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sunshineverse2015-05-11 01:16 am
not_thedragon) wrote in sunshineverse2015-05-11 01:16 am
Entry tags:
[closed] mission report + interrogation report
Who: Uchiha Sasuke, a pair of Intel chuunin, and an interrogator present in absence.
When: Complete report submitted 05/08; covering events spanning from 04/09 - 05/03.
Where: Western regions of Fire and adjacent nations.
Notes: Mentions of physical and psychological torture, including hand torture.
[Mission reports are written deliberately, with uncharacteristic spaces where the writing stopped and was started again some time later.]
Mission Report: Uchiha Sasuke, reporting
Date: Date of report writing: May 6. This report covers mission progress and objectives from departure, April 9, to capture, April 16.
Objective: Mission was intended to be last field investigation pending final report. I chose two intel agents, A- and O-, who had respectively previously worked deep cover and had networks in the west. Our goal was to determine if the group headquartered in Bears had spread through enough neighbouring countries to cut allies from one another. Due to nature of mission I chose to work with smallest possible team and selected intel-focused shinobi rather than frequent-combat nin.
Description of steps taken to achieve objective:
We departed Konoha 04/09 following confirmation that unusual travel patterns of shinobi had been occurring in recent months through Rivers and that Amegakure had closed borders, suggesting reason for suspicion. Detailed sweep through Rivers in search of explosion patterns heard on a previous mission revealed unusual damage to landscape, but any traces of shinobi or other groups responsible had been wiped clean. Took precaution of ensuring we spent time supplementing travel meals with hunting, to avoid eating anything we had not prepared ourselves.
Continued westward 04/14, avoiding Amegakure via seal points just inside the border of Wind. Entered Stone evening of 04/14. Travelled westward of seal point to avoid needing to double back through country. Movement through Birds was unimpeded, though the main travel roads were unusually deserted for this time of year according to A-. Rendezvous with northeast investigation via seal point north of Fire set at this point for 04/20 via messenger hawk.
Arrived at border of Fang 04/15 hoping to meet with one of O-'s contacts from the western shore somewhere in the country. O-'s contact missed rendezvous point for evening of 15th; we moved to second rendezvous point morning of 16th. On arrival A- noted it was unusual for Fang to have low shinobi activity, but despite recent surge in unusual events in Konoha, civilians we spoke with undercover made mention only of unfavourable weather patterns. Afternoon of 04/16 we decided to move to the final rendezvous point, O-'s contact having previously had difficulties getting in touch.
En route to western edge of Fang we were ambushed. Attackers wore no village identifiers, instead keeping faces covered with thick cloth and masks over their mouths. A- and O- fought well but were overwhelmed by numbers. Before we could move toward backup plans, an unknown gas was released. The gas first disoriented, then made chakra difficult to gather and knead. Assumption is that masks covering ambushers' mouths kept them from succumbing to the same effects.
I noted during capture that fighting style was not consistent within the ambushing group, though they showed evidence of having taken time and pains to adapt around one another in order to maximize the effect of each style. This group within the alliance turned out to be the oldest. I was later informed by the leader I was introduced to that they had been working together for years. I was not permitted to see A- or O- but was informed their conditions were stable and they were being treated well in exchange for my good behaviour. Noticed chakra reaction to air quality, as if atmosphere were humid before or immediately after rain, but did not know location. Later informed we were kept in Waterfall, which explained chakra reaction.
Other information from time of captivity will be in attached interrogation report.
Notes: A- and O- are not combat shinobi. As the one who determined the team structure, I am to be held completely responsible for our capture and all subsequent consequences.
[The interrogation report is typed out, with answers to supplementary questions filled in a fair copperplate hand. The signature at the end is a code name.]
Interrogation Report #70A6A9I
Prisoner interrogated: Konoha Registration #012606
Interrogator designated by [I]. Operative answers [O]. Interrogator comments marked (Observation: _____)
Transcriber ID: #34.
[I]: The date is May 5th. Location is interrogation cell 6, sub-basement 2. Operative has been removed from T&I ICU but remains under medical and other surveillance. Operative is in stable condition and appears lucid. Operative, state your name and information for the record.
[O]: Uchiha Sasuke. Konoha registration number: 012606. Rank: jounin.
[I]: Your status?
[O]: Quarantine following captivity. How are --
[I]: I will ask the questions, operative. State for the record if this is correct: you led an investigative mission westward, departing Konoha on April 6th.
[O]: Yes, that's right.
[I]: Your report here was written yesterday, on gaining consciousness. Do you deny that you may still be under influence of any drugs administered during captivity?
[O]: No, but --
[I]: Then you remain in confinement until a medical all-clear is given. Your information will be taken into consideration, but you will not know the outcome until you are assessed with clean bill of health. Understood?
[O]: Yes.
[I]: Good. Let's begin with chronological events. You have covered the ambush already in your report, but I require that you begin with it. You may truncate events as needed.
[O]: No, that's fine. We were ambushed en route from a missed rendezvous point to the third and final possible point. I'm still not sure if we were compromised by O-'s agent. O- seemed to trust him. We should try to locate them --
[I]: You will not know the outcome until you are assessed with clean bill of health.
[O]: Fine. That's from before we were captured, so --
[I]: Do you deny that you were administered drugs during captivity?
[O]: ... no. I'm sure that I remember everything up until -- the 26th correctly. I don't think they drugged me until then.
[I]: Do you have proof?
[O]: I know my own --
[I]: You don't have proof. We will continue as if your memories or mental state may have been tampered with at any point during your captivity.
[O]: I could activate the Sharingan. I tried it, when they left me alone. I had complete control over activation and deactivation, and I was able to focus my chakra enough to accelerate the healing from the few injuries I had from the ambush. And I had -- I had full control of my faculties and choices. If I were drugged, it wasn't very effective.
(Observation: Operative appeared to be completely certain of this point. I assessed records of his training with the primary hospital's staff. It is my opinion that it is not unbelievable that he was not initially drugged by captors and could be certain.)
[I]: It's been taken under consideration. Continue.
[O]: A- and O- are primarily undercover or intel specialists. Is that clear in the record? They're not primary combat, so --
[I]: Your comment on their role in the fight has been noted.
[O]: Okay. Good, they -- we had a plan originally, but we weren't expecting the gas. It wasn't just something breathed in, the enemy wore full-face masks. Even if we held our breath, it got into the system. That's when things get unclear until I wake up. We must have been transported quickly, I didn't notice any evidence that I'd been in the place I woke up for a long time when --
[I]: Where was that?
[O]: Waterfall. I --
[I]: How did you know that?
[O]: I didn't. I heard from my br- from the other investigation that located us.
[I]: Did your captors give you any information?
[O]: I'm trying to get there.
[I]: Very well. Continue; I will not interrupt further from this point except to request clarification on points.
[O]: Finally. We weren't allowed to -- I wasn't allowed to communicate with A- and O-. Although I was shown a lot of their base, I wasn't taken to where they were being kept until -- later. They asked me why I was in Fang and what I was looking for. I didn't give them anything, but they didn't try anything on the first day. They just gave me water and the soldier pills from my own pack. I think they were trying to convince me that we'd be well treated if --
[I]: Water?
[O]: Yeah, I didn't drink it that day.
[I]: I see. Continue.
[O]: They told me that the safety of A- and O- were dependent on my good behaviour, but they also sealed my chakra at the primary interchange points. The sealing wasn't the highest-level I've seen. More effective and crude than skilled, but they worked. I don't think the people who were dealing with me made them. I saw their notes when they were trying to ask me questions and the handwriting didn't look the same.
[I]: And whom did you deal with that day?
[O]: I didn't make any deals. But that day didn't seem like more than high-level chuunin or low-level jounin. We had done some research into the group, but every set of guards was different. I don't know if ...
[I]: If?
[O]: I don't know if they were trying to intimidate or if they really had that many people to waste on guard duty.
[I]: You did not confirm this?
[O]: I only heard it. I was shown a lot of their headquarters. They seemed to imply that it wasn't the only one this size. But I should go back to that point and --
[I]: Yes, we'll go step by step. Continue.
[O]: The second day there were guards that showed up with more water, but they had the -- I guess they consider themselves some of the leaders of the movement. They gave me their names as Left Claw and Right Claw. Obviously aliases. They wanted to know if I was being treated well, because they said they wanted to show me that the war I was going into would leave me on the wrong side.
[I]: The war you were going into?
[O]: That's what they said. "A war's about to start" and "the killing fields you'll see". Things along those lines.
[I]: Continue.
[O]: They asked if I wanted to see the benefit of their system, as long as I agreed not to tamper with the chakra seals. They were clearly geared to detonate if tampered with, but I thought if I could find a space open to the outside it might give me the distraction needed to escape, at cost of an arm maybe. But they never took me anywhere an explosion wouldn't have brought guards in immediately. The entire complex was underground, but now that I know --
[I]: You didn't know then. Do not insert information you know now into what you are describing.
[O]: Fine -- the whole place was underground, and there was a constant background noise. I thought maybe they had some talented doton-user who had set the place to cover noise inside.
[I]: What did they show you?
[O]: Nothing critical to their techniques or weaponry. Mostly they showed me how they compensated for not being one of the large resource-rich villages.
[I]: Resource-rich villages?
[O]: Like Konoha. Or the rest of the Kages' alliance. They said a lot about wealth and how we drove them to desperation with our ... price tactics?
(Observation: Operative did not seem clear on this front. More investigation is needed from within intel regarding claims stated here and attractiveness to as-yet-neutral groups.)
[O]: They've formed a close network between some of the smaller countries to make up for their lack of land. There were -- uh, vegetable shipments, or maybe some other kind of perishable food? Some kind of food came in while I was there. I didn't get to look at it up close, but I saw entry and exit stamps for Vegetables and at least some of the other small countries to the west.
[I]: Civilian exit and entry?
[O]: Right. I've seen some of them from missions escorting trade goods. But they were unloading right in the base; there were ninja helping the civilians. I haven't seen anything like that except on really big missions.
[I]: Like what?
[O]: How closely they worked with civilians. Right Claw seemed to be more in charge of that kind of thing; she said that because their countries were smaller, they had to get closer to their civilians. She said that was why we might have had difficulty getting intel from civilians in some of these countries, which --
[I]: Have you?
[O]: We hadn't heard much, but we hadn't put too much stock in it. Sometimes ninja from these smaller villages don't get work for months at a time, so we don't see --
[I]: How do you know that?
[O]: What?
[I]: That they don't get work for months at a time?
[O]: I -- what, oh. Right Claw told me.
[I]: I see. Continue.
[O]: Right. So we don't see them often, and it doesn't seem strange civilians wouldn't have noticed much that we could have used. But apparently the civilians were protecting the level of shinobi activity. I don't ...
[I]: Don't?
[O]: ... it was surprising.
[Observation: Operative did not look as if he completed his thought. Non-critical intel; left aside.)
[I]: Go on.
[O]: Right Claw said that the wars between the big nations ruin the territory of the small nations in a way that they can't recover from as quickly, in the same way that the wars between the big villages had ruined the territories of these small hidden villages. And then when peace was established, we --
[I]: "We"?
[O]: We, the big villages. Konoha and the rest of our allies. They were focused on Konoha, but I got the sense they would have disliked a Suna-nin just as much, or an Iwa-nin. Anyway, she said we used our alliance to get the better missions somehow, keep out the small villages. So they've been poor and it's been hard to maintain the existence of some of the smaller hidden villages. That explains -- I was attacked on a mission some time back. The people who attacked us used suicide pills.
[I]: A while back is ... ?
[O]: Last year, in Sky. There's a report from me and another from Haruno Sakura on file.
[I]: Noted.
[O]: She'll have noted it too. We had to remove potassium cyanide capsules from the ninja we captured. That sort of thing is a desperation move for how little chance of success they'd have had at their level, or that's what I thought at the time given how long it's been since we've had any serious word of Sky-nin. It seems now that there might be other reasons for that kind of dedication.
[I]: You confirmed that these ninja were allied with the ones who captured you?
[O]: Not confirmed, exactly, but based on what we've been seeing in the investigation so far, it's likely.
[I]: But not certain.
[O]: ... no.
[I]: Noted. Continue. What else did you see?
[O]: Most of the first two weeks were the sort of thing I already told you. Trade, showing me how closely they work with their civilians, showing me how dedicated their shinobi were. When there were places I wouldn't have been able to avoid seeing faces, I was blindfolded. For parts of their HQ, too ... they only let me see their setup, really. Most of my time was with Right Claw.
[I]: Which means ... ?
[O]: I think Left Claw is more involved with the fighting side of things. I didn't see him as often, but he'd come and go with groups in a hurry. If these two are high-level leaders, they're pretty closely involved in daily operations. But I wasn't given any chances to see what Left Claw was doing ... it was like they'd planned this, they knew what they wanted to show a captive. There ... there must have been things they didn't want me to see, tactical or just evidence of ... not perfect efficiency. But I wasn't shown, and before I could work out a rescue or escape plan, things changed.
[I]: When was that?
[O]: Twelve days after they first captured me.
[I]: You're certain on that number?
[O]: Up until then I know I wasn't drugged. I kept track of the days the way I was trained.
[I]: And on the twelfth day?
[O]: ... something changed. We were in the middle of another tour to observe their HQ operations -- Right Claw was there with some guards. Left Claw arrived suddenly and the next thing I knew I was being rushed back to my cell. That ... that wasn't unusual itself. Similar things had happened before and I was just put aside like an inconvenience, but ... something came with my water.
[I]: With?
[O]: In. It was -- I should have checked more carefully. I didn't notice any difference in taste ...
[I]: And?
[O]: ... time isn't ... clear after that. I lost track of the rest of that day. It was ... it did something to my chakra, made it impossible to sort out. That with the chakra seals they'd already put in place made it impossible to try to form chakra. I couldn't ... I couldn't even activate the Sharingan. It kept sputtering out, the chakra was too uneven. I ... I think a full night passed before anything else happened.
[I]: Based on?
[O]: There wasn't light in the room, so I guessed because of how well-rested and hungry I felt when I woke. That initial dosage wore off, which ... they wanted me lucid for the next part, I guess. It felt like morning. But I can't confirm it; there were no windows in my cell.
[I]: Noted.
[O]: It'll be best corroborated with -- uh, with the medical records. They'll show an estimate for when my thumbs and fingers were first broken.
[I]: First?
[O]: That was the first -- thing they did. That would mark the start of it, whatever amount of time passed before. They had to have enough time to travel with me, tie me down, and cover my eyes. They -- broke my thumbs and index and fourth fingers to make seals impossible to form. Normal physical interrogation prep. You know.
[I]: Hm. Go on.
[O]: It was, uh -- most of it was standard at first, I think. Pain points and food and water deprivation. They just wanted to know how many other operatives had been in the field and where they were. It didn't ... I don't think they planned any of it. I'd been well-fed until then, starvation wouldn't have helped. Sleep deprivation, too. That was all fine, but I couldn't ... they tried dosing me again with the drugs. I think that's why I can't remember any markers of time. But I remember being tired.
[I]: You're an Uchiha with an active Sharingan, correct?
[O]: Yes. I also -- I assumed that was what they would try to use. But ... at some point in that first stretch of time, Left Claw came in. He ... he just looked at them.
[I]: Them?
[O]: My eyes. They took the blindfold off, and he ... he said that they hadn't wanted to do any of this. Told me that they'd find the others anyway, so if I told them, I could know that anyone they captured would be treated the same way I'd been. But ...
[I]: But? Did you give them anything?
[O]: My brother was the only other op in the field at the time. Of course not.
[I]: You're certain?
[O]: I was trained here. They didn't do anything unexpected until -- until they did.
(Observation: Operative requested a moment's pause for water, but didn't touch any of it. Do not believe that any information was given during basic interrogation.)
[I]: Are you prepared to continue?
[O]: Yes. I ... yes. We were on what they tried after standard interrogation didn't work.
[I]: Do you have an estimate for when they changed tactics?
[O]: Not exact.
[I]: Your uncertainty will be noted.
[O]: Right. It was ... maybe three days. A couple shifts of people came and went. In the middle I was dosed with the same drug and left with my hands bound separately, so I couldn't use jutsu.
[I]: You have medical training according to your files.
[O]: Yeah. I couldn't form chakra or make seals, so ...
[I]: Noted.
[O]: I think ... it felt like longer. So I'm guessing less than what it felt like. What came after was ... I think A- and O- will have corroborating reports that have a clearer timeframe. Or they should.
[I]: Your timeline will be compared to theirs.
[O]: Good. I, uh -- how are they? I mean --
[I]: That's not within the scope of this conversation.
[O]: I just want to know if --
[I]: Continue your version of events, operative.
[O]: ... fine. Right. I realised they were switching tactics when they healed my hands.
[I]: Medic-nin?
[O]: And competent. Hands aren't easy to heal. And then they forced me to drink more water. I thought it was more of the chakra dampening drug.
[I]: What was it?
[O]: Something I'd run into before. The report is classified.
[I]: Describe it this time, then.
[O]: ... like a dream. It works like a dream. Like watching my body do things and not ... not being the one to tell it to do them. But not caring. It ... it makes you feel like you're doing exactly what you were told to do, and so it's right.
[I]: How long did it take for the effects to be noticeable?
[O]: It's almost immediate. It wears off suddenly and completely. I guess that's why it has to be effective so quickly.
[I]: Noted. What happened while you were placed on this drug?
[O]: I was ... I was used to torture A- and O-.
[I]: 'Used to torture'? You'll need to clarify.
[O]: Right. Of course. Since the drug takes -- it controls the body and the mind, so you do ... whatever the person who gave you the drug plans, I suppose. I still don't know exactly how it's done. Some kind of suggestion ... I don't remember receiving exact instructions or anything. I was just ... they just put me in a room with A-. And then O-.
[I]: And?
[O]: And ... it's like dreaming. Like I said. It felt unreal, but they'd only just used standard interrogation on me. So I used it on A-. It was ... I didn't notice then, but something else had been done to my chakra, too.
[I]: Symptoms?
[O]: It seemed normal at the time, like everything else. Something had been ... I still couldn't have gathered chakra into anything usable, I think. But it was ... it forced me to expend it at an improper rate.
[I]: To what end?
[O]: I think they just meant to test the Sharingan. But it meant -- it just means that the Sharingan was activated by force. So I ... I do remember. Everything about this part.
[I]: You're positive?
[O]: Only ... only what was done. Without the Sharingan, the rest is ... it's confusing.
[I]: Noted. We will compare against the other operative reports.
[O]: Good. That -- good. So they're well enough to report.
[I]: Focus on your story, operative.
[O]: Yeah. I was -- I broke A-'s arms. Clean breaks. But as painfully as possible. They were alternated -- I broke O-'s fingers in the same way they'd broken mine. I didn't have a plan given, but I knew that I needed to do anything I needed in order to get them to give the information needed.
[I]: Why did they not simply ask you for it?
[O]: I'm not sure. I never ... I've never tried to speak when this drug was in my system. Someone else spoke to A- and O-. And I think ... I think the target was still me. After the first day --
[I]: Are you certain it was a day?
[O]: Oh -- no. No, it was just ... after the first sessions. A few hours with A-, a few with O-. No break between on my part or their interrogator's part. And the damage was ... uh, it wasn't meant to be major yet. I think they just ... wanted me to see it. So it was mostly blood and pain.
[I]: Based on?
[O]: The drug that controls the mind doesn't last long. They let me snap out of the drug dosage and rebroke my fingers to interrogate me again, with -- with A- and O- still in the room.
[I]: They were present?
[O]: Unconscious. They were just ... they were there to look at. I was left hobbled in the same room and couldn't ... I couldn't gather enough chakra to untie a rope, let alone heal them. A- woke once through the night -- uh, the ... however long it was. Just once, long enough to ask for water. I had some, but I -- I hadn't been drinking it myself, in case it was contaminated. I ... I didn't provide the water. Eventually it got quiet again. I think A- lost consciousness.
[I]: Did your captors provide any information about time or other purpose?
[O]: No. I was allowed to sleep, but I don't know how long -- not long enough for lucidity. And then the next day it was just ... just repeated. Drugs, my hands healed, A- and O- on rotation. More bones and less blood next. I can ... I know how to break bones cleanly. I just ... chose to break them in difficult places.
[I]: Chose?
[O]: That's what -- that's what makes the dreaming drug effective. It doesn't feel real. It just feels like all that needs to be done is completing the objective, whatever it is. But the body is mine, and what I know is -- I guess it's mine. So I ... it can't have been easy to heal O-'s ribs.
[I]: Again, current information pertaining to other operatives is not relevant to this conversation.
[O]: And A-'s ankles. Those were ... the only good thing was that I couldn't use chakra properly and couldn't cauterize the Achilles cuts incorrectly. At least I -- I hope that helped. If they were seem to quickly enough, they might --
[I]: Your story, operative.
[O]: -- right. Mine. I'm just -- that was the second day. Session. Bones. And then after that --
[I]: After another rest period?
[O]: No, my hands were broken again and I was left until the drug wore off. They asked again, and I -- I didn't know, by then, if I- my brother were still in the field, or if anyone were on their tail. I couldn't have told them current information, but they wanted ... how much we knew, what to expect from us, when we'd started investigating. How much we'd put together.
[I]: And?
[O]: A- and O- weren't given medical treatment. They just --
[I]: I am referring to any potential intel you may have given.
[O]: I -- nothing. Nothing, I didn't -- I don't think I did.
[I]: You don't think you did?
[O]: I'm ... I'm almost certain. No -- I am certain. The chakra-activating drug was in my system most of that time. I'd remember if ... I'd remember if they seemed to have gotten anything useful. But they -- they made --
[I]: Made?
[O]: Before we were rescued, the last ... the last thing I'd ...
(Observation: operative is visibly upset with this part of the story. Corroborates with subordinates' descriptions of his actions as out of character.)
[O]: I'd ... whatever the control given with the drug, it wasn't precise. It was just ... it was general.
[I]: Yes, you've described it.
[O]: So I was left to accomplish it as I knew how. So I ... O-'s eyes are ... those were because of me.
[I]: What was?
[O]: Oh, god. It's not in their report? -- no, you can't tell me, of course. It will be. A- saw it. I crushed O-'s eyes. Just. In their sockets. It's what I've -- it's what we're always trained against. In my clan, the eyes. Their use as a bargaining tool or a weakness, they ... it works on more than us. They were -- I keep remembering --
[I]: Focus, operative.
[O]: I just ... it took so little pressure. So quick. If I'd been able to fight it, even a little. I thought I'd ... by the fourth time I thought I could identify the symptoms and could give warning, maybe. Figure something out, but --
[I]: Focus.
[O]: I -- right. That was ... that was immediately before everything stopped because of a commotion. Noise. The, uh -- the rescue team. I don't know if they caught Left Claw or Right Claw. The ... their interrogator must have been a casualty. Or ... surely, something ... I don't remember it properly.
[I]: Nothing?
[O]: I didn't know what to ... the command with the drug hadn't worn off, but it didn't encompass anyone interrupting. So I didn't ... I remember being at a loss. Just ... thrumming with chakra. Like the worst kind of storm, but I couldn't deactivate the Sharingan, couldn't ... I recognized the rescuers. But I didn't know what I was supposed to do. And then it's black.
[I]: You don't remember anything past that point?
[O]: No. The next thing is waking here. I'm ... I assume someone knocked me out. They must have. I still haven't seen --
[I]: You'll be on quarantine for five more days.
[O]: Five --
[I]: If the drugs you've described are as potent as you've described them --
[O]: They are, of course they -- I'd never do anything like that! I wouldn't, I'm not just -- it turned me into --
[I]: Calm down, operative.
[O]: It's happened before, the report's just --
[I]: Calm down, operative. We will not introduce sedatives into your system while you may still be compromised, but I can and will have you restrained for signs of unstable behaviour.
[O]: ... unstable. So it's just ... when will I know if the drugs are completely gone?
[I]: That is not in my realm of business. I am only here to collect this information.
[O]; Right. Of course.
[I]: Very good. Let's review.
(Observation: on review, operative corroborated own story accurately. No inconsistencies with self. Same loss of time at critical points. Review attached with report summary.)
In your professional opinion, is intel provided by this shinobi compromised? No.
In your professional opinion, has this shinobi been compromised? No.
[The scrawled signature of the interrogator here.]
When: Complete report submitted 05/08; covering events spanning from 04/09 - 05/03.
Where: Western regions of Fire and adjacent nations.
Notes: Mentions of physical and psychological torture, including hand torture.
[Mission reports are written deliberately, with uncharacteristic spaces where the writing stopped and was started again some time later.]
Date: Date of report writing: May 6. This report covers mission progress and objectives from departure, April 9, to capture, April 16.
Objective: Mission was intended to be last field investigation pending final report. I chose two intel agents, A- and O-, who had respectively previously worked deep cover and had networks in the west. Our goal was to determine if the group headquartered in Bears had spread through enough neighbouring countries to cut allies from one another. Due to nature of mission I chose to work with smallest possible team and selected intel-focused shinobi rather than frequent-combat nin.
Description of steps taken to achieve objective:
We departed Konoha 04/09 following confirmation that unusual travel patterns of shinobi had been occurring in recent months through Rivers and that Amegakure had closed borders, suggesting reason for suspicion. Detailed sweep through Rivers in search of explosion patterns heard on a previous mission revealed unusual damage to landscape, but any traces of shinobi or other groups responsible had been wiped clean. Took precaution of ensuring we spent time supplementing travel meals with hunting, to avoid eating anything we had not prepared ourselves.
Continued westward 04/14, avoiding Amegakure via seal points just inside the border of Wind. Entered Stone evening of 04/14. Travelled westward of seal point to avoid needing to double back through country. Movement through Birds was unimpeded, though the main travel roads were unusually deserted for this time of year according to A-. Rendezvous with northeast investigation via seal point north of Fire set at this point for 04/20 via messenger hawk.
Arrived at border of Fang 04/15 hoping to meet with one of O-'s contacts from the western shore somewhere in the country. O-'s contact missed rendezvous point for evening of 15th; we moved to second rendezvous point morning of 16th. On arrival A- noted it was unusual for Fang to have low shinobi activity, but despite recent surge in unusual events in Konoha, civilians we spoke with undercover made mention only of unfavourable weather patterns. Afternoon of 04/16 we decided to move to the final rendezvous point, O-'s contact having previously had difficulties getting in touch.
En route to western edge of Fang we were ambushed. Attackers wore no village identifiers, instead keeping faces covered with thick cloth and masks over their mouths. A- and O- fought well but were overwhelmed by numbers. Before we could move toward backup plans, an unknown gas was released. The gas first disoriented, then made chakra difficult to gather and knead. Assumption is that masks covering ambushers' mouths kept them from succumbing to the same effects.
I noted during capture that fighting style was not consistent within the ambushing group, though they showed evidence of having taken time and pains to adapt around one another in order to maximize the effect of each style. This group within the alliance turned out to be the oldest. I was later informed by the leader I was introduced to that they had been working together for years. I was not permitted to see A- or O- but was informed their conditions were stable and they were being treated well in exchange for my good behaviour. Noticed chakra reaction to air quality, as if atmosphere were humid before or immediately after rain, but did not know location. Later informed we were kept in Waterfall, which explained chakra reaction.
Other information from time of captivity will be in attached interrogation report.
Notes: A- and O- are not combat shinobi. As the one who determined the team structure, I am to be held completely responsible for our capture and all subsequent consequences.
[The interrogation report is typed out, with answers to supplementary questions filled in a fair copperplate hand. The signature at the end is a code name.]
Prisoner interrogated: Konoha Registration #012606
Interrogator designated by [I]. Operative answers [O]. Interrogator comments marked (Observation: _____)
Transcriber ID: #34.
[I]: The date is May 5th. Location is interrogation cell 6, sub-basement 2. Operative has been removed from T&I ICU but remains under medical and other surveillance. Operative is in stable condition and appears lucid. Operative, state your name and information for the record.
[O]: Uchiha Sasuke. Konoha registration number: 012606. Rank: jounin.
[I]: Your status?
[O]: Quarantine following captivity. How are --
[I]: I will ask the questions, operative. State for the record if this is correct: you led an investigative mission westward, departing Konoha on April 6th.
[O]: Yes, that's right.
[I]: Your report here was written yesterday, on gaining consciousness. Do you deny that you may still be under influence of any drugs administered during captivity?
[O]: No, but --
[I]: Then you remain in confinement until a medical all-clear is given. Your information will be taken into consideration, but you will not know the outcome until you are assessed with clean bill of health. Understood?
[O]: Yes.
[I]: Good. Let's begin with chronological events. You have covered the ambush already in your report, but I require that you begin with it. You may truncate events as needed.
[O]: No, that's fine. We were ambushed en route from a missed rendezvous point to the third and final possible point. I'm still not sure if we were compromised by O-'s agent. O- seemed to trust him. We should try to locate them --
[I]: You will not know the outcome until you are assessed with clean bill of health.
[O]: Fine. That's from before we were captured, so --
[I]: Do you deny that you were administered drugs during captivity?
[O]: ... no. I'm sure that I remember everything up until -- the 26th correctly. I don't think they drugged me until then.
[I]: Do you have proof?
[O]: I know my own --
[I]: You don't have proof. We will continue as if your memories or mental state may have been tampered with at any point during your captivity.
[O]: I could activate the Sharingan. I tried it, when they left me alone. I had complete control over activation and deactivation, and I was able to focus my chakra enough to accelerate the healing from the few injuries I had from the ambush. And I had -- I had full control of my faculties and choices. If I were drugged, it wasn't very effective.
(Observation: Operative appeared to be completely certain of this point. I assessed records of his training with the primary hospital's staff. It is my opinion that it is not unbelievable that he was not initially drugged by captors and could be certain.)
[I]: It's been taken under consideration. Continue.
[O]: A- and O- are primarily undercover or intel specialists. Is that clear in the record? They're not primary combat, so --
[I]: Your comment on their role in the fight has been noted.
[O]: Okay. Good, they -- we had a plan originally, but we weren't expecting the gas. It wasn't just something breathed in, the enemy wore full-face masks. Even if we held our breath, it got into the system. That's when things get unclear until I wake up. We must have been transported quickly, I didn't notice any evidence that I'd been in the place I woke up for a long time when --
[I]: Where was that?
[O]: Waterfall. I --
[I]: How did you know that?
[O]: I didn't. I heard from my br- from the other investigation that located us.
[I]: Did your captors give you any information?
[O]: I'm trying to get there.
[I]: Very well. Continue; I will not interrupt further from this point except to request clarification on points.
[O]: Finally. We weren't allowed to -- I wasn't allowed to communicate with A- and O-. Although I was shown a lot of their base, I wasn't taken to where they were being kept until -- later. They asked me why I was in Fang and what I was looking for. I didn't give them anything, but they didn't try anything on the first day. They just gave me water and the soldier pills from my own pack. I think they were trying to convince me that we'd be well treated if --
[I]: Water?
[O]: Yeah, I didn't drink it that day.
[I]: I see. Continue.
[O]: They told me that the safety of A- and O- were dependent on my good behaviour, but they also sealed my chakra at the primary interchange points. The sealing wasn't the highest-level I've seen. More effective and crude than skilled, but they worked. I don't think the people who were dealing with me made them. I saw their notes when they were trying to ask me questions and the handwriting didn't look the same.
[I]: And whom did you deal with that day?
[O]: I didn't make any deals. But that day didn't seem like more than high-level chuunin or low-level jounin. We had done some research into the group, but every set of guards was different. I don't know if ...
[I]: If?
[O]: I don't know if they were trying to intimidate or if they really had that many people to waste on guard duty.
[I]: You did not confirm this?
[O]: I only heard it. I was shown a lot of their headquarters. They seemed to imply that it wasn't the only one this size. But I should go back to that point and --
[I]: Yes, we'll go step by step. Continue.
[O]: The second day there were guards that showed up with more water, but they had the -- I guess they consider themselves some of the leaders of the movement. They gave me their names as Left Claw and Right Claw. Obviously aliases. They wanted to know if I was being treated well, because they said they wanted to show me that the war I was going into would leave me on the wrong side.
[I]: The war you were going into?
[O]: That's what they said. "A war's about to start" and "the killing fields you'll see". Things along those lines.
[I]: Continue.
[O]: They asked if I wanted to see the benefit of their system, as long as I agreed not to tamper with the chakra seals. They were clearly geared to detonate if tampered with, but I thought if I could find a space open to the outside it might give me the distraction needed to escape, at cost of an arm maybe. But they never took me anywhere an explosion wouldn't have brought guards in immediately. The entire complex was underground, but now that I know --
[I]: You didn't know then. Do not insert information you know now into what you are describing.
[O]: Fine -- the whole place was underground, and there was a constant background noise. I thought maybe they had some talented doton-user who had set the place to cover noise inside.
[I]: What did they show you?
[O]: Nothing critical to their techniques or weaponry. Mostly they showed me how they compensated for not being one of the large resource-rich villages.
[I]: Resource-rich villages?
[O]: Like Konoha. Or the rest of the Kages' alliance. They said a lot about wealth and how we drove them to desperation with our ... price tactics?
(Observation: Operative did not seem clear on this front. More investigation is needed from within intel regarding claims stated here and attractiveness to as-yet-neutral groups.)
[O]: They've formed a close network between some of the smaller countries to make up for their lack of land. There were -- uh, vegetable shipments, or maybe some other kind of perishable food? Some kind of food came in while I was there. I didn't get to look at it up close, but I saw entry and exit stamps for Vegetables and at least some of the other small countries to the west.
[I]: Civilian exit and entry?
[O]: Right. I've seen some of them from missions escorting trade goods. But they were unloading right in the base; there were ninja helping the civilians. I haven't seen anything like that except on really big missions.
[I]: Like what?
[O]: How closely they worked with civilians. Right Claw seemed to be more in charge of that kind of thing; she said that because their countries were smaller, they had to get closer to their civilians. She said that was why we might have had difficulty getting intel from civilians in some of these countries, which --
[I]: Have you?
[O]: We hadn't heard much, but we hadn't put too much stock in it. Sometimes ninja from these smaller villages don't get work for months at a time, so we don't see --
[I]: How do you know that?
[O]: What?
[I]: That they don't get work for months at a time?
[O]: I -- what, oh. Right Claw told me.
[I]: I see. Continue.
[O]: Right. So we don't see them often, and it doesn't seem strange civilians wouldn't have noticed much that we could have used. But apparently the civilians were protecting the level of shinobi activity. I don't ...
[I]: Don't?
[O]: ... it was surprising.
[Observation: Operative did not look as if he completed his thought. Non-critical intel; left aside.)
[I]: Go on.
[O]: Right Claw said that the wars between the big nations ruin the territory of the small nations in a way that they can't recover from as quickly, in the same way that the wars between the big villages had ruined the territories of these small hidden villages. And then when peace was established, we --
[I]: "We"?
[O]: We, the big villages. Konoha and the rest of our allies. They were focused on Konoha, but I got the sense they would have disliked a Suna-nin just as much, or an Iwa-nin. Anyway, she said we used our alliance to get the better missions somehow, keep out the small villages. So they've been poor and it's been hard to maintain the existence of some of the smaller hidden villages. That explains -- I was attacked on a mission some time back. The people who attacked us used suicide pills.
[I]: A while back is ... ?
[O]: Last year, in Sky. There's a report from me and another from Haruno Sakura on file.
[I]: Noted.
[O]: She'll have noted it too. We had to remove potassium cyanide capsules from the ninja we captured. That sort of thing is a desperation move for how little chance of success they'd have had at their level, or that's what I thought at the time given how long it's been since we've had any serious word of Sky-nin. It seems now that there might be other reasons for that kind of dedication.
[I]: You confirmed that these ninja were allied with the ones who captured you?
[O]: Not confirmed, exactly, but based on what we've been seeing in the investigation so far, it's likely.
[I]: But not certain.
[O]: ... no.
[I]: Noted. Continue. What else did you see?
[O]: Most of the first two weeks were the sort of thing I already told you. Trade, showing me how closely they work with their civilians, showing me how dedicated their shinobi were. When there were places I wouldn't have been able to avoid seeing faces, I was blindfolded. For parts of their HQ, too ... they only let me see their setup, really. Most of my time was with Right Claw.
[I]: Which means ... ?
[O]: I think Left Claw is more involved with the fighting side of things. I didn't see him as often, but he'd come and go with groups in a hurry. If these two are high-level leaders, they're pretty closely involved in daily operations. But I wasn't given any chances to see what Left Claw was doing ... it was like they'd planned this, they knew what they wanted to show a captive. There ... there must have been things they didn't want me to see, tactical or just evidence of ... not perfect efficiency. But I wasn't shown, and before I could work out a rescue or escape plan, things changed.
[I]: When was that?
[O]: Twelve days after they first captured me.
[I]: You're certain on that number?
[O]: Up until then I know I wasn't drugged. I kept track of the days the way I was trained.
[I]: And on the twelfth day?
[O]: ... something changed. We were in the middle of another tour to observe their HQ operations -- Right Claw was there with some guards. Left Claw arrived suddenly and the next thing I knew I was being rushed back to my cell. That ... that wasn't unusual itself. Similar things had happened before and I was just put aside like an inconvenience, but ... something came with my water.
[I]: With?
[O]: In. It was -- I should have checked more carefully. I didn't notice any difference in taste ...
[I]: And?
[O]: ... time isn't ... clear after that. I lost track of the rest of that day. It was ... it did something to my chakra, made it impossible to sort out. That with the chakra seals they'd already put in place made it impossible to try to form chakra. I couldn't ... I couldn't even activate the Sharingan. It kept sputtering out, the chakra was too uneven. I ... I think a full night passed before anything else happened.
[I]: Based on?
[O]: There wasn't light in the room, so I guessed because of how well-rested and hungry I felt when I woke. That initial dosage wore off, which ... they wanted me lucid for the next part, I guess. It felt like morning. But I can't confirm it; there were no windows in my cell.
[I]: Noted.
[O]: It'll be best corroborated with -- uh, with the medical records. They'll show an estimate for when my thumbs and fingers were first broken.
[I]: First?
[O]: That was the first -- thing they did. That would mark the start of it, whatever amount of time passed before. They had to have enough time to travel with me, tie me down, and cover my eyes. They -- broke my thumbs and index and fourth fingers to make seals impossible to form. Normal physical interrogation prep. You know.
[I]: Hm. Go on.
[O]: It was, uh -- most of it was standard at first, I think. Pain points and food and water deprivation. They just wanted to know how many other operatives had been in the field and where they were. It didn't ... I don't think they planned any of it. I'd been well-fed until then, starvation wouldn't have helped. Sleep deprivation, too. That was all fine, but I couldn't ... they tried dosing me again with the drugs. I think that's why I can't remember any markers of time. But I remember being tired.
[I]: You're an Uchiha with an active Sharingan, correct?
[O]: Yes. I also -- I assumed that was what they would try to use. But ... at some point in that first stretch of time, Left Claw came in. He ... he just looked at them.
[I]: Them?
[O]: My eyes. They took the blindfold off, and he ... he said that they hadn't wanted to do any of this. Told me that they'd find the others anyway, so if I told them, I could know that anyone they captured would be treated the same way I'd been. But ...
[I]: But? Did you give them anything?
[O]: My brother was the only other op in the field at the time. Of course not.
[I]: You're certain?
[O]: I was trained here. They didn't do anything unexpected until -- until they did.
(Observation: Operative requested a moment's pause for water, but didn't touch any of it. Do not believe that any information was given during basic interrogation.)
[I]: Are you prepared to continue?
[O]: Yes. I ... yes. We were on what they tried after standard interrogation didn't work.
[I]: Do you have an estimate for when they changed tactics?
[O]: Not exact.
[I]: Your uncertainty will be noted.
[O]: Right. It was ... maybe three days. A couple shifts of people came and went. In the middle I was dosed with the same drug and left with my hands bound separately, so I couldn't use jutsu.
[I]: You have medical training according to your files.
[O]: Yeah. I couldn't form chakra or make seals, so ...
[I]: Noted.
[O]: I think ... it felt like longer. So I'm guessing less than what it felt like. What came after was ... I think A- and O- will have corroborating reports that have a clearer timeframe. Or they should.
[I]: Your timeline will be compared to theirs.
[O]: Good. I, uh -- how are they? I mean --
[I]: That's not within the scope of this conversation.
[O]: I just want to know if --
[I]: Continue your version of events, operative.
[O]: ... fine. Right. I realised they were switching tactics when they healed my hands.
[I]: Medic-nin?
[O]: And competent. Hands aren't easy to heal. And then they forced me to drink more water. I thought it was more of the chakra dampening drug.
[I]: What was it?
[O]: Something I'd run into before. The report is classified.
[I]: Describe it this time, then.
[O]: ... like a dream. It works like a dream. Like watching my body do things and not ... not being the one to tell it to do them. But not caring. It ... it makes you feel like you're doing exactly what you were told to do, and so it's right.
[I]: How long did it take for the effects to be noticeable?
[O]: It's almost immediate. It wears off suddenly and completely. I guess that's why it has to be effective so quickly.
[I]: Noted. What happened while you were placed on this drug?
[O]: I was ... I was used to torture A- and O-.
[I]: 'Used to torture'? You'll need to clarify.
[O]: Right. Of course. Since the drug takes -- it controls the body and the mind, so you do ... whatever the person who gave you the drug plans, I suppose. I still don't know exactly how it's done. Some kind of suggestion ... I don't remember receiving exact instructions or anything. I was just ... they just put me in a room with A-. And then O-.
[I]: And?
[O]: And ... it's like dreaming. Like I said. It felt unreal, but they'd only just used standard interrogation on me. So I used it on A-. It was ... I didn't notice then, but something else had been done to my chakra, too.
[I]: Symptoms?
[O]: It seemed normal at the time, like everything else. Something had been ... I still couldn't have gathered chakra into anything usable, I think. But it was ... it forced me to expend it at an improper rate.
[I]: To what end?
[O]: I think they just meant to test the Sharingan. But it meant -- it just means that the Sharingan was activated by force. So I ... I do remember. Everything about this part.
[I]: You're positive?
[O]: Only ... only what was done. Without the Sharingan, the rest is ... it's confusing.
[I]: Noted. We will compare against the other operative reports.
[O]: Good. That -- good. So they're well enough to report.
[I]: Focus on your story, operative.
[O]: Yeah. I was -- I broke A-'s arms. Clean breaks. But as painfully as possible. They were alternated -- I broke O-'s fingers in the same way they'd broken mine. I didn't have a plan given, but I knew that I needed to do anything I needed in order to get them to give the information needed.
[I]: Why did they not simply ask you for it?
[O]: I'm not sure. I never ... I've never tried to speak when this drug was in my system. Someone else spoke to A- and O-. And I think ... I think the target was still me. After the first day --
[I]: Are you certain it was a day?
[O]: Oh -- no. No, it was just ... after the first sessions. A few hours with A-, a few with O-. No break between on my part or their interrogator's part. And the damage was ... uh, it wasn't meant to be major yet. I think they just ... wanted me to see it. So it was mostly blood and pain.
[I]: Based on?
[O]: The drug that controls the mind doesn't last long. They let me snap out of the drug dosage and rebroke my fingers to interrogate me again, with -- with A- and O- still in the room.
[I]: They were present?
[O]: Unconscious. They were just ... they were there to look at. I was left hobbled in the same room and couldn't ... I couldn't gather enough chakra to untie a rope, let alone heal them. A- woke once through the night -- uh, the ... however long it was. Just once, long enough to ask for water. I had some, but I -- I hadn't been drinking it myself, in case it was contaminated. I ... I didn't provide the water. Eventually it got quiet again. I think A- lost consciousness.
[I]: Did your captors provide any information about time or other purpose?
[O]: No. I was allowed to sleep, but I don't know how long -- not long enough for lucidity. And then the next day it was just ... just repeated. Drugs, my hands healed, A- and O- on rotation. More bones and less blood next. I can ... I know how to break bones cleanly. I just ... chose to break them in difficult places.
[I]: Chose?
[O]: That's what -- that's what makes the dreaming drug effective. It doesn't feel real. It just feels like all that needs to be done is completing the objective, whatever it is. But the body is mine, and what I know is -- I guess it's mine. So I ... it can't have been easy to heal O-'s ribs.
[I]: Again, current information pertaining to other operatives is not relevant to this conversation.
[O]: And A-'s ankles. Those were ... the only good thing was that I couldn't use chakra properly and couldn't cauterize the Achilles cuts incorrectly. At least I -- I hope that helped. If they were seem to quickly enough, they might --
[I]: Your story, operative.
[O]: -- right. Mine. I'm just -- that was the second day. Session. Bones. And then after that --
[I]: After another rest period?
[O]: No, my hands were broken again and I was left until the drug wore off. They asked again, and I -- I didn't know, by then, if I- my brother were still in the field, or if anyone were on their tail. I couldn't have told them current information, but they wanted ... how much we knew, what to expect from us, when we'd started investigating. How much we'd put together.
[I]: And?
[O]: A- and O- weren't given medical treatment. They just --
[I]: I am referring to any potential intel you may have given.
[O]: I -- nothing. Nothing, I didn't -- I don't think I did.
[I]: You don't think you did?
[O]: I'm ... I'm almost certain. No -- I am certain. The chakra-activating drug was in my system most of that time. I'd remember if ... I'd remember if they seemed to have gotten anything useful. But they -- they made --
[I]: Made?
[O]: Before we were rescued, the last ... the last thing I'd ...
(Observation: operative is visibly upset with this part of the story. Corroborates with subordinates' descriptions of his actions as out of character.)
[O]: I'd ... whatever the control given with the drug, it wasn't precise. It was just ... it was general.
[I]: Yes, you've described it.
[O]: So I was left to accomplish it as I knew how. So I ... O-'s eyes are ... those were because of me.
[I]: What was?
[O]: Oh, god. It's not in their report? -- no, you can't tell me, of course. It will be. A- saw it. I crushed O-'s eyes. Just. In their sockets. It's what I've -- it's what we're always trained against. In my clan, the eyes. Their use as a bargaining tool or a weakness, they ... it works on more than us. They were -- I keep remembering --
[I]: Focus, operative.
[O]: I just ... it took so little pressure. So quick. If I'd been able to fight it, even a little. I thought I'd ... by the fourth time I thought I could identify the symptoms and could give warning, maybe. Figure something out, but --
[I]: Focus.
[O]: I -- right. That was ... that was immediately before everything stopped because of a commotion. Noise. The, uh -- the rescue team. I don't know if they caught Left Claw or Right Claw. The ... their interrogator must have been a casualty. Or ... surely, something ... I don't remember it properly.
[I]: Nothing?
[O]: I didn't know what to ... the command with the drug hadn't worn off, but it didn't encompass anyone interrupting. So I didn't ... I remember being at a loss. Just ... thrumming with chakra. Like the worst kind of storm, but I couldn't deactivate the Sharingan, couldn't ... I recognized the rescuers. But I didn't know what I was supposed to do. And then it's black.
[I]: You don't remember anything past that point?
[O]: No. The next thing is waking here. I'm ... I assume someone knocked me out. They must have. I still haven't seen --
[I]: You'll be on quarantine for five more days.
[O]: Five --
[I]: If the drugs you've described are as potent as you've described them --
[O]: They are, of course they -- I'd never do anything like that! I wouldn't, I'm not just -- it turned me into --
[I]: Calm down, operative.
[O]: It's happened before, the report's just --
[I]: Calm down, operative. We will not introduce sedatives into your system while you may still be compromised, but I can and will have you restrained for signs of unstable behaviour.
[O]: ... unstable. So it's just ... when will I know if the drugs are completely gone?
[I]: That is not in my realm of business. I am only here to collect this information.
[O]; Right. Of course.
[I]: Very good. Let's review.
(Observation: on review, operative corroborated own story accurately. No inconsistencies with self. Same loss of time at critical points. Review attached with report summary.)
In your professional opinion, is intel provided by this shinobi compromised? No.
In your professional opinion, has this shinobi been compromised? No.
[The scrawled signature of the interrogator here.]