That day, Naruto was summoned by Tsunade, who asked him to join her and Shizune to meet with a prisoner.
On their way there, Naruto finally gave in and asked:
"Why do you want me to come see a prisoner?"
Shizune smiled gently,
"Tsunade has faith in your way with people, Naruto. If anyone can get this girl to open up without force, it might just be you."
Naruto sighed, his expression turned serious as he stepped into the prison cell and closed the door behind him.
He looked across to the other side of the room, where a red-haired girl sat on the bed in the corner.
Her gaze flickered between curiosity, anger, and finally fear. Naruto raised his hands slowly and cautiously approached her to show he meant no harm.
Looking at her closely, Naruto noticed how pale she appeared, with dark circles under her eyes—clear signs of exhaustion beyond measure. She seemed very weak.
Naruto dragged a chair from the corner, placed it in the center of the room, and sat down.
The girl curled up on the bed, eyes locked on him warily.
Deciding to speak first, Naruto said:
"Hey, Tayuya. Long time no see since I knocked you out. Hope Konoha's prison system's been treating you decently."
Tayuya simply stared blankly at him.
Sighing again, Naruto realized this was going to be a long conversation.
He cleared his throat:
"You probably already know—your whole team is dead. Unfortunately, Sasuke got away, but those hunting him are still alive."
Finally, Tayuya spoke:
"I knew you were faking it! Kimimaro must've given you what for, huh?"
Naruto smiled slightly:
"As a matter of fact, I fought him until he died in front of me."
At the mention of Kimimaro's death, her eyes widened.
"You owe me your life."
Tayuya glared at him angrily:
"What an idiot! You should've just killed me back then on the battlefield. Better than rotting in this cage forever!" Suddenly she stood up from the bed. "That damn snake bastard Orochimaru stripped me of my cursed seal—I'm so weak now because of that! He sees me as useless now..."
Naruto noticed a bruise mark on her neck—the place where the cursed seal used to be:
"You're going through withdrawal symptoms from losing the cursed seal's power, aren't you? That must hurt like hell…"
Tayuya gave a bitter smile:
"...Feels like dying. I always knew things would end like this..."
She continued:
"They kept pressing me about how to remove the cursed seal. Especially that woman in the trench coat and mesh armor—she was obsessed with that question."
Naruto sighed:
"Orochimaru would never tell you how to undo his control technique."
Naruto noticed that Tayuya became more animated as their conversation continued. She seemed a bit more relaxed.
Tayuya shrugged:
"That slimy snake practically abandoned me—he stripped me of the seal. You're strong enough to take down Kimimaro alone. I know you could kill or do anything to me anytime. To hell with Konoha—I hate this place."
Naruto dragged his chair closer to her bed:
"So you were forced into serving Orochimaru? You never wanted to be a ninja in the first place?"
Tayuya shook her head.
"When I was a kid, our village got attacked. My family and everyone else were either killed or captured. I ran into a bunch of bastards who captured me and set me on this path. By the time I was nine, I was already one of Orochimaru's elites. He's the one who slapped that damn sealing technique on me."
Naruto smiled slightly.
"What're you smirking at, bastard?"
Naruto gave her a sheepish look.
"Nothing much. When I was eight, I'd already captured one of your elite ninja and brought him back to Konoha. You must've felt pretty bad going back and telling him you failed to catch me, huh?"
Tayuya couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"After we returned, Orochimaru even 'punished' Kimimaro, his favorite subordinate. We never messed up." She smiled slightly as she recalled, "But you've always been strong. I still remember it clearly."
Naruto scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
"I wouldn't really call that messing up. That escape was nothing short of a miracle. Kimimaro almost blinded me. Your group chased me nonstop for two whole days. Even now I still can't believe I managed to get away."
Tayuya nodded.
"Yeah, screw Orochimaru. I never wanted to work for him in the first place. Most of what I could tell you, you probably already know. I'm sure he has more underlings hidden somewhere. But after the Uchiha showed up, that location had already been cleared out. It's pointless checking it now."
Naruto looked at Tayuya seriously.
"So how do you feel about me? Seems like you don't actually hate me, considering I was the one who captured you."
Tayuya sighed and leaned back against her bed.
"Honestly, I wasn't tortured. So I have no reason to hate you. That's just your job, bastard. You could've slit my throat and dumped me in a ditch and walked away. Besides, if our positions were reversed, I'd have done the same to you."
Naruto nodded.
"Well then, talking with you wasn't too bad. Even if you do talk rough, it's kinda fun. I might drop by again later this week."
"Whatever, bastard."
Naruto grinned as he walked toward the door and knocked. A guard unlocked and opened it.
Lying back on her bed, Tayuya gave him a smirk.
"Catch you later, bastard."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!