Chapter 42: Write Reviews or join my Patre//on (o.0')
The Hyūga Clan's Eight Trigram Palm technique is incredibly effective in close combat, catching their opponents most of the time off guard. The Suna Jōnin fighting against Hyūga Tazumo underestimated the power of his Clans Jūken and suffered continuous strikes to his body's acupuncture points, disrupting his Chakra flow.
Out of the remaining enemies, one Chūnin was fatally stabbed in the heart by Satōmaru, while the other had his throat slit by Shinji.
"Collect the corpses," Uchiha Fugaku instructed. "Nozawa, secure the road ahead. Hyūga Tazumo, guard the rear of the team. Let's retreat and find a safe place."
Hyūga Tazumo stunned the fighting Jōnin, and a few individuals collected the corpses and carried them away from the battlefield. The rain would soon wash away the bloodstains, a characteristic feature of the Land of Rain where such occurrences are common.
In the Land of Rain, Shinōbi who rely on Summoned Beasts or their sense of smell, such as Konoha's Inuzuka Clan and the Hatake Family's Ninken, would also be weakened. The mountainous terrain of the Land of Rain allowed Nozawa to quickly find a hiding spot. Given the ongoing war, it was unlikely anyone would discover their location in a short time.
"Remember the appearance of these four Chūnin," Fugaku reminded his team. "Tomorrow, we will be infiltrating the Sunagakure Supply Point. It's crucial that we don't expose any weaknesses."
"Captain, we have two people that we need to leave behind," Satōmaru pointed out. "It's too risky for just six of us to enter while leaving part of the team behind. If either group gets exposed, we will all face certain death."
"We'll discuss the matter of numbers later," Fugaku replied a bit annoyed. "First, let's see what the situation at the Sunagakure stronghold is like. Yamada Shinji, Okasawa Ōno, both of you are skilled in Earth Release. Bury the four corpses deep in the cave after everyone is done studying their features, and make sure to clean up any traces."
Hyūga Tazumo was assigned to take care of one of the Sunagakure Chunin, while Nozawa accompanied Fugaku to interrogate the Jonin.
"Yes, Captain," Nozawa acknowledged as he approached, carrying an unconscious Jōnin.
Deep inside the cave, Fugaku activated his Sharingan, with its three Tomoe spinning, and focused closely on the unconscious Sunagakure Jōnin. He carefully observed the rise and fall of the opponent's chest and confirmed that the individual was truly unconscious and not feigning it by observing his breathing.
If a Shinōbi's deception was so convincing that he or she manages to deceive even the Sharingan, Fugaku would count it as just him being out of luck.
"Open his eyelids," Fugaku instructed as the three Tomoes in his Sharingan spun faster, and he started to slowly build a Genjutsu to place within the Jonin's mind.
Nozawa placed his hands on the Sunagakure Jōnin's eyelids, using his fingers to forcefully reveal the eyes devoid of any Spirit.
As the Genjutsu took effect, the Sunagakure Jōnin's eyes dulled even further, as if he was high on some drug.
"What's your name?" Fugaku asked.
"Kurosa," came the response.
"Now, tell me about the supply reception process," Fugaku continued.
"In the stronghold, there's a logistics office where supplies are received," Kurosa explained. "Every day, a team of three, one Jōnin and two Chūnin, are stationed there. They issue identity certificates and distribute the required amount of supplies."
Fugaku pressed further, "Describe the warehouse's guarding situation."
Kurosa's eyes glazed over as he visualized the scene. "The warehouse is guarded by two Jōnin and four Chūnin," he revealed.
Fugaku persisted, "Provide the names and characteristics of the Shinōbi in the stronghold, including the six members of your squad. Also, write down any information you have on the stronghold's structure and layout."
Fugaku's Sharingan remained fixated on the Sunagakure Jōnin's eyes, capturing every subtle movement.
The three spinning Tomoe in Fugaku's Sharingan projected significant pressure on the Jōnin's mind. Fugaku couldn't afford to be careless at this moment as too much pressure and he'd turn the man into a vegetable, while too little and he might break out of the Genjutsu.
Jōnins from different nations are typically trained to resist Genjutsus. The more sensitive the information, the stronger the subconscious resistance of the target. If the Jōnin woke up abruptly during the interrogation, he could pose a serious threat, potentially turning against Fugaku and his comrades, or just suiciding and taking all the potentially valuable information to his grave.
Lines of information began to slowly appear on the scroll over the next half an hour before the Jōnin finally finished writing down the specific details and drawing the stronghold's map.
Fugaku wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a sigh of relief. Maintaining a Sharingan Genjutsu for half an hour to manipulate a Jonin had taken a toll on him. If it were not for him being a Homunculi with an insane amount of Life Force, Fugaku doubted he could have lasted that long before awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Fugaku swiftly struck the Sunagakure Jōnin's neck with a knife-hand, temporarily incapacitating him. He and Nozawa brought the Jōnin back to his resting place an improvised prison structure they had created for now.
"Captain, the corpses have been buried," Okasawa Ōno reported. "I've also placed a simple seal on it. They're well hidden unless someone closely inspects the cave, and digs the ground."
"Good work," Fugaku commended, handing the information scroll to Hyūga Tazumo. "This contains the details provided by the captive. I hope everyone can remember it. Take a break while I continue to interrogate the next Suna Shinōbi."
"But why question the Suna Shinōbi again, we have already questioned him?" Shinji asked.
Fugaku looked for a second into Shinji's eyes but did not say anything to him, as he knew an idiot when he saw one.
"For now, just focus on keeping this one restrained," Fugaku said as he passed the passed-out Jonin over to them. "Once both interrogations are completed, we'll have to cross-verify the information before taking any further actions. Sometimes Villages purposely hand out wrong information to their own Shinobi to stop or even trap infiltrators."
After resting for a while, Fugaku accompanied Aburame Nozawa to interrogate the next Sunagakure Shinobi.
After both interrogations, the cross-verification showed that both sets of information gathered were quite similar.
"Nozawa, before tomorrow's covert operation, use your bugs to verify the accuracy of the structure diagram provided by the captives," Fugaku instructed. "Tomorrow's mission is dangerous, and everyone is aware of that. Hyūga Tazumo and I will be leading four Chūnins into enemy terrain, the stronghold, to complete the task, while two others will be responsible for external duties."
Satōmaru tried to speak, but Fugaku raised his hand, silencing him.
"I know what you're thinking," Fugaku glanced at Satōmaru. "Having more people doesn't necessarily guarantee success. The more individuals I involve in this mission, the higher the chances of one of them making a mistake and getting us all caught. By keeping the team small, I am basically minimizing the risk of exposure, and dying a gruesome death."
Without further discussion, Fugaku made his decision. "Yamada Shinji and Aburame Nozawa, you two will handle the outside response. If by the second morning, we haven't returned, you are to go back and report the mission as a failure. Understood?"
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