Uchiha's personal opinion

With the establishment of the Shinobi World Government, the previously sufficient number of Uchiha ninjas immediately became insufficient. Even Minato Namikaze's former superior, the new district police chief Uchiha Yatsuho, was transferred to another post. Minato Namikaze naturally and as expected became the new chief, and his police rank was promoted two levels, making him the first person outside the Uchiha clan to be promoted to the rank of chief superintendent of police!

The ambitious Minato Namikaze would never stop there. All the police ninjas believed that if he wasn't transferred to a post elsewhere, he would most likely go further and become a high-ranking figure at the level of assistant chief of staff!

Minato Namikaze also thought so.

Therefore, it is crucial to complete every task assigned by Uchiha Tokumitsu!

Especially this time, although Uchiha Tokumitsu didn't say much, Namikaze Minato still sensed something unusual.

This will not be just a routine interrogation...

Upon returning to the New District Police Station, Minato Namikaze first placed the small cage containing Black Zetsu into the interrogation room. Then, he pulled off the black cloth, gave a few brief instructions, and left under the pretext of handling official business. He then returned to the monitoring room to keep an eye on Black Zetsu's every move inside the cage.

Black Zetsu also patiently lay motionless in the cage.

And so, the night passed.

……

"This kind of ice only appears in the deep caves of the mountains in the Land of Thunder or the Land of Snow."

After Uchiha Tokumitsu summoned Orochimaru and Uzumaki Ashina, he handed over the mysterious ice in the coffin used to 'cold' Uchiha Madara for them to examine. The well-informed Uzumaki Ashina immediately identified the region where the ice was produced.

“Ashina-senpai is right. Such extremely cold ice cannot form in ordinary snowy regions, at least not in the Land of Iron.”

Orochimaru also offered his opinion.

"So, if we need to find a similar ice cube, how long would it take?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu picked up the Xuanbing and weighed it in his hand.

Although it has been some time since it was taken out of the coffin, this piece of ice still shows no signs of melting, which shows how long the icy power contained within it is.

This is no less than the chakra ice blocks created by the Minazuki clan using the Ice Release technique. In nature, such mysterious ice can only appear in certain regions that have been extremely cold since ancient times.

Therefore, Orochimaru and Ashina Uzumaki's judgments were somewhat related to Tokumitsu Uchiha's conjectures.

"A region can be investigated within two days."

After exchanging a glance, Ashina Uzumaki stepped forward to answer.

"Then add more people and try to search the snow mountains and the entire territory of the Land of Lightning within two days!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu made a decision immediately.

"I respectfully obey Your Majesty's will!"

Ashina Uzumaki and Orochimaru immediately bowed in response.

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu's initial expectation was to investigate all areas that might produce Xuanbing within three days, he only gave them two days according to convention. In any case, when Orochimaru and Ashina Uzumaki arrived, their requirement was always to complete the mission within one day.

In this way, there will be plenty of time!

Furthermore, based on Minato Namikaze's progress report, he has indeed grasped his meaning and is managing the interrogation's pace very well...

……

"Excuse me, Xiao Heizi..."

After being left to languish in the interrogation room for an entire night and morning, Minato Namikaze finally returned with an apologetic expression: "I was just too busy with official duties, so I kept you waiting."

"It's nothing, it's nothing~"

Black Zetsu immediately said very politely, "This is the safest and most comfortable night I've had since I awakened my self-awareness!"

"I don't have to worry about being attacked by wild beasts, nor do I have to worry about being captured and sealed away by ninja priestesses or the like to be used as tools. Instead, I can sleep and rest peacefully. This feeling is just wonderful!"

"Living under His Majesty's rule, even as a demon, I feel incredibly safe!"

Black Zetsu sighed repeatedly, while Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement.

—This skill of flattering anyone anytime, anywhere is definitely not something a wild monster could learn without a teacher!

Minato Namikaze first mentally noted down Black Zetsu's mistake, then said with a beaming smile, "That's for sure. His Majesty's residence must be the safest place in the entire ninja world."

Although there was an interrogation record book and a pen in front of him, he did not start taking notes immediately, but instead started chatting with Black Zetsu.

The two, one human and one demon, then began to chat about the world of ninjas with great interest.

Where were you born?

After rambling on for a while, Minato Namikaze had a general idea of ​​the interrogation plan, so he opened his notebook and signaled to begin the formal interrogation.

"It was in a swamp, but I probably didn't have any intelligence back then, so I can't remember exactly which part of the ninja world it was..."

Black Zetsu said with a melancholy expression, "My earliest memories, besides the swamp, are of endless wandering, hiding, and dodging all sorts of natural enemies..."

"When did you begin to possess wisdom?"

After listening for a while, Minato Namikaze scribbled in his notebook for a bit before asking again.

"As far as I can remember, it was during the most intense period of the war between the Uchiha and Senju clans..."

Black Zetsu said somewhat uncertainly, "As for the specific year, I don't know either, because I only fully awakened after seeing His Majesty's words a year ago. Before that, although I had self-awareness, I could only remember things and distinguish human speech. Generally speaking, I was still in a daze and didn't understand human relationships..."

Minato Namikaze was speechless.

Can such horsemanship really be learned simply by reading the sayings of De Guang?!

Whether others believe it or not, he certainly doesn't!

There must be something fishy going on here!

"Your talent is truly remarkable! No wonder you are a naturally born and nurtured spirit!"

Minato Namikaze's attitude immediately became much more amiable.

However, in Black Zetsu's eyes, it seemed that this was because of the goodwill he had gained from the quotes of De Guang that he mentioned!

As a result, Black Zetsu became even more confident!

"So, before coming to Konoha, in which regions did you mainly operate?"

Minato Namikaze continued to ask.

"...It should be the coast of the Land of Lightning, right?"

Black Zetsu seemed somewhat unsure, but still answered very seriously, "I remember there were many Mist Shadow ninja passing over my habitat back then, which terrified me!"

"Is that so... War is indeed a terrible thing!"

Minato Namikaze also sighed.

The Land of Lightning, the Hidden Mist Ninja...

Connecting these two pieces of information, it roughly corresponds to the period after the Second Shinobi World War, during the Kumogakure campaign launched by the Third Mizukage.

Furthermore, judging from the location, Kuroko's habitat was probably on the northern coast of the Land of Lightning, since the Hidden Mist Ninja at that time mainly attacked the northern part of the Land of Lightning.

Therefore, Xiao Heizi's testimony seems to be without problems.

Although Minato Namikaze was diligently taking notes, he didn't actually believe a single word Black Zetsu said!

"It was truly terrifying! The battle between the Cloud Village ninja and the Mist Village ninja was incredibly bloody, it really scared me..."

Black Zetsu still seemed somewhat shaken.

But this did not prevent Minato Namikaze's suspicions about him from increasing even further!

"However, not long after, it is said that under His Majesty's mediation, Cloud Village and Mist Village shook hands and made peace, and I finally dared to emerge from the ground to bask in the moonlight..."

Black Zetsu continued to sigh.

Minato Namikaze continued to nod.

His seemingly approving expression boosted Black Zetsu's confidence, making him even more self-assured in his fabrications—anything illogical could be conveniently explained away as just a monster at the time, and unclear memories were perfectly reasonable.

Little did they know, Minato Namikaze had already prejudged it as highly suspicious in his mind!

"Aside from other experiences, are there any witnesses who can vouch for your place of residence at that time?"

Minato Namikaze asked the question.

"No... I never dare to appear in front of humans..."

Black Zetsu seemed hesitant and unsure of himself when he spoke.

"It's alright. Do you still remember where you lived before you came to Konoha?"

Minato Namikaze remained calm and composed.

"I remember!"

Black Zetsu nodded repeatedly.

As the mastermind behind the ninja world, it operates the largest number of secret bases in the ninja world, and it can easily send out any one of them.

"So, where exactly is it located?"

Minato Namikaze asked kindly.

"At the end of the Meteorite Mountains in the Land of Lightning, there is a small cave entrance on a waterfall cliff. After entering, you will pass through a stalactite tunnel."

Black Zetsu felt reassured, thinking the interrogation was basically over, so he revealed a location where he had been before. His strategy was to give nine falsehoods and one truth, and to give the most crucial information truthfully, so as to better deceive the ninja in charge of the interrogation.

"...There are no specific coordinates."

Minato Namikaze nodded and continued scribbling in the notebook. "In that case, your interrogation time might be extended a little bit. Any objections?"

"After all, the new government has just been established, and many people from the police department have been transferred, resulting in a shortage of manpower, so the review process may be a little bit slower..."

After putting down his pen and paper, Minato Namikaze seemed to have gotten tired of writing, twisted his wrist, and smiled, saying, "No objections, right?"

"No objections!"

Black Zetsu felt incredibly excited!

Chapter 475 What the hell is a surprise!

Although the Ninja World Government has only been established for a short time, and due to the tight schedule and heavy workload, there are still many shortcomings in some aspects of its administrative work, but if it operates at full speed, its efficiency is still very high!

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu only secretly ordered Orochimaru and Uzumaki Ashina to thoroughly investigate the origin of the Xuanbing, the two were, after all, veteran retainers of the shogunate. They were naturally able to use the authorization granted by Uchiha Tokumitsu in the name of the Great Regent to mobilize personnel from the Northern State and the United Administrative Region to search for the snowy mountains in the northern part of the former Land of Lightning and the ice plains of the Land of Snow.

Of course, neither of them were fools. Although Uchiha Tokumitsu did not explicitly state the purpose of searching for the source of Xuanbing, Orochimaru and Uzumaki Ashina, after discussing it, decided to use the pretext of searching for chakra metal veins to begin a large-scale, carpet-like search involving personnel from one district and one region.

For ninjas, searching for chakra metal veins is perfectly reasonable.