Loud screams and desperate, pleading voices filled the quiet forest, shattering the natural silence of the place. Their source? The leader of the aggressor group, who had been confident and arrogant only minutes ago. Now? He screams and begs.
Dan is torturing him in various cruel and brutal ways to make him confess and reveal everything he knows about Lord Ayato, the region, the forces—everything. He started simply. He broke the man's fingers one by one—the sound of cracking bones was clear. The man agonized and screamed, but he did not speak. Then, he severed some fingers entirely. The screams grew and rose even higher. Still, no confession. Then, he stabbed his thighs with a chakra dagger, tearing the muscles from the inside. The excruciating pain made him plead. But no useful words came. He tore off the man's entire right ear with a swift motion. A deafening shriek followed. Blood bled profusely.
Despite all of this, the leader maintained his composure and remained relatively firm. He did not confess. He endured more than Dan had expected. It seemed he was well-trained to withstand pain, or perhaps he was so terrified of Lord Ayato that betrayal seemed worse than torture.
But he was never prepared for the second stage.
Dan concentrated. Extremely fine chakra threads formed at the tips of his fingers. Then, they pierced the man's body from multiple points. They entered under the skin, slithered through the muscles, and reached the nerves. Then, Dan began tearing him apart from the inside. This was not a total tearing, as that would kill him. Instead, it was a small, controlled, and precise tearing. It targeted the nerve endings specifically.
The resulting pain? Indescribable. It was leagues worse than any external torture because it came directly from the inside—from the very nerves that carry pain signals to the brain. Every torn nerve cell sent a wave of pure, undiluted, absolute pain.
The leader did not scream this time. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The pain was too great to be expressed by a scream. His eyes widened terrifyingly. His body convulsed violently. His mouth remained open in a silent shriek. Then, he collapsed completely. He wept. Tears flowed profusely from his eyes. His body trembled.
"I will confess! I will talk! I will talk!" he screamed in a broken, desperate voice. "Just... just stop! Please! Please!"
A total collapse. His psychological barrier was completely shattered. Dan stopped the threads immediately. He withdrew them from the man's body slowly. The man collapsed on the ground, panting—psychologically and physically broken.
In truth, Dan himself was slightly affected by what he had just done. He was surprised by the level of cruelty and brutality he was capable of committing without much hesitation. A part of him felt uneasy. However, his rational and cautious side, which had developed over decades in this dangerous world, suppressed these feelings quickly whenever they appeared. It was necessary. This was necessary. Information about a potential enemy. Protecting the family. Survival. These justifications were enough to suppress any feeling of guilt.
As for his two sons standing behind him—Leon and Sato—their reactions were slightly contrasting. Leon, although he seemed a bit affected by the sight of the brutal torture, found the matter relatively acceptable. His face was serious, but not shocked. His eyes followed what his father was doing with focus. His fierce nature made him more accepting of violence. To him, this was just a part of war, of fighting, of survival.
As for Sato, his reaction was different. His face turned visibly pale from the violent and cruel sight before him. His lips were tight. His jaw was clenched. It seemed he was making a clear effort to control himself, to stop his stomach from wanting to vomit. But he suppressed the matter by force. He remained entirely silent. He did not say a word, did not voice a protest, and did not turn his face away. He simply stood, watched, and endured.
In fact, this situation was entirely intentional on Dan's part. Making them attend this harsh interrogation was no coincidence. It was a lesson. He wants them to get used to the real world in both its forms: the harsh, evil, and brutal side, and the kind and good side as well. Life is not just white or black. There are many shades of gray. And sometimes, survival requires cruelty. He wants his sons to be balanced—understanding good, but capable of evil when necessary. Especially Sato, who will succeed him in managing the family in the future. Sato must be capable of making difficult, harsh, and necessary decisions. He cannot be weak or overly emotional. This sight—the torture, the blood, the screams—was part of his training. Harsh? Yes. But necessary.
The interrogation continued after that. The broken leader spoke. He told Dan everything he knew. Lord Ayato is a small local ruler, controlling a region extending about 8,000 kilometers. His power? About 900 warriors. Most of them are at the Genin level, with a few elites among them at the Chunin and Jonin levels—this is what Dan deduced from the interrogation about the level of his forces. The "Territory of the Sacred Dragons" is just an exaggerated name for a mountainous region. No real dragons. Just a name to frighten people. The location of Ayato's castle is about 100 kilometers east of here. This patrol had been sent on a special mission, so it contained only the elite of his forces.
All this information, the leader emptied out in despair. His voice was broken and fragmented, but he spoke at length. Dan obtained everything he needed. Enough information to assess the threat. The broken leader looked at him with almost dead eyes. He began to plead again, but this time for something different:
"Please... please kill me." His voice was just a broken whisper. "I have told you everything I know. Just... end this. Please."
For him, he knows he will not survive anyway. He betrayed his master and gave all the information to the enemy. Even if Dan released him—and that was impossible—he could not return to Ayato. Betrayal meant certain death. Therefore, if the enemy took pity on him and killed him now, quickly and without any additional torture, it would be a true mercy. A swift end was much better than the continuation of this nightmare.
Dan looked at him for a bit. A man completely broken, physically and psychologically. He was of no use anymore. Then, after a short moment of silence, he formed a chakra dagger in his right hand. He raised it, then plunged it directly into the man's heart with a swift and precise movement, designed to be instantly fatal and as painless as possible. A clean penetration, straight to the heart. Near-instant death.
The man smiled—a weak smile, but one of clear relief. He closed his eyes slowly. His last words were a faint whisper, barely audible:
"Thank you... thank you..."
Then his heart stopped. He died.
In this very moment, Dan would not lie to himself and say he was not affected at all. This was the first time in his life—his current life in both worlds—that he had killed a human being directly with his own hand. Tortured, yes. But direct killing? The first. Something moved in his chest. A strange, uncomfortable feeling. Not exactly guilt, but... something. However, his facial features never changed. They remained calm, cold, and entirely neutral. He tried to ignore the feeling, pushing it down. He justified it to himself with clear logic: he knows that in the future, he will be forced to end the lives of many. Enemies, threats, anyone who threatens his family. Therefore, he must adapt to the matter now. Get used to it. Become capable of killing without hesitation when necessary. And the nature of this world and its harsh reality are already built on constant conflict—resources, survival. Killing is a part of it. An unavoidable reality. The sooner he accepts this, the better.
He looked at the corpse before him for one last moment, then turned his back.
"Let's finish with the rest," he said in a calm voice to his sons.
The remaining captive warriors awaited the same fate.
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