The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

15-A Mistake

It has been almost three weeks since the end of the preliminary round of the chunnin exams. Naruto, Sasuke, and all other participants are still busy training for the third round. Deep in Konoha's prison however, it seems they aren't the only ones who are hard at work.

Aoi, Ibiki, and Inoichi all sat in the interrogation room that was deep within the prison. No natural light was able to make its way down this far, so the three sat around a flickering candle. They had all been here for the past four days, continuing Aoi's training in emotions and interrogation. The chunnin guards that shadowed Aoi everywhere hadn't been seen, as the prison was one of the most highly guarded buildings in the leaf. All heads turned as the door into the room opened and a woman, roughly 30 by the looks of it, was escorted into the room.

"Ah~ how exciting for me!" The woman smiled at the group lightly, her voice singsong. She was mocking them. "For me to be in the presence of two of the most amazing men in Konoha, who focus solely on intel. Oh? But who is the kid?"

Ibiki glared at the woman harshly, but she didn't even flinch. Slight bags could be seen under all three's eyes, as they hadn't gotten much sleep the past few days. "I would reexamine your situation here. We'll be asking the questions here."

"Let me guess at what you want." The woman completely ignored Ibiki's words, continuing in a teasing tone. "You want information, obviously, but on what? You know, rumors travel fast around here. Not much else to do when you're locked in a cell other than talk. I already know you've been interrogating others, but the missing key would be why you would interrogate convicted criminals. Aren't we already out of your hair?"

"Sit down, we're starting now." When the woman refused to do as Ibiki said, he made a quick motion to the two guards behind her. They stepped forward, and without too much fight from the woman strapped her into the chair.

She lifted her hand an inch, looking lazily at the cuffs that now bound her arms and legs. "Ooh~ chakra cuffs huh? Nifty things." Her gaze rose from her hands to meet Ibiki's glare. "You've been here for a few days now according to rumor. Add that to what's happening with the chunnin exams and-"

Ibiki cut her off, "How do you know what's happening out in the village?"

"While I may be trapped in here, the prison guards sure aren't. If us prisoners get bored, you can suspect that they do too. Anyways, from what I can tell, you're here to ask about Orochimaru."

"Since you already know what we're talking about then, there is only one last question. Will you tell us about him?" Inoichi spoke, already sensing that Ibiki would snap if the woman pressed too many of his buttons. He could also tell that Ibiki was nearing that limit.

"Hmm..." The woman looked up, as if considering. "Nope! You forget that I loved that man, to me he was so much more than a superior." Her face held a faint blush at the confession, but she smiled mockingly nonetheless.

"Of course." At a nod, one of the guards behind the woman made the handsigns to place her into a genjutsu. Aoi started forward, his hand outstretched, but Inoichi caught it. "She seems prepared for all this, let me make sure you can handle it first." Aoi nodded, and Inoichi reached out and touched the woman's forehead.

Ibiki watched, a glare still on his face, while Inoichi delved through the woman's mind. Aoi stood off to the side, watching with disinterest at what was happening. They had been doing the same things with countless people, all of which were connected with Orochimaru. So far there was no luck in finding any information that they didn't already know. It didn't seem that Orochimaru stayed in contact with people who had already been caught.

"It's clear, there is almost no defenses inside her mind. Almost too easy." Inoichi backed away from the woman and motioned for Aoi to proceed. The boy stepped forward, and the second his hand made contact with her forehead he was in a 3-D maze.