THE NEXT DAY,
ANBU HEADQUARTERS,
SECTOR-C,
HOLDING CELL...
It has been quite sometime since Naruto has woken up and was getting anxious with each passing second. He had screamed at the darkness of his innocence, disclosed everything that has happened yesterday night, from his pranks to his findings, decesions, etc. He had recited a detailed report of what he has done yesterday and why he has done it.
But nobody has responded to him about what is going to happen to him. He had also asked, more like begged to the ANBU, who had came to deliver him food to bring him or to take him to Hokage-jiji, yet the ANBU had remained silent like a deaf and dumb person. He would have snickered at his statement if he hasn't been handcuffed in the prison. Apparently, the masked men also had child sized cuffs too and each of these cuff had seals engraved into them to suppress the chakra which prevent the detained person from molding chakra, though Naruto didn't know this.
"Where is Hokage-jiji?" he had yet to see the Hokage-jiji and the masked man(ANBU) that had brought him food in the prison wasn't willing to tell him if Hokage-jiji was around or if he even knew that he was imprisoned here. "I guess I just have to wait patiently." Naruto thought trying to calm his nerves.
He was immersed in these thoughts when two masked men(ANBU) came and commanded him, "Come with us!"
So, naturally he tried to find out what was going on and so he yelled at them, "Oi! Where the hell am I? Where are you taking me? Where is Hokage-jiji? I'm hungry! When can I get some ramen?" He demanded and upon receiving no answers, he threatened them, "When I become Hokage I'm gonna remember this! Oi! Dammit! Answer me! Are you dumb or deaf from birth? Hey! I am talking to you! Hey! Answer meeee..."
Yet, they remained uncaring and unresponsive throughout the expedition, if you could call it that. He was lead from his cell through a dark hallway with concrete walls and ceilings. There were other metal doors in the hallway and Naruto guessed that these were other holding cells where many bad and evil people were kept imprisoned. He shivered at the thought of those criminals and to think he, Konoha's future Hokage, has to spend an entire night in the these cells with these criminals. He shook his head from right to left and frowned, "Hey, deaf and dumb guy! Where are my clothes? I don't like this cloth. I will have you know those clothes are my favorite you have to return them, Hokage-jiji gave them to me."
He tried several more times to ask questions but his words were just met with silence by the ANBU on the either side of him. Each had a hand resting on his corresponding shoulder and were pushing him along, roughly. So he retaliated and tried to kick the guy in the right but the guy just blocked it and started moving forward like nothing happened, he didn't even flinched. If Naruto was panicked earlier then he was definitely beginning to freak out now.
They lead him through a guarded door and up a staircase to the next level. The ANBU then halted at a metal doorway which was opened and he was ushered inside after a signal was given.
The room was sparse, it had only one table and two chairs, with a bulb at it's centre. It was the 'Interrogation Cell' of the ANBU headquarters. The table and one of the chairs were bolted to the ground. The top corner of the room had a camera and one of the walls had a large mirror. The ANBU told him to sit down and then cuffed his legs to the chair. "Is that really necessary?" Naruto couldn't help but ask the ANBU. Both of them merely stared at him for a brief period.
"Someone will be in here to talk with you shortly!" suddenly one of the masked men asserted monotonously and then they both left him alone.
"They weren't dumb afterall... Huhh! When I becomes Hokage, I will make them pay... Where are you jiji? I am innocent... I won't cry, no matter what!" Naruto thought tearfully.
ONE HOUR LATER...
For the better part of an hour Naruto's yelling went unanswered until the lock on the metal door clicked and someone walked in. That someone was Ibiki Morino.
SOMETIME AGO,
INTERROGATION
DEPARTMENT....
It had been a busy morning for Morino Ibiki. He and Inoichi Yamanaka had been personally asked by the Hokage to review a case which fell outside their normal interrogation duties. Though given the sensitive matter and the suspect in question, he was not surprised that it was being brought to someone like him and Inoichi in the interrogations department. It still was a little odd considering that the suspect involved was an eight years old child. But Ibiki had already compiled the orders of the Lord Third Hokage and has evaluated the reports from the ANBU force and had interviewed and Interrogated several people despite said people have already given their statements to the ANBU force.
He now had to personally interrogate the suspect which would be followed by a psych evaluation from Inoichi Yamanaka. Normally a 'Mindwalk' as it was called by the Yamanaka Clan would have been used on him but this particular suspect and his 'condition' was deemed too dangerous. Hence, why Inoichi has to satisfy himself with just a psych evaluation.
Ibiki collected his materials and files from his desk and set out to the interrogation room where the suspect was currently held in for questioning. Because of the age of the suspect Ibiki would have to be 'gentle' in this interrogation. This was something that Ibiki rather disliked but was necessary given that the boy was just a civilian of the village and a child of eight years of age, not to mention there's also the mental stability of the suspect to worry about. Also Lord Hokage would disapprove of any aggressive tactics in questioning the suspect, considering his fondness for the boy in questioning.
Ibiki had decided to let the boy sit alone for just over half an hour to unnerve him and monitor his actions to deduce whatever he could before he made his appearance.
PRESENT TIME,
ANBU HEADQUARTERS,
INTERROGATION CELL...
When the door opened, a tall man, no, a very tall man walked in. His face was rather scary and he was wearing some type of gray uniform with a black trench coat and a bandana type forehead protector which was covering his head.
While Naruto tried not to be intimidated by this imposing figure, he failed miserably. Ibiki didn't need any special observational skills to detect the fear and hesitation that came from the boy but did not show any outward sign of knowing. Ibiki noiselessly walked to the open seat infront of Naruto on the other side of the table and sat down. He placed a file in front of him and opened it. At least a minute passed before Ibiki stopped examining the contents of the file and looked directly at Naruto. Naruto tried not to squirm under his gaze but completely failed to do so.
"Let us began with introductions!" Ibiki began, "My name is Ibiki Morino, second-in-command of Konohagakure's Torture and Interrogation Department and you are currently in one of our various interrogation facility. I will be questioning you and you will be answering me. We aren't going to interrogate you, we merely wants you to answer some of our question but it will be in your best interest to give truthful answers to me because I will know exactly when you are lying." finished Ibiki menacingly.
Naruto gulped and nodded his head vigorously due to nervousness and anxiety.
"Now we can begin. What is your Name?"
"Nar-Naruto Uzu-Uzumaki."
"Age?"
"Ei-eight years."
"Ok! Do you know why you are here?" Ibiki asked while giving naruto a withering stare. "N-n-no!" Naruto barely managed to force the words out while Ibiki stared at him.
"Alright, next question! Where were you last night between the time of 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM?" Ibiki continued with his questions.
"Um, I was preparing for a prank to get back at Sasuke Uchiha for insulting me at the academy when... Is Sasuke alright?" Naruto replied in an afraid and confused voice.
"You are not the one who will ask questions Uzumaki-san. I am the one who will be questioning you and you will answer me to the best of your ability. Do you Understand?" said Ibiki in a manner which scared the shit out of Naruto.
"O-ok!" said Naruto timidly.
"What happened after that? After you readied your prank?" were the next questions delivered by Ibiki right after Naruto's reply one after another without pause.
"I was preparing my supplies of paint and glitter to start my prank when I heard a scream... from the Uchiha district... so I tried to find out what was going on and on my arrival at the gates of the Uchiha Compound... I found the ground littered with d-dead bodies... There was so much bl-blood..." Naruto shivered and continued, "I took a step forward and slipped on the bl-blood of the ga-gate gaurds... I... I freaked out and decided to go to the Uchiha Police Station... but... but everyone there was dead... everyone in the station... then I de-decided to go to the Hokage Tower... and inform Hokage-jiji... because I didn't know what was going on." said Naruto in a small quivering and trembling voice.
"Um... What are you writing on that notepad?" asked a startled Naruto.
"Huhh... Your responses! What did I tell you about questioning, Uzumaki-san?" asked ibiki sighing.
"So-sorry!" apologised Naruto.
"Now continue!" Ibiki ordered Naruto.
Naruto nodded in response and continued, "I then started running towards the Hokage Tower and... Wh-when... I noticed an old Uchiha Police men with sword coming out of his stomach asking for help... I tried to help him... and he asked me to get the sword out of his belly... an-and as soon as I touched the sword, he died... I swear I didn't do anything... I just wanted to help him, nothing more." Naruto said desperately.
"I believe you! Now continue!" Ibiki sternly ordered Naruto.
Naruto nodded, "As I was trying to help the old police man... just then some drunks came to the scene and assumed that I skewered him and then they started screaming... an entire mob formed around me with the intention to lynch me... s-so I took the sword right out of the old police man's belly and tried to scare them away but they weren't ready to budge... so to scare them I said to them that I killed the old police man... but I swear I didn't do anything... I was just trying to scare them away to save myself... I didn't murdered him... I didn't murdered anybody... I am innocent... I was trying to help him... I swear...." Ibiki interrupted him, " I believe you Uzumaki-san so what happened next after you scared them away."
"I r-ran straight towards the Hokage Tower to Hokage-jiji but somebody knocked me unconscious and the next thing I knew I was in a cold cell, handcuffed... that's all... I swear I am telling you the truth. I didn't murder anybody.... I just wanted to prank them to get back at Sasuke and to impress Sakura-chan, nothing more... I am innocent... Where is Hokage jiji?" asked Naruto.
"I believe you Uzumaki-san. Lord Hokage will visit you soon after you answer all of my questions." said Ibiki.
"How did you knew he was an Uchiha policeman?"
"From his vest."
"Was there anyone else around him?"
"No. Not until the drunks came. But I swear I didn't do anything, I am innocent."
Ibiki noted Naruto's response and completely ignored Naruto's plea, and asked his next question, "Did you have anything like weapons with you or at your apartment? Do you know anything about the Sharingans?"
"No, aside from the shinobi gears I don't have anything! And what's a Sharingan?" asked a confused Naruto.
He wrote and then asked his next question,"Was there any blood on your hand and clothes?"
At this question Naruto looked down and he replied in a slightly subdued voice,"Yes. But it's because I slipped at the gates of the Uchiha Compound."
"Do you know who committed those murders?"
"No, I don't have any ideas... I didn't do it... I swear..."
"Ok! Ok! No need to panic! It's almost over. You will be free in no time." reassured Ibiki.
"Really?" asked Naruto in hope.
Ibiki nodded and then shifted through the contents of his folder and pulled out two photos, one of the gaurd at the gates and the other of the old police man. Why because there was blood found on Naruto's clothes. Naruto recognized them and Ibiki easily saw the comprehension in the eyes of the boy.
"Do you know the persons in these pictures?" Ibiki asked and Naruto nodded,"Yes."
"The first person here, his name is Sugerei Uchiha, the gate gaurd and the other is Satsune Uchiha, the police man you tried to help. According to our information you were keeping a constant watch on the Uchiha clan and had a squabble with the guards and the policeman, both resulting in you being thrown out. Would you care to explain yourself?" asked Ibiki
Naruto looked at the photos and stated, "I was trying to get back at Sasuke for the insult at the academy by pranking his clan and him, you know!" Ibiki nodded his head to signalled him to continue, "Therefore I started keeping tabs on them to learn their patterns, movements, etc for the smooth and successful implementation of my pranks. Thus to gather more information, I tried entering the compound and the policeman caught me and told me to leave. We argued and then the gaurd suddenly arrived and threw me out."
"Did you say anything to him, insult him in any way, threaten him maybe?" Ibiki stated.
"No!" Naruto replied quickly in a small and desperate voice.
"Then why did he threw you out?"
"They always do! Everybody do! All of them tries to avoid me like I am... like I am some kind of plague or something... What did I do to anybody?... I just want recognition... I just want them to notice my existence... I just don't want to feel like I didn't exist or mattered... th-that's why I prank them... be-because it makes them notice me even if as a nuisance... I don't care what anybody thinks about it. I just want recognition of any sort... I only visited the Uchiha compound to get back at Sasuke for insulting me at the academy and to impress Sakura-chan... to prove that I am superior than Sasuke's Uchiha Clan... I didn't murder anybody... I am innocent... What would I even gain from murdering somebody... I thought that if I manage to prank the Uchiha clan then everybody will recognise me... they won't say it's that boy, it's that thing... I thought that if I succeeded in pranking the most powerful clan of the village then not only will I settle scores with Sasuke but also create an identity for myself... something other than that boy or that thing... I didn't wanted to happen any of those things....wahhhh! wahhhh!... I didn't murder anybody... Hokage jiji! Where are you? I am scared... Wahhhhh!... wahhhhh!", for the first time in months Naruto cried, he let all of his anguish, bitterness, everything out of himself.
Ibiki was surprised at Naruto's outburst and also a little shameful that he lives in a village that ostracise a eight years old child. He then stopped the interrogation and then tried to leave the room as soon as possible, he wasn't the type who could handle an emotional child, even if he understands human physiology and psychology better than anybody. He started collecting the photographs and placing them back into the file. He also collected the notepad he had been writing on and placed it in the pockets of his trench coat and started walking towards the gate.
"Where are you going? What is going to happen to me? Where is Hokage jiji? Did I do something wrong?" asked Naruto inbetween sobs.
Naruto was looking at Ibiki expectantly as if he desperately wanted to know the answer. Ibiki could see that the boy was trying to hold back his tears.
"We don't know yet. We're still investigating." Ibiki replied while not even looking at Naruto facing the door. The reply had been given in the same monotonous tone he had been using through the entire questioning session and it did nothing to calm Naruto's nerves. "Currently that is all the questions that I have for you. I am going to deliver my findings to Lord Hokage. He will visit you shortly. And also an associate of mine is going to ask you some 'easier' questions as well. His name is Inoichi Yamanaka, the clan head of the Yamanaka clan and he will visit you shortly." Ibiki monotoned again while still looking towards the door. He departed without saying goodbye or anything and left a sobbing Naruto alone in the interrogation room.