After agreeing on the amount, Naruto didn't waste time. He got ready, and the two of them set out immediately.
They arrived at an inconspicuous part of town, where wild grass grew unchecked. Naruto looked around and then looked at Yugao with a confused look on his face.
"Your Anbu Prison is really well hidden. I can't even tell if there's a secret entrance."
"There's no secret entrance here." Yugao stared at him as if he were an idiot, "We are here to wait for someone to come and take us in."
"You can't?"
"No." Yugao turned her head and stared at him, saying seriously, "I'm still suspended. You're thinking way too casually of Anbu."
Before long, a masked female Anbu's member appeared and landed softly in front of them.
She glanced at Yugao, who was not wearing her Anbu uniform. The two exchanged a look before the female Anbu's member gave a slight nod and spoke, "Follow me."
They took a few twists and turns, following the Anbu's member into a hidden underground passage. Usually, it was covered with fallen leaves and could not be seen without careful observation.
After entering the underground, Naruto was utterly astonished.
It was a vast underground network, crisscrossing like a subway system. There were countless passageways, some leading to solid, well-constructed buildings.
'No wonder Danzo always called himself the Root of Konoha. Turns out, the underground world of Konoha really did have its hidden layers.' Naruto was dumbfounded by how sophisticated everything looked.
Yugao noticed Naruto's reaction, he looked like a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first time. She held back her urge to make a snide comment but couldn't help muttering something under her breath before explaining to him. "This is the Anbu passageway. It might look impressive, but the range isn't that large. Root has its own tunnels, and we each occupy about half."
"Oh, no wonder the Anbu always arrives at the scene in strange ways." Naruto remarked, deep in thought, "If they keep digging, Konoha might end up completely underground."
Yugao: "…"
Ignoring Naruto's childish comment, Yugao continued leading him to the Anbu Prison. The deeper they went, the colder and more eerie it became, with icy winds creeping down their necks.
Their footsteps echoed eerily off the stairs. Naruto even counted them, and found that there were three sets of footsteps. He thought to himself that if there is one less, it would be okay, but if there's an extra one, it would have been terrifying.
The three of them arrived at the prison door, where two figures stood inside. One of the figures turned around. He was wearing a black bandana, a black windbreaker, and his face was covered with scars.
"Uzuki Yugao?" Ibiki obviously recognized his old colleague immediately. His eyes paused for a moment when they landed on Naruto, clearly surprised.
That look… yeah, it was like seeing something unexpected and out of place.
Ibiki's thoughts ran wild, 'Why this blond troublemaker was here?'
"Weren't you already suspended?"
"This is the permission from Hokage-sama, who specially approved me to do this mission." As she said that, Yugao pulled out a mission order with a loud rustle.
Seeing this, Naruto blinked in surprise. Even though the light in the prison was dim, he could clearly see that Yugao took the mission order out from under her skirt.
'Damn, are you Sento Isuzu?! Was there some kind of alternate dimension under your skirt? Damn!!'
Yugao's casual move stunned Naruto, but Ibiki, being the no-nonsense guy he was, didn't notice anything odd. His focus remained on the mission order Yugao gave him.
"I understand." Ibiki said, stepping aside. "I've already interrogated him, but it's no use. There's a seal on his tongue."
Although Ibiki looked strict and cold on the outside, he was no fool. He knew that this seal was Danzo's handiwork, and he was firmly on the side of the Hokage.
Root operated independently and didn't bother with pleasantries. They only carried out their missions without consideration for anyone.
But the Interrogation Unit? That was a different story. They had to deal with all sorts of people. If Ibiki didn't align with the Hokage, then who would he align with? Root?
From both a moral and professional standpoint, he should make things easier for Yugao, even without the mission order.
Yugao didn't waste time. She opened the prison door and first checked on the prisoner, who was barely hanging on. After confirming he was alive, she turned to Naruto.
Seeing this, Ibiki was slightly stunned.
He knew that Naruto had a special relationship with Tsunade and that he was Jiraiya's disciple. A few years ago, Naruto had caused quite a stir among the higher-ups, especially when his Biju was forcibly extracted.
But that was all, and he kept a low profile afterwards.
But after that, Naruto had kept a low profile. Now, seeing him suddenly appear in the Anbu Prison gave Ibiki a sense of dissonance, like something just didn't add up.
Before he could fully figure it out, Naruto stepped into the cell with a casual smile directed at the prisoner lying on the ground.
Ibiki's eyelid twitched, 'What was going on here? Is he causing trouble? Sure, he was good at that. But interrogation? That was a completely different ball game. This wasn't child's play.'
'Interrogation is serious business, not something to be done so nonchalantly!'
On the other side, Naruto crouched down in front of the man and flipped him over. The prisoner's body and face were covered in scars, but none were life-threatening.
Ibiki's methods were effective, and normally, someone would have cracked under the pressure by now. Naruto grabbed the man's jaw, applying enough pressure to force his tongue out, even though he was only half-conscious.
The black Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal became visible on the tongue. Naruto held the man's jaw for just a few seconds, and then, with ease, the seal was removed.
The essence of Sealing Techniques is the direct interference of Chakra. Naruto has more experience in Sealing Techniques than anyone else, so to him, breaking the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal was as easy as snapping a twig.
Yugao turned her head away, her face hidden in the shadows, but a flash of surprise briefly crossed her eyes. Ibiki, on the other hand, was visibly stunned, standing there frozen for a good while.
"It's removed." Naruto said, standing up, as if he had just opened an old, rusty padlock.
"Just like that?" Ibiki hadn't yet recovered from his shock, his mind still dazed. His gaze lingered on Naruto, his expression filled with complexity.
Staring at this laid-back young man, Ibiki was unsure how to respond. But before he could process everything, Naruto asked again.
"Can I interrogate him?"
"Technically, no. But if it's on orders from the Hokage, then yes." Ibiki replied gruffly, maintaining his composed demeanor.
'Interrogation was a specialized skill, and not everyone could do it.'
Of course, Ibiki wouldn't say that aloud, but he made sure to stay nearby, watching closely.
He couldn't risk the young man going overboard and accidentally killing the key witness, so if things got out of hand, it would be Ibiki's responsibility to step in.
Yugao didn't say anything. The prisoner was one of Danzo's men, though not officially part of Root. Since she had brought Naruto here, she naturally wouldn't interfere too much.
"Then let's move to a different location. This place isn't really suitable." Naruto said, turning to Ibiki. "I'll need a really bright light and a few people to help."
Ibiki had a blank expression on his face. He Ibiki, his face still emotionless, didn't fully understand what Naruto had in mind, but he nodded anyway.
"Alright."