Ibiki closed the door to the interrogation room, the beginnings of a headache starting to form.
"The trackers found Iwana's corpse." Anko informed him. "They're going to look for the rest of them at the apple orchard."
"Cause of death?"
"Blunt force trauma to the skull." She snorted. "It looks like he got his head bashed in with a rock." Anko passed him the report. "The details are here."
Ibiki scanned the paper intently. While it did clear up a few things, it was nowhere near enough to make a divisive call.
From the evidence they had, they could be sure of a few things. First, that there had been a secondary mission at all. The files from the Mission Desk showed Kazaze Chitage accepting both missions on behalf of her team. Second, that Sakura Haruno and Iwana Shimura fought each other. Their respective injuries lined up with their known abilities. Whether or not Sakura had been the one to kill Iwana was up for debate. Third, that at least one of the scrolls contained false information. Even if Sakura was being truthful, the potential for the informant being compromised couldn't be overlooked.
All in all, the picture was not pretty. There were too many unknowns.
"Safest option is a Mind Walk," he said eventually. "There's not enough evidence to lock her up or let her go."
"And pulling out the thumb screws on our own people is frowned upon." Anko said with a sigh. "There's just one small problem; the brat has a hostile Mind Walk on file. Her chuunin evaluator thought breaking regulations for a grudge was a great idea, so now she knows what to expect."
That was irritating. Mind Walks worked best on subjects that had never experienced them. Yamanaka could work around that, of course, but a negative experience combined with resistance could make the information gained incomplete.
"Want me to convince her it's in her best interest to comply with a Mind Walk?" Anko asked. "At this stage, we don't need her permission, but it'd be easier with it."
Ibiki considered their options.
"Do it."
Anko plopped herself right in front of Sakura, almost casual in demeanor.
"We're in a bit of a pickle here, kid."
Sakura eyed her warily, but stayed silent. That was fine, Anko had more than enough practice talking to unresponsive subjects.
"You see, we found Iwana's body, and it lines up with what you told us. But we can't really confirm the reason you killed him. For all we know, you were the one with a fake scroll and he caught on. The fact that you're the only witness makes things tricky."
Her lips twisted wryly, but she still stayed quiet.
"As things stand, you're a liability. It's unlikely that the evidence the tracking teams find will absolve you, so unless we're given something indisputable, we can't let you out."
There was something resigned in her expression. "You want me to agree to a Mind Walk."
She was a sharp little thing. "Got it in one, kid."
After a stretch of silence, Sakura straightened herself. "I have conditions."
"Hit me." Whether or not they were something they could accommodate was a conversation for later. The fact that Sakura was considering it at all was a good sign for them.
"They don't get to wander around my head willy-nilly. They stick to the mission and that's it." Sakura began. "I get to choose who does it, and I'm not restrained."
Anko waited, but nothing else came. "That's all of them?"
She nodded.
This would be easier than Anko thought. "Who do you want as the evaluator?"
"Inoichi Yamanaka. Or Ino Yamanaka, but I know that's probably not going to happen."
Anko's eyebrows would have shot up if she had less control. Requesting the strongest Yamanaka to preform the Mind Walk was not what she'd been expecting.
"I'll see what I can do."
"You're not supposed to be in here."
Shisui ignored Inoichi, fingering through the reports. This whole thing had been too coordinated, too smooth for it to not have been some kind of inside job.
"My security clearance is high enough." Shisui said, finally putting down the stack of papers. "Am I not allowed to be interested when a former student of mine is under suspicion of treason?"
Inoichi considered him. "Do you believe in her story?"
"I believe she didn't plan an ambush on her team. No real opportunity or motive, considering all of the signs point to it being done by Oto-nin."
Sakura wouldn't have known about the secondary mission until they were already in Yugakure, so the idea that she had any hand in it was far-fetched. Kazaze Chitage had been a stickler for protocol, which meant she wouldn't have informed her team beforehand. The likelihood of someone telling Sakura in advance was also unlikely.
Inoichi had no doubt already inferred this, but he liked keeping his cards close. Side affect of being an intelligence commander.
"But her involvement in the ambush isn't really what's being questioned, is it." Shisui smiled wryly. "It's the scrolls, and Iwana's death."
Killing a fellow Konoha-nin was frowned upon, to say the least. The fact that Iwana had come from a clan, and Sakura didn't, only compounded the issue. The scrolls, one of which contained intel that could start a war, were one of the few things that might be able to get her off the hook.
If she was telling the truth.
"It'd be a very clean story." Shisui mused. "A civilian born with minimal connections goes rogue after the death of her parents and tries to force another conflict with Otogakure for revenge. When a teammate catches on, she kills him to protect her plan. Quick and easy, with no need to dig any deeper."
Inoichi watched him carefully. "You don't think she would?"
"I think she wouldn't have been dumb enough to do it like this." Shisui corrected. "She's grieving, not stupid."
Would he believe that she was more prone to violence and aggression? Yes. But Sakura hadn't had a problem thinking on her feet before. If she'd truly been a traitor and Iwana had caught onto her plan, Shisui was sure she would have cut her losses and escaped. Coming back to Konoha would have been idiotic.
"You seem to know her well." Inoichi commented mildly. "I was under the impression you had only spent a month of regular contact with her."
He smiled. "I'm good at reading people. Isn't that why you send me on all those intel gathering missions?"
The look he received was flat.
"Shouldn't you be in her cell right now? I heard you were specifically requested for the Mind Walk." Shisui prodded.
It made sense, in a way. Despite his intimidating position, Inoichi was familiar with Sakura through her friendship with Ino. If she wanted to find a Yamanaka that was the least likely to purposefully screw her over, this was as good as she could get.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for patrol? Just because you're in charge of a squad doesn't mean you can slack off. You have a shift in ten minutes."
He glanced at the clock and-yup, it was almost eight.
Shisui stood, cracking his neck.
"When have I ever been late?"
Shizune had been many things in her life.
A niece, a kunoichi, a runaway. She'd been nursemaid and healer, voice of reason and harbinger of destruction. Her life had been fraught with new roles to learn, new things to adapt to.
Assistant to the Hokage was new, but she'd been following the woman wearing the hat for most of her life, so it was only natural that she'd continue.
There were new things to learn here as well, but just as many old lessons could be applied.
For instance, refusing to cater to powerful men.
"I must meet with Tsunade at once." Danzo Shimura said, eyeing her with barely concealed distain. "It is my right as a council member-"
"Lord Godaime has already made her position on the matter clear." Shizune said coolly. She didn't really need to refer to Tsunade like that, but Danzo's disrespect irritated her.
"A member of my clan was brutally murdered, and yet she sits and does nothing while the culprit remains untouched." He stepped closer, looming over her desk. "I demand an audience. Immediately."
Danzo Shimura was not a weak man. He couldn't have been, to get this far and survive. He had power and influence and a lifetime of experience backing him.
But Shizune had spent most of her life following a living legend. There was little that scared her.
"There are no openings to see her today, but I may be able to schedule you for a meeting later this week." She said calmly, taking pleasure in the way his jaw ticked. "Is there anything else I can help you with, Councilman Shimura?"
His grip on his cane tightened. "Your impertinence truly knows no bounds. Is this how the office of Hokage conducts itself? First the situation with Kiri, and now this."
"An investigation surrounding the events of Team 43 is already underway." Shizune reminded him. "Your frustration is understandable, however until further information in revealed, Lady Tsunade will not retract her previous orders."
Danzo's gaze was heavy.
"I see."
"It's been a while." Inoichi said kindly.
Sakura's mouth twitched, but she stayed otherwise motionless. "I guess so."
"I understand that you have been the target of a hostile Mind Walk before." He said, ripping the band aid right off. "The Yamanaka clan offers its full apology and assures you that the perpetrator has been punished."
Her expression still didn't shift, but the doubt in her eyes was obvious. She didn't believe him.
Understandable. He didn't need her full trust for this to work anyway. Just her cooperation.
"A consensual Mind Walk has a similar outcome, but far less strenuous. All I need you to do is focus on the beginning of your mission, and to allow my presence. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Her shoulders squared and she looked him square in the eye. It looked like she was bracing for a fight.
Inoichi made the hand seal. "We will begin in 3…2…"
He activated the jutsu.
Anko and Ibiki watched the interrogation room in silence.
Mind Walks were rarely interesting as spectators, but it was standard procedure to have at least one person on standby, especially if the subject was not restrained.
Five minutes passed. Ten.
At the twenty-five-minute mark, Sakura's right hand twitched.
It was a barely noticeable movement, but considering she shouldn't be moving at all, this was something to take note of.
At twenty-seven minutes, her right hand was wrapped around her left thumb.
"Should I intervene?" Anko asked.
Ibiki narrowed his eyes. "No."
At twenty-eight minutes, Sakura jerked her right hand and fell completely still again.
She didn't move for the rest of the session.
Inoichi was in the middle of watching Sakura fight one of the ambushing shinobi when the memory blurred for three seconds.
He immediately tightened his control, and everything refocused. Sakura's body was sliding a kunai into her opponent's ribs.
The rest of the memories played out without interruption. Inoichi watched as Josuki and Yoshisu died, and how Sakura and Iwana barely managed to escape.
He witnessed Sakura stumbling through the woods, and falling dead asleep, only for her only ally to steal the scroll she'd been guarding.
The implications were troubling. Iwana had not been high ranking, but he'd had a good track record and was part of the Shimura clan. His betrayal would have ripple affects, and the whole sequence of events made one thing very clear.
He had not been acting alone.
Finally, the Mind Walk came to an end with Sakura reaching Konoha's gates. They knew everything that happened from this point on.
Inoichi pulled himself out of her mind.
Sakura was sitting almost exactly the way she had before, and was blinking furiously. The change out of a Mind Walk could be disorienting at the best of times.
It should have been standard procedure, but he couldn't shake feeling that something was off. It was then that he noticed it.
She was holding her arm awkwardly, almost cradling it. A suspicion formed in his mind. "Can I see your hands, Sakura?"
The tension in her frame ratcheted up, but she obliged, laying both of them on the table.
Her left thumb was at the wrong angle.
Inoichi knew of every injury that Sakura had been healed of, and every injury they'd left intact. None of the reports had mentioned a broken thumb. Which meant it was recent.
The blurred memory.
Sakura had a defiant tilt to her chin, and it looked like she was waiting for an accusation.
Three seconds. Her mind had been completely focused on surviving the fight. She wouldn't have been able to pass on a message or hide something unless it had been entirely preplanned, and the earlier memories showed no evidence of that.
The only thing that had changed was the position of the fight, and the carnage around them.
Three seconds.
Shinobi were tetchy about their techniques at the best of times, but for her to risk disrupting the memory, when so much was at stake, meant that this was something she was willing to risk a lot to hide.
A weapon, a seal, or more likely-
A jutsu she wasn't supposed to know.
Yes, that would make an awful lot of sense.
Inoichi smiled. "Thank you for your cooperation, Sakura."