After depositing the glass from his D-rank, Ash made it to the Kazekage's office within an hour, where Sohara had been all too happy to see him. The bespectacled secretary had even put a stop to a conversation she was having with a visitor just so she could snatch up the little blonde in a very unprofessional hug.
"Geez, Ash, I haven't seen you in weeks! I thought you had forgotten all about me!"
Ash said nothing to that, because there was some small amount of truth in it. He had forgotten about Sohara for a little while, with everything going on after the Land of Water incident. "Sorry, Sohara, it's just been really busy lately. Training has been taking up a lot of time, and Kankuro's still down and out..."
"Oh, that's right! How is he? Is he getting any better?"
"Well he's starting to complain as much as he used to, so I guess so. He's at the hospital right now, having the medics check up on him. He'll probably have that neck brace for another week or so, though..."
Sohara smiled apologetically. "That's too bad. That aside, I assume you're not here just to chat with me?"
She said that last part with a childish pout on her face.
"Next time, Sohara, I promise. I think the Kazekage wants to see me."
"Oh, well... there's another shinobi in there right now..."
"Pakura?"
The name apparently did not ring any bells for the woman. For someone who worked directly under the Kazekage, she knew surprisingly little about the shinobi affairs of the village. "Um..."
"Dark green hair, orange bangs?"
"Oh, yes, of course! That's her. I guess they're expecting you then?"
"I guess so. I'm heading in, see you later, Sohara."
The brunette looked after him as he headed towards the door. "Not too much later, I hope."
Giving her a smile instead of an answer, Ash pushed open the doors to the Kazekage's office, allowing them to swing shut behind him as he surveyed the room. As expected, Pakura was there as well, but so was Baki, to his surprise. He had half a mind to make some smart witticism to the man, but the looks on everyone's faces kept him from doing so. Whatever matter was at hand, it was serious.
That being the case, Ash came to stand between his two teachers without a word. This left the Kazekage to open up the discussion. "Your reaction time leaves much to be desired, Rōzeki."
The blonde frowned immediately, displeased right away with the way the Kazekage addressed him. Sure, Rōzeki was his official name as far as the village was concerned, but no one who was actually close to him used it. It was just evidence that, despite all of the years and the fact that he was effectively a brother to the Kazekage's children, Ash was of no personal import to the village leader. That was fine, though: Ash didn't care for him either, so it was a mutual feeling.
He did want to say something snarky, but Ash's better judgment won out. "Apologies. I had to drop off some supplies from my mission at the depot before coming."
The redheaded man nodded. "Fair enough. But now that you're here, we shall begin in earnest. I'll get straight to the point: we need to definitively discern whether or not you possess a Kekkai Genkai."
Ash frowned at this. The unexplained ability of his right eye had not been of significant clout for a long time. It was just too difficult to figure out anything about it. With very little knowledge about how it worked, there wasn't much to do when it came to figuring it out, short of extremely thorough experimentation.
"How? I told you, I don't know anything about it."
The Kazekage formed a tent with his fingers. "Experiments. We will test your ability on different subjects to discern the nature of your power."
The young Genin's frown evolved into a scowl as he realized his inner thoughts were correct. Needless to say, the idea being proposed didn't sit well with him. "What kind of subjects are we talking about here?"
Baki answered him this time. "Prisoners. Criminals mostly. And if you're worried about the morality of such a thing, you should know that every prisoner used in this experiment volunteered in exchange for a reduction in their sentencing. Unless we run out of volunteers for some reason, no one will be forced."
That honestly didn't make Ash feel any better. After all, he doubted that those prisoners knew exactly what this experiment would entail. But it wasn't like he had a choice. "And what would happen if it did turn out to be a Kekkai Genkai?"
This time it was Pakura who responded. "Long-term, you would be expected to father a clan once you were old enough to do so. Depending on what your bloodline limit was capable of, you could be selected for special ops..."
"Stellar. And what if it's not a bloodline limit? You aren't just going to kick me onto the streets, right?"
Since this question was directed at the Kazekage, it was he who answered. "To be frank, the only reason you were taken in initially was for the sake of what may have possibly been a Kekkai Genkai. But at this point, it would be foolish to neglect you whether you have a bloodline limit or not. You have great potential to be an excellent shinobi for the Hidden Sand, according to your teachers."
Ash didn't miss the emphasis on his supposed allegiance. Suddenly he was feeling a lot like his old self. "Then let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the better."
"Agreed. Pakura will take you to the facility where this will all take place. I will arrive there soon enough. I 'suggest' you go immediately."
With no reason to delay, Ash followed Pakura out of the office. Sohara said nothing to them since it seemed like they were on business, and soon enough the duo was outside, Pakura leading Ash to some unknown destination.
She seemed a little tense, and admittedly, even Ash was feeling uneasy. But despite this, something the Kazekage had said just a moment ago had his curiosity, and he couldn't help but ask.
"Pakura? If shinobi with bloodline limits are expected to start a clan, then why aren't you...?"
The famed kunoichi gave him a curious look. "Well, I guess I just never found a man I wanted to start a family with. I would never join with someone else just to fill a power vacuum."
"And the Kazekage was OK with that?"
"Of course not, but what's he going to do about it? Sure, he could order me to get married, but if I so much as breathed a word of how unhappy it made me, the people of the village would be outraged. Being a war hero has some nice perks. Plus, while he could force my hand, ostracising and alienating ninja who you want to keep under your employ is not a great idea. That's how rogues are made, you know."
"So if someone like me, who's not a war hero, were ordered, I'd have no choice other than painting a big target on my back."
Pakura shrugged, not actually sure if that was true. "Something like that. But it's not all bad. Most of the time, people who are forced together come to actually love each other eventually. Besides, you'd probably be paired with someone else with a Kekkei Genkai..."
Ash sighed, wearily cracking a joke. "I don't suppose they'd let me have someone like you who's reliable and smart, right?"
The young blond's teacher smiled at him. "I think I'll be a little old for you by the time you can father a clan. But hey, if I'm still available by then, few middle-aged women wouldn't like a handsome, compassionate younger guy to be together with."
Fairly certain she was joking, Ash simply smiled as he continued to follow Pakura, who eventually led him to rather common-looking residential building. It hardly looked any different from the one he had tended to earlier. This prompted Ash to raise another question.
"This isn't it, is it?"
"Sort of. Just c'mon, you'll see."
Offering no dissent, Ash followed his teacher into the building, which seemed to be nothing more than an abandoned home. It wasn't until Pakura led him to the kitchen that he realized that the house was merely a front. After all, they walked right towards a refrigerator in the kitchen, and it led to a dark staircase descending into the depths instead of an icebox, which Ash wasted no time in commenting on.
"Well, that was... unexpected..."
Pakura grinned at his confusion. "At least it wasn't a bookcase, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Saying nothing further, Ash followed Pakura down the staircase, which took several minutes. When they finally reached the end, the young blonde found himself in a metal facility. Honestly, it was nothing more than a long hallway with several steel doors along it, but it was still foreboding.
"What is this place?"
"It's where the village runs certain shinobi experiments. Just so you know, this place is top secret, so don't breathe a word of it to anyone: not even your brother and sister."
Ash nodded, not even bothering to ask what consequences he might have incurred upon doing something like that. "No one ever questions the existence of this abandoned house?"
"The Chunin who are assigned to guard here disguise themselves as civilians."
"The same civilians every day?"
"The same."
"Geez, and I thought my jobs were dull."
With their conversation coming to a standstill, Pakura simply pointed toward a door that was directly opposite of them at the end of the hallway. "Alright, Ash, you're going to go through that door. You'll find yourself in a room that looks a lot like an interrogation chamber, one-way mirror and all. That's for the safety of the observers. You'll be protected by two ANBU, since some of the criminals who volunteered for this are of questionable repute. When you go in there, just sit in the chair and wait until someone speaks to you. I'll be on the other side of the mirror, alright?"
Ash nodded to her, feeling unusually nervous about all of this. Even so, there was nothing he could do but obey. He made his way to the door Pakura had indicated without dissent. The Genin went through the portal in a similar manner, taking notice of the two masked shinobi in the room as the metal door closed shut behind him with nary a creak. He paid particular notice to their masks, which were not what he had expected. Traditional Sand ANBU masks were modeled after demonic faces, but the ones these ANBU wore were more reminiscent of smooth Hidden Mist masks, with the exception of the color scheme and eye slots. All patterns on the masks were dark yellow, and the mask had but one, long horizontal split from one end to the other for the shinobi to see out of. Despite that, Ash could still see nothing beyond the mask itself. Unbeknownst to him, it was because there was actually a reflective black visor there.
To be honest, Ash did find the new look more menacing than the old one. Demons were practically the stuff of legends and bedtime stories these days. Hell, people dressed up like demons for scary holidays. The new masks had a more soulless look to them. Machine-like. And machines had no mercy or emotion.
Despite that, both ANBU still nodded to him as he sat down in one of the metal chairs the bare room had. But they didn't utter a single word, leaving Ash to analyze what he could without distraction.
That didn't take him long. The square room was made of metal, with a heavy steel door in front and behind him. The one-way mirror was to his right, there was a metal chair identical to his own across from him, and there was a fluorescent light bulb in the ceiling. There was nothing else to look at besides the ANBU, but he got the feeling that they didn't want him studying them too intently.
With that option unavailable, Ash simply sat there quietly like he had been told. Apparently, the Kazekage was taking his sweet time in arriving, but since there was no clock in the room, Ash couldn't tell exactly how long he had been waiting when he finally heard the old man's voice over a speaker somewhere. Probably in the ceiling.
"Are you ready to begin, Rōzeki?"
"I get the feeling my readiness isn't actually important."
"Very astute of you. Send in the volunteer."
With his kage's command, one of the ANBU moved to the door opposite of Ash, opening it to usher in a rather lanky woman with greasy black hair. She wore the standard tan, spartan cloth of prisoners in the Hidden Sand.
If she had any questions about why a child was sitting across from her, she did not say it. After all, even though she had volunteered for this, she was scared of what these shinobi might do to her. She had probably not been expecting all of this cloak and dagger shit when she had agreed to a seemingly beneficial bargain.
The woman was forced into the chair across from Ash, where her dark eyes darted around the room nervously. No doubt the presence of two ANBU with very threatening masks was making her uncomfortable.
With that out of the way, the Kazekage's voice came over the speaker again. "We will now begin. Rōzeki, employ your ability as soon as possible."
Unsure of how to go about that, Ash merely brushed his long hair out of his face, since he knew that at least would be necessary. One of the ANBU spoke to the prisoner. "Make eye contact with the shinobi across from you."
Though she was scared, the woman did as she was told. After all, she was getting her sentence changed from life imprisonment to something less severe for participating in this.
After several moments of staring at each other, the Kazekage's impatient voice was heard again. "I hope you know that my time is too valuable to be wasted, Rōzeki."
Ash frowned, irritated by the man's impatience. He didn't know if the Kazekage could actually hear him, but it seemed safe to assume, considering the conversational nature of the man's impatience.
"Look, I don't even know what this ability does, never mind how it works. I've never actually used it intentionally, and it's been years since I used it at all."
Ash expected the Kazekage to give him more shit, but surprisingly, it was Pakura's voice that came to him next. Unsurprisingly, she was trying a more sensible approach.
"Ash, think back to the last time you used it. What was happening? What were you feeling? It might not have seemed purposeful, but subconsciously, you probably have some sort of trigger for it that you're aware of."
Thinking back, Ash recalled the last time he had used his mysterious ability. It was a distant memory at this point, but he still recalled it clearly, since it was the day that had changed the course of his life. "I was being chased by an angry merchant after I stole some food from him. He cornered me in an alley, and I knew he was going to beat me... I was scared, but more than that, I was angry. I was really angry that he couldn't spare anything to help me, who was starving. I hated him for not only refusing to offer even the smallest amount of help, but going so far as to hurt me on top of that. I... really wanted him to suffer. Not sure what, exactly. Just general pain and agony, I guess. It wasn't long after that feeling arose that he ended up falling to pieces, but I don't really remember exactly how it happened."
On the other side of the mirror, Pakura exchanged glances with the Kazekage, as well as the other shinobi he had brought with him. The man's entourage consisted of people she wouldn't have expected: Chiyo and Sasori among them. Other than that, there was a Jonin skilled in high-level genjutsu.
"Well, that sounds like the key to using this ability could be a desire to inflict pain on the other person. And I'm sorry, Lord Kazekage, but with Ash's personality, I don't think he's going to be able to use his eye against a stranger like this without a reason, regardless of whether or not it's an order. He's just not like that."
Pakura's leader cocked an eyebrow at her. "So you say, but I distinctly recall a recent incident in which he inflicted great harm on a fellow shinobi, and likely would have gone further were it not for some timely intervention."
Now frowning herself, Pakura did her best to paint that incident in a better light. How exactly the Kazekage had heard about it, she was unsure. "That was against someone who had initiated a fight against Ash first, and who drew a weapon on him besides. Plus, the way he tells it, that kid has held a grudge against Ash and your children for a long time. It's not like he was just beating the crap out of a stranger for fun."
The Kazekage furrowed his brow, taking that into consideration as he turned to face one of the ANBU security in the room. While it bothered him on a fundamental level that Rōzeki couldn't just strike at a foe because his village ordered it, now wasn't the time to worry about that problem. For now, he was more focused on drawing out the boy's hidden ability. That was why he asked the ANBU security a certain question.
"What is this woman imprisoned for?"
The elite shinobi at the back of the room briefly racked his mind for this woman's crimes. "Er... rape and murder of a family of four, Lord Kazekage."
The redhead looked back at Pakura and Baki. "Well, if your student is as predisposed to righteous fury as you claim, this information will no doubt give him plenty of reason to wish suffering on our subject."
Both Baki and Pakura exchanged glances with each other, visibly concerned about the direction this experiment was taking. They both knew how susceptible Ash was to emotional manipulation, at least when it came to fury. He was a level-headed kid, by and large. But if the circumstances were correct, he could definitely lose control of himself and give in to blind anger.
From the other end of the room, the elderly Chiyo weighed in on the topic being discussed. "It might not have much impact on the boy to simply relay the perpetrator's crimes to him. That's clinical, detached... it's easy to ignore the true horror of it."
Standing right next to her, Sasori offered up a suggestion. For the life of her, Pakura wasn't sure why the puppet prodigy had been invited to this experiment, but she supposed that he was one of the most influential ninja in the village, and the Kazekage did trust him. Maybe it really wasn't that deep.
"Why not have the criminal regale us with the specifics of her crime herself? I'm sure hearing it in detail from her mouth will make it impossible to overlook its heinous nature."
Naturally, Pakura jumped to counter this suggestion without any hesitation. "Hold on, Ash is nine! He doesn't need to hear a detailed account of rape and murder told by the psychopath who did it!"
Though he was not as spirited about it, mostly due to having a healthier fear of the Kazekage's wrath, Baki still backed Pakura's play. He was a grim man himself most of the time, but the idea of forcing traumatic imagery and information on Ash just to try and force his ability to the surface did not sit well with him either.
"I agree. There must be a better way than that."
Unfortunately, the Kazekage did not seem particularly bothered by these concerns. "He's a shinobi, and will be required to deal with far more harrowing things than story time from a criminal in the future. Moreover, discovering the nature of his ability is worth whatever issues he has to deal with after this."
Neither Baki nor Pakura said anything further to combat the notion, though neither of them was pleased with it at all. There just wasn't much else they could do here: the Kazekage was the supreme leader of the village. They could voice their dissent, but nothing else in this situation.
Set on this course of action, the Kazekage used the intercom to speak out into the room Ash and the test subject still resided in.
"Prisoner: recount the details of the crime you have been incarcerated for."
Naturally, this order earned confusion both from the young ninja in the room and the prisoner, the latter of which looked around in bewilderment, clearly not expecting anything like that. Most people didn't ask for details of a crime unless they were being used to put you away, and she was already in that situation.
Seeing this, the Kazekage uttered another statement. "You will not be punished for this. I do not care what you end up saying, nor do I care if you take pleasure in reliving it. However, you will be returned to prison with no change in your sentence if you do not cooperate. Be sure to maintain eye contact with the ninja across from you while telling your story."
Though she was clearly still confused by this, the imprisoned woman with the unkempt black hair figured she had nothing to lose, and she was being given permission. So with that in mind, she leveled her dark eyes directly at the boy across from her and began to detail the crime that had gotten her incarcerated in the first place.
To call it one of the most uncomfortable experiences of Ash's life was an understatement. The woman knew every painstaking detail and seemed to revel in every single one of them. The way she had singled out a family in the marketplace one day, specifically because they had two small children. The process of stalking them back home late in the evening, the anticipation she felt as she patiently waited for nightfall. But all of this was just the beginning. It was after the criminal broke into the family's house that things got downright appalling.
The woman had no qualms regaling Ash and all of the other ninja present with her tale of depravity. She had discovered the father searching for a late night snack in his kitchen after stealthily making it inside, and wasted no time in slitting his throat from behind. The wife was stabbed to death in her own bed, sound asleep and unaware of what horrors would occur to her children after her passing. With those children none the wiser, this woman had grabbed them in their sleep to bound and gag them before they could make any noise. Nowhere during this horrific story was there any explanation as to why this woman had done any of this. Not even the slightest attempt at a justification or excuse, even as she delved into a heinous telling of how she searched the home for an appropriate item to torture her victims prior to killing them as well. The only reason this lunatic had been caught at all was because she decided to sleep off her busy night in the very house she had committed her crimes in, and was still there when a friend of the family came to investigate following a missed appointment the next day.
The worst part of this whole thing was the fact that the monster across from Ash only expressed regret one single time: when the last child died from the trauma and cut her 'fun' short. There was not a single ounce of sympathy, regret, or acknowledgment of wrongdoing otherwise.
Thanks to the excruciating level of detail provided, the telling of this story took about thirty minutes. Throughout it, Ash went through a wide array of emotions: disbelief, disgust, confusion... but ultimately, he did settle into exactly what the Kazekage wanted: hatred. After all, it was incredibly easy to hate the inhuman creature before him. He didn't know her name, and she had done nothing to him or anyone he cared about. But for someone to be that unbelievably evil and cruel, to revel in such an atrocity so openly, how could any sane person with a shred of morality not want them punished? Quite frankly, Ash truly did wish for her to suffer.
For the life of him, Ash was not sure of the exact moment he managed to unleash his mysterious ability on the black-haired freak across from him. He could not be sure what triggered it. Did the hatred and willingness to inflict pain simply have to reach a certain threshold? Was he subconsciously performing the technical mechanics needed to activate it without even realizing it? Either way, there came a moment when it was obvious to everyone that something unnatural was happening.
Just a few moments after finishing her tale, the woman across from Ash, still staring into his eyes as she had been directed to do, stiffened like a board, her limbs straightening out in a split second and her face briefly donning a bewildered, terrified expression. After a single moment of this, she fell out of her chair in a spasm of pain and began to write on the floor, flailing wildly as she screamed in agony. In between gasps of inflamed air, she managed to eke out a few words of begging.
"Stop! It h-hurts, please-! It's unbearable! Kill... kill me! It hurts so much, just kill me! This pain...!"
It only took a few moments for the woman to lose any sense of sane speech as she was seemingly overwhelmed by sheer agony, though her body continued to convulse on the floor. Even the ANBU guards in the room looked a little fearful of what the hell was going on.
Not that Ash noticed any of this himself. A mere moment after the woman began seizing in agony, his own body did much the same. Well, it probably wasn't to the same level as her, but he was suddenly in pain himself too, and no small amount of it either. His chest began to burn, his throat felt inflamed, his head began to pound... suddenly, it seemed like every inch of his body was hurting in some way or another. He couldn't help but slump over and nearly fall out of his own chair as he was subjected to the unexpected assault on his senses. Why did he suddenly feel like he had experienced a thousand cuts all across his skin? Why did it feel like his bones were made of glass, his blood imbued with acid? His whole body hurt in a way that seemed flat-out unnatural, like he'd been cursed by some dark magic.
But thankfully for him, it only lasted a few, blinding moments. The young blonde lost almost all track of his surroundings, until he seemed to regain consciousness a few seconds after the pain began. It was only then that he realized he had fallen out of his chair and to his knees, heaving for breath and covered in a cold sweat. As soon as he was aware of his surroundings again, the intense agony was completely gone, though it was not as though he felt fine right away. His head still throbbed, and even for a few moments afterwards, the mere memory of the pain he had endured just a few moments ago stung him like a vengeful phantom.
The woman he had subjected to his frightening ability had seemingly not recovered, though. She was now nearly lifeless on the floor, seemingly catatonic, with blank eyes staring off into the void and even drool leaking out of her mouth. Why she was in this state while Ash was not was a mystery, but a welcome reality nonetheless.
It was about this time that he was able to actually acknowledge the voice of Baki over the intercom. Maybe that was because the pain had been great enough to actually fill his head with white noise.
"...sh?! Ash, are you alright?! What's happening to you?!"
Somewhere deep down, the young blonde was happy to acknowledge that Baki could actually worry enough about him to sound so uncharacteristically concerned for him. But considering what had just happened, it was difficult to appreciate that. Between his own attempts to steady his lungs and his heart, Ash tried to relay his experience to everyone.
"I... I'm fine. I just... I was in so much pain, just for a moment. Everything hurt, I couldn't... I lost track of where I was. Couldn't notice anything other than the pain. It was a just a few seconds, but... man, my head hurts now."
From the other side of the mirror, the Kazekage and his fellow shinobi gazed into the experiment room with various expressions of awe, trepidation, and concern. The only one who had a completely unfettered look on his face was Sasori, but it seemed like nothing ever really fazed him.
Baki was gritting his teeth as he watched one of his students struggle to lift himself off of his knees and back into the chair he'd been sitting in a moment ago. He'd never seen Ash make an agonized expression like that. Just watching him practically fold in on himself and collapse so suddenly was freakish. What kind of immense pain practically took someone out of conscious awareness that fast? Needless to say, he did not like the way things were going, especially not with Ash's comments just now taken into account.
Meanwhile, Sasori didn't seem troubled at all by any of this. His comment on the proceedings made that clear enough. "Impressive. It would have taken me at least a day to reduce someone to that state..."
He said this while staring at the criminal that had been subjected to Ash's ability. She was still twitching a bit, but seemed to be unresponsive otherwise. Incredible, considering the immense agony she had apparently been in moments ago, which had been enough to have her flailing around and screaming her head off.
Ignoring the redheaded puppeteer's disconcerting comment, the Kazekage turned to the Genjutsu expert he had brought with him. "Well? Is it Genjutsu?"
"I can't say for sure yet, Lord Kazekage. It would be impressive if someone as young as our subject could cast Genjutsu without hand signs, but... I suppose it could be an ocular Genjutsu of some sort. It's difficult to tell off of this one experiment alone."
"Then it's a good thing we have more to go."
Though she knew it was risky to be blatantly insubordinate to the the leader of the whole village, Pakura couldn't help herself. She hadn't been with Ash as long as Baki, but it had been more than long enough for her to not wish anything like the pain he had seemingly been in on him again. At the very least, she'd try to word her objection well.
"Lord Kazekage, should we really continue? Ash just stated that he was in immense pain thanks to the use of this ability. It might not be worth the result..."
Unfortunately, the leader of the village didn't seem too concerned. "He seems to have recovered well enough. I don't care how unpleasant it is for him: if what he did to that woman can be replicated consistently, we might have an immensely powerful tool on our hands. We must know more."
Taking her unhappiness and pushing her luck a little further, Pakura tried to buy her new pupil at least a little bit of a reprieve. "Can we at least give him a short time to rest? If he has to endure such pain multiple times in a short time frame, he'll fall apart for sure."
Admittedly, the Kazekage knew that both Pakura and Baki were personally invested in the boy they were testing, which was undoubtedly the source of their objections. But at the same time, he could acknowledge that Pakura had a practical point as well.
"Very well. We'll give him fifteen minutes. But then we move on."
Though it wasn't much to truly be happy about, both Pakura and Baki decided to count their blessings. Gaining any sort of mercy from the Kazekage was a rarity. Even so, neither of them could feel truly content, knowing that their student was about to endure more suffering for the sake of an experiment.
---
Four subjects and three hours later, the observers of today's twisted experiment had come to at least one conclusion: Ash's ability was very, very dangerous. Though at the same time, they had learned a few other things about it as well. Ash had been pit against a variety of different people, though they were not all as heinous as the woman that had kicked off the experiment. A lowly thief, a murderer, a dishonest merchant, and even a rogue Sand shinobi who had been apprehended before they could escape the Land of Wind. Some of them had committed terrible crimes, but others, not so much.
Oddly enough, the sins of the various subjects seemed somehow related to the amount of agony they endured when Ash managed to unleash his ability on them. Everyone experienced pain, but none of them had reacted quite as severely as that the first woman had. The thief had curled into a ball and cried, but definitely maintained consciousness and her sanity. The murderer writhed in agony akin to the first subject, but didn't go completely comatose afterward, though he did seem mentally out of his wits. The dirty merchant actually had a relatively tame reaction, only falling to his knees and cursing and swearing through severe pain he professed to be feeling. Finally, and most notably, the rogue ninja, who had once been a Special Jonin of the village, had seemed to go through more of an emotional trauma than a physical one, though there had been plenty of indication that physical suffering had been present as well.
This was notable because a ninja of that level should have been able to detect Genjutsu and break themselves out of it, unless it was of an incredibly high level the likes of which a kid like Ash couldn't possibly bring to bear. So now everyone was unsure if it was even Genjutsu at all, or something else completely mysterious.
Curiously, the severity of the pain the victims endured seemed tied to Ash's own experience as well. For the murderer and the rogue ninja, the blonde had gone through a similar level of suffering as he had with the first woman, though he claimed that neither of them was actually as severe. When it came to the thief and the corrupt merchant, Ash actually hadn't reacted very strongly at all: he'd admitted to feeling some pain with both, but nothing remotely close to the other instances. With the merchant, Ash had even stated that it was really just physical discomfort that he felt, more than anything he'd consider actual agony.
Of course, the difference between Ash and his victims was that he endured the unexplained backlash of his ability several times in a row during this experiment, and that was taking a severe physical and mental toll on him. After the fifth test subject, the blonde appeared to just be in residual pain and discomfort from the experience. Even the Kazekage could tell that he looked physically and mentally unwell, which was why he actually cut the experiment short. There had been several more subjects lined up for the day, but even he could recognize when Ash was at his limit.
As for why he was at that limit, it wasn't just that Ash had endured physical pain and discomfort every time he victimized these people. It had been psychologically taxing as well. In order to get his ability to work, he had at least determined that he really, truly had to wish suffering on the target. That was more difficult than it sounded. Even if he had to fight and kill an opponent, that didn't necessarily mean Ash wanted them to suffer a horrific fate. Even wanting to hurt someone wasn't the same as wanting them to go through hell. Ash had wanted to hurt Shinji a little while ago, but that had not been the same as wishing this kind of actual suffering upon him. Honestly, Raiga was probably the only person Ash had ever inherently despised enough to actually want him to suffer any and all possible agony.
Which made this experiment very difficult and debilitating for him even beyond the physical. Finding enough hatred to curse that first woman to an awful fate had been easy. She had deserved it. But the petty thief? The merchant? Hell, even the rogue ninja? Ash hadn't really been able to fester any actual hatred for them. Instead, he had been forced to will the agony on them for other reasons he knew held no real water. He told himself that they had to suffer in order for him to ever finish with this whole damned ordeal. Convinced himself that they were awful people who must have done something truly terrible, just like the first woman. Promised himself that he didn't have a choice, that the Kazekage was forcing his hand, that it was all fair since he had to endure pain too.
He had managed to convince himself long enough to activate the ability each time, but had always felt the guilt afterward: his manufactured excuses fell to pieces after the deed was done and the need to be willfully delusional passed. It was hard, to bear the weight of forced, manufactured hatred and a will to spread misery and agony. Ash wasn't the most charitable of souls, but he wasn't some cruel, heartless sociopath either. Witnessing the amount of pain he had put people through, and acknowledging that most of it had been undeserved, was sickening for him, quite literally. The poor boy felt incredibly nauseous, and his head was pounding. Right now, all he could do was bury his head in his hands in an attempt to stave off his ills.
On the other side of the mirror, the discovered facets of Ash's ability were being discussed in earnest by the Kazekage and his cohorts. "So, there's quite a bit of variability in this ability. We can say with certainty that it inflicts pain on both the target and the user, but I feel that we are missing the variable that dictates how effective it is."
Baki shrugged, trying to remain professional even though he was greatly unsettled by what had transpired here so far. "With all due respect, Lord Kazekage, the fact that it harms the user seems like the most important variable to consider. Just look at the state Ash is in."
Naturally, the Kazekage didn't seem to care about the boy on the other side of the mirror who looked more frail and unsteady than ever. "He was able to use his ability against five different people before reaching this state. That could theoretically be five incredibly powerful opponents taken down by a mere glance at this ability's full potential. The drawback is clearly worth it."
Pakura resisted the urge to outwardly glare at the leader of her village. Ninja may have been tools to be wielded by the village and all that, but the absolute disregard for the suffering of someone under your banner was deplorable to her. Why should any soldier fight for a leader who cared so little for them? At any rate, she wasn't going to say anything so treasonous out loud, instead trying to back up Baki and shut down the dreams of grandeur undoubtedly floating around in the Kazekage's head.
"The time investment to use the ability isn't realistic on the battlefield, Lord Kazekage. It took him several minutes to get it to work each time, and up to ten minutes on the thief girl. He'll be dead in a battle before he could even use it."
The Kazekage, enthralled by the possibilities dancing around in his head, effortlessly brushed Pakura's concerns aside. "I've no doubt that the time required to use it can be shortened by training and experience, just as he can acclimate himself to the pain so it can be used more often. Besides, it could be used outside of direct combat. He could target our foes undercover with such an ability. Regardless of its current shortcomings, it's too valuable to simply toss aside."
She restrained herself because it was a terrible idea, but Pakura really wanted to grab the man by the collar and tell him that this wasn't the kind of thing Ash needed to practice, that no one should be expected to practice and regularly use something that caused them self-harm. But hell, even if he wasn't the village leader, it wasn't like Rasa would care. He had turned his own son into a Jinchuriki, and not cared at all that the boy was suffering all these years. The man's cold indifference was exactly why Gaara was missing today.
But since she couldn't say that, she stayed quiet, and the Kazekage merely returned to the topic he had initially raised. "Regardless, I still want to know how it works. I at least want to hear a guess. One of you must have some hypothesis."
Surprisingly, it was Sasori who answered. "I might."
Everyone turned to him, saying nothing since it was expected for him to continue. "If you ask me, there's a common theme displayed throughout this experiment. The people who felt the most pain were the people who had the heaviest sins. The rapist, the murderer, the rogue ninja who had seen plenty of missions and undoubtedly fought many enemies... they clearly endured more agony than the petty thief and the merchant with the shady business practices."
To this, the elderly Chiyo cocked an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say? That his eye can somehow punish people according to the severity of the crimes they've committed? That's nonsense, what constitutes a crime is determined arbitrarily by a society."
The puppeteer smiled, ever so slightly. "It's not the crimes that matter, Grandmother. It's the pain inflicted along the way. The rapist murders and violates the bodies of others. The murderer kills. The shinobi has undoubtedly wounded and slain foes during his career. The people that we can reasonably assume to have inflicted large amounts of pain suffered the most when under Rōzeki's gaze. On the other hand, those who likely have not caused as much physical suffering themselves, the thief and the merchant, suffered significantly less."
The Kazekage furrowed his brow. "An ability that inflicts pain based on pain inflicted by the victim? Quite a novel concept."
"Well, it certainly seems to have a return to sender effect. Twice over, if we consider that Rōzeki seems to endure pain himself. Though even in his case, it seems as though my hypothesis holds some water: he clearly suffered more pain himself when dealing with the more violent test subjects, as opposed to those who presumably haven't spread that much agony and death."
Genuinely interested in what was turning out to be a very interesting day, Chiyo weighed in once more. "I'm still not sure how the eye knows what anyone has done or how much to punish them. Unless... it's more like a mirror. Rōzeki may not know what pain and suffering a target has brought into this world, but the person being targeted knows. We all know what kind of harm we have inflicted on others. Perhaps this strange power uses the target's own knowledge of their misdeeds to reflect it onto them."
Pakura folded her arms as she judged this assessment. "That seems a little far-fetched... doesn't that mean the pain would literally just be in the target's head? I can't see something like that managing to put a person in the state that first woman was in."
Sasori, who had unique knowledge about this for somewhat disturbing reasons, disagreed. "On the contrary, it seems very possible to me. Phantom pain: agony endured by the body solely due to the fabrications of the mind. People who are missing limbs express such sensations all the time. Pain they can feel in the limb they once had, even though that is clearly not physically possible. All pain is just the brain interpreting signals. I see no reason why Rōzeki's ability can't just be an extreme case of causing phantom pain, instigated by the awareness of suffering that one has caused in their life. How else could you explain the pain he feels himself when using the ability, when all he was doing before was sitting peacefully in a chair? It has to be mental or psychological in nature."
"I suppose there's some merit to that, but... why would it hurt Ash at all?"
"I can't speak to that. It's merely a hypothesis. We'd have to do more tests to possibly glean that answer from all of this.
Mentions of more experiments put a scowl on Pakura's face. If it were up to her, there would never be another experiment of this nature. Even if Sasori's guess was right, even if Ash's ability could be immensely powerful, she'd rather avoid it all.
As for Baki, he merely glanced back into the room, watching as the two ANBU in there did their best to avoid even looking at the boy in the chair, who looked nearly soulless as he waited for another victim. "Truly terrifying, and perhaps not just for the victim..."
In some effort to lighten the mood, Chiyo piped up, putting some elderly pep into her voice. "So, what are we going to name it? This ability can't be referred to vaguely forever. My vote is for Sarashimasugan."
Sasori leveled a bemused glance at her. "That's far too long-winded, Grandmother."
"Yeah, but what fits better than Exposing Eye? That's exactly what it does!"
"If you ask me, it forces repentance. Everyone who suffered immense pain under its gaze begged for forgiveness. Let's just call it the Kōkaigan and be done with it."
The old lady folded her arms, a sour look on her face. "Fine, fine... Sarashimasugan was cooler though..."
With that settled, seeing as how there was no dissent, the Kazekage took control of the conversation again. "Well then, even though we are still not entirely sure that this 'Kōkaigan' is a Kekkei Genkai, we are going to assume as much for now. Either way, Rōzeki has just become a very valuable asset: nothing that transpired here is to leave this room. The existence of the Kōkaigan is now an S-rank secret."
Everyone in the room nodded in understanding, allowing the Kazekage to continue. "Very well. You may all return to your duties. Pakura, I suggest you tend to Rōzeki after this tiring exercise. As for you, Chiyo: I want a report on what happens to the subjects used in this experiment."
"Of course, Lord Kazekage."
"Then you are all dismissed."
Baki didn't seem happy about it being Pakura's duty to watch over Ash, but he was able to admit to himself that she would probably be better at comforting him than he was. That being the case, he was content to leave his pupil in her capable hands. Not that it would stop him from worrying, and he'd definitely check in later to make sure everything was alright... or as alright as it could be after all of this.
Pakura watched as the other shinobi filed out of the room before turning to look at Ash through the mirror again. He looked utterly spent, both physically and mentally. His gaze was affixed to the floor, completely blind to his surroundings. It was the look of an exhausted soul who had retreated in on themselves, probably focusing on the titanic act of staving off a feeling of sickness.
The look on his face put a grim expression on Pakura's own. She didn't care what the Kazekage wanted: there was no way in hell she was going to let this kid end up like Gaara. She wouldn't do anything drastic yet, but if push came to shove... she'd make sure Ash's fate was different from that of the boy he'd replaced.
---
While he was no child incapable of taking care of himself, Pakura decided to walk Ash home that night. Of course, the blonde had not been up to any of the usual: no talking, no smiles, no witty jokes or deep musings. He looked awful, his skin pale and eyes sunken. Pakura couldn't imagine that he was feeling well in any capacity at all.
Unfortunately, Pakura didn't actually have much she could do for him right now. She'd offered to listen to anything he had to say, to be there for him if he needed anything, but Ash had merely nodded numbly to such promises, not reacting much at all. Pakura honestly didn't think she had the right stuff to help him right now. They were growing closer, but this was something she needed to entrust to Ash's closest loved ones. Hopefully, they could help him.
Having come to that decision, the Jonin walked her protege home in relative silence. In that time, Ash barely even looked at her until he reached his own door. Only then did he turn to thank her for her consideration, though surprisingly, it came in the form of a hug. Granted, the boy was barely taller than her waist, but something told Pakura that the little blonde really needed it right now, so she didn't hesitate to lean down and hug him back.
"Like I said before, I'm always there if you need me, Ash. Alright?"
With great effort, Ash managed to eke out a few words. Pakura had never heard him sound so defeated.
"Yeah... thanks..."
That was all the boy said as he broke the contact and turned towards his door. The mere sight of it brought pain to Pakura's heart, as well as a bit of worry. She honestly wondered if Temari and Kankuro could handle this. If they couldn't do something for her newest pupil, no one could.
When Ash managed to shut the door behind him, he finally felt it coming. Every emotion and feeling that he had been struggling to suppress these past few hours resurfaced simultaneously with renewed force, and he knew there'd be no holding it back this time. But he at least had to make it to his room first. He didn't want to worry his siblings.
So he walked, head swimming and stomach twisting, towards the living room, the focal point of the house's ground level. He'd have to go through it to get to his room, and as he expected, Kankuro was on the couch tinkering with his newest lizard creation. As for Temari, he could see her washing dishes in the kitchen.
Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Ash tried to sneak past both of them, but Kankuro took notice easily enough, as Ash was practically fumbling with every step he took. "What's with the drunkard's walk, Ash? You... whoa, man, what happened to you?!"
Apparently, Ash looked much worse than he thought. Maybe he actually looked as bad as he felt. Either way, Kankuro's words of alarm drew Temari out of the kitchen in a heartbeat. "What's wrong? Ash, are you crying?! Are you alright?!"
Crying? He hadn't even noticed. He had thought the blurry vision was just a result of the sickness he was feeling. Granted, maybe that was still a part of it. He felt terrible. Blood was rushing to his ears, drowning out the noise of his surroundings. His vision was darkening, like he'd stood up too fast after laying down for a couple of hours. And worst of all, he felt absolutely nauseous. Possibly the most sick to his stomach he had ever felt, and it was quickly rising up into his throat. He knew what was coming next.
He sprinted past both of them, ignoring their calls and concern. He had to make it to the bathroom before he lost what little self-control he had left. Barging into the washroom with enough force to crack the wall with the doorknob's impact upon it, Ash was on his knees in an instant, leaning over to puke into the toilet. He couldn't help it. He was completely, totally sick. He didn't know why he felt this way. Was it just the immense pain he'd been forced to endure? Or the agony he'd forced all of those other people to endure? Maybe it was that traumatic story that inhuman woman had shared with him? Maybe it was just emotional exhaustion from having to muster up so much hatred and ill-will today. But most likely, each of these played a part in this terrible feeling that overwhelmed both his mind and his body.
When it was finally over, not because his emotions had calmed but because his cramping stomach simply had nothing left to give, Ash realized he was still crying. Still bawling into the now disgusting water below his face. His chest was wracked with pain as he cried for all of the travails he'd endured today, both physical and psychological. For the memories he didn't want to have, the agony he didn't want to inflict, for the knowledge that this would likely all happen to him again in the future. He couldn't help himself.
The moment his sickness had passed, Ash found himself wrapped in his sister's embrace. Kankuro was watching from the doorway, but Ash couldn't see him there anyway. He could barely comprehend his surroundings at the moment.
Temari, on the other hand, was crying just as Ash was. She didn't have to understand what had hurt him or why: she only had to understand that her little brother was suffering. His pain was her pain, and to see him in such a state reduced her to tears too.
"Ash, please... please tell me what's wrong. I'll make it better, I promise! Just tell me what to do..."
He wanted to. He wanted to reveal everything, but he couldn't form the words. He could only bury his face in her shoulder and cry. Talking was out of the question right this moment.
His sister wrapped her arms around him even tighter. She didn't know what ailed him this terribly, and seemingly out of nowhere. She had not once seen her baby brother reduced to such a state. She felt miserable and useless, being able to do nothing more than hold him like this.
And yet, perhaps that small mercy was enough. Her arms were hardly fit for a beacon of solace in her mind, but at some point, Ash managed to fall asleep in her arms, right there on the floor of their bathroom. Honestly, it was probably due to exhaustion more than anything else.
With Ash mercifully asleep, his older siblings exchanged confused and fearful glances, unsure of what had transpired to lead to all of this. But amidst that confusion, they both experienced a growing sense of menace towards whatever had dared to enact this transgression. What or whoever was responsible for this would know their wrath as soon as they had a target to direct it at. That was a promise.
---
Mere hours after the experiment's conclusion, Chiyo was in the Kazekage's office, much to his surprise. He had not expected a report this soon, though he was glad for it.
"Chiyo, you have news already?"
The elderly woman had a somber look on her face. None of her usual eccentricity was present. "I do, Lord Kazekage. I have dire news: not including the thief and the merchant, all of the other subjects of the experiment have taken their own lives."
Now this was certainly news to the Kazekage, who was rarely surprised by anything. "Even the Jonin?"
Chiyo merely nodded. "I won't go into explicit detail, but... each of them was desperate to end their own lives. Needless to say, when there was no easy means to do so available, they... found a way. Many ended it with repeated head trauma."
While he was a calculating and sometimes even ruthless man, the Kazekage could not look on this ordeal with unflinching apathy. Even for him, this kind of thing was dreadfully macabre. To be so eager to end your own life that you would throw yourself against a wall as many times as it took to take you out...? He could scarcely imagine it.
"I... see. Thank you, Chiyo. You may leave."
In no mood to talk anymore than she had to, Chiyo simply bowed and took her leave. The Kazekage was now alone to contemplate the pros and cons of what had transpired today. On one hand, the Kōkaigan was a terrible, awful ability they were only just starting to understand. On the other, it seemingly had the power to drive even hardened, heartless, ruthless shinobi to suicide. Theoretically, the Kōkaigan could take down anyone, no matter how powerful they were, how virtuous and brave or evil and selfish. The ultimate weapon, even above the Shukaku.
But did he dare use it? With the state the Hidden Sand was in, they were constantly vulnerable to attack, to domination by the enemy. Everyone else had their hands on a tailed beast. Everyone else had Jinchuuriki on their side. But with the Kōkaigan, what good was a human vessel? As far as they knew, no human soul was immune.
But that included Rasa himself. If Rōzeki really could destroy anyone who had inflicted great suffering on others, well... the Kazekage was no stranger to that. And if he continuously forced Rōzeki to endure such agony himself, the blonde wouldn't need much of a reason to hate his village leader. This tool... it could be a powerful weapon for the Hidden Sand, but also a great menace to it. And for that reason, Rasa couldn't decide what he really wanted to do with it. After all, this situation was much like the one with Gaara, and that had ended disastrously.
Though it was not due to any mercy of goodwill on his part, the aging man decided that, for now, it might have been best to take things slowly and carefully. For now, Rōzeki's destined purpose in serving the Hidden Sand would remain undecided.