Chapter 289 - Daichi's Fury 02

The Hokage and the two interrogators were surprised at the wooden contraption Daichi built in the middle of the interrogation room. It was similar to a chair but there were several additional mechanisms to it.

Daichi walked to Mizuki while making a few hand seals and placed his right palm on the back of the man's head. Mizuki jerked as he felt Daichi use his jutsu on him.

"You won't be able to control the motor function of your limbs from now on." The Genin spoke as he looked at the jerking man. He released the restraints and held Mizuki up. He led the struggling Chunin and brought him to the special chair he made.

Daichi made sure to secure the Chunin's head, arms and legs to the chair and made sure there would be no movement from Mizuki. After strapping him down securely in the chair Daichi took a step back.

The chair had a basin attached to the top along with additional two arms positioned vertically.

'So this is what the minister felt that day. The need to do whatever it takes for a loved one.' Daichi looked emotionless as he looked at the trapped Chunin. 'This is too important. I need to know what he knows. I'm not going to stop now. '

The Genin made a hand seal and the sound of water could be heard above the chair. A few seconds later a drop of cold water hit Mizuki right in the middle of his forehead. The chair had special seals Daichi created with fixed functions.

Mizuki was confused at Daichi's methods. "What is this?"

"This is an invention a Daimyo in the Land of water came up with to punish his murderous general around two centuries ago."

The Chunin looked at Daichi in silence for a few moments before he burst out in laughter. "Pfft-Hahahahaha… Seriously… You really-"

Drip.

Mizuki was cut off by another drop of water to the forehead but he ignored it after a second and continued. "You really think a drop of water can get me to-"

Drip.

Mizuki stopped for a moment and then ignored it and again continued. "This isn't scary. At most it's annoying. And here I was feeling afraid of you."

Drip.

Feeling the cold drop of water slowly run down his face, Mizuki just tried to ignore it. 'He thinks he can get me to talk with a bucket of water. Is this kid an idiot?'

Daichi took the small chair in the corner of the room and sat down in front of the prisoner. "You see Mizuki, during my travels with Lady Tsunade I would try to find rare books about the history and culture of the world. Amongst them I found a very interesting journal. It was written by the minister who served under a Daimyo in the Land of water two centuries ago. That journal told an interesting tale."

The Chunin and the people standing outside the room were curious.

"What are you talking about? Are you here to interrogate me or tell a story and make me go to sleep?" Mizuki was arrogant thinking that he had won against Daichi and so he tried to be as condescending as possible.

The Genin only smiled as he looked at the prisoner's face. "Yes. I am here to tell you a story… But I promise. You won't be sleeping."

The way in which Daichi said that last part made Mizuki somewhat cautious. All the while his forehead was struck by cold water droplets at irregular intervals.

Daichi sat in his chair looking relaxed as he gazed at Mizuki. "Around two hundred years ago there was a Daimyo that ruled the Land of water named Yushin Denjiro. He had a powerful general under his command named Akihiro. The Daimyo was a brilliant, cunning man. And General Akihiro. Well, if the journal is to be believed then he was the Tobirama Senju of that time. At least when it comes to chakra power and water ninjutsu."

Hiruzen, Ibiki and Inoichi were surprised to hear that. It was especially shocking to the old Hokage since he knows just how powerful his teacher is. 'Someone as strong as Lord Second? Even if it was in a time period long ago, it's still hard to believe.'

"It's written that General Akihiro could manipulate water to such a degree that if he was near even a small body of water, he was said to be invincible. No matter how many enemies he faced, he wouldn't be defeated. The most powerful water style jutsu user of that era."

Mizuki was confused when he heard Daichi talk. "What does-" Drip

"a dead-" Drip.

Mizuki was slightly annoyed but felt nothing more. "What does a dead general have to do with this?"

"Because you two are similar. Not in terms of power but your behavior."

Mizuki was silent as he glared at the Genin and Daichi continued. "With the General's power and the Daimyo's cunning strategies they crushed all opposition and took over many territories nearby and ruled over them. After the Daimyo had enough land and power he began to focus on enjoying his life. He got married to the love of his life but tragedy struck. She died in childbirth. The Daimyo had a son. Yuji Denjiro. A son he loved very much. When Yuji was a teenager he fell in love with a very beautiful girl. The Daimyo approved of the relationship and agreed that as soon as they reached 19, they would get married. Everyone was happy. Or at least that's what it seemed. You see, General Akihiro was secretly in love with the girl and he hated the fact that she would be someone else's. No one knew he was madly obsessed with her."

Daichi stopped and fixed Mizuki with a cold gaze. "Can you guess what happened next?"

Mizuki snorted and gave a nonchalant reply. "He killed her?!"

Daichi sighed as he heard that reply. "Yes. See. I told you, you two were similar. Anyone else might have said, the General would abduct the woman or kill the son of the Daimyo… but you… you got it right on the first try. He killed her."

The silver haired Chunin sneered as he looked at the Genin. "If he had the kind of power you said he had then there is no problem for him to do what he wants. Power is what's important in this word. Nothing else matters."

"Yes. You and that dead General are so much alike… That girl died and even though the General did it in secret, the Daimyo's son found out about it and confronted him. In anger the general killed the boy too. After that he knew he would have to kill the Daimyo as well since Akihiro knew how much the Daimyo loved his one and only son. So he launched a coup. But unfortunately the cunning Daimyo had already taken precautions against him. He spent a good chunk of his wealth and fortune and hired a small army from various clans to confront the general. After many sacrifices the General was defeated and imprisoned."

Mizuki let out an intentional yawn as he looked at the Genin. "That's a great story and all. But what does any of that have to do with us?"

Daichi was silent as he looked at the man. But the silence was broken a few moments later by the sound of a drop of water hitting Mizuki's forehead.

Daichi smiled at Mizuki's irritated expression. "Hatred is a powerful emotion. When someone you love is taken from you, even the kindest person can take the most cruel actions… Like that Water Daimyo. He wanted revenge for his son but he wanted the General to suffer an unimaginable pain. So the Daimyo tried to come up with different torture methods but nothing worked. Not to his satisfaction anyway. In today's standards the General would have been a high kage level ninja after all. He was strong both in mind and body. And the Daimyo didn't just want to break the General's body but he wanted to break the man's mind as well. He wanted to use the man's greatest strength against him. The Daimyo wanted to use water to torture the traitorous General."

Outside the room Ibiki and Inoichi glanced at each other as they had a bad premonition in their hearts. Hiruzen stood still and looked in with a stoic expression as he listened to every word Daichi spoke.

Daichi slowly stood from his small chair and walked to Mizuki. "Soon one day, he saw a snake lying under a tree in his garden. The water from the leaves hit its body at random times and the Daimyo could see that the snake was irritated. As he kept watching he saw the snake biting its own body and the Daimyo was confused. He asked a doctor in the palace to take the snake and examine him. He wanted to know why the snake didn't just crawl away."

Mizuki and the others were silent as they listened to Daichi's tale. The Genin circled Mizuki and nodded to himself as he saw the seals on the wooden machine working as they should.

"After examining the snake the doctor found the reason. A large portion of its body was paralyzed and it could only move a small portion near the head. But what the Daimyo wanted to know more was why the snake was so aggressive to the point it would harm its own body. So after several tests the Daimyo found a new method of torture. The Water Dripping method."

Mizuki could help but let out a small laugh. Even as his face was dripping with water he grinned. "Are you kidding me? You really think a few drops of water to my face is torture? Haha… There is no way something like this works."

Daichi sat down in front of Mizuki and smiled. A smile that erased the grin on the Chunin's face.

"That's because you don't know the effects of this method. That General. Despite his cruel nature he was strong and a powerful warrior. But with this method the Daimyo broke him in just 4 days. You see, the Daimyo found out that if cold water is slowly dripped into the scalp, forehead or face for a prolonged period of time, it would cause fear and mental deterioration on the subject. The pattern of the drop is often irregular and the cold sensation is jarring. It slowly causes anxiety as the person tries to anticipate the next drip."

Ibiki and Inoichi were surprised to hear such an interrogation method. "Have you heard of such a method, Ibiki?"

"No. Not using water drops. There are ways to inflict damage to the psyche but I've never heard of such a method before. So I'm also skeptical. I don't know how effective this is going to be."

Nearby, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy. 'A shinobi is more resilient than a normal human. So to inflict such psychological damage in such a short amount of time using such a simple method… Can it really be done? But still even if it's possible, it might take hours for this to take effect… Unless Daichi has something else planned.'

Just as the Hokage had this thought, Daichi took three small syringes from the scroll. Mizuki was tense as he looked at them and he glared at the Genin with all the hatred he could muster.

Daichi looked at Mizuki with a cold emotionless gaze and spoke. "That method, while effective, was a bit too slow for my taste. So I perfected it with the help of these. One of these vials will weaken your optic nerves and you'll be blinded. The other will make your nerves far more sensitive than normal. The third will increase your brain activity."

Daichi injected the contents and soon Mizuki's eyes lost their vision. "I can't see. Damn it I can't see. What did you do to me, you bastard!?"

"I told you. This is my own version of that method. I'll be back in an hour when you're in the mood to talk." Daichi left the room after speaking those words. He ignored the screams and curses that came at him.

Hiruzen looked at Daichi with a complicated expression. 'This method relies on the psychological stress caused by sensory deprivation and the incessant repetition of a small, seemingly harmless stimulus. Over time, this can lead to intense mental distress and even madness. I never would have expected something like this from Daichi.'

"How long will it take for this method to work?" Ibiki asked looking at the boy.

"The original method would have taken days but my method will get the results in an hour." Daichi replied to the man.

"What's different?" It was Inoichi who asked this question.

"I hypothesized various ways to intensify the experience. Alternating the temperature of the water could heighten the sensory input and make the experience more disorienting and distressing for the victim. Using cold water could cause discomfort and potentially lead to hallucination of hypothermia over time, making the victim more susceptible to the psychological effects of the torture."

Hiruzen's eyes slightly widened as he looked at the boy.

"On the other hand, hot water might cause mild burns or heightened skin sensitivity, making each drop more noticeable and uncomfortable. Switching between hot and cold water could also disrupt the victim's ability to acclimate to the sensation. Humans can become somewhat accustomed to unchanging stimuli over time, but if the stimulus is constantly changing, it's much harder to ignore or adapt to."

The three adults were shocked when they heard that. Ibiki turned to look at Mizuki who was already beginning to show the effects of this method. 'It would be as if he was being frozen one second and then being burned alive the next second. What a terrifying method.'

"How long would it take before Mizuki would be willing to answer questions?" The Hokage asked in an unusually serious tone.

Daichi looked at the Hokage and sighed. He knew the kage would be cautious when it came to him from now on with this stunt. Regardless he answered. "My vial has increased the sensitivity in his body by multiple times. In the first five minutes Mizuki would try to suppress the effects by trying to meditate and center his mind to dull the sensations. But by 10 minutes he'd start to feel irritated and he'll struggle to maintain his meditation. In 20 minutes frustration will begin to creep in. Then anxiety. His mental strength will be pushed to the limits…"

"And what happens after an hour…?" Hiruzen asked the child in a low tone.

Daichi was silent for a few moments and then replied. "A growing sense of despair. His thoughts would become chaotic. His mind will begin to wander, imagining worst-case scenarios and outcomes. He will hallucinate. His sense of reality will start to distort. He will then begin to experience a profound sense of isolation and loneliness. He'll start to lose track of time. Each moment would feel like an eternity. His sense of self will begin to dissolve. A few minutes beyond an hour… His mental state will deteriorate further. He will begin to experience extreme stress, paranoia, and delusions. He may even lose his sense of identity."

The silence that followed Daichi's answer was deafening. The ninjas looked at Daichi and tried to hide what they were thinking but the Genin knew that surprise and maybe even slight fear was among the emotions.

"Why…? Why would you come up with something like this unless you weren't intending on using it?" Hiruzen suddenly asked Daichi. His face was devoid of expression as he looked at the boy.

Daichi looked down as he heard that question. 'I originally created this for Obito in the event he ever came for Reo but now…'

The Genin looked at the Hokage and his face softened. "I had truly hoped this day would never come. I never wanted to use this method on anyone… But I'm not someone who'll be unprepared when it comes to a ruthless enemy."

Hiruzen sighed as he heard that. 'We've done things far worse to our enemies during the wars.'

The Hokage looked at the boy and he had to remind himself that Daichi wasn't an ordinary child. 'This is the nature of a shinobi. There is nothing I can do to change that.'

"Do you want us to question Mizuki or…?"

Daichi shook his head negatively to the Hokage's question. "No. I'll be back in an hour. I have an idea as to how to get some definitive answers from him once he's ready."