[Flashback.]
Daichi kept a close eye on Onizaki and saw his enemy's shoulders slightly slump and his resistance fading.
"What do you want to know?" Onizaki asked the Leaf Genin.
The Genin uncrossed his arms and began with his questioning. "You got captured by Orochimaru and were experimented on, right? My first question is, was there anyone else besides Orochimaru?"
Hearing that question, Onizaki hesitated for a moment. Then he looked at Daichi and made a choice. 'I'm going to die anyway. Might as well tell him. This kid doesn't look like he's interested in making allies with them. So if he's looking to cause trouble for those two bastards then I have no problems.'
"I only met one other person that worked for Orochimaru. His name is Amachi. He's a scientist just like that snake. They kidnapped people from the Land of Sea and anyone else from around the area and experimented on them. I was originally from the Land of Rain."
Daichi thought about what he had just learned. 'If that guy is still alive then I have a chance.'
The Leaf Genin immediately created a shadow clone and it disappeared beneath the waves. 'It's several hours of journey from here. My clone needs to get to demon island and by then I'll have all the info I need.'
"The Lab Orochimaru was using. Where is it? And how do I get inside?"
"It's on demon island. There are two entrances to the lab." Onizaki replied and told Daichi how to get inside the building.
'Just as I thought.' Daichi merely nodded his head. "Did anyone come to meet Orochimaru? Do you know any other allies of Orochimaru or Amachi? Or the location of any other labs or hideout?"
Onizaki shook his head. "If anyone else came then I don't know. I was in my container for most of the time there. I didn't see anyone else and I don't know any other hideout or labs… I'm telling the truth."
"I believe you." Daichi nodded. 'I knew it. They wouldn't be careless and let someone like this guy get his hands on any sensitive data.'
"Are there any other survivors other than you?" Daichi asked.
Onizaki shook his head negatively. "No. Everyone else died. I was the only test subject that survived." The man clenched his fists as he thought about what had happened.
"Are you absolutely sure? Is there the possibility that someone else could have survived?"
"No. I checked the whole place after I got free. I didn't find anyone else alive." Daichi narrowed his eyes at that. He was keeping a close eye on the man's vitals.
'He's not lying. So that means Isaribi is dead. Or escaped without him knowing. But that possibility is low. Still, I need to check it out. This is another ripple and change in the canon. Now to find out about the weapons and Armor they're using.'
"The Gladiator Pirates helped you get free. That much is obvious. What I want to know is who created the Armor you guys are using?"
Onizaki was silent and gritted his teeth as he heard that. He had no problems giving out information on Orochimaru but the Gladiator Pirates were a different thing.
Daichi, seeing the man's struggle, spoke. "If you think I have any intentions of hurting the inventor of that armor you're wrong. It's the opposite. I'm interested in his talents and want him to work for me in secret. So I'll ask again. Who made the Armor and where is he?"
'It's not like not telling this kid would stop him from going after that man.' The half fish half man sighed and after a few moments of internal struggle replied. "His name is Katsura Sadoshi. He is one of the founding members of the Gladiator Pirates. He's a blacksmith and he's very good at what he does. He has made several weapons that are almost on par with the Seven swords of the Mist village. He's… currently on the ship. In a room called the Forge. It's his workshop."
"Where is this forge located?"
"It's below deck. In a reinforced room near the engine." The man told Daichi the fastest route to the location.
'He'll be an excellent asset if I can get him to work for me. But I doubt I could sneak him out of this chaotic situation with so many eyes here… Hmm… I need to come up with a plan. Hmm… That might work. But I need access to that jutsu.' The boy decided to proceed with his interrogation as he knew time was of the essence.
"Alright, back to Amachi. How did Mazui and Bozui help you get away from Amachi? Where is he?"
"One day almost 5 months ago when Amachi was in the middle of his experiments the Lightning twins found the hidden building and broke into the lab. Amachi tried to reason with them but they disagreed and fought with him. Sometime later I was freed and seeing my ability to breath and easily move underwater they asked me to join them. I had nowhere else to go so I took them on their offer."
"And Amachi? Is he alive or did the lightning twins kill him?" Daichi knew his plans hinged on the man being alive.
"He's alive. After learning who Amachi was and who he worked for, Mazui decided not to kill him. He thought the man could be used as a bargaining chip. So he injured the man but made sure to leave him alive. He's imprisoned in a room in the lab."
Daichi let out a breath of relief hearing that news. 'So he's still alive huh. Hmm.. But this happened almost 5 months ago? I don't know if these guys keep regular tabs on the man or not but I need to get to him fast.'
"So he's still there huh. What are the chances of him being alive?" Daichi asked Onizaki.
"Very. He's just like me but more perfected. Even though he's suffered, I'm certain he's still alive." The fishman replied in a subdued tone. "I told you everything I know. Please end this. I just want this to end. No more."
Daichi's face slightly softened. He nodded his head and took a kunai. "Very well. A deal is a deal. I hope you have better luck in your next life."
Daichi killed the man and quickly disposed of the body. 'So that man is still alive huh. He's a very valuable piece. No. He's the key piece. If I have him, if he has what I'm looking for, then I can put my plans in motion much sooner than I anticipated. I need to make contact with him quickly. Preferably before Kakashi or anyone else finds him.'
[Flashback End.]
[Daichi's Shadow Clone.]
The solid clone made sure to go unnoticed by the Jonins fighting on the sea. He traveled for several hours and finally made his way to the Demon island. By then the clone had received all the memories and information from the other clones. 'I need to find Amachi as soon as possible. The battle is over and Kakashi and Guy will reach Mother Island soon.'
Daichi took out a pill and quickly ate it and then made several seals. 'I need to mask my scent. I can't let Kakashi know that I was here. I have to make my presence on this island as little as possible.'
Once the effects of the pill and jutsu started, Daichi landed on the island. He created a few more clones and had it scout the island. All of them made sure to leave no trace of their footprints or their presence.
He was looking for the landmarks that Onizaki described. Daichi used Mana Scout to make sure there weren't any unexpected people on the island.
'When I create shadow clones my Chakra will keep splitting in half but Mana on the other hand… No matter how many clones are made, they all have 70% of the Mana of their creator. That's a nice advantage to have.'
The clones searched the area and soon found a cave. It was the entrance to the lab. Daichi and the clones went inside the cave one by one and were careful of the traps. Soon they came in front of a steel door. 'I need to open this without disturbing much of the surroundings.'
After finding that the door was unlocked, he carefully opened it a third of the way and got inside. Onizaki gave a comprehensive layout of the lab and the Leaf Genin and his clones spread out to look for anything of value.
One of them went directly to where Onizaki said Amachi was being kept. He soon reached the spot and sensed a weak life force behind the door. Daichi put on a mask to conceal his face and took a black robe to cover himself. 'No such thing as being too careful.'
Once his preparation was done he quickly opened it and saw Amachi on the ground struggling to breathe.
"You're still alive. Good. A lot more resilient than the average person." Daichi spoke as he looked at the chained up man.
"W-who…"
"Who I am is of no concern. Just know that I'm here to help you." With those words, Daichi used his medical ninjutsu to heal some injuries and boost the man's strength a bit more. 'I have no choice but to heal some of his wounds and give him some strength. He can't answer my questions like this.'
Daichi healed the man just enough for him to sit up and speak without much difficulty.
Amachi looked at the man who healed him. "Who are you?" He was well aware that the man hadn't fully healed him or freed him from his chains.
"Someone who can help you get out of here. But for that I'm going to need something."
"What do you want?" Amachi slightly narrowed his eyes and carefully asked.
"I know you worked with Orochimaru on several occasions. What I want to know is the name of his associates, and the location of his labs."
Amachi was a cautious man. He didn't trust the man to keep his word but he knew that at the moment he was powerless. "And what do I get in return?"
"Your freedom and a new lab." The mysterious masked ninja replied.
Amachi snorted after hearing that answer. "You're lying. You're going to kill me aren't you?"
The masked ninja tilted his head as he looked at the man. "What makes you say that?"
"Because I've worked with Orochimaru. So I know a liar when I see one. After I tell you what you want you'll just kill me. You must be working for one of the major hidden villages aren't you?."
"You're wrong about that… You see, I used to be one of Orochimaru's assistants in one of the labs situated north of here. But he left me behind to die when Leaf ninjas raided the base a couple months ago. So now I'm here looking for allies to help with some of my research and if possible get revenge on Orochimaru." The masked ninja spoke. His voice contained anger, resentment and resolution. Enough to convince most people of the authenticity of the story.
But Amachi was not like most people. He was still cautious. 'Is it true or is he making it up? Does he truly know Orochimaru?'
"I don't believe you. And even if I did, I wouldn't help you. Orochimaru is helping me with my research on creating hybrids. He-"
"He gave up on it." The masked ninja interrupted the man. "The Human Fish Hybrid project no longer interests him. Now he's focused on getting the Sharingan."
Amachi's eyes widened as he heard that. "What did you say?" 'How does he know about the Sharingan?'
"Yes it's true. Orochimaru has found a new obsession. The Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai. He plans on taking Sasuke Uchiha's body next year."
Amachi was shocked to hear that information. 'This guy. He knows about Lord Orochimaru's interest in the Sharingan and his target. And he even knows about the secret body transfer jutsu?'
Amachi remembered a conversation he had with Orochimaru almost a year ago.
"So you're giving up on Itachi, my Lord?"
"Yes. For the moment, Itachi will get to live. And since he's part of the Akatsuki, If I attack him, then it will bring unwanted headaches for me."
"But my Lord, what about the Sharingan? You were conducting all those experiments…"
"Yes. I haven't given up on it. Itachi might be out of my reach but his brother Sasuke Uchiha is not. He'll be a fine replacement. Kukuku…" The Snake Sannin turned to Amachi. "Do keep our conversation to yourself Amachi."
Amachi quickly bowed and replied. "Of course my Lord. Not a single soul will know this from my mouth."
"Kukuku… Yes. You're such a loyal servant…"
Amachi came out of his memories and looked at the masked ninja in a new light. 'Only people close to him would know these things… So this guy definitely did work for Orochimaru. If that's the case then I made a mistake and he might be telling the truth after all.'
At that moment the masked ninja spoke again. "I'll free you and help you set up a new lab. But first I need information on Orochimaru's labs. And you should make your choice quickly. Because there are Leaf ninjas on Mother island. They will be here soon. So we don't have much time."
"The Leaf ninjas? Why are they here?"
"Why else? To take down the Lightning twins. And when they do, they'll probably find this place. So like I said, make your choice quickly."
Amachi was silent for several moments. 'Orochimaru may be a powerful ninja but he is also an arrogant prick. I don't need his help. I can complete this project on my own.'
He made his choice and spoke. "Get me out of these chains and we'll talk."
The masked ninja shook his head. "Yeaaah… I'm not doing that! After Orochimaru betrayed me it's a lot harder for me to trust someone. Especially someone who worked for him. You tell me the information I want and only then will I set you free."
"And how do I know that you'll help me if I give you the information?"
"You don't. But we're on the same boat. He left us to die and he won't come to save us. So we have to do it ourselves. I need allies and ones I can trust. But I won't take that first step." The masked ninja sat on a nearby rock and looked nonchalant as he answered. 'Man I should have joined the theater in my last life. I'm really good at this. My acting skills are a lot better than I thought.'
Amachi gritted his teeth in anger and silently looked at the man for several minutes. After seeing that the masked ninja was not going to make the first move, Amachi relented. After 5 months of captivity he was mentally and physically tired and just wanted to get his freedom. "Fine. I'll tell you."
"Excellent." At that moment several green chakra strings came and attached to Amachi's body.
"These strings will read your vitals far better than any machine. So I will know if you're lying or not. If you lie even once then I will know your allegiance lies with Orochimaru and I will kill you here. If you tell me the truth, I'll heal your wounds and set you free. Are we clear?"
Amachi nodded to the demands. "To begin, Orochimaru has powerful bodyguards. They're called-"
"The sound four. Yes!. I know about them and I have some info on them. They're not my interest."
Amachi looked at the man and spoke. "Then what specifically are you looking for?"
"His right hand man Kabuto Yakushi and his labs. The location of his forbidden jutsus and lab is the most important!"
Amachi was silent for a few moments and then spoke. "I've only met Kabuto a couple times. He's a spy currently in the hidden Leaf. He's a talented medic ninja and his skills are on par with a Jonin. Lord Orochimaru created a base of operations for him but I don't know where it is. That's all I know about him."
The masked ninja nodded. "Tell me about Orochimaru's other bases."
"I only know of 2 locations. Even though I worked for him, I wasn't privy to more information. The first is a series of hideouts in the Land of Sound. It's his main hideout and it's where he keeps the most important and secretive jutsu. The sound four and several others are also present in the base at all times to guard it. Then there's the northern hideout. I don't know much about that except it's where Orochimaru developed his curse seal."
The masked ninja crossed his arms and nodded. "Tell me about the main base. How to get in, its precise location, the traps, the guards and protocols for intruders."
Amachi began explaining everything he knew about the base and its operations. Since he valued his freedom more, he didn't lie or hold back anything.
Several minutes later Daichi had a far greater understanding of the situation and he had the beginnings of a plan. 'I need to raid that base. But only when Orochimaru is not around and my absence and infiltration can't be known to anyone, especially anyone in the Leaf.'
"That's everything I know." Amachi spoke and looked at the masked ninja.
"One more thing. When I worked for that snake, he told me about this place and a hybrid test subject called Isaribi. Is she still alive? If so, where is she?" The masked ninja asked the scientist. 'I need to have information on all variables. Can't leave anything to chance.'
"That girl is dead. Shortly before the Lightning Twin's attack, I was conducting an experiment on her to improve her abilities even more. It was based on another test subject. A former ninja from the Rain village."
The masked ninja was silent and kept nodding his head. Amachi continued. "She didn't survive the procedure and died shortly after. A few days later those blasted Twins invaded the base and attacked me… There. I told you what you wanted to know. Now free me."
"Thank you. And as agreed. I'll heal your wounds and then I'll give you your freedom." The masked ninja got closer to Amachi and his hands glowed green. The next second the former subordinate of the snake Sannin felt his wounds heal and his energy increasing.
'Yes. Finally, It seems I'll have my freedom.' Hope finally bloomed in his heart and just as a smile formed on his face he felt a sharp pain coming from his chest. The next second he struggled to breath and was gasping for air. "W- what… Did.. you…?" Gasp.!
"Did you know, one of the most awful things a person could do is to give hope to someone who's hit rock bottom and then take it away?... I lied. I never worked for Orochimaru or even met him. And I never had any intention of letting you live." The cold tone in the mysterious ninja sent shivers down Amachi's spine.
"T-then.. why…?"
"Why did I say all those things? Two reasons. First, I needed information and you looked like the kind of guy who wouldn't give up any info without getting anything substantial in return. I had a feeling you would do almost anything for your freedom… Second, I wanted you to understand what suffering is. After torturing and experimenting on innocent people for so long and treating them like disposal materials, did you think you would have a good ending?"
"Y-you…" Amachi tried to take one more deep breath but failed. And moments later his life left his body.
Daichi took off the mask and then broke the chains holding the man. He took out a special scroll and sealed the body inside. 'If I had used a knife and spilled any blood then Kakashi would have picked up on it. I need them to invade this base but I don't want them to find his body."
Once Daichi sealed the scroll he stored it in his inventory along with the mask and robe. His other clones were making copies of any information worth their value in various parts of the lab. 'I can't take the items. The leaf will become suspicious. But I can certainly make copies. And I need to make sure to erase this guy's scent as well.'
The shadow clones dispelled one by one and soon he was the last on left. 'There isn't much of anything useful. This base mainly had medical ninjutsu techniques and information on hybrid tests. Medical techniques that I have access to and experiments that I have no interest in. And there's no information on other bases or anything else. So aside from Amachi, this was a waste of my time. Still, now I have a key piece of information. I need to find the right time and act on it. But before that I need to train and increase my stealth skills. Time to let the original know.'
The clone dispelled after making sure there were no traces of his or his clone's invasion of the lab.
The real Daichi was with Kakashi, Guy and the others making sure everyone was safely reunited with their families. Daichi was making sure to keep a tight grip on his chakra to make sure no one sensed the chakra fluctuations in his body. As the chakra of the clone returned to him he smiled inwardly.
'It seems everything is going according to plan. Time to let the others know.'
Since their work was done the ninjas were getting ready to leave. But at that moment Daichi looked at Kakashi and spoke.
"Sensei, I found some interesting information that I think you should know."
"And what's that?"
"I think I know where Orochimaru's lab is. Or at least one of them."
The moment the two Jonin heard this their eyes widened in shock.
"What!?"
Kakashi turned to his student and was serious. "Daichi, how do you know this? Where did you get this information?"
"The half fish half man I was fighting at the beginning. He was one of Orochimaru's test subjects. Let's just say I had a little chat with him during our fight. He wanted revenge on Orochimaru for turning him into a half fish monster. So he gave me information on the lab. There isn't anyone in the laboratory right now. At least that's what he said so I figured we should check it out."
"Kakashi, what should we do? This isn't something we can just ignore." Guy asked his friend in a serious tone.
The Sharingan ninja was silent for a few moments and nodded his head. "Daichi, did he tell you where the lab is?"
"Yeah. It's on Demon Island."
Kakashi quickly thought about the pros and cons of his next move and made a decision. "Then we're going to Demon island. I doubt Orochimaru is there right now, so this is the best time to strike. We can raid the lab and if we're lucky we'll be able to find more information on his other hideouts. But we should be on guard in case there is someone guarding the lab."
Daichi and Team Guy nodded their heads in agreement with the Jonin.
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Author's Note:
A 4.k chapter. Enjoy. I'm trying out a new thing. write a longer word count chapter but there will be a break of 2 or sometimes(very rarely) 3 days break in between. Tell me your thoughts on that and about the chapter…
In DBZA King Kai's words:
"The whole plan is coming together!"