Another dozen ninja attempted to attack me from a distance using shuriken, kunai, and various techniques, including genjutsu. However, it quickly became evident that my chakra chains extended much further than I had shown, so all the attackers also fell into my grasping tentacles. Genjutsu couldn't affect me at all because the concentration of chakra in my brain was higher than any Jonin's in the village. As soon as they tried to align with my consciousness, they received a backlash of my chakra straight into their brains, overwhelmed by the internal pressure.

“The Hokage ordered us to bring you in for interrogation” - Morino Ibiki surrendered his superior, realizing that any resistance was futile.

“Did it not occur to you to simply come and ask politely?” - I asked. - “However, you were so predictable that I never considered the possibility that you wouldn’t try to capture me tonight. So now, we will all visit our dear Hokage together to clarify his last dying wish.”

With these words, I and all my ‘captives’ teleported to the clone who was observing the Hokage, hiding in the ANBU underground, awaiting a report on my capture or elimination. This evening, I figured out how to receive natural chakra through my clones in real-time, so the issue of insufficient chakra for me no longer existed.

“Well, well, well, it looks like I’ll have to change the Hokage in my village” - I lamented, observing how the elderly leader squirmed in the embrace of my chains.

“What do you want?” - Hiruzen croaked.

“That’s what I should be asking you. I was sitting quietly, not bothering anyone, fixing my primus stove, and then your people broke into my home and tried to capture me. That’s not how we do business. It seems you won’t escape punishment for your dark deeds.”

“I have Sasuke and Sakura in custody”- the Hokage head tried to negotiate.

“Pfft! Those losers are useless” - I waved dismissively. - “They can only be used as bait.”

“Who are you?” - Hiruzen decided to change the subject, feeling that he had run out of arguments.

“I am Uzumaki Naruto. You have oppressed me for twelve years, the son of the Fourth Hokage, forcing me to live in poverty and surrounded by universal hatred. And here’s the result—I hate all of you. Especially you, you hypocritical old man” - Hiruzen coughed at this revelation, feeling the approach of Shinigami.

“You can’t scare us!” - one of the observers, wrapped in chains like a cocoon, decided to speak up.

“I wasn’t really trying to” - I said, cleaning my ear and blowing a piece of earwax straight into the talker’s mouth, causing him to choke and refrain from further objections. - “In short, your last chance to stay alive is to set a fuinjutsu of complete submission to me. Anyone who disagrees can start protesting right now so that I can kill them without wasting time on meaningless resistance.”

A dissonant chorus of voices was heard, and a couple of dozen shinobies turned into bloody mincemeat. After that, everyone else fell silent and stared at the Hokage, awaiting his reaction.

“Naruto, forgive me...” - Sarutobi Hiruzen began to whine.

“Not interested. I don’t care about all your apologies, repentance, and sincere confessions. The time for talk has passed. And now, my strength will speak for me. And I warn you right away, I’m not master of genjutsu, so most of the test subjects will go straight to the morgue.”

I then brought another ‘nameless statistician ninja’ closer and invaded his consciousness, using chakra and scraps of psionics to establish a subjugating construct. After about the third dozen test subjects, I learned not to fry their brains but actually embed a fuinjutsu in their consciousness that made them unwaveringly loyal to me. I started with the ‘statisticians’ so all the most public figures in the village survived and now couldn’t even think of harming me or disobeying my orders.

After ‘cleansing’ the base, I ordered to be taken to the place where Sasuke and Sakura were held. They were dragged each to a separate dungeon, so I first went to save Uchiha. After all, I still had some hope for him. Maybe he would be of some use.

Sasuke was found in a cell, drugged, bound in shackles, and covered with suppressing seals. After I passed my chakra through him, he woke up and naturally panicked. Well, from his point of view, he fell asleep at home and woke up in a dungeon, chained and unable to use any techniques. In short, my ‘partner’ learned his lesson and realized that he is not cool ninja but just ordinary meat.

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Dealing with Sakura turned out to be somewhat more complicated. When I approached her cell, there was an interrogation in progress. She was not only drugged but also subjected to a stationary fūin that put the victim in a special genjutsu, completely suppressing her will and making all memories in her brain crystal clear. I even decided to postpone rescuing the deranged girl for a couple of minutes because her responses were quite... unexpected.

“What was your purpose in destroying the Hokage Tower?” - asked the chunin, who had extensive experience in asking the right questions and unraveling the most complex circumstances.

“There was no purpose” - the girl replied, drawing out her words.

“Was it a demonstration of power?”

“My power doesn’t need a demonstration.”

“Were you planning to kill the Hokage?”

“No. The Hokage doesn’t exist.”

After this phrase, there was a slight pause while the chunin tried to understand the meaning of the answer. After all, Sakura couldn't lie or make things up at this moment.

“What is your goal?”

“To enslave the galaxy.”

Since few ninjas even knew what a galaxy was, the answer again stumped the operator.

“What is your name?” - he decided to start from the beginning.

“Oleg Veremeev.”

Now I pricked up my ears. The chunin, inspired by this answer, felt he was on the right track.

“So, you’re not Haruno Sakura?”

“I Am Groot!” - the prisoner replied pompously.

“And where is Haruno Sakura now?”

“She never existed.”

Now the hope for a simple resolution of the problem began to falter.

“We have records of observing Sakura since her birth” - the chunin said, though it wasn’t really a question. - “What was the name of the child born to Haruno Kizashi and Haruno Mebuki?” - he decided to find out, having reviewed the personal file data.

“Haruno Sakura.”

“And where is she?”

“She never existed.”

“Who existed then?” - the interrogator couldn’t stand this mockery. On his command, the technicians checked the fūin’s operation but found no deviations.

“Me.”

“And who are you?”

“I Am Groot!”

“What is Groot?”

“Groot is me.”

“What a nonsense? Who created you like this?” - the torturer couldn’t bear it anymore.

Sakura paused, trying to find an answer.

“I was created by Kishimoto Masashi.”

“Finally, some names” - the chunin smiled contentedly. - “Who is Kishimoto Masashi?”

“The creator of this world” - Sakura succinctly described.

The chunin’s face turned red, and he began to breathe heavily, holding back a fit of rage.

“And how did he create it?” - he inquired for form’s sake.

“Judging by what’s happening around, it was under the influence of alcohol and heavy drugs” - the girl gave her expert opinion.

“Hard to disagree with you” - the interrogator muttered, looking at the ceiling.

In general, I already understood what was happening, so I decided to interrupt this highly useless interrogation. After all the village operatives underwent the ‘zombification’ procedure, which the Hokage himself ordered, I decided to rest. I had no desire to return to Naruto’s ‘quarters,’ so I decided to take advantage of Sasuke’s hospitality, taking Sakura with me. After the interrogation, she still hadn’t come to her senses, and I decided not to wake her for now.

In the morning, Sasuke and I were sitting in the guest hall of his residence, waiting for Sakura to wake up. The girl was just about to wake up, lying on a mattress under a warm blanket. Finally, she groaned, turned on her side, and then opened her eyes and jumped up, wildly looking around.

“Good morning” - I greeted her, while sipping a tea. Sasuke had a good collection of elite teas, stored in time-stop seals, and thus preserved until my arrival.

“So, it wasn’t a dream?” - Sakura said... in perfect Russian language.

“No” - I replied in the same language.

“So, she’s not an orc?” - Sasuke made a fairly obvious conclusion.

“Let her tell us herself.”

Meanwhile, the girl started examining herself again, not hesitating to look under her dress and check what was between her legs.

“Fucking fuck!” - she commented on the results of the inspection.

“You haven’t even seen yourself in the mirror yet” - I smirked.

She shot me a displeased look.

“Don’t start, okay? I feel bad enough already.” - Sakura approached the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip. - “Is there any sugar?”

“Honey and jam” - I pointed to the closed pots on the table. After she mixed a pot of honey with her tea and drank it all, I decided to continue the conversation. - “Come on, tell us, our dear Winnie-the-Pooh.”

“Why exactly Winnie-the-Pooh?” - Sakura was surprised.

“Who just gulped down a pot of honey by himself? Come on, spill it.”