Chapter 323: Genjutsu Interrogation

Chapter 323: Chapter 323: Genjutsu Interrogation

Shisui stared at Hyuga Kagami and asked, "You want to take over this fortress?"

Hyuga Kagami nodded.

Although the Land of Sky’s flying fortress was already in ruins, with the vast majority of its internal facilities abandoned and left in disrepair, the value of this flying fortress was still immeasurable.

Even setting everything else aside, the energy cannon mounted on the fortress alone was an incredibly terrifying weapon of war.

As far as Hyuga Kagami knew, there actually weren’t many shinobi villages in the ninja world that had researched giant energy-cannon weapons. And among those, the number that had actually managed to produce a functioning weapon capable of being deployed in real combat was even smaller.

From Hyuga Kagami’s somewhat hazy memories, the only ones in the ninja world that seemed to have truly reached the point of practical combat use were the energy cannon aboard the Land of Sky’s flying fortress and the one belonging to Kumogakure—the cannon that, in the original timeline, had nearly been used to blast the moon apart.

As for Uchiha En’s identity, Shisui had always harbored doubts.

During the battle just now, the moment Shisui saw the golden Susanoo, he immediately realized that the Sharingan in Uchiha En’s eyes were none other than the pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in Hyuga Kagami’s possession.

He couldn’t understand why Hyuga Kagami trusted Uchiha En so much. He had even transplanted that incomparably precious pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan into her.

Shisui asked warily, "Does Kagami-senpai know that you intend to take over this place?"

Hyuga Kagami froze for a moment before realizing what Shisui was worried about. He smiled. "This was actually Lord Kagami’s idea."

Shisui asked, "Kagami-senpai already knew about this fortress beforehand?"

Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Yeah. This entire operation against the remnants of the Land of Sky was planned by Lord Kagami. I’m sure you both heard what Shinno said earlier, right?"

"The part about Shinichi?" After a brief pause, Shisui asked curiously, "Could Shinichi be one of ours too? Did he also join Kamigami?"

Itachi also came over, turning his gaze toward Hyuga Kagami.

Uchiha Shinichi’s defection had undoubtedly been an enormous loss for the Uchiha clan. Even to this day, the Uchiha had never given up on the idea of bringing Shinichi back.

Shisui, in particular, had always blamed himself over the matter. He believed that he bore an inescapable share of responsibility for Shinichi’s defection, which was why he had worked so desperately to bring Shinichi back in the first place.

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "Uchiha Shinichi hasn’t joined Kamigami. However, Lord Kagami has tried contacting him before, and regarding this matter with Shinno, Shinichi did indeed assist Lord Kagami."

Hyuga Kagami did not reveal that Shinichi was actually a spy he had planted within the Akatsuki.

After all, Shinichi had genuinely become disillusioned with both his clan and the village, and that was why he had defected in the first place. Even now, Shinichi had no intention whatsoever of returning.

Therefore, Hyuga Kagami didn’t want to give Shisui and Itachi any unrealistic hopes.

Moreover, given the current situation, Shinichi returning to the clan might not necessarily be a good thing for the Uchiha.

Under the pressure they were currently facing from outside, the Uchiha clan had little choice but to stand united with the village for mutual protection. But if Shinichi returned, giving the Uchiha yet another Mangekyo Sharingan wielder, then with their strength greatly increased, they might no longer be willing to remain of one mind with the village.

Shisui hurriedly asked, "Can you arrange for me to meet Shinichi?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "Shinichi actually has very little freedom within the Akatsuki. His every move is closely monitored. And your identity is far too sensitive. If you meet Shinichi and the Akatsuki discovers it, Shinichi is finished."

Itachi, who had remained silent at the side all this time, suddenly asked, "Is the Akatsuki really that powerful?"

Hyuga Kagami pointed toward Shinno, who was still trapped in the genjutsu. "This guy just broke away from the Akatsuki. Since you’re interested in them, you can interrogate him yourself!"

Itachi immediately walked over to Shinno and asked, "Who are the members of the Akatsuki?"

Trapped within Shisui’s genjutsu, Shinno was incapable of resisting anyone’s questioning. So the moment Itachi finished speaking, Shinno began recounting everything he knew about the Akatsuki, one piece of intelligence after another.

He gave detailed accounts of official members such as Sasori, Kakuzu, Uchiha Shinichi, Biwa Juzo, and Hiruko. It was only when he mentioned Konan and Pain that his answers became vague and unclear. Evidently, he had gathered very little information about the two of them.

As Shinno went through the Akatsuki members one by one, Shisui’s expression grew increasingly grave.

Every official member of the Akatsuki was an elite shinobi, and many of them possessed Kage-level strength. As for a monster like Hiruko, who possessed five different Kekkei Genkai, there were even signs that his strength was beginning to break beyond the Kage level.

Shisui’s thoughts were entirely focused on the mysterious man who had abducted Naruto earlier. He urgently asked, "Are those really all the members of the Akatsuki?"

Shinno woodenly nodded.

Shisui pressed him, "No, that’s not right. You must have left someone out. I know there’s a member of the Akatsuki who wears a spiral-patterned, one-eyed mask and can use an extremely bizarre Space-Time Ninjutsu. Who is he?"

Obito’s existence made Shisui extremely wary. After all, Space-Time Ninjutsu was simply too formidable. Back then, the Fourth Hokage had relied on the Flying Thunder God Technique to roam the ninja world virtually unrivaled, with few capable of standing against him.

Shinno frowned and thought painfully for a moment before his expression once again became dull and wooden.

"There’s no such person in the organization..."

Without a doubt, Obito’s existence was a secret even within the Akatsuki.

Among the Akatsuki, the only ones who knew of Obito’s existence were Pain, Konan, Zetsu, and a handful of others such as Shinichi, whom Obito himself had brought into the Akatsuki. As for the rest of the Akatsuki members, none of them knew that Obito even existed.

Unlike Shisui, Itachi’s attention was focused on the Akatsuki’s leader. He asked, "What abilities does the Akatsuki’s leader, Pain, possess?"

Shinno hesitated for a moment before answering, "He calls himself a god and possesses the legendary ’Eyes of the Sage.’ He is an extraordinarily powerful shinobi who stands above the Five Kage..."

Deep within his subconscious, Shinno seemed to harbor an intense fear of Pain. Even though he was already under Shisui’s genjutsu, a trace of unease still appeared on his face whenever Pain was mentioned.

Itachi’s gaze sharpened. "This Pain is stronger than the Five Kage?"

Shisui, meanwhile, asked in confusion, "What are the ’Eyes of the Sage’?"

Shinno slowly uttered three words:

"The Rinnegan..."

Itachi exclaimed in shock, "That’s impossible! The ancient records state that the Rinnegan were the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths. But the Sage of Six Paths is a figure from a thousand years ago, and since his time, there hasn’t been a single record of the Rinnegan ever appearing again in the ninja world. How could Pain possibly possess those eyes?"

Still looking bewildered, Shisui placed a hand against Shinno’s forehead. To ensure that Shinno would tell the truth, he cast an even more powerful genjutsu on him before interrogating him again.

"Have you personally seen those eyes?"

Shinno’s expression grew even more vacant as he nodded.

"I saw them with my own eyes..."