Chapter 67 - The Three I's

〚Story by: ????????????????????????????????????   // Edited by: ????????????????????_????????????〛

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After what must've amounted to the same time it used to take me to microwave some popcorn, (oh how I miss popcorn...) I finally arrived at my destination: the Kaguya Clan 'military' camp...

And yes, you read that right. I said 'military'.

You see, I've been lurking in the shadows for about half an hour, not deactivating my Sharingan for even a moment...

After fully mastering it I've managed to drastically optimize its chakra consumption rates to a ridiculous amount, so I could probably use the Sharingan as indiscriminately as Itachi and not feel tired at all, despite not being an Uchiha.

Kakashi couldn't do the same simply because he didn't have the 2nd best chakra control of the Shinobi World.

My Mangekyou remains unaltered in its deteriorating effects on the user's eyes and body. Unless I get myself a pair of EMS, that's how it's gonna be, regrettably...

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Anyway... Back to the point I was making. I've been doing standard reconnaissance of the camp, evaluating risks and such...  

But then I realized... That this looks more like a beer festival than it looks the camp of a feared Warrior Clan...

I mean, they've got large banquet tables with several foods (mostly meat) right next to a giant bonfire, carts with uncooked meat in some crates, and TONS of barrels of beer and sake...

Almost 90% of the ninja are intoxicated right now… I mean yeah, they kinda have patrols going on... but man, this is outrageous!

They don't even have a perimeter set up, just tents scattered everywhere and--

Ugh...

May I remind you, that these people have declared war on a Hidden Village?...

I mean WTF!!!! This must be some kind of trap or something... right?!

*Sigh*

The Mist camp I infiltrated had a similar vibe, with people celebrating and whatnot... But this is on a whole other level... They at least had a wall and weren't as close to their enemy...

**Sigh**

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These Kaguya bunch, I tell you. Besides being ugly as f*ck, they are also way too stupid. Even for musclebrain standards...

No wonder they got exterminated in the canon...

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Heh...

Now that I think about it...

It doesn't really matter...

They're living on borrowed time...

Their people have just been exterminated... Their compound burned to less than ashes...

And they don't even know it...

Let them have their drinks and delicious meat...

Maybe it's for the better. They get to enjoy their last moments on this accursed World of Shinobi...

A privilege that not everybody has...

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So, I've calculated their numbers using my enhanced Inuzuka senses and the Sharingan, with 100% accuracy.

There are 284 ninja scattered around the camp, with varying chakra amounts... 51 of them have jonin-level chakra...

Nevertheless, jonin-level chakra doesn't mean they're are all jonin level per se... But still, no matter how much I may look down on these savages, (I do... a lot) I'm also not willing to compromise the mission for anything.

Nope, not happening.

I'll make this another flawless mission on my personal record...

In any case, it's time I go back to what I do best: Hide for indefinite amounts of time while analyzing stuff, calculating stuff and planning even more stuff.

That's my ninja way.

I guess...

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After another hour of doing what I do best, I have identified the Clan Head's tent. It's basically the same as any other tent, so it was truly harder to find than your average 'command tent'...

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Hmmm...

Maybe they're not so irredeemably stupid after all...

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I also made sure that this wasn't a trap and memorized their patrolling itinerary (if you could call it that anyway).

That was the easy part, seeing as there are so few ninja on actual guard duties.

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I don't have much nighttime left, and I've got my targets identified… Not wasting any more time, I proceed to make my move...

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Firstly, I sneak close to one of the patrolling ninja. I'm already relatively close to the camp so it takes me a moment to reach him.

Just as he makes a turn around a shadowy corner next to what appears to be the armory, (unguarded by the way...) I use my patented senbon-to-the-back-of-the-neck technique with surgical precision.

This knocks him out cold and without any noise, as I prudently grab the unconscious body as it collapses.

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Then I make a shadow clone that instantly transforms into the ninja I just took out. The clone resumes the ninja's patrol in his stead...

Following that, I take the unconscious ninja further into the darkness of the forest and tie him up with some chains and put a gag on his mouth that I took out from a storage scroll.

Then I carefully pull out the senbon off his neck...

His muscles spasm a bit, whilst he instinctively tries to recover, making some muffled groans...

I immediately force open his eyes and give them a death-stare with both of my Sharingan...

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It's time I put my first original Sharingan skill to use. This one, I've been working on for quite some time, and have finally perfected it barely a couple of hours ago...

It was with the Clan Head's wife actually...

I didn't just torture her for the fun of it when I could've just used my hard-earned Sharingan to get any valuable information...

No... You see...

I was actually taking the time to make the most of my somewhat disappointing 'visit' to the Kaguya Clan compound...

Yes... I worked on her since she had an incredibly strong mind (for a civilian) that allowed me to play for a bit with all kinds of mental and physical pain… All to get the exact formula and translate the results into a master genjutsu that would put your average Uchiha to shame...

That was also the first in-depth field experiment I have conducted... And it was quite efficient as well since it bore fruit only 38 minutes in...

Now... What is that precious technique which I have developed? -You may be asking yourself...

Well, that is...

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<Sharingan: Memory Extraction Technique>

Or just 'Memory Extraction Jutsu' for short...

As I delve into his mind, the ninja's eyes gain a noticeably hollow look (that yandere-going-to-kill-you look)...

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This genjutsu is used to break the will of the captured target, to make them give as much information as possible.

And that's where the similarities with other interrogation-type genjutsus end.

You see... this a perfect hybrid of the most powerful interrogation techniques of the Shinobi World: the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Probe Technique and the Sharingan: Interrogation Genjutsu...

The first one I learned from a member of the T&I Force on my camp (the one that brought me the test subjects).

Using my proxy-clone as bait, I managed to copy his clan's secret technique when the clone 'accidentally' mentioned having created a new A-rank Jutsu... And faked regret after 'revealing' that 'secret'...

I knew he wouldn't resist the idea of probing the mind of his superior for his secret technique...

Oh, the irony...

In the end, what he found was images of me having dinner with Tsunade while she demanded the waiter to bring her more sake...

Hehehe...

His expression afterward; a mix of cringe, anger, and shame... for the usually cold-as-ice T&I agent... It was certainly priceless...

As was the technique I obtained, unmistakably...

The second component technique doesn't really need an explanation, does it?

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Now... on to what this master interrogation technique does...

It's basically breaching the target's mind with such a powerful and yet simple genjutsu, that its defenses are not able to react in time... giving me full access to my target's mind.

It's like shooting a catapult boulder through a gateway before the gates can be closed. Simple in theory but exceedingly effective.

I can then freely browse through the target's entire memories (not just what he's thinking at the moment) and take whatever memories I want for myself. Like copying a file from a PC into a Pendrive...

It allows me to obtain reliable and clear information, which I can access at any time with my Sharingan's photographic memory.

No bloody mess, no interrogation nonsense, and it's also time-efficient since time inside the victim's mind elapses at 5% of the real-time...

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It almost sounds too good to be true... But of course, it isn't. Too good, I mean.

This technique has a fatal weakness. If the target has a strong enough will or countermeasures against genjutsu, the technique is rendered effectively useless.

Why?... Because I risk it backfiring on me... And you know what THAT would mean...

I would be utterly and royally f*cked...

Therefore, if the target starts to resist it, I would have to employ other techniques, and that would probably end up with the target's brain becoming a useless lump of tissue...

Genjutsu on top of genjutsu it's just nasty.

Consequently, I have to be extremely careful with whom I use the technique on...

The good news is: most ninja below jonin level, and maybe even a few jonin, are in the necessary mental strength range for my master technique to work appropriately...

It is kinda overpowered, but you cannot say that I haven't spilled blood, sweat and tears in developing it...

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Back to what's happening with the poor bastard and his hollow eyes...

I chose this ninja for two reasons: First, he's barely at chunin level from what I gathered. His reaching this level is nothing short of a miracle, given his early 30's appearance... The second reason is that I noticed during my reconnaissance that he's profoundly insecure; from things like not looking at his peers in the eye, fidgeting when talking, to the way he walks, etc.

Normally I'd run many more tests before actually using a new technique on the field... But the risk of failing against such a weak individual is negligible...

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[--and then my father *sniff* never acknowledged me *sniff* as his son... Just because my mother was a servant!! Since then... everyone on the clan looks down on me... Plus I am weak and all that... *sniff*]

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Ok... damn... The dude w.h.i.n.ed about his pathetic life to me thinking it was all some kind of dream... and that I was his spiritual guide or some sh*t...

Turns out that if the target has an extremely weak mind, he may be called directly into his mindscape and talk to me... Free of inhibitions...

Although in this particular case, it was mostly a pain in the *ss... Only after 52 minutes (2.6 minutes real-time) has he finished telling me his whole life story...

I only bore with it because of the next part of my plan...

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After the sob-story-time is over, I end the technique, only to knock him out again and making a clone to watch over him.

With that taken care of, I can see my other transformed clone on the distance doing some patrolling.

I rush towards my clone. Dispelling him in an instant, and at the same time, I transform into the patrolling ninja... Then I take out a scroll and go towards the Clan Head's tent...

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I run towards the tent's entrance from the other end of the camp...

Guarding it (while having a few drinks) there are two middle-aged guards. As drunk as they are, both have jonin-level chakra and most definitely are jonin level per se...

I don't let my guard down...

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And now comes the reason why I didn't just take that chunin's memories: I wanted to experience first-hand how he interacted with others, to correctly impersonate him...

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Time to get into character...

I started to act nervous and fidget...

"E-Excuse me G-Gami-sama, Maru-sama… I-I..."

They look at me like I am trash with an eyebrow raised and a smirk...

"Spit it out brat, whaddya wanna say!!" -Says the one on the left.

The other one laughs, only to add:

"Well, he gonna be spitting something aight! His teeth, if he doesn't start talking in the next 5 seconds!"

Wow, really funny guys... Arrogant drunkards like you are only any good as lab rats...

Still, I keep on my wimp mask.

"Y-Yes s-sir! Mizukage-sama has sent a message to be delivered directly to the Clan Head! The envoy was injured so I sent him directly to the medic's tent!"

They just look at me... C'mon now I am ready... Ask me questions, I have prepared an answer to all of them...

Even the ones of why would someone even give me the message if it was meant to be delivered directly to the Clan Head...

I even know the answers to personal questions if they ask me...

Hah!

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Then they look at me seriously...

"Then, go inside! Now!"

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W-wait what...??!! This sounds suspicious as hell... WHAT THE HELL, I MEMORIZED THAT GUYS WHOLE LIFE STORY FOR NOTHING!!!

And I can't ever forget that sh*t because I used the Sharingan to memorize everything he said...

F*CK...

Despite my... annoyance... I keep my act going.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

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As soon as I get inside the tent, I see the Clan Head. He has a big build with black hair and a scruffy goatee on his face.

He is sitting in a cross-legged position on the ground with a Japanese low-table in front of him and a half-filled bottle of sake on it.

Putting down an empty small cup on the table, a questioning look is drawn on his slightly blushed face.

As he turns to me, I promptly bow down to hide my face from him and I secretly activate my Sharingan. I also extend the scroll I had on my hands towards him in an obeisant manner...

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"Kimru-sama! The Mizukage-sama has sent an urgent message for your eyes only!"

He rudely takes the scroll away from my fingers, and as he's opening it, his eyes widen in shock...

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Indeed... I have done with his clan as I willed, essentially unopposed. This time with my patented method of espionage, the Three I's: Infiltrate, Interrogate and Impersonate...

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He looks at me... with a look that reveals his futile realization of what has transpired...

Anger, impotence, despair... even a hint of sadness...

He looks at me like he's is about to say something... Probably his last words... or-

Perhaps...?

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-But then his gaze helplessly shifts to my bloodshot eyes...

That realization came all too late...

As if those spinning shapes... were... singing to him...

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<Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique>

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