing his official robes. Still looking composed. That is, if one ignored the toolbox in his hand.
Two ANBU followed behind him.
(END CHAPTER)
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