Chapter 30: Probing Memories, Life-Saving Outburst
Sarutobi Hiruzen led Uchiha Tonan out of the interrogation room. The two returned to where Yamanaka Takuya was waiting.
"Takuya," Hiruzen said calmly, "Let Tonan observe while you examine her memories. I've got other matters to attend to."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen rested a reassuring hand on Tonan's shoulder before turning to leave. There was weight behind that gesture, like the calm before a coming storm.
Once the Third was gone, Takuya gave Tonan a brief glance. "Come."
Without a word, Tonan followed him deeper into the Torture and Interrogation Department—an underground wing known in whispers as the Village's silent courtroom. They stopped before a sealed steel door, guarded by two shinobi.
"Takuya-sama," the guards greeted, bowing.
"Let him in to observe. If anything happens, report immediately."
"Yes."
As Tonan stepped into the room, he was greeted by the clinical chill of steel and stone. An electric lamp swung slightly above an iron bed, casting harsh shadows across the walls. Uchiha Mina lay restrained—blindfolded, wrists, ankles, and neck secured with chakra-suppressing rings.
Around her, the room brimmed with a sickening mix of sterile medical tools and experimental drugs. Two Yamanaka clan members were setting up: Yamanaka Hayakawa, sorting through a stack of mission reports, and Yamanaka Ryochi, drawing a glowing blue fluid into a syringe.
"Sit there. No talking. Don't move," Hayakawa said, without so much as looking up.
Tonan nodded silently and took his seat, his face the picture of worry. But beneath it, his Sharingan mind was already spinning.
"Sedative ready?" Hayakawa asked, adjusting Mina's profile files.
"Ready. Small dose—she's still young," Ryochi responded. He carefully injected the drug into her vein, the chakra-laced liquid seeping in like ice through her blood.
"I'm starting the probe."
Ryochi closed his eyes, pressing both palms against Mina's forehead. Green and blue chakra pulsed between them. Almost instantly, her body convulsed like a fish pulled from water. Her lips trembled with soft cries—half-whimpers, half-sobs.
Tonan sat motionless, his fists clenched, expression agonized. But inside, he was reading every chakra fluctuation like a seasoned tactician.
Chunin-level probing. Both of them. No Jonin supervision… Tch, amateurs.
"I see it. October 6th," Ryochi narrated.
Hayakawa scribbled furiously.
"She wakes up. Feeds the cat. Makes breakfast. Sits in the yard… seems to be daydreaming."
"How long was she spacing out?" Hayakawa asked.
"Until well past noon."
Tonan's brow twitched. He adjusted his expression to look more distraught—just enough for a guilt-ridden boyfriend act.
"In the afternoon, she packed her things and left home. Arrived at the training ground. Met with Uchiha Tonan."
"I was sparring with her last evening," Tonan offered gently.
Hayakawa shot him a frigid glare. "Silence."
Tonan nodded, casting his eyes downward, but a dangerous glint sparked within them.
"She appeared distracted during the spar. Left within the hour. Returned home. Found her kitten—dead. Next to the body was a note…"
Hayakawa nodded, pleased. Everything matched the external evidence. The memory timeline was tight.
"She arrived at the waterfall. Hid in the grass. Uchiha Tonan and another girl—Hyuga Chiryo—entered the clearing. The Hyuga confessed her feelings. Tonan turned her down and left. Then…"
Ryochi's voice paused slightly.
"She approached Chiryo. Severed her head in one slash. Then used Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu to incinerate the body."
Mina's body began to violently seize. White foam bubbled at the corners of her mouth.
"That's enough! She can't take anymore! Stop this torture!"
Tonan suddenly stood, voice raw with emotion.
Ryochi paused, startled. Hayakawa whipped around, glaring. "Tonan, you do that again and you're out of here. Interfering with a probe is a punishable offense under ANBU regulation."
Tonan backed off, eyes brimming with fake tears. "Sorry… I just couldn't watch her like that."
"Continue," Hayakawa ordered. "Check the memories from the previous day as well."
"No… No more… kill me… kill me!" Mina screamed. The interruption had disrupted the jutsu, giving her a sliver of clarity. She struggled against the restraints, her cries echoing like the damned.
Ryochi ignored her. He reached forward again—
And that's when Tonan struck.
The tomoe in his eyes spun with deadly precision. His kunai flashed, and he vanished into the shadows.
"You little punk! I've had enough of you!"
Both Yamanaka operatives lunged, having long suspected Tonan might snap.
Bash!
Bam!
A punch to the gut. A kick to the back. Tonan coughed blood and collapsed, hands reaching weakly toward Mina.
"Mina…" he rasped.
"He might be important," Ryochi muttered. "You think we'll catch heat from Hokage-sama for this?"
"Obstructing official duty. We're covered," Hayakawa replied, grabbing Tonan by the hair and dragging him toward the exit.
They opened the door—only to freeze.
"Takuya-sama?! Put Ryochi down this instant!"
The guards outside paled.
"What?" Hayakawa blinked, then looked down.
He wasn't dragging Tonan.
It was Ryochi, unconscious and drooling slightly, still wearing an expression like he was deep in thought.
"W-What?! Then where's—"
They all turned at once.
"Oh no."
Inside the interrogation chamber, the swinging lamp illuminated only the center bed. Tonan rose from the shadows, pale and ghostly, eyes glowing with three spinning tomoe.
One hand cradled Mina's head gently. The other held a kunai at her heart.
"Tonan…" Mina's voice trembled.
As the genjutsu's haze wore off, fragmented memories flooded her mind. She saw flashes of Tonan's eyes, the illusion cast upon her… the manipulation. And then it all made sense.
She began to scream. She thrashed. But the chakra restraints held fast.
Tonan's face twisted with mock sorrow. "It's alright now, Mina. The pain… it'll all be over soon."
To anyone else, his tone might've sounded tender. But to her?
It was the voice of a devil.
Tears streamed from her blindfold. Her voice cracked as she screamed:
"HELP ME!"