At around the same time when Uchiha Tonan was subduing the vagrant ninjas, things were happening at the underground palace below the Fire Capital’s Daimyo Residence.
The underground palace was as large as a football stadium, and it had three floors in total. The bottom floor was filled with various kinds of torture instruments. There was also a circular platform in the middle and a seat at the center of the platform.
The current Daimyo, Naraku, was sitting on this chair with the Guardian Residence Chief, Uekawa Ozora, and the Punishment Minister, Yamamoto Takuro, standing on his right and left side respectively.
On the platform’s periphery, twelve guardian ninjas were sitting cross-legged, facing the prisoners, and guarding Naraku. On the second floor’s viewing platform, the Daimyo Residence’s guards as well as the dead ninjas raised by the Daimyo Residence were sitting cross-legged.
On the third floor’s viewing platform, there were Guardian Residence guards. On the bottom floor’s platform, Punishment Miniter Takuro read a scroll, “Uro Nobuo, you took a bribe from the enemy state, privately sold contrabands, and committed crimes against the country. According to the new law, you will receive the punishment of death by a thousand cuts.”
Hearing the charges, a middle-aged man kneeling below the platform pleaded like a madman, “Your Majesty! I just sold some food. I never betrayed my country.”
Trembling violently, the man was unable to stop his voice from quivering. His eyes were wide open and they were bloodshot. There were also black patches under them indicating that he hadn’t rested well for a long time.
Naraku, however, who had his eyes shut, impatiently waved his hand and the middle-aged man was dragged away by the executioner and bound to a torture instrument.
“You are a tyrant. You’ll not have a good death. The Land of Fire will perish in your hands sooner or later!” As the man began cursing, the executioner skillfully used an iron pincer to pluck out his tongue to stop him from being able to inconsiderately quibble with the noble Daimyo.
The people above had long been accustomed to such brutality. There was no sympathy in their eyes and all of them gave it a cold shoulder. Naraku slowly opened his eyes and sat down cross-legged. He made a special hand sign and asked Takuro, “This was the last one, right?”
Takuro knelt and respectfully replied, “Replying to Your Majesty, this batch just had eighty-six prisoners.”
Naraku chuckled and nodded, “It seems the new laws are well implemented, carry out the execution.”
Takuro got up and ordered the executioner, “Execute.” Because it was an underground palace, the temperature inside was slightly lower than aboveground. A cold breeze that blew from who knows where made people shiver as well.
Following Takuro’s command, the criminals below the platform began to suffer inhumane torture. This included being branded with red-hot metal, snake bites, dripping boiling hot oil, and a thousand cuts.
The gentler punishments included water-boarding and paper sticking, which was a method where wet papers were stuck on a person’s face until he died of asphyxiation.
All the prisoners had their tongues plucked out without exception. They could only whimper and struggle in pain. Unwilling tears flowed down the corners of their eyes and fell to the ice-cold ground.
Subjected to cruel torture, the criminals’ emotions reached the highest peak they could in their entire lives. Slowly, they died one after the other. At the moment of death, their moods went from the highest point to deathly still and a huge amount of emotional power emanated from them.
Naraku and his people would absorb this intense emotional energy. If they couldn’t absorb it completely after a while, the people on the second floor and the third floor would absorb the rest.
Naraku had sent someone to extort the Gift of the Hermit Group cultivation technique from the Temple of Fire and then thought of crooked ways such as these to cultivate senjutsu. After savoring the taste of power, his new laws became harsher.
There was almost no punishment of imprisonment. The severity of the crime determined the severity of torture a prisoner would receive. After half an hour, Naraku felt the emotional power around him was all gone, so he reluctantly opened his hands.
He opened his palm and made a fist and with an obsessed look, muttering, “Power makes people addicted… Ozora.”
“The subordinate is here, Your Majesty.”
“Among the participants of all countries, who are yet to come?”
“Only the Konoha participant has not arrived yet, Your Majesty.”
When Naraku heard the answer, his eyes flashed with a hint of coldness and he asked, “Still traveling on the train?”
Ozora replied solemnly, “Yes, it is estimated to arrive at noon tomorrow.”
A hint of a sinister smile appeared on Naraku’s face as he said, “In any case, he represents my Land of Fire in this competition, you should go to welcome him. Don’t lose the Daimyo Residence’s dignity.”
After speaking, he stared at the tortured people below the platform and narrowed his eyes.
“This subordinate obeys your command,” After Ozora left, Naraku rested his arms on the armrests and slowly got up, “Takuro.”
Takuro immediately knelt on the ground and bowed his head, “What are your orders, Your Majesty?”
Naraku tapped on the armrest and said, “Add a new law, the crime of deceiving the monarch.”
Takuro solemnly said, “I wonder what punishment Your Majesty has prepared for this crime.”
Naraku frowned slightly and rubbed his temple. After thinking for a long time, he sneered, “I can’t think of any interesting torture at this time… just write it as an unpardonable crime.”
“Yes.”
The next day, at noon. Clang, clang, clang… In the Fire Capital station, a group of shirtless workers was holding shovels to open a new line.
Wu wu… A worker turned over and looked in the direction of the distant horn. A pitch-black train was slowly moving towards the station. At a cursory glance, the front side of the train gave a ferocious feeling as if it was a beast closing in on its prey.
The sky was clear but dark clouds behind the train spread toward the Fire Capital like a dark grey curtain.
“Looks like it’s going to rain,” the worker muttered subconsciously.
“Everyone, go back and rest. The station is under martial law for the time being.” Along with these solemn instructions, a group of city guards in uniform and a sword on their waists drove the workers away and guarded all corners of the station.
At this moment, a middle-aged man with white hair, riding a brown horse came to the railway platform under the guidance of several followers.
This middle-aged man was Tonan’s immediate boss when he worked in Fire Capital earlier. He was Guardian Residence Chief Ozora. Ozora narrowed his eyes slightly, sinisterly staring at the oncoming train. No one knew what he was thinking.
When the train entered the station, even before it stopped completely, Ozora loudly cheered, “Welcome Leaf chunin Uchiha Tonan. Thank you for coming to participate in the Five Nations Honorary Chunin Competition. Fight for the honor of the Land of Fire.”
Several hundred guards in the station straightened their chests and shouted in unison, “Fight for the honor of the Land of Fire.”
“Fight for the honor of the Land of Fire.”
“Fight for the honor of the Land of Fire.”
In the carriage, Tonan’s ears moved and his eyes became scarlet as the three tomoe slowly spun. Piercing through the drawing board, the carriage seat, and the driver’s box in front of him, he saw the scene at the station.
Tonan subconsciously narrowed his eyes, and the scene enlarged as Ozora’s face reflected in his pupils. The corners of his mouth rose and he placed the drawing board on the table. He took a sip of his tea and remarked, “Humorously domineering.”
