Chapter 23 Torture

"Ninja?!"

The six-armed monster seemed bewildered. In its understanding, Japan's ninjas were nothing more than lowly creatures, sneaking around in the shadows, poisoning enemies, and stealing information—hardly the type to breathe fire or fight openly with such power. Even the most far-fetched TV dramas it had seen wouldn't dare depict a ninja like this.

Wait, it thought, this human is just messing with me.

"Lies! There's no such thing as Onmyoji in this country anymore!" the six-armed monster roared, realizing it had been tricked.

Uchiha Mei raised an eyebrow, surprised. "It's strange to hear that coming from a monster. You monsters deny the existence of Onmyoji? If monsters like you exist, it seems pretty logical that Onmyoji would too."

"I'm a monster, yes, but I've been in Tokyo for years. I've never seen an Onmyoji. Humans have no mystical energy. They can't possibly possess supernatural powers…" The six-armed creature's voice grew uncertain. The young man in front of it defied all common sense in the world of monsters.

It was a well-established fact among monsters and humans alike that humans lacked supernatural abilities. The so-called Onmyoji and psychics were just human fantasies. If they really existed, why hadn't they shown up during the many clashes between humans and monsters over the years?

But this man not only had those terrifying red eyes, he could also summon powerful flames from his mouth. He was no ordinary human, yet he couldn't be a monster either. After all, the monster world's fundamental rule was that humans couldn't become monsters, and monsters couldn't become human.

"That's… interesting. Care to continue? I have many more questions for you," Mei said, his expression growing serious as he realized that his understanding of the supernatural in this world might be deeply flawed.

The six-armed monster struggled against the kunai that pinned its arms to the ground, its long tongue licking its lips nervously. Finally, it spoke. "If I answer, will you let me go?"

"I'd like to say yes, but you wouldn't believe me, would you? So let's not bother. You must've known this was coming when you started killing people."

Mei's voice was cold, his intent clear. The monster could feel his chilling killing intent and knew that escape was impossible. Its entire body trembled as it resigned itself to its fate.

But instead of replying, the monster clamped its mouth shut, unwilling to say another word.

Mei sighed and scratched his cheek in frustration. "If you don't want to answer my previous questions, let's try something easier. You can use a cellphone, and judging by your earlier behavior, you should be able to handle basic math, right?"

The monster gave no response, its face still twisted in defiance.

"You've got five arms left, each with five fingers. Five times five is twenty-five. So, what's twenty-five minus one?" Mei asked.

The six-armed creature looked utterly confused, wondering why it was being asked such a simple math question.

"What's twenty-five minus one?" Mei repeated.

When the monster didn't answer, Mei drew a kunai and swiftly sliced off one of the creature's long fingers.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" the monster screamed in agony.

"Huh, so your blood is red just like ours. Now for the next question: what's twenty-four minus one?" Mei asked again, his Sharingan gleaming with cruel amusement.

The six-armed monster, now writhing in pain, still refused to answer, hurling curses instead. 

"Wrong answer," Mei said calmly, slicing off another finger. "Next question: what's twenty-three minus one?"

The torture continued.

---

Ten minutes later.

"I have to hand it to you. I didn't expect you to keep your mouth shut after I cut off all your fingers. Are all monsters as tough as you?" Mei wiped the blood from his hands as he looked down at the mutilated creature, pinned beneath his foot.

Despite his admiration, Mei was growing frustrated. Torturing the six-armed monster hadn't yielded any useful information about the supernatural world. Killing it now would earn him a valuable **Ninja Orb**, but he couldn't help feeling that it would be a waste not to extract more intel from the creature.

"If only my Sharingan had reached three tomoe," Mei muttered. "Then I could have hypnotized you and gotten the information I need without dirtying my hands."

Suddenly, Mei noticed something: the monster's severed fingers had stopped bleeding, and tiny buds of flesh were already wriggling at the edges of its wounds, preparing to regrow.

"I see… So you monsters can regenerate lost limbs," Mei mused.

The monster grinned through its pain. "Heh. You really don't know anything, do you? We monsters aren't weaklings like you humans. As long as I devour a human or rest for a few days, I'll grow back everything you cut off."

"Even if you won't speak, your body is revealing some valuable information," Mei said, his expression darkening. "But killing you now would be boring. Let's start round two, shall we?"

The six-armed monster's eyes widened in confusion and dread. It had no fingers left to cut off. What more could this human possibly do to it?

Mei rummaged through his pouch, muttering to himself. "I haven't used this yet… it should be perfect for testing. Your injuries aren't too severe. Half a 'Blood-Replenishing Pill' should do the trick."

The monster had no idea what Mei was talking about. It felt something drop into its mouth, and a warm sensation spread through its body, rapidly accelerating the healing of its wounds. Its severed fingers began to grow back, and even the arm that had been blown off earlier was regenerating at an alarming rate.

"What… what did you feed me?!" the monster screamed.

Before it could even process what had happened, Mei sliced off the newly regrown arm, causing the creature to howl in agony once again.

"We're back to twenty-five fingers. Let's start the quiz again. This time, don't get the answers wrong."

The monster's screams echoed through the dark, abandoned mall as Mei's cold voice continued:

"Now, what's twenty-five minus one?"