Kannabi Bridge (9)

"Where the hell is he?" Kita muttered, scanning the area. He kept looking around but found no trace of Yami. Even the Earth Sense Detection Jutsu he had cast earlier didn't help him locate the enemy.

"Is he in the trees? Did he figure something out?"

His Jutsu allowed him to send detection waves through the ground to scout the area and discover enemies, but as long as the target wasn't on the ground, he couldn't detect it. Kita looked up but still couldn't spot Yami, who was in stealth mode.

Meanwhile, Yami silently observed Kita's every move. 'As I expected, the strange Jutsu he cast earlier must have acted like sonar, allowing him to locate me even when I was in stealth mode. As long as I stay off the ground, he won't find me.'

'He should be starting to get worried and paranoid,' Yami thought. 'Then his next move will seal his fate. I'm counting on you, Rin. Don't mess it up.'

Kita's eyes darted around, but he still couldn't find any trace of the enemy, making him anxious. He was still injured, and every second he wasted drained his strength further. He couldn't afford to drag this fight out any longer; otherwise, he would fall to a bunch of kids.

'I have to force him out,' he decided.

Spotting Rin, who he had injured earlier, resting atop a thick tree branch, Kita decided to attack her, seeing her as the weak link. He sprinted toward her, aiming to capture her as a hostage. As he reached out and grabbed her, she suddenly disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"A shadow clone?" he exclaimed in surprise.

Immediately, Kita noticed wires moving toward him at a rapid speed, surrounding him and trying to bind him.

"What, so it was a trap from the beginning."

Without hesitation, he jumped to evade the wires, but in mid-air, he felt something pulling him down. Looking at his legs, he saw a strange-looking branch with eyes and a mouth holding him, pulling his leg down.

"Shit."

The wires quickly surrounded him, trapping his entire body. Kita noticed that the wires had several explosive tags attached, which horrified him.

"Shit." He struggled to free himself from the bindings to no avail. Each limb of his body was wrapped with countless steel wires.

"Well, well, it looks like we have a mouse in the trap."

Hearing the voice, Kita looked aside as Yami's figure suddenly became visible.

"You... you planned this from the start, didn't you?"

Kita wasn't stupid. After some thought, he realized that he had been led into a trap from the beginning. After fighting Yami for a while, he saw there was no need for Yami to run away, as he could fight him on equal ground. But Yami had been leading him into this trap from the start. That meant Yami had expected Kita to come. Had he used the two brats at the front as scouts? The more Kita thought, the more horrified he became.

"Maybe…" Yami shrugged, then looked at a nearby bush. "It's all good, you can come out now."

From the bush emerged Rin, her kunai at the ready, though she looked more relieved than anything. "You did it, Yami-kun."

Yami gave a small nod. "Yeah, but it wasn't just me. You played your part perfectly."

He wasn't lying. Rin used a shadow clone to lure Kita toward her, and her helpless expression helped make the enemy fall into their traps without suspicion.

Rin blushed slightly at the compliment but was inwardly impressed. Every time they set up camp over the past two days, Yami created similar traps. At first, she thought he was exaggerating and being too cautious, but after successfully capturing an enemy Jonin, she thought otherwise and was thankful she was paired with Yami instead of Obito.

Shaking her head, she quickly focused back on Kita, who was still struggling against the wires. "What do we do with him now?"

Yami walked closer to Kita, who glared up at him with anger. "We have our mission to complete, and it's impossible to take him with us."

"Huh, you mean…" Rin didn't know what to say. She understood the importance of their mission and wasn't naive enough to release the enemy who tried to kill them. But looking at the imprisoned Kita, she didn't have the heart to kill him, so she turned to Yami. "Will you kill him?"

Hearing her words, Kita struggled even harder, but it was useless. Every movement only made the wires tighter, cutting more bloody lines into his body.

"Hm, nah," Yami said, standing before Kita. "He has information that might be useful."

"Now tell me about your base camp and how many ninjas are stationed there, their patrol routine, their abilities, their strength… basically everything you know."

Kita spat on the ground. "You think I'll talk?" He wasn't a coward. He would never betray his teammates and village.

"Oh, a loyal ninja, I see," Yami said, pulling a needle from his pouch. "Do you know that I'm a medic ninja?"

"Huh," Kita was bewildered but remained silent, with no intention of betraying his comrades.

Yami didn't mind his silence and instead grabbed Kita's hand. "As a medic ninja, I've learned a lot about the human body. But do you know the one thing that fascinates me the most? It's the nerves—those simple lines that transmit signals throughout your body. They're responsible for everything you feel, including pain."

Kita's eyes narrowed, trying to understand where this was going.

Yami continued, holding up the needle. "There are three main nerves in the hand: the median, ulnar, and radial nerves. The median nerve runs through the carpal tunnel in your wrist, the ulnar nerve is along the outer edge of your hand, and the radial nerve covers the back of your hand. Each of these nerves has numerous branches that end in your fingertips. These nerve endings are incredibly sensitive. A tiny bit of pressure can send excruciating pain shooting through your entire arm."

Kita winced slightly but kept his composure.

Yami leaned in closer, his voice low and menacing. "Imagine what happens if I keep applying pressure with this needle. The pain will become unbearable. You'll beg for it to stop."

Kita swallowed hard, his resolve unwavering. "Do your worst," he spat.

Yami's eyes hardened. "Very well." He methodically pressed the needle into Kita's fingertip, not just pricking it but slowly pushing it in deeper. Kita's face twisted in agony as the needle penetrated deeper, hitting the nerve endings and sending waves of intense pain through his hand and up his arm.

Kita clenched his teeth, refusing to give Yami the satisfaction of hearing him scream, but his body trembled with the effort of holding back.

"You're tougher than I thought," Yami remarked. "But everyone has their breaking point."

Yami moved on to Kita's other fingers, shoving the needle in slowly each time, driving it deep enough to hit the nerve endings. Kita's breath came in ragged gasps, his resolve starting to crack under the relentless assault on his nerves.

"Ready to talk now?" Yami asked, his tone almost bored.

Kita glared at him, sweat dripping down his face, but remained silent.

"Impressive," Yami said. "Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Yami continued his methodical torture, each insertion of the needle sending waves of agony through Kita's body. By the time he reached the last finger on the first hand, Kita was on the verge of passing out from the pain.

"Each of these nerves," Yami explained calmly, "is designed to send signals back to your brain, telling it exactly where the pain is and how intense it is. By focusing on these points, I can cause you more pain than you ever thought possible."

He grabbed Kita's other hand and began the process again, slowly pushing the needle into each fingertip. Kita's defiance began to falter, his body shaking uncontrollably from the sheer intensity of the pain.

Rin watched with horror at Yami's cold attitude. She knew it was necessary, but it was still hard to watch.

"Last chance," Yami said, leaning in close. "Tell me everything, or I'll move on to more sensitive areas."

Kita, barely conscious, finally broke. "Okay, okay… I'll talk…"

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Good. Start with your base camp's location and the number of ninjas stationed there."

Kita reluctantly began to divulge the information. Yami listened carefully, nodding as he absorbed the details. He kept his soul perception active, so he knew when Kita lied or withheld the truth, causing him to embed more needles until he completely submitted and told him everything he needed.

Yami glanced at Rin, who was still visibly disturbed by the torture session. "Do you have any more questions?"

Rin swallowed hard and shook her head. "I think we have what we need."

Yami turned back to Kita. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Before Kita could react, Yami drew a kunai and drove it through Kita's heart. Kita's eyes widened in shock and pain before the light faded from them.

Yami wiped the blade clean and faced Rin. "Let's go. We have to meet the others."

***

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