Chương 70: First Round (3)

As Shunsui said,"They wanted military supplies?" The merchant's body stiffened. Only slightly. But enough. There. Shunsui found it. The reaction lasted less than a second. Yet it was the strongest reaction the merchant had shown all day. The room became silent for a moment. The merchant quickly smiled to recover.

"I do not know what you mean." Genma immediately joined in to press the advantage.

"Military supplies are expensive." The merchant shrugged.

"I suppose."

"They are also heavily regulated."

"I would imagine so." The merchant replied.

"Smuggling them would be profitable espressially to other nations during the time of war." The merchant's smile became strained. Shunsui could almost see the pressure building on the man.

'I don't think there is a bigger crime than smuggling war supplies to another country. And I am sure that such a criminal would not be alive if Konoha knew about his crime.' Shunsui remembered that the merchants file mentioned that he was convicted because of suspision over the murder of one of his guards. Nearly an hour later, Shunsui finally spoke again with confidence.

"You cared more about the dead guard than your arrest." The merchant blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"The first thing you told us was about the guard." The merchant remained silent. Shunsui continued pressing forward.

"That means the guard matters." The merchant swallowed nervously.

"The guard discovered something." Genma's eyes widened slightly. He was beginning to see the full picture too.

"The military supplies." Shunsui's eyes never left the merchant's face.

"You were not worried about us discovering the crime of killing the guard." The merchant's hands tightened on the arms of the chair.

"You were worried about us discovering the reason. The guard found out you were smuggling military supplies to another country perhaps Iwa or Kumo. The guard threatened to report you." Shunsui delivered the final blow with calm certainty.

"The bandit attack was fake." The merchant had known exactly how many bandits there were. Because they were not strangers. He had hired them. The attack had been staged. The guard had been killed on purpose. The crime scene had been disguised as a bandit raid. The merchant laughed nervously to try and recover.

"You have quite an imagination. You are just assuming things now. I did not admit to anything like that," the merchant said with some desperation creeping into his voice. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Well now that is a problem. A problem for others," Shunsui said. Shunsui thought, 'It would have been easy if we were allowed to torture people. I could have played Yubikiri, the pinky promise game. But it inflicts wounds on the target so I will have to think of another game.' The merchant looked back at him with forced confidence, but the cracks in his composure were becoming more obvious with every passing minute.

Sweat had started to form on his forehead, and his hands gripped the arms of the chair a little tighter than before. He tried to keep his friendly businessman smile, but it no longer looked natural. Genma frowned slightly.

"We have a theory," he said.

"But a theory is still just a theory." Guy nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly. We need absolute proof." The merchant immediately latched onto those words. A small smile returned to his face.

"At least one of you understands. You have suspicions, nothing more." Shunsui tilted his hat slightly. Then he smiled.

"A theory can be tested." The merchant's smile faltered for a moment as he sensed something changing in the room. Shunsui slowly stood from his chair. The movement immediately drew everyone's attention. Guy blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Shunsui stretched lazily as he activated his Shikai. The two swords changed in his hands, and a subtle shift filled the air around them.

"Let's play a game." The merchant frowned.

"A game?"

"Yes." A faint smile appeared on Shunsui's face.

"It is called Hot and Cold." The merchant stared at him with confusion. Guy and Genma looked equally confused. Shunsui looked directly at the merchant.

"The rules are simple." The room suddenly felt warmer. Not by much. Only enough for everyone to notice the change in temperature. The merchant shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"What did you do? You do know you cannot torture me?"

"Nothing dangerous," Shunsui replied calmly. Shunsui's smile widened.

"The game simply responds to truth." The merchant's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what was happening. Shunsui continued explaining in his relaxed tone.

"The closer a statement is to the truth, the warmer the room becomes." Shunsui slowly walked around the table while keeping his eyes on the prisoner. Then he began the game properly.

"The crime involved money." The temperature rose slightly. It was subtle. Almost unnoticeable. But it happened. Guy's eyes widened.

"It got warmer." Genma nodded.

"It did." The merchant remained silent, but his body language showed he was starting to worry. Shunsui continued without pause.

"The crime involved revenge." The warmth immediately faded. The room felt cooler again. Guy looked surprised.

"So that is wrong."

"Seems that way," Genma agreed. The merchant swallowed. Shunsui continued walking slowly around the table.

"The crime involved profit." The temperature increased again. More than before. Guy grinned.

"Hot." Genma crossed his arms.

"Definitely hot." The merchant's jaw tightened as he tried to hide his growing discomfort. Shunsui kept going with more statements.

"The dead guard discovered something." The room grew noticeably warmer. A bead of sweat appeared on the merchant's forehead.

"The guard discovered missing money." The warmth decreased. Not completely. But enough to show it was not the full truth. Shunsui smiled.

"Interesting."

"The guard discovered illegal cargo." The warmth returned. Stronger this time. The merchant clenched his fists under the table. Guy stared in amazement.

"So he really discovered something." Shunsui nodded. Shunsui continued testing different ideas.

"The cargo contained luxury goods." Nothing changed in the temperature.

"The cargo contained food." Nothing changed again.

"The cargo contained military supplies." The room suddenly became much warmer. Guy immediately jumped from his chair. Shunsui stopped walking for a moment. Then he looked directly at the merchant.

"The military supplies were being smuggled illegally to enemy nations." The temperature rose again. lShunsui continued pressing with more statements.

"The guard discovered the smuggling operation." The room got hot again.

"The guard threatened to report you." It became even hotter. Guy could feel sweat forming on his forehead. Genma loosened his collar slightly. Shunsui's eyes remained fixed on the merchant.

"The guard died because of what he discovered." The heat intensified further. Shunsui immediately pressed forward.

"You did not kill him during a bandit attack." The room remained hot.

"You killed him before the attack." It got hotter still.

"The attack happened afterward." Genma nodded.

"It was staged." Shunsui smiled calmly.

"The bandit attack was fake." The room became almost unbearably warm. Nobody needed further confirmation. The reaction was overwhelming and clear to all three genin. A buzzer buzzed as three hours were up. The observing jonin, to no surprise of Shunsui, was Orochimaru who licked his lips.

"Bravo Bravo," he said clapping creepily. His voice echoed in the room with clear amusement.

"You did not just pass but you managed to find things that even we originally did not know."

"This test was not meant for you to use your jutsus. But you did follow the rules as there was no rule on not using a jutsu just a rule of no torturing. So you three pass the test." Orochimaru said intently looking at Shunsui and his swords.