"???"
The middle-aged man almost fainted when he heard Qingyu's words.
Are you kidding me?! This is like a sick joke!
"I... I... I..."
His voice trembled violently. The agony of his shattered teeth and the radiating pain from his broken chest made every syllable a Herculean effort.
"I confess!"
"I... I'll tell you everything!"
"Whatever you want me to say... I'll say it..."
"Just stop hitting me..."
The man spoke with a faint, dying breath. When that massive pair of pliers had slammed into his mouth, he had caught the distinct scent of death.
He's too cruel! This rookie is too brutal!
Usually, rookies were the easiest to trick, but this guy was acting like a complete lunatic. If this continued, he didn't know how much more torment his body could take.
"It's okay~"
Qingyu spoke casually, not even looking back. He remained crouched on the floor, patiently searching through the pile for the next tool to use.
"It doesn't matter if you don't talk."
"As an interrogator of the Torture Force..."
"I will make sure you spit everything out!"
His slow, methodical voice echoed eerily in the pitch-black cubicle. These words caused the middle-aged man to seriously question his life choices.
"I... I... said... I'm... confessing..." The man was beginning to doubt Qingyu's IQ. He had been as clear as day, yet the other was acting as if he hadn't heard a word.
"I just love your unyielding spirit!" Qingyu stood up, holding a long metal rod. It had a wooden handle at one end and a curved iron block at the other—looking somewhat like a primitive golf club.
"I stole it! I stole the medicine! I admit it! I admit everything!" The man's heart sank as he saw the branding iron.
"How does this thing work?" Qingyu murmured, turning the iron rod over in his hands. He knew exactly how to use it, of course; he was simply amplifying the psychological pressure.
"..." The man was on the verge of a total breakdown. He genuinely believed the person interrogating him was deaf.
"Forget it, no point researching. I'll just use it to crack his skull!" Qingyu suddenly whipped the rod through the air, shouldered it like a bat, and began stomping toward the man with aggressive intent.
"Wait... wait... wait..." The man's eyebrows twitched frantically. He desperately wanted to explain to Qingyu that this wasn't a club—you were supposed to heat it in a fire and press it against skin. Even though that sounded agonizing, it felt "safer" than having his head bashed in by a cold iron bar.
Qingyu ignored him.
He could keenly sense the survival instinct surging behind the man's terror. That was exactly what he was waiting for.
Suddenly, Qingyu swung the iron rod, aiming the heavy branding head directly at the man's skull. His arm muscles bunched, unleashing his full physical power.
Whoosh!
The rod tore through the air with frightening speed, heading straight for the man's head. If the strike landed, his brain would be splattered across the wall.
In that split second, the man's eyes changed.
One moment they were filled with panic; the next, they were as cold and deep as a bloodthirsty predator's.
He realized this was it. If he let this "rookie" continue, he would die a pathetic death in this room.
I see it now! This rookie isn't interrogating me, he's just a sadist! Konoha... is a village of freaks!
If he didn't escape now, he would be tortured to death.
Suddenly, the man's body began to vibrate and contort at a high frequency. The ropes binding him snapped instantly, and he slipped out like an eel.
BANG!
Qingyu's iron rod whistled through empty air and slammed into the stone wall, the branding head embedding itself deep into the masonry.
"Huh?"
Qingyu let out a deliberate sound of confusion, acting surprised. In reality, he had seen every movement of the man's escape perfectly. If he had wanted to, the Sand spy wouldn't have moved an inch.
"Die!"
The man's furious voice exploded from behind Qingyu. He had produced a kunai from nowhere and was lunging directly for Qingyu's heart.
"WAAAAAAAGH!!"
Suddenly, Qingyu let out a piercing, agonized scream that echoed throughout the entire Torture Force building.
"???"
The man was so startled by the scream he nearly dropped his kunai.
Brother, what kind of act is this? I haven't even stabbed you yet!
The scream snapped the man back to reality. He realized that killing this rookie wasn't the priority—he needed to get out of here immediately before the whole building swarmed him.
He retracted the kunai, gave Qingyu one last hateful glare, and flickered away, vanishing from the room.
Thud!
As soon as the man was gone, Qingyu collapsed to the floor. He quickly pulled out a kunai, wedged it at a specific angle under his armpit, and positioned himself to look exactly like a victim of a stabbing.
Pat-pat-pat-pat...
Seconds later, a flurry of footsteps approached. Several Anbu ninjas arrived, led by the Captain of the Torture Force, Morino Eaton.
"What happened here?"
Eaton's brow furrowed. He saw Qingyu lying in a pool of blood (or what looked like it) with a kunai protruding from his torso. He immediately realized something had gone horribly wrong.
"C-Captain... Eaton..."
Qingyu tilted his head just enough to catch Eaton's eye, his voice sounding like it was fading.
"You're alive?"
Eaton blinked. Given the scene, he had assumed Qingyu was a goner.
"Captain... hurry... the prisoner... he's not a civilian..."
Qingyu gasped for air, his breathing labored.
"I see."
Eaton was a veteran. The moment Qingyu said "not a civilian," he knew exactly what was happening. This cubicle was for non-ninjas. If the prisoner had successfully fought back, he was a shinobi—likely a foreign spy.
Eaton gave a sharp nod to the surrounding Anbu.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
The ninjas vanished instantly, pursuing the escaping spy with lethal intent.