Chapter 317 - Interrogation: Inoichi's Mind Probe

Hidden Laboratory.

Orochimaru kept a close watch on Tsunade's vitals and he was beginning to see slight improvement. 'Her fever has gone down and vitals are slowly climbing. Her body is starting to adapt. It won't be long now. A day. Maybe two. By then her genes would evolve into new ones. I don't need to wait for it to be completed. I can extract what I need and then perfect it at my lab.'

The Snake Sannin's sinister gaze then turned to the sleeping Shizune. The young medic was mentally and physically tired after using almost all her chakra to keep her teacher alive. Orochimaru almost sighed as he thought about what he would do with her.

'It's a shame to kill someone with such talent in medical ninjutsu. But if I let you live then your only goal in life would become revenge. I won't make the mistake of letting a potential threat live unlike my foolish sensei.'

The pale skinned man turned his attention back to the unconscious Senju. 'In a way, killing her is a kindness. I'll be sparing her of all those years of misery.'

Orochimaru decided to take a little break himself and quietly exited the room. He looked at the nearby clock on the wall and frowned. 'There is still no report from Guren. So either she hasn't captured Daichi yet or she failed.'

Orochimaru sat in his chair and thought about the mission he assigned the woman. 'She's strong. Even Kakashi would have a hard time against her alone. Let alone the whole team with her… So she must not have gotten her hands on Daichi yet. Is sensei concerned for his safety because of what happened with Tsunade? Is the boy's movements restricted?'

As he was pondering on the movement of the Leaf village, Sakon appeared and kneeled.

"Has there been any developments?" Orochimaru asked his subordinate.

"Some my Lord. The patrol squads from the Hidden Stone have increased. Especially near the border and they've increased security." Sakon replied with his head down.

"Has anyone entered the barrier?"

"No. They haven't even come close. Since this area falls under the Minister's jurisdiction they are careful."

Orochimaru nodded. "Make sure to keep an eye on the surroundings. I don't want any unexpected surprises."

"Yes my Lord." Sakon was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. "Lord Orochimaru. Was Guren successful? Did she capture the boy?"

A few moments of silence passed before the Sannin decided to answer. "I haven't received any information from them yet. But I have no doubt that she'll complete the mission."

Sakon nodded. He wanted to ask more but refrained himself. A moment later he disappeared from his master's side and was on the uppermost floor keeping an eye on the defenses around the barrier.

"That wasn't smart. Questioning our Lord." Sakon heard a small voice coming from behind.

"Ukon. You're awake."

"Yes. The side effects of that drug have been purged from my system." Ukon replied.

Sakon could feel the changes in his brother's body. "I just wanted to know if there were any complications with the plan we put in place." He told his brother.

Ukon was "Hm… Daichi Hekima. I'm curious to see him in action. After all, he's going to be Lord Orochimaru's new vessel. Guren better be careful and not mess this up."

Sakon agreed with that sentiment. "Do you really think the boy will survive the curse seal and the new woodstyle serum injection?" He wanted to know what Ukon thought.

"Based on the data collected so far that probability is high. His body is strong and his growth is far beyond that of an ordinary ninja. It's exactly why Lord Orochimaru decided to make him his new vessel. Guren just has to complete her task. Capture the boy and bring him to that location."

Sakon crossed his arms and just sat in the middle of a complex sealing array. His brows furrowed as another thought entered his mind. "I'm more concerned with what the Leaf might do. After Guren captures the boy the Hidden Leaf will no doubt launch a widespread search to locate him. If they find that base they could capture Guren and save the child."

Ukon wasn't as concerned as his brother. "No. Lord Orochimaru already has a contingency for that. Even if the Hidden Leaf ninjas find the base, Daichi will be moved from that location via the snake summon. Besides, should there be an attack, the Leaf will only be sending their shinobi to their deaths. Considering the two guarding that location."

—-

T .

With Inoichi Yamanaka.

While Ibiki went to work on Rinji, Guren was transferred to the intelligence section on the lower floors. Soon she was unconscious and trapped inside a strange machine semi circular in shape. Only her head was visible.

There were numerous seals all over the machine and numerous wires were running to a control desk in the back. Three ninjas had their hands placed on the seals located on the control desk.

A recently promoted Yamanaka chunin looked at the machine in awe. 'So this is the Mind reading amplification machine huh. This will increase the strength of the Psycho Mind Transmission. After this device is turned on, Captain Inoichi will stay in direct contact with the target while the rest of us help by releasing chakra into the seals located on the device.'

As Inoichi got ready to mind read his target, Aoba Yamashiro came near him. "Captain. You should be careful. If it's anything like Mizuki she'd have powerful barriers too."

The blonde Yamanaka nodded his head. "I know. I'm counting on her memories to have mental blocks on them. It'll take longer periods of time to probe through them but with all of us here it won't take that much time. Besides, based on the information we received, this woman is the leader of the team that attacked Genma's squad. So unlike Mizuki, she'll definitely have valuable information."

"Our approach... Should we be delicate or… ?"

Inoichi shook his head upon hearing that question. "No. Time is a serious factor. We're going to use brute force. We need to gather as much intelligence as we can, as fast as we can. She has no use other than that. So let's get to work."

Inoichi made a few seals and placed his hand on Guren's head. Instantly the Yamanaka entered the target's subconscious to extract the information he needed. Guren, though physically restrained and unconscious, subconsciously began to resist with a mental fortitude honed through rigorous training under Orochimaru.

Inoichi frowned as he observed his surroundings. 'Her mind is bristling with defenses.'.

In Guren's mind, Inoichi found himself in a vast, foreboding landscape. It was a dark, twisted terrain, filled with thick mists and treacherous paths.

'This mindscape is littered with traps, barriers and mental constructs erected to protect her deepest secrets and memories. No wonder the truth serum didn't show any effect. Orochimaru's poison resistance combined with defenses like these. Those serums might as well have been ordinary water.'

Inoichi, undeterred, began to navigate through the labyrinth. He encountered walls of impenetrable fog with each representing Guren's fears and doubts. It was designed to disorient and trap intruders.

'A Genjutsu to confuse intruders using your own fears huh. That's a clever trick. But it won't be that easy to keep me away.'

Inoichi made a seal and quickly dissipated the fog with beams of concentrated mental energy and he pushed forward.

As he delved deeper, he came across more sinister traps. From the darkness several tendril suddenly appeared and twisted around Inoichi's arms and legs.

The Yamanaka instantly recognized the trap used. 'This is… 'Double Layered Mind Crush' jutsu. A Genjutsu attack inside a Genjutsu defense. This is definitely that damn Ko's jutsu. But it doesn't have his finess.'

Inoichi immediately calmed himself and didn't make any moves. 'The more the victim struggles in these binds the tighter they become. And if the target continues to struggle for several seconds, these binds won't stop tightening till the limbs are torn off.'

Inoichi's sudden stillness and relaxed posture stopped the jutsu from activating its deadly trap. Around 10 seconds later he suddenly used strong force in his arms to break through the tendrils and made a Ram seal.

'Genjutsu release.'

Immediately the dark tendrils vanished and the Yamanaka moved ahead. Further in, he encountered a series of intricate puzzles. Each one was a complex mental barrier designed based on her personality.

'Usually these puzzles would require me to solve them through understanding the nuances of Guren's psyche, decoding her fears, motivations, and loyalties. But that would take time. Thankfully Lord Hokage has given permission to move faster.'

Inoichi gathered the chakra and began destroying the barriers. But he was still careful as to not trigger any traps or contingencies that might have been placed in her head.

As the man moved forward through Guren's mind he encountered several challenges.

One particularly challenging barrier was a vast, swirling vortex. Inoichi recognized it as a trap meant to engulf and destroy an intruder's consciousness.

Approaching it with caution, he carefully executed the counter jutsu. With the help of the Mind reading amplification machine and the Chunins supplying him with chakra, Inoichi quickly moved forward.

Throughout this mindscape journey, Inoichi was careful to maintain a lifeline to his own body. He was aware of the dangers of becoming lost in another's consciousness.

The mind reader efficiently and ruthlessly destroyed the barriers that sprung up in Guren's mind.

'This mind-walking expedition is exhausting.' Even with outside help Inoichi had to tap into the depths of his own mental and emotional reserves to keep going at such a fast pace.

Outside, the other ninjas were carefully monitoring Guren and Inoichi. The atmosphere in this room was a stark contrast with the oppressive environment of the interrogation chamber but the air was still charged with a palpable, electric tension.

Aoba looked at the three Chunins who were supporting Inoichi in this endeavor. "How is it? What's going on?" The man asked in a low voice.

"Her mind is like a fortress. It's layered with several protections. It's doing a good job of slowing down the captain." One of the Chunins replied in a small voice as to not distribute Inoichi.

Inside the mindscape Inoichi's consciousness approached the outer layers of Guren's psyche and soon breached through them. He encountered another barrier - A swirling storm of memories and emotions designed to disorient and repel the intruder.

'False memories mixed in with real ones huh. It won't be that easy to fool me.'

With practiced ease, Inoichi navigated through this maelstrom, his years of experience allowed him to distinguish between genuine memories and fabricated defenses.

'So many mind shields… We might be underestimating this woman's importance to Orochimaru... I need to proceed with caution.'

Time went by and as he advanced, Inoichi became aware of the core of Guren's psyche. He saw a large pink crystal wall blocking his path.

'This is a fortress within a fortress. So this must be it. Where her most guarded secrets and memories reside.'

Inoichi touched the crystal defense and felt the strength of the final mind barrier.

'This must have been created based on the workings of her Kekkei Genkai. An inner sanctum protected by a final, most formidable barrier created based on her bloodline.'

Inoichi examined the barrier and understood that breaching this final defense will require not just skill but power. 'I need to see if Orochimaru or Ko has placed any contingencies here.'

The Yamanaka ninja examined every part of the mind and soon found something that almost made him curse. 'I need to tell the others.'

Outside, the four ninjas were watching Inoichi's still form with bated breath. They knew the toll such a deep dive can take on the practitioner. They saw constant steam coming from Guren's head. Proof of the battle taking place inside her mind.

Suddenly they saw their captain open his eyes and come out of the Mind walk. "We have a problem. Well, technically we have two problems." Inoichi's first words caused tension to rise in the room.

"Captain, what happened?" Aoba asked with concern in his voice.

"I'm in front of the final barrier in the core of her mind. It's a rare specific mind barrier created based on her bloodline. Breaking through that will require quite a bit of skill and chakra. That's problem number one."

"And the second?" One of the Chunins asked.

"There is a failsafe trigger. A special seal placed by Orochimaru." The Yamanaka captain replied.

"What kind of seal?" Aoba asked. He knew there weren't many mind techniques or barriers that could stop the captain.

"A mind destruction seal. The instant we break the barrier, the seal will be triggered and her memories will start getting erased. Fast." Inoichi replied.

"To go that far. Orochimaru really values this woman, doesn't he? She must know a lot of his secrets." Aoba instantly concluded.

"Yes. It's precisely why we can't fail. Once we breach the barrier we'll need to get as much information out of her as possible. Aoba. I'll need your assistance on this." Inoichi ordered and gave them all their tasks.

Aoba placed his hand atop Guren's head alongside Inoichi and they both entered her mind.

"We'll break the barrier together. Once the crystal wall shatters the seal will activate and begin to quickly erase her memories. So we need to act smart."

Inoichi spoke and Aoba nodded. The Jonin knew what his captain was talking about. "The early memories. Her childhood. We don't need those memories, do we?" Aoba asked his captain.

"No. The most important ones are the memories from the last 12 months. But that's what the seal will also try to destroy first. You need to stall or redirect the seal to the oldest memories. While you do that I'll read through her recent memories as soon as possible. Take any and all information we can."

Aoba nodded with the plan. They both began gathering chakra and synchronized with the Chunins outside for maximum power. Inoichi and Aoba simultaneously began forming hand-seals. The instant the sequence was completed they placed their palms on the crystal barrier.

"Mind Barrier destruction jutsu." x2

A powerful force from both within Guren's mind and outside blasted against the crystal mind shield. Inoichi and Aoba looked on and anxiously waited.

A moment later cracks began to form in the middle of the crystal barrier and quickly began to spread in all directions. A second later the pink defense wall shattered and disappeared into fine particles.

Instantly the failsafe seal Orochimaru placed activated. Guren's mind shook and Inoichi and Aoba clearly felt the effects. It was as if there was an earthquake inside her mind.

"Now Aoba! This is our only chance!" Inoichi shouted and immediately went to work going through the recent memories.

"Yes captain!" Aoba quickly focused on the sealing jutsu and began creating counter seals and misdirection seals to slow down the Memory destruction seal.

Outside the mind, the three Chunins felt the increase in the chakra drain and saw the concentrated visage of the two Jonins. Seconds went by and turned to minutes. The steam formed on Guren's head increased. They saw sweat forming on Inoichi and Aoba's faces.

"How long do you think they'll last in there?" One of the Chunin asked his companion.

"I don't know. It might not be long now… Look at Guren."

The other two focused their attention back to Orochimaru's unconscious subordinate. Blood was slowly leaking from her nostrils and eyes.

"It's the effect of all those jutsus. Her brain's hemorrhaging. This isn't good. If Inoichi and Aoba don't get out of there before her mind collapses, they'll be buried with her."

The trio of Chunins were getting tense with each passing second. Suddenly they sensed a shift in chakra and saw that Inoichi and Aoba escaped from Guren's mind.

Aoba, seeing that he was back outside, was breathing hard and took a few unsteady steps back. 'That was too close.'

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and then looked at his superior.

"Captain. You alright?" Aoba asked. He became concerned when he saw Inoichi's pale face.

Inoichi snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the man. He slowly nodded and then straightened. "I need to speak to the Hokage. In the meantime, Aoba, I want you to take her body to the medical corps. Have them perform an autopsy." He ordered and then disappeared.

Aoba merely nodded silently. 'What did he see in there that spooked him like that?'

—------------

Author's Note:

So Guren is dead. Im taking her out early

For those wondering, the interrogation took a few hours. And barriers were different from the ones mizuki had.

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