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The next day Lady Hanami requested to return back to the village and since she didn't have any injuries that prevented her from travelling, no one complained.
An escort party was immediately organised, and Ryoichi also requested to tag along. The party had three Jonins and almost thirty Chunin to prevent any more mishaps from happening, and they all looked ready for war.
Ryoichi suggested that they should also take the captive with them, but was denied saying what if the attackers had some way to track their companions.
And since Ryoichi had no way to prove otherwise he complied.
The escort party left the post when the sun's first ray fell on the camp, and travelled the whole day, only stopping when it became dark. Their pace was much slower with Lady Hanami travelling inside a carriage. They only reached half the distance in close to 14 hours.
After resting for the whole night they travelled again and managed to reach the village after the sunset.
"Then I'll take my leave Hanami-sama" Ryoichi bowed slightly and exited the carriage. He was asked to accompany Lady Hanami on behalf of her own request.
The Lady's motive was quite simple, she wanted to console Ryoichi, but unfortunately for her, he completely tuned her out and only gave a few occasional nods to her advice.
"Remember to visit, you know how much Tsunade likes to play with you."
'I doubt that gambling addict does...'
"Yes, I will visit as often as I can."
Ryoichi gave a slight nod and left under the worried eyes of the noble Lady.
He did not go to his house, instead, he went to Hokage's office.
Ryoichi entered the office after getting permission where Tobirama like usual was busy with paperwork.
"Hokage-sama." Ryoichi greeted with a slight bow.
Tobirama like always did not say anything and continued working.
"I want to start my second phase of the training." Ryoichi continued.
Only after hearing his reason then did Tobirama raise his head.
The hand holding the paper clenched slightly when he saw Ryoichi's dead eyes. The very same dead eyes he has seen countless times in his life, the very same eyes he had when his little brother died.
"You can…. It was you who stopped in the first place." Tobirama answered without letting Ryoichi notice his slight fluctuating emotion.
"I have another request Hokage-sama."
"Speak."
"I want to start with the interrogation part first."
Ryoichi's request made Tobirama silent for some time as he knew where Ryoichi was going with this request.
He wants to deny it, but he also knows that Ryoichi's hatred will divert towards him and indirectly towards the village and the Clan. Normally he wouldn't have cared but Ryoichi was the only recently born male Senju other than the newly born Nawaki.
"I presume you want to start with the newly caught captive."
"Yes"
"Fine, I'll allow it. I will send someone when the captive arrives in Konoha."
"Thank you Hokage-sama."
Ryoichi gave another bow and left the office under the calculative eyes of Tobirama.
"Was it okay to grant the child's request Hokage-sama?" A voice sounded inside the empty office of the Hokage.
"It was the best choice… because that kid is currently blinded by revenge and his thought process is only revolving around how to achieve that revenge in the shortest time possible."
"How can you be sure?"
Tobirama didn't immediately reply and let the silence hang, only after the hidden Anbu couldn't contain his curiosity and questioned again did Tobirama reply.
"Because we are alike…" A certain red-eyed clan passed in his mind.
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After returning from Hokage's office Ryoichi went towards the training ground to train and to take his mind off of the cruel upcoming torture sessions that kept passing through his mind.
After training for a few hours he went to Yakiniku to eat before he found a hotel to pass the night.
Ryoichi didn't want to enter his house because he knew that his emotions would overwhelm him again.
That night Ryoichi didn't sleep even a blink, his mind was too active for that, and before he noticed, the night turned day and early sunrays fell on his face through the window.
Ryoichi slowly got up from the bed and closed the window before plopping down the bed again, just as he was getting lost in thoughts again, someone knocked on his window.
Ryoichi didn't have to get up as the window got open itself and an Anbu walked in.
"Oni-san…"
"Ryoichi… I heard you want to continue your training…" Oni asked in his usual hoarse voice.
"Yes."
"Hokage-sama has ordered me to let you interrogate the captive that came yesterday night."
"He's already here?"
"Yes. Follow me." Oni spoke and shunshinned outside the window.
Ryoichi immediately followed with his own shunshin.
They reached the entrance of the Anbu headquarters in no time and Oni led Ryoichi where the captive was held.
Once there Oni started speaking again.
"Don't break the captive, we need his brain intact to use Yamanaka's technique."
After saying that Oni then proceeded to brief Ryoichi on proper interrogation methods and how to torture the captive both physically and psychologically.
"Hmm," Ryoichi nodded as he proceeded to entered the soundproofed room and shut the door which startled the captive awake.
"Yawn~ Heh to think ya tree huggers fallen so low to send a hairless child to interrogate me." The bandit-looking man loudly snickered after seeing Ryoichi.
Ryoichi didn't reply to the typical bandit-looking man as he was too busy controlling his emotions. He silently walked towards the instrument table and picked up a razor-sharp blade before approaching the bound man.
"The fuck ya gonna do with that ya lil shit, poke me? Kikikikiki!!!" The bandit laughed mockingly, but seeing Ryoichi not showing any reaction he stopped laughing and clicked his tongue.
"Go suck your mama's tits more before ya come here."
Ryoichi's eyebrow twitched slightly at the bandit's word, but it was so faint the bandit didn't notice. But that really was a mistake on the bandit's part that he'll regret dearly in the next few minutes.
Ryoichi completely turned off his hearing and started shaving the bandit's mane-like hair.
His movement was so rough that along the hair he shaved off the bandit's skin and mass below as well.
The cursing of the bandit stopped long ago when he felt the cold blade touching his skull, and along his hair and skin, his tears also started to fall, unbecoming of his tough attitude before.
But unfortunately for the crying bandit, Ryoichi has long tunned him out.
After shaving the bandit's hair, Ryoichi's hand moved towards the bandit's eyebrows and unlike his rough movements before, he removed one of the eyebrows in single clean movements alongside the skin below. The blood gushed out blinding the man's eye.
It took the bandit a few seconds to process before he screamed like a pig that was about to be slaughtered.
But unfortunately, again, Ryoichi didn't wait for him to prepare and shaved off the second eyebrow too which elicited an even louder scream.
Ryoichi waited for some time for the bandit to think that he'd finally start questioning.
But the moment bandit thought that Ryoichi ruthlessly crushed that hope by removing his stubble of a beard.
Once Ryoichi was done with the bandit there was no hair on his face, hell there was barely any skin left on his head. In some places, even bones can be seen clearly.
"Hehehe who's hairless now… boi!" Ryoichi snickered while walking back towards the instrument table where he picked multiple needles.
"Aghhh! I'm ready to spea-agh" the hairless man spoke despite his agony, he was scared that if he didn't speak, what this demonic bastard would do.
But again Ryoichi didn't hear anything, he just caught one of the man's hands and stabbed one of the needles inside the space between the man's nails. The needle was long- long enough punctured the nail till it hits the knuckles.
"AGGHGH!!!"
*Poke* Ryoichi stabbed another needle while the bandit was processing the first.
"AGGGGHHH!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!" The man broke down with just the second needle, but Ryoichi didn't stop he continued to stab all ten fingers with the remaining needles. And once he stopped the man was a mess with tears, snot and blood completely filling the newly created holes in the man's messed-up face.
Even after that Ryoichi didn't care and went to get another instrument.
"P.l.e.a.s.e… s.t.o.p…" the messed up man begged in a hoarse voice, but Ryoichi didn't stop, he slowly approached the man with cold dead eyes. Just as the man's eyes started losing focus in despair the room's door slammed open and Oni stopped Ryoichi.
Ryoichi didn't struggle in Oni's hand, but his pure murderous eyes fell on Oni's which made even the battle-hardened Shinobi like him flinch.
"Enough I'll take care of the interrogation from here…" Oni ordered Ryoichi who just closed his eyes, and when he opened them back they were emotionless again.
Ryoichi didn't speak anything and walked out of the room just as silently as he entered under the complicated eyes of Oni.
"To think I thought I had my emotions under control… sigh~" Ryoichi lamented as he walked towards the hotel he stayed in yesterday.
And like that for the first time since he started training, Ryoichi took his first day off.
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[AN: If you want to read more go to my Patr*on/41_Claws. There are 10+ advance unedited chapters on it…]
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