Raftra's cries had long since lost their earlier volume. His voice came out small and broken, as if his vocal cords were being forced beyond their limits.
For a full hour his body had been the target of torture—blows, kicks, crushing strikes to the ribs, even lashes that left searing red welts across his skin.
Each time Raftra collapsed, the chain at his wrists yanked him back into a suspended position. His hands were now badly abraded; blood dripped slowly onto the cold stone floor, falling in a steady rhythm that only deepened the room's grim atmosphere.
Danzo stood composed in the corner, his hands tucked beneath his cloak. His sharp eyes regarded Raftra as one inspects a spent experiment.
A thin smile would crease his face every time Raftra's screams pierced the air. He said not a single word; his silence made the mood heavier.
Meanwhile, the Root ANBU carried out their orders without emotion. They employed crude instruments—heated iron rods, freezing water poured onto open wounds, even violent jolts to the body that nearly robbed Raftra of consciousness.
Whenever he began to faint, they revived him with a cold splash or another brutal blow.
"Arghhh! AHHH!!" Raftra's voice tore. His eyes were wild, his breathing ragged like that of an animal near death. Occasionally he laughed briefly—a fractured, mad laugh, more a release of pain than any joy.
Raftra's thoughts began to fragment. He lost control of himself. Inwardly he begged again and again, 'Enough… stop… I will talk, I will be honest… whatever you want, just stop…'
But his lips moved weakly; his voice was swallowed by ragged breaths.
Until at last heavy footsteps thundered down the corridor. The sound forced everyone in the chamber to look up.
The great wooden door creaked open, and Hiruzen Sarutobi entered with steady steps and an uncompromising gaze.
When his eyes fell upon the limp, suspended figure, Hiruzen paused for a moment. Disgust and disappointment were visible in his expression, though he attempted to mask them.
"Enough," his deep voice rang with authority, filling the room. "Stop this at once."
The Root ANBU bowed their heads immediately, restraining themselves from further abuse. Danzo only turned slowly, his cold eyes meeting Hiruzen's.
"It is still too early, Hiruzen," Danzo said in a low, insistent tone. "We have obtained nothing. This boy is hiding something. You know that."
Hiruzen stepped forward and stood squarely between them, his gaze fixed on Danzo. "I said enough, Danzo. Have you forgotten who is Hokage here?"
For a moment the tension thickened. The ANBU positioned beside Danzo lowered their heads, though their hands remained close to their weapons.
Danzo offered a thin smile—more a threat than a courtesy. He knew his limits. As long as Hiruzen lived, he could not openly defy the Hokage.
He walked closer to Raftra with slow, deliberate steps. His eyes bored into the boy, sly and calculating, as if to say the game was not yet finished.
With the last of his fragile awareness, Raftra lifted his head. His gaze was empty; the ember of rage that had burned earlier was gone. Even hatred seemed to have been consumed by exhaustion and unbearable pain.
Danzo's crooked smile widened at the sight. "See? His spirit is already broken. Hiruzen, this adolescent will amount to nothing. Why waste your time on him?"
Hiruzen regarded Raftra for a long time. He could see the boy had nearly lost his soul. He issued an order. "Bring him down. Rebind him properly, not like an animal. I will handle the rest myself."
The ANBU nodded and carefully lowered Raftra, who collapsed to the floor.
Then Raftra spoke. "Sir… Hiruzen… I… want to speak… alone."
The words were faint, staccato, as if scraped from a throat forced to strain. Yet precisely because of that fragility, everyone in the room turned toward him.
The Root ANBU sharpened their attention, ready to act should Raftra attempt any trick. Koharu and Homura, who had entered with Hiruzen, exchanged worried looks; their faces were taut.
Danzo narrowed his eyes, surprised at the stubborn courage the boy still displayed despite his shattered body.
Hiruzen stood tall, his gaze calculating as always.
"You all leave," Hiruzen ordered, his voice steady and authoritative.
The room held its breath for a few seconds before the ANBU obeyed, retreating one by one with cautious movements. Koharu looked as though she wanted to protest, but Hiruzen's stare silenced her. Homura merely bowed her head and remained silent.
Danzo stayed for the last moment, unmoving. He knew Hiruzen's stubbornness, but he also knew he still wielded influence.
In his mind he thought, Let him speak. Whatever he says, I will make it into a weapon for me. In the end, Hiruzen will remain on my side.
"I said leave," Hiruzen repeated, now firmer.
Danzo finally turned and walked away, his steps slow.
The heavy wooden door closed behind them, leaving Hiruzen and Raftra alone in the room.
Silence. Only Raftra's ragged breathing and the drip of blood from his wounds onto the stone floor could be heard.
Hiruzen pulled up a chair and sat opposite Raftra. His eyes were still sharp, but there was a softness he had not shown in front of Danzo.
"Now," Hiruzen said calmly. "You asked to speak alone. Tell me. What is it you truly wish to reveal?"
Raftra sat on the cold stone floor, back against the rough wall.
He did not answer immediately; his breaths were still heavy and dried blood clung to his cheek. He bowed his head for a long moment as if summoning the last of his strength to speak.
Slowly he raised his face. His gaze was tired, but a small flame still burned within.
"I… will tell the truth this time," he rasped, his voice raw, nearly breaking.
"I am not from this village, nor from any other in this world. I… did not come from this world at all. I was hurled here somehow."
"All I said earlier in the interrogation room were not lies… merely incomplete stories."
Hiruzen gave no outward reaction. He watched each word come out, permitting the confession to run its course without interruption.
Raftra inhaled deeply, bracing against his pain. "I know it sounds impossible. But I can prove it."
"The phone and laptop I carried… they are not mere toys or prototypes, as I said before."
"There is something inside them. Secrets about my original world. If you wish, I can show them to you. They will prove… that I am not dangerous."
The room fell silent. At last Hiruzen spoke, his voice measured and cautious.
"Raftra… are you not lying? Another world… it sounds absurd. Even I, who have seen many strange things, find it hard to accept."
Raftra lifted his head despite his fatigue and stared straight at the Hokage. "I understand it is difficult to believe. But I can prove it. Bring the laptop and the phone here and I will show you the truth."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, weighing the claim. "I can have an ANBU fetch them—"
"No!" Raftra cut in with a hoarse but firm voice. "Do not tell anyone. Do not order others. I want… you yourself to take them, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen studied him for a long while. A quiet pressure filled the room.
Raftra looked down for a moment and then continued in a voice that trembled slightly.
"I do not trust anyone in this village. Everyone sees me as a threat. If I hand over my secrets to them, it will be used as an excuse to destroy me."
"So… please. You must see them yourself. Only you."
Hiruzen did not answer immediately. He regarded Raftra with a gaze that tried to pierce through each layer of falsehood, sincerity, and hidden motive.
Finally he rose. He looked at Raftra for a moment, his expression unreadable, then said in a calm tone, "I will fetch them myself. No one else may know."
Raftra lowered his head; his lips quivered as if he wanted to speak yet held back.
Hiruzen walked out. The heavy door of the underground room groaned when opened, and outside Danzo, Homura, and Koharu waited with questioning faces.
Before they could ask, Hiruzen gave orders in a decisive voice.
"Summon the medical nin. Heal this youth's wounds. And… move him to the most isolated cell."
The ANBU on guard bowed deeply before hurrying to carry out the command.
Danzo stepped forward, suspicion narrowing his eyes. "What did he say to you, Hiruzen?"
The corridor's air tightened. Koharu and Homura watched, expecting an answer.
Hiruzen drew a long breath and, with a deliberately calm face, lied: "He asked to be killed. I refused. We will not gain anything from the death of an adolescent we do not yet understand."
Koharu whispered to Homura, worried. Homura gave a slight nod. Danzo still regarded Hiruzen with distrust but did not press further.
'This time I will let it pass,' Danzo thought.
Hiruzen turned and walked away, the Hokage robe swaying gently. "Do not approach Raftra until I permit it."
He went to a sealed room—a storage only accessible to the Hokage or his trusted delegate.
There, Raftra's foreign possessions were kept.
…
Later.
Raftra was led down cold, silent stone passageways to the most isolated prison beneath Konoha.
When they arrived, the heavy iron door creaked open. Inside was a single empty cell: damp stone walls, a simple wooden bed, and a dim lamp hanging from the ceiling.
Medical nin were summoned at once. They worked swiftly—channeling healing chakra to close torn flesh, set broken bones, and staunch the remaining blood loss.
Raftra sat motionless, staring blankly at the floor. The physical pain receded, but his mind felt no lighter.
After half an hour the treatment was finished. The medics stepped back and brought him a plain gray garment.
His body was wrapped in bandages; any sudden movement would cause pain, so he had to be careful.
They laid him on the wooden bed, removed the chains from his wrists, and locked the iron door securely.
…
After a long wait.
The door opened again. Hiruzen entered with slow steps. Beneath his wide robe he carried the laptop and phone.
Raftra immediately sat up on the wooden bed.
Hiruzen paused for a moment before handing the devices to him without hesitation.
"These items were sealed to ensure there was no danger. Their seals have been removed."
"At first, I did not intend to go this far. My plan was only to keep you alive under supervision. But circumstances have changed."
Raftra accepted the laptop and phone with a slight nod. "I understand. It is natural… I did appear suspicious."
Hiruzen exhaled and pulled a chair from the corner. He sat, lit his pipe momentarily, and regarded Raftra with eyes that were sharp but cautious.
"I am here not only to hear you speak. I want proof. Show me… that your claims about another world are not lies."
Raftra looked at the laptop's dark screen and gripped it as if it were his last chance to survive.
He thought to himself, I have not checked these devices yet. I hope they still turn on.
Slowly he opened the laptop and pressed the power button. When the blue screen lit up, the hope he had almost lost glimmered again.
'Thank goodness… it still works, and the battery is full,' he breathed inwardly.
Then he began, voice hoarse, "This is a relic from my world. A device that stores knowledge, stories, images, and… secrets."
He turned the laptop so Hiruzen could see the display. Images appeared: towering buildings the Hokage had never seen, metallic machines flying through the sky, broad streets filled with crowds of people dressed in strange garb.
Hiruzen sat silent. His hand closed around his extinguished pipe; his breath slowed. 'Buildings that tall… how do they stand? And those enormous metal things in the sky… not birds, not jutsu. What world is this?'
Raftra opened another folder and played a clip. On screen two figures in strange uniforms fought, leaping and unleashing bright, extraordinary forces.
Raftra offered an explanation softened with fiction: "This is a recording. A special technique in my world that captures distant events and plays them back. The fighters you see are notable figures from my homeland."
Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly. The scene displayed powers beyond comprehension.
If true, thought Hiruzen, then this boy's world houses individuals as powerful as high-level shinobi—perhaps even beyond. Could that be possible? Or is this merely an illusion? No—an illusion could not run without chakra.
He looked sharply at Raftra and then back at the screen. "So… your world is full of such 'great figures' who possess powers like those?"
Raftra nodded calmly. "Yes. In that world, power and knowledge far exceed what is seen here."
"But as I said, I had no chakra at all there. I was only an ordinary person in that world."
Hiruzen exhaled, trying to digest the claim. If true, he thought, then this boy is not merely an empty body without chakra—he is a witness to a civilization far beyond their own.
Raftra then took out his phone. His trembling fingers tapped the screen and its light played across his face. Hiruzen leaned forward, curiosity replacing suspicion.
Photo after photo filled the small display: Raftra standing beside his sister, his father and mother; him smiling awkwardly with friends his age; a classroom scene with a chalkboard; celebrations with food and candles.
The weight in the room deepened.
Raftra held the phone up long enough for Hiruzen to study the images, then looked at him straight in the eye.
"Do I appear to be a criminal in these pictures? Those people are my family… my friends… my life before I was stranded here."
He drew a long breath and added, "If I am lying, then surely these devices would be enough to prove it false. This laptop and phone… they contain traces of another world. A world that cannot be manufactured by genjutsu or chakra. You know that."
Hiruzen was silent. He peered into the phone's screen at the warm smile of a mother holding her child, at a friend's candid expression. There was no chakra aura, no signs of trickery. It all looked unbearably real.
Inwardly Hiruzen thought, These faces are not created illusions. There is feeling; there is life in their eyes. It is impossible that the boy fabricated them.
But if Raftra truly came from another world, Hiruzen realized, his existence would be a mystery beyond their understanding.
Hiruzen regarded Raftra long and hard. The stern command in his gaze had softened into the look of an old man burdened with doubt and responsibility.
The evidence Raftra presented—laptop, phone, family photos, even the recording—were too consistent to dismiss as a lie.
In his heart Hiruzen began to believe. Yet that belief brought its own heaviness.
If he accepted the truth, Hiruzen knew he would have to face the village—Danzo, Koharu, and Homura—who might never accept such a thing. They would say he was blinded by mercy, that he had weakened Konoha. But if he ignored the evidence and treated Raftra only as a threat, he would be destroying a boy without understanding him.
Raftra looked at Hiruzen with a flat, nearly emotionless face—he had exhausted himself of feeling. His voice was low but clear.
"Lord Hokage… I know you already believe. I know you are thinking about how you will face them out there."
He paused, drew a breath, then continued, "I do not mind if I cannot be free. I have reached a point of surrender."
"Honestly, I do not even care anymore. If I must die… I am ready."
Those words pierced Hiruzen. He stared at the injured youth, voice ragged with suffering.
Hiruzen gave a long sigh. "Why did you not show this from the start? If you had been honest earlier, perhaps you would not have had to endure such torture."
Raftra answered quietly, "What do you mean, that I should have been honest… in front of everyone I cannot trust? Besides, if I had told the truth in the interrogation room… are you sure others would have reacted as you have?"
Hiruzen fell silent. The question pressed heavily.
Raftra continued. "I know Danzo would have ordered me killed immediately. The others would support him. Even you would have been uncertain, as you are now."
"So tell me—was it wrong of me to remain silent? I chose to lie because I knew the truth would give them more reason to destroy me. Right?"
The room grew still. Hiruzen closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the boy's words. In his heart he thought, The boy is right… I cannot deny it. I am not certain I could protect him from their hands.
He opened his eyes and looked at Raftra with a gaze no longer filled with suspicion but with genuine sadness.
"You did not do wrong, Raftra. You are… trapped in a world that is not ready to accept your existence."
Raftra shook his head. "No. Perhaps I was wrong in some of the choices I made."
"And now… I am also here in this moment because of choices I made that may have been wrong."
"I have regretted things, but… I do not know what I truly regret."