Outside the hospital.
Takumi sat on the steps, gazing into the distance with a vacant expression.
Asuma and Kurenai walked out.
Kurenai's attitude was now completely different from before.
Looking at Takumi, she felt an inexpressible fondness and affection for him.
Compared to Takumi, Asuma beside her seemed like nothing more than a maggot!
Petty, scheming, even jealous of a child!
What was he doing when he was Takumi's age?
Did he possess even a fraction of this boy's depth of thought?
"Takumi..."
Asuma walked over, his face a picture of misery.
He felt as sick as if he'd swallowed a fly.
His plan had been to mess with Takumi, to make him lose some dignity, to break his spirit.
But who could have predicted he'd just handed the kid a stage to perform on!
"Alright, you've passed..." Asuma muttered, none of his earlier confidence remaining.
However, Takumi stood up with a look of utter seriousness.
"I understand. Let's go to the next place!"
"Eh???"
Asuma was dumbfounded.
"N-next place?"
Takumi's eyes shone with sincerity, "Yes, Asuma-sensei. You wanted me to see the real Shinobi World, right? I get it. Bringing me to the hospital was to give me insight."
"And I have gained insight. So, let's proceed to the next location!"
"B-but... this..."
Caught off guard by this counter-attack, Asuma was completely disoriented!
'Next place?'
'What next place?'
He'd never planned on taking Takumi anywhere else!
"Um... Takumi."
"Where did you have in mind for this 'next place'?"
Kurenai stepped forward, her expression serious.
"Isn't it obvious? The morgue, of course."
"Having faced trauma and suffering, the next step should be death itself."
Takumi's reply was straightforward.
And his logic was flawless, perfectly reasonable!
He had finished playing the part of the virtuous one.
Now, it was time for his darker side to show itself!
Hearing this, Kurenai's jewel-like eyes widened, and cold sweat instantly broke out on her skin!
Asuma felt a roaring in his ears, his mind going completely blank!
"What's wrong, Asuma-sensei? Aren't you going?" Takumi asked with an innocent look.
"G-go? Of course we'll go... It's all part of the test I designed..."
Asuma now felt like meat roasting over a fire.
Whether he could back down or not was no longer his decision!
"Alright then! Please, lead the way!"
A few minutes later.
The trio arrived at the Anbu's basement morgue.
This morgue held mostly corpses of Shinobi from other villages, kept for their research value or potential for intelligence extraction via mind-reading techniques.
"Are you sure about this?" Ibiki asked, deeply perplexed, giving Asuma a strange look.
"Y-yes... He said he wants to see it." Asuma's face was ghastly pale.
But at this point, he had to see it through, however reluctantly.
"Fine." Ibiki sighed.
Then…
He opened the morgue door.
Instantly, a blast of frigid air, heavy with the stench of death, washed over them.
Kurenai barely suppressed the urge to vomit!
Asuma felt his stomach churn, gagging repeatedly.
"Huh? What's wrong, Asuma-sensei? Can't handle the smell?" Takumi inquired earnestly.
Asuma's face turned green!
But what could he do?
He had no choice but to brazen it out!
"W-who says I can't!? It's just... been a while since I was last here..."
Hearing this, Ibiki nearby frowned slightly.
In his recollection, Asuma had only been here once or twice, and that was over a decade ago.
"I'll go in then." Takumi stepped forward with utter composure and walked into the morgue.
Honestly, this was a place ordinary people would never dare enter.
It was filled with corpses.
Some had been stored for decades.
The smell emanating from them... let's just say it would make a rat want to throw up!
But for Takumi, it elicited no reaction at all!
He'd spent sixty-odd years inflicting torture, what scene hadn't he witnessed?
Compared to the things he had created, these corpses were practically high-quality goods!
Takumi examined them one by one.
He lifted the white sheet off each body to look.
And he offered a silent prayer for each.
Asuma felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles!
He was utterly numb!
His mind was now filled with regret for ever provoking this brat, Takumi.
The kid was simply unshakable!
Meanwhile, he was the one suffering psychological trauma!
One hour later...
Only after meticulously viewing every single corpse in the morgue did Takumi slowly emerge.
His expression remained serene as he stood at the entrance, offering a final silent tribute.
Asuma, however, looked like his soul had been sucked out. He staggered, barely able to stand steady.
'This idiot... serves him right...' Kurenai thought, inwardly mocking Asuma's wretched state.
This was the epitome of being hoist by one's own petard.
"Alright... we can go now..." Asuma's earlier arrogance had completely evaporated.
He was as timid as a rabbit now.
However…
How could Takumi let him off so easily?
"Go? What are you talking about, Asuma-sensei?" Takumi asked with feigned sincerity.
"Isn't there still the most important place left to visit?"
"The most important place?..." A sense of foreboding rose in Asuma's heart.
"The Interrogation Division, of course! It's known as the most severe, the most brutal place in the entire Shinobi World. Didn't you say you were testing my mental fortitude? We're already here, are we just going to leave empty-handed?"
"And isn't the Chief of the Interrogation Division right here?" Takumi glanced at Ibiki beside him.
Incidentally, in a previous simulation, this same Ibiki had once been his subordinate.
"Testing mental fortitude..." Asuma looked dazed upon hearing Takumi's words.
Ibiki, standing nearby, frowned.
'Just who was testing whom here?'
'It looked more like Takumi was testing Asuma.'
"What's the matter, Asuma-sensei? Are you... scared to go?"
"Or have you never actually been there before?" Takumi asked, his question laced with hidden malice.
He knew perfectly well that Asuma was now in a position where he couldn't back down even if he wanted to!
Sure enough…
In a bid to protect his dignity, Asuma forced an air of calm and nodded in agreement.
"Fine... let's go."
Next…
Under Ibiki's guidance.
The three of them arrived at Konoha's Interrogation Division.
The dimly lit basement, the cracked floor tiles, the aged walls sporadically stained with dark patches of blood... the air was thick with a stench rivaling the morgue's… the foul odor of living human filth.
Frankly, over 90% of people in the Shinobi World couldn't endure this environment.
Even some Jonin.
Because the Interrogation Division was the darkest, most blood-soaked place in the entire Shinobi World.
Here, the torture of mind and body never ceased.
"Argh!"
"Aaaaagh!!!"
The crack of whips and screams, like pigs being slaughtered, echoed through the corridors.
Kurenai's face was pale, her body slick with a cold sweat.
Asuma's heart hammered violently in his chest, a persistent roar filled his ears, he felt dizzy and nauseous!
But Takumi was different.
He's perfectly composed, utterly unaffected!
His calm demeanor, his relaxed expression... it was as if he'd just come home!
Even Ibiki, standing beside him, was staring in astonishment!
What the hell!
'This is a place 90% of the Shinobi World wouldn't dare set foot in, and you're this relaxed? Are you here for a shift?'
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FOR EVERY 50 POWER STONES, I'LL UPLOAD ONE CHAPTER