The interrogation room at the deepest level of the base had its walls, ceiling, and floor all made from a special material that could absorb chakra.
There were no offensive sealing techniques here, only a few runes glowing faint blue, meant to stabilize the mind.
Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand were each bound to a special chair. Their chakra was completely sealed, leaving them totally unable to move.
Shinju, Kakashi, and Uchiha Itachi stood behind a one-way observation window, silently watching the scene inside the interrogation room.
"Let's begin, Shisui," Shinju said into the communicator.
Inside, Uchiha Shisui stepped up to Deidara. His gaze was calm, without the oppressive air one might expect from an interrogator.
"Look into my eyes," Shisui said gently.
"Hmph." Deidara snorted and turned his head aside in disdain. "Don't think you can use that ridiculous Sharingan genjutsu on me, you Uchiha. My will is as unshakable as my art, hm!"
Shisui said nothing more.
The three tomoe in his eyes began to spin, slowly transforming into a unique four-pointed windmill pattern.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
A wave of eye power that transcended ordinary genjutsu swept across the entire interrogation room in an instant.
Deidara's body shuddered. The contempt vanished from his eyes, replaced by emptiness and indifference.
At the side, Sasori—Deidara's partner in misfortune—fell into the same state.
In the observation room, Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly. He tried to analyze and copy the illusion Shisui was using, but discovered that the eye power itself couldn't be captured or reproduced by his Sharingan at all.
He couldn't help mocking himself inwardly. When Sharingan went against Sharingan, the genuine article was still stronger.
"So this is… Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods)?" Kakashi murmured.
"It's a weakened version—Kotoamatsukami: Monshin (Distinguished Heavenly Gods: Inquiry)," Shinju explained. "I don't need to rewrite their wills. I just need to plant a single directive in their subconscious: 'Report everything to me.' As far as they're concerned, the one they're facing right now… is their leader, Pain."
In the interrogation room, Shisui began.
"Deidara, report the full member roster of Akatsuki and how you're divided into teams."
Deidara's lips moved mechanically, his tone flat and emotionless.
"Number Zero: Pain. White Tiger: Konan. Nanto: Hoshigaki Kisame. Jade Maiden: Sasori of the Red Sand. Dragon: Deidara. Three-Body: Zetsu…"
He listed every core member of Akatsuki—codename, real name, and team pairing—without missing a single detail.
"What is Pain's true identity?" Shisui asked next.
"Unknown," Deidara replied. "No one has ever seen his real face. All of our contact with him is through Shōten no Jutsu (Shapeshifting Technique). He has six bodies, each possessing the Rinnegan. They're called the Six Paths of Pain."
"Six bodies? Rinnegan?"
Shisui turned his gaze toward Sasori.
"Sasori, do you know the specific abilities of the Six Paths of Pain?"
Sasori answered dully, "Tendō can use Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) and Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull). Ningendō can extract souls. Shuradō's body can be modified into all kinds of weapons. Chikushōdō specializes in Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique). Gakidō can absorb all ninjutsu. Jigokudō can carry out revival and judgment."
With every piece of intel, Kakashi and Itachi felt their hearts sink further.
Those six abilities combined were practically an unbeatable war machine.
It was no exaggeration to say that if their leader attacked a village alone, any village that wasn't on the level of the Cloud or the Leaf might not even survive the first wave.
"What about Konan?"
"Codename 'White Tiger,' known as 'Kami no Shisha (Paper Angel of God),'" Sasori continued. "Her body can turn into countless sheets of paper, for attack, defense, scouting, and disguise. In Amegakure, no one can defeat her, because the entire village is her weapon."
Shisui asked many more questions—about Akatsuki's base locations, sources of funding, and even the mysterious masked man who called himself "Tobi."
Deidara and Sasori answered everything they knew.
They believed they were giving Pain a detailed mission report, pouring out every scrap of information about Akatsuki stored in their minds without the slightest reservation.
Half an hour later, the inquiry ended.
Shisui released the illusion.
Deidara and Sasori jolted awake.
They looked around in confusion, with no memory of what had just happened.
"Weird… I feel like I just had a dream where Pain-san praised my art, hm…" Deidara scratched his head.
"I think I did too," Sasori rasped.
Shisui placed a sealing technique on the two of them, sending them back into sleep, then walked out of the interrogation room.
In the observation room, Shinju had already integrated all the intel they had obtained into a three-dimensional tactical projection.
A clear, complete organizational chart of Akatsuki appeared before them.
At the very top was the mysterious "Pain." From him, six lines extended downward to six bodies labeled as the Six Paths of Pain. At his side stood Konan, known as the "Angel."
Below them were the portraits and connections of each two-man cell.
"Six Paths of Pain… Nagato… Konan… Yahiko…" Shinju murmured as he looked at the relationship web on the display.
He compared the intel Jiraiya had previously provided about his three disciples from Amegakure with what they had just learned. A tragic story slowly came into focus.
"An organization of war orphans trying to create peace through pain," he said softly.
"Their dream is worthy of sympathy, but their methods… are disastrously wrong."
"Tragedy always breeds hatred, and hatred, in turn, creates new tragedies. Tragedy and hatred are chained together, never truly ending."
"If circumstances were different, I'd say that for this 'leader,' the original desire for peace is probably still there—they just chose the wrong path. It's a shame."
Shinju's fingertip traced across the tactical map. A thin red attack line extended from the Leaf toward Amegakure.
"The Six Paths of Pain are powerful, but there is only one core. Once we find the true body—Nagato—hidden behind the scenes, this so-called 'god' won't be so invincible after all."
Kakashi and Itachi stared at that red line. They knew Shinju had already locked their next target onto Akatsuki's leader.
Before Shinju's terrifying ability to gather and analyze intel, Akatsuki no longer had any secrets at all.
Just as Shinju was about to draw up a detailed battle plan against Pain, the base's alert system chimed softly.
A member of the Divine Court appeared at the door and dropped to one knee.
"Shinju-sama, there's a visitor at the Leaf's main gate."
"She says her name is Tsunade—and she's here to collect a debt from Konoha."
(End of Chapter)
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