The interrogation had begun.
It was a process no one wanted to endure, one that no one even wanted to imagine.
It was a process that could break a person’s mind, body, and spirit.
For those who experienced it, there were usually only two outcos:
The first—submission.
The second—complete ntal and physical collapse.
….
Back at the cave, at the mont when Hui realised sothing had gone wrong, the atmosphere between the three of them grew heavy with tension.
Hui rose to his feet and headed toward the cave entrance, his voice steady as he spoke. "Stay behind . We're going to find Hunter."
Lightning imdiately got up to follow.
But Hatake Sakumo hesitated, a flash of hesitation in his eyes as if he were weighing sothing deeply. In the end, he also rose to follow.
Leaving the cave, Hui maintained his focus on his surroundings, using his unique sensory abilities as he led the way.
Unlike most sensory ninjas who relied on active techniques—thods that required the deliberate casting of a jutsu to sense others—Hui’s sensing ca naturally through the energy within his body, a constant awareness of the world around him.
It was like having eyes that were always open. Just as the mind filters out unnecessary visual details, his senses did the sa, only focusing on what he chose to notice.
This ant that Hui’s awareness was always active, only varying in how much attention he devoted to the information it gathered.
As they moved through the forest, Hui’s senses swept outward, seeking any sign of Hunter’s presence.
Soon, he found a clue—small marks left behind, a sign from Hunter, warning that he was in danger.
Using this information, Hui began scanning the area for further traces.
Eventually, he found signs left behind by Iwagakure ANBU—a few subtle disturbances in the forest floor, evidence of their passage.
This discovery helped Hui to piece together the likely scenario of what had happened to Hunter.
Following the faint traces left behind by the Iwagakure ANBU, he cautiously advanced, slowly closing in on the place where their movents had finally stopped.
Trailing a short distance behind him, Lightning and Hatake Sakumo followed at a distance of about a hundred ters—close enough to support Hui if needed, but far enough to escape should things go south.
This had been Hui's instruction.
At a certain point, Hui stopped in his tracks.
He motioned for Lightning and Hatake Sakumo to halt, then focused inward, transforming every bit of chakra in his body yuan qi, leaving no trace of chakra that could betray his presence.
Hunter was a skilled sensory ninja—he could detect danger well before most ordinary shinobi could. Under normal circumstances, he could have easily retreated back to them.
But he hadn’t. Instead, he had chosen to lead the enemy away.
Moreover, there were no signs of a struggle along the way.
Hui understood the situation; Hunter had likely encountered a sensory ninja stronger than himself, one who had been tracking him all along.
If the enemy had a highly capable sensory ninja, Hui knew he couldn’t afford to leave even the slightest trace of his own chakra.
With his chakra fully converted, Hui continued to inch forward silently.
At last, through the darkness, he spotted a distant glimr of firelight.
Holding his breath, Hui reached out with his senses—and what he felt caused his heart to sink.
He sensed Hunter’s presence. His energy was weak, flickering like a candle in the wind, close to being snuffed out entirely.
At the sa ti, Hui detected nurous Iwagakure ANBU nearby.
Among them were six at the level of chūnin, twenty-nine at the level of elite chūnin, five jōnin, and...
One whose strength surpassed that of an elite jōnin—an individual he assud to be at the Kage level.
Hui’s heart began to race.
Particularly that one presence—an Iwagakure ANBU of Kage-level strength. Such a powerful shinobi was a rarity even among the Five Great Nations.
Recalling the presence of a powerful sensory ninja among them, Hui quickly surmised the identity of this individual.
It could only be one person: Kamizuru Ishigawa, the ANBU commander of Iwagakure.
With this understanding, Hui slowly retreated, returning to Lightning and Hatake Sakumo.
"Light, what's the situation? Did you find Hunter? How is he?" Lightning asked urgently, his concern clear in his voice. He had grown fond of Hunter, seeing a reflection of his younger self in the young ninja.
"I found him," Hui replied, his tone grave.
"He's in bad shape. The Iwagakure ANBU captured him alive. And... it's highly likely that their leader, Kamizuru Ishigawa, is the one who caught him."
At these words, both Lightning and Hatake Sakumo tensed, their pupils contracting in shock.
"The ANBU... commander?!"
"Yes. And they aren’t alone. Besides Kamizuru Ishigawa, there are five jōnin, twenty-nine elite chūnin, and six chūnin with him."
The air grew cold as Lightning and Hatake Sakumo sucked in sharp breaths.
"This... this is..."
Faced with such overwhelming odds, even Lightning struggled to find the right words.
"You two need to head back and inform our division leader and the commander," Hui said after a mont of thought. "I’ll stay here and look for an opportunity to rescue Hunter."
Lightning imdiately objected, his voice rising in protest. "No way, Hui! This ti is different. The enemy is too strong—you’ll just be throwing your life away!"
"Exactly, Captain! There's no way to rescue him in a situation like this—it’s impossible!" Hatake Sakumo added, his voice tinged with a trace of desperation.
He seed to hesitate, battling with himself internally before finally pressing on, his expression tense. "And don’t forget—we have direct orders to return and carry out a critical mission."
Hearing this, Lightning furrowed his brow but eventually nodded in agreent with Hatake Sakumo.
"Hui, we need to leave. Now."
He spoke firmly, making his decision clear.
Hui fell silent for a mont, then shook his head and t Lightning’s gaze.
"You know my abilities. As long as I don’t want to be seen, they won’t find . And I’m not talking about storming in recklessly—I'm talking about watching for a chance."
Lightning hesitated, the conflict visible in his eyes.
But Hatake Sakumo gritted his teeth and spoke earnestly, his tone taking on a hard edge. "Captain, our orders are to return imdiately in a situation like this!"
His voice was almost rigid with tension as he tried to assert his point.
Lightning turned, stunned by Hatake Sakumo's intensity.
Hui turned to face Hatake Sakumo as well, studying his eyes. He could see the struggle roiling within him.
It reminded Hui of what he knew from Hatake Sakumo’s fate in the original story—how, faced with a choice between a mission and saving a comrade, he chose the latter, resulting in a failed mission and his subsequent ostracization.
The pressure and criticism eventually led him to take his own life.
"In a hero's heart, there exists both the cold resolve to sacrifice for duty and a deep bond with comrades. These forces create unending turmoil."
His death had been described as: "A life lost between the cracks of duty and emotion."
Because of that, Hui had always had a special fondness for Hatake Sakumo.
Now, seeing this internal struggle play out, he understood just how deeply Sakumo was torn between loyalty and duty.
But this ti, it seed, he had chosen duty.
Hui stood up slowly, eting Hatake Sakumo’s gaze with not a hint of hesitation.
Night had already settled in, obscuring Hui’s features from view.
But his voice rang out clearly through the night.
"True, in the world of shinobi, those who break the rules are scorned as trash.
"But those who abandon their comrades... are worse than trash!"
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