The rhythmic, heavy thud of the ground vibrated through the stone bed, echoing like a massive heartbeat. This sound, coupled with the sharp ringing in his ears, pulled Yoichi back from the brink of darkness. His vision swam as a series of translucent screens flickered rapidly before his eyes.
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +129」
「Mountain Crushing Fist EXP + 68」
「Lightning Spear Thrust EXP + 79」
「Phantom Steps EXP + 101」
「Soul Power + 11」
The notifications blared in a chaotic sequence, a digital testament to the life-or-death struggle at the border. Where am I? he wondered. The air was thick with salt and the smell of damp earth, unlike any forest in the Land of Fire.
The heavy door groaned open, admitting a slice of dim light. A man dressed in a white flaked vest appeared, his shadow stretching long across the floor. He leaned against the frame with a look of cold curiosity. "It seems that you're awake," the man stated, his voice devoid of warmth.
Yoichi ignored the remark to analyze his own status. Bandages covered his torso and limbs in multiple spots, yet they could not mask the aching sensation throbbing through his entire body. He let out a sharp hiss of pain, teeth gritting as he forced his muscles to respond. With a strained effort, he slouched himself upward against the bed, his obsidian eyes locking onto the Kumo operative.
The operative stepped further into the room, the stone floor echoing under his boots. He sat on a low stool, his gaze fixed on Yoichi with an intensity that bordered on obsession. "You have been unconscious for one week. My medics were certain you would die, yet your vitals remain impossibly stable. You are a biological anomaly, boy."
Jin leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous hum. "We found a groundbreaking discovery to stabilize your condition. A secondary rhythmic pulse near your aorta. A Second Heart. It boosts your blood flow and physical attributes far beyond human limits. It is a marvel of nature, or perhaps a forbidden experiment. Even for an Uchiha, this is unheard of."
Yoichi remained silent, his breath hitching as he adjusted his position. He focused on his internal rhythm, mentally shifting into the Qi Blood Circulation to stabilize the pressure in his chest. The rhythmic two heartbeats throbbed with a dull, powerful heat.
Though his Chakra was sealed by the heavy metal cuffs, his Qi Blood surged forth in response to his concentration. However, the flow was shallow and strained. He was still too injured to use that vitality for high-movement techniques or a sudden burst of speed.
"I am Jin, a Captain of the Cloud's Special Tactics unit," the man said. "You killed several of our scouts before my men managed to subdue you. Now, tell me, how does a child with two hearts master the Forbidden Gates and the Sharingan? A body like yours is a treasure trove of military secrets."
Yoichi leaned his head back against the wall, his expression unreadable. The pain was a dull roar now, manageable because of his unique physiology. "A Captain," he rasped, his voice sounding like dry parchment. "You bring many questions for someone who has not even offered a cup of water to a guest."
Jin's eyes narrowed, a flash of irritation crossing his face. "You are not a guest. You are a prisoner on the orientation of the Island Turtle. There is no escape, and no rescue is coming. The Hokage has likely already written you off. Give us the secrets of your conditioning and that heart of yours, and your stay will be comfortable. Refuse, and we will take what we want by force."
Jin stood up, his shadow looming over the bed as he reached into a pouch at his waist. He pulled out a slender, silver needle that hummed with a faint, jagged yellow electricity. "Patience is a luxury we do not afford," he said, his voice flat. "If you will not speak, your body will do it for you."
He stepped closer, the needle crackling as he brought it toward Yoichi's collarbone. "This is a neural stimulant. It is designed to override the brain's pain dampeners. Every nerve in your body will feel like it is being flayed by a thousand tiny blades."
Yoichi watched the needle approach, his expression remaining a mask of cold indifference.
He adjusted his breathing, mentally sinking into an utter concentration to counterbalance the pressure in his chest. He focused his shallow Qi Blood to shield his internal organs. A steady, defiant rhythm beat against his ribs, a powerful thud that matched the heartbeat of the Island Turtle beneath him.
The needle sank into his skin. A violent jolt of lightning-aspected chakra tore through Yoichi's nervous system. His body arched off the bed, his muscles locking in a painful spasm as the electricity fought against his natural vitality. His teeth were clenched so hard they threatened to shatter, but he did not scream. He simply stared at Jin with bloodshot eyes, a silent challenge written in his gaze.
"Impressive," Jin muttered, pushing the needle deeper. "Your body is working overtime to purge the shock. It is filtering the intrusion faster than a normal shinobi's system could ever hope to. But tell me, how long can that extra pulse beat before it gives out under the strain?"
Yoichi slumped back as the first wave passed, his skin glistening with a cold sweat. He felt the surge of agonizing misery crawling throughout his entire body, fueled by the forced stimulation of his cells.
He breathed out a thin trail of steam, his voice a low, guttural rasp. "Is that all a Captain of the Cloud can manage? You are barely tickling the surface."
Jin twisted the needle, increasing the voltage until the air smelled of ozone. He expected the boy to break, but Yoichi's mind remained an unyielding fortress. Due to his overall soul power, his mental state had become indomitable. Coupled with the 11 added soul power he had successfully harvested, the agony felt distant, like a storm raging outside a thick stone wall. He watched the captain with a terrifyingly lucid gaze that did not belong to an eight-year-old.
The electrical current continued to hiss, yet Yoichi's eyes did not roll back. His Qi Blood hummed in a low, defensive vibration, absorbing the shockwaves to protect his core. The extra pulse in his chest didn't falter; it grew steadier, anchoring his consciousness to the present moment.
"You are wasting your time," Yoichi said, his voice regaining a bit of its cold edge. "My mind is not a place you can enter with simple parlor tricks. You are just helping me wake up."
Jin pulled the needle back, staring at the boy in genuine disbelief. He had seen seasoned veterans weep under half this intensity, yet this Uchiha child seemed to be treating the session as a mild inconvenience.
The captain wiped the sweat from his own brow, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the Northern climate. He realized then that they weren't just holding a prisoner; they were trying to cage something that thrived on the very pressure they used to break it.
Jin stood up, the chair scraping harshly against the floor. He stared at the needle, then at the boy who had stopped trembling.
The silence in the room became heavy and suffocating.
No fear existed in those obsidian eyes, only a cold, analytical patience that made the captain's skin crawl. No amount of electrical stimulation would pull a confession from a mind this reinforced. With a click of his tongue, the operative retracted the needle and tucked it back into a pouch.
"You are a monster," Jin said, his voice dropping to a whisper. The man turned away, frustration evident in the stiff set of his shoulders. Years of breaking masters of interrogation meant nothing against a child who would not even flinch. The heavy iron door groaned open, and the operative walked out without looking back.
Yoichi watched the exit, his head leaning back against the cold wall. The withdrawal of the needle left a dull, throbbing ache, but his internal state remained steady. Soul power acted like an anchor, keeping his consciousness from drifting into the haze of exhaustion. The shallow flow of Qi Blood began to knit the damaged nerves back together.
The door groaned shut and the heavy bolts slid into place with a definitive thud. Yoichi was left in the dim light, the only sound being the rhythmic heartbeat of the giant turtle beneath him. He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. He was alone for now, but he knew they would return with different methods soon enough.
Alone in the dim cell, Yoichi closed his eyes to inventory his remaining assets. The situation was grim.
No Space Pouch. No Qi Blood Pills. My body is a wreck.
Without his stash of high-grade supplies, there were no shortcuts to jumpstart his recovery or replenish his strained vitality. His physique remained heavily injured, a mess of torn muscle and fractured bone that the Kumo medics had only barely patched together. Every breath felt like dragging a serrated blade across his lungs.
Without the pills, the regeneration of my Qi Blood will be a slow crawl. A brief thought of his preparations brought a small flicker of relief.
Luckily, I put all of my belongings into Tsunade's hands. They will be extremely beneficial throughout their progress.
After these thoughts, the remembrance of his suffering in Amegakure resurfaced. The memory of cold rain and the feeling of helplessness back then felt strangely familiar now. Yoichi smiled bitterly at the dark ceiling.
"Haruhiko... You don't have to worry." Yoichi's head glanced upwards, his eyes piercing through the gloom. "It's a minor hiccup in my path, I promise."
His rational mind began to calculate the variables. Survival depended on time, yet time was a luxury the captors were unlikely to give. He focused on the rhythmic pulse from the ground, trying to sync his own uneven heartbeat to the giant turtle's steady pace.
If I cannot use medicine, I will have to rely entirely on my internal cultivation to bridge the gap. I have to squeeze every drop of progress from the pain itself.
He sat motionless, a broken child in a dark room, yet his spirit did not waver. The lack of resources was a setback, not a defeat. He would turn his very suffering into fuel for his growth.
As a result, the brutal methods ensue.
During sessions of high-voltage electrocution, the boy's muscles had seized until his bones creaked, yet he remained strong and silent. The Kumo specialists had forced concoctions down his throat that felt like millions of stinging ants crawling into his entire body, gnawing at his marrow and nerves from the inside out. Even as his skin flushed and his pulse raced in agony, the child had not uttered a single secret.
Only the eyes of perseverance and true grit shone, making the medics and shinobi slightly admire the kid's mental resilience throughout the tormenting procedures of misery.
...
...
...
In the heart of the Hidden Cloud's command center, Jin stood at attention. The stone walls vibrated with the heavy presence of the Third Raikage. Jin recounted the details of the past several weeks. After a month of interrogation and torture, Yoichi remained steadfast like a precipitous mountain, unbreakable by nature. The boy had endured every trial with a silent, haunting calm.
Outside the lightning-shrouded peaks of the Cloud, the search for the missing prodigy had become a desperate crusade. For over one month, Konoha shinobi had conducted consecutive searches, scouring the Land of Frost and the borders of the Land of Lightning. The effort was massive and ongoing, yet their results bore none. The trail had gone cold in the snow, leaving the Leaf in a state of growing agitation.
The Raikage listened in silence, his arms crossed over his massive chest. After a moment, a slow nod broke the tension. He seemed genuinely pleased. "Indomitable," the leader rumbled, his voice like grinding tectonic plates. "A shinobi who remains unbroken under such pressure is a rare treasure. To keep such a spirit in a cage is a waste of its potential."
"Command the guards," the Raikage ordered, his eyes sharp. "Unrestrain the boy. Move him from that cell and let him roam the facility."
The room erupted in immediate protest. Several high-ranking shinobi stepped forward, their faces etched with shock. "Lord Raikage, he is an Uchiha with the Forbidden Gates!" one argued. "Leaving him unrestrained is an invitation to disaster. He has already killed our scouts!"
The Raikage silenced them with a single, heavy glance. "Reason with yourselves," he stated flatly. "The Island Turtle is an impregnable defensive fortress. It is hidden from the sight of the world and moves constantly across the ocean. No matter how he crawls or runs, escape is impossible. There is nowhere to go but the sea."
He turned back toward the window, overlooking the mist-shrouded peaks. "Let him see our strength. Let him realize that even with his freedom of movement, he is still our prisoner. If he is as stubborn as you say, Jin, he will eventually understand that cooperation is his only path forward."
_________________
(Current Progress)
[Realm: Bone Forging Realm(Initiated)]
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Perfection) 470/1000] (+129)
[Mountain Crushing Fist: (Perfection) 1/1000] (+68)
[Lightning Spear Thrust: (Perfection) 1/1000] (+79)
[Phantom Steps: (Perfection) 5/1000] (+101)
[Secret Technique: Face Changing (Great Success) 20/500]
[Tickets: 0 Prismatic, 0 Gold, 6 Silver.]
[Attributes]
「Charm: 11」
「Soul Power: 56」(+11)
_____________
Thanks to Strxnz and Snowwwww for the Power Stones! Thanks for the help, I appreciate it so much!