Chapter 189: Third Hokage Loses Loyalty! The Heartbroken Hokage
Facing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s seemingly gnashing-teeth questioning.
Uchiha Ikeizumi replied in a flat tone, very simply and straightforwardly: “Don’t feel too good about yourself, Third Hokage.”
The anger that was about to appear on Sarutobi Hiruzen’s face suddenly stalled.
What did this sentence mean? Could it be… that Uchiha Ikeizumi had never taken him seriously from beginning to end. He felt that the other was deliberately targeting him, but was he just overthinking it?
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat dazed, a burst of argument suddenly rang out from behind him, making his whole body jolt.
“What are you doing? What do you Police Force Ninjas want? I’m an Anbu Ninja! I’m a direct subordinate of the Hokage. I’ve made contributions to Konoha. You have no authority to take me to the Police Force!”
An Anbu Ninja whose name had been called by Uchiha Ikeizumi was seen, after spotting several Police Force Ninjas walking toward him.
He immediately retreated a few steps, placed his hand on the hilt of his ninja sword, and had already drawn half the blade of the ninja sword.
He assumed a posture of absolute non-cooperation in resisting arrest.
As Sarutobi Hiruzen inwardly exclaimed “not good” again, a burst of intense metal clashing sounds suddenly erupted from behind him.
When he hastily turned back to look, he saw that two Police Force Ninjas had already drawn their blades and slashed toward the Anbu Ninja!
If the Anbu Ninja hadn’t reacted quickly and immediately drawn his blade to block, he would probably have been slashed into severe injury!
“Stop!!!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted sharply and urgently, but he didn’t expect the Police Force Ninjas to completely ignore his command as Hokage.
The two sides instantly fought as one.
In a two-on-one situation, the Anbu Ninja quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Seeing the situation as urgent.
Just as other Anbu Ninjas tried to rush up to help, a group of Police Force Ninjas immediately stepped forward to block the other Anbu Ninjas.
“Hey hey hey! You wouldn’t want to help a criminal who used force to resist arrest, right? Helping a criminal is colluding with evil in the eyes of Absolute Justice, and is a part of sin!”
A Police Force Jonin stared at an Anbu Ninja in front of him.
He had already activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and when looking at the Anbu Ninja, his eyes were filled with dangerous vigilance.
This intense action by the Police Force made the other Anbu Ninjas hesitate to act rashly for the moment.
Without the Hokage’s command, they didn’t know whether to fully engage the Police Force.
And seeing this scene, Sarutobi Hiruzen…
His face had already turned extremely dark.
“Third Hokage, what do you want to do?” However, just as Sarutobi Hiruzen forced himself to turn and rescue that Anbu Ninja, an extremely cold voice made Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart tighten abruptly.
He had a premonition.
—If he helped the Anbu subordinate with the “arrest,” Uchiha Ikeizumi would unhesitatingly attack him!
No!
The other party had likely long wanted to attack him as Hokage, but had never found a good opportunity. Because as Hokage, he was always protected by a large number of Anbu Ninjas.
And once his actions as Hokage triggered a battle between the Police Force and the Anbu Ninjas.
The Anbu Ninjas would be held back by other Police Force Ninjas.
Then, when facing Uchiha Ikeizumi himself…
It would turn into a one-on-one situation!
To be honest.
If he were twenty or thirty years younger, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt he wouldn’t be afraid at all to face Uchiha Ikeizumi alone.
But he was already old in age, and might not necessarily be this young man’s opponent.
And the other party really dared to go for the kill against “villains.”
He wouldn’t care about the “villain’s” identity.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire…
Shimura Danzo…
Were two perfect examples!
An indescribable mood and situation left Sarutobi Hiruzen in a dilemma.
Forcibly protecting the Anbu Ninja would greatly diminish his authority as Hokage in the eyes of Konoha’s civilians. There might even be many who wouldn’t trust him as Hokage or recognize him as such. In that case, his position as Hokage would become nominal, with empty prestige.
At that point, many policies issued would probably have few people cooperating.
If he remained unmoved in front of so many Anbu Ninjas, what he would lose was the loyalty of the Anbu Ninjas.
He hesitated just like that for a moment.
And it was already too late… There was no time for him to make a decision.
Pfft—
With the sound of a blade tearing through flesh, the Anbu Ninja who tried to violently resist arrest let out a miserable scream. Under the siege of the Police Force Ninjas, he finally fell.
One arm was severed at the root, his abdomen was slashed, blood spurted wildly, and his intestines were nearly spilling from the gash in his abdomen.
The next moment, two bloodied ninja swords were pressed against his neck.
The Police Force Ninjas had still held back somewhat; otherwise, his head would already have been separated from his body!
The other Anbu Ninjas whose names had been called by Uchiha Ikeizumi were stunned by this scene.
They were also made desolate at heart by Sarutobi Hiruzen’s inaction.
They opened their mouths as if wanting to say something but couldn’t; their fingertips twitched as if wanting to act but dared not move.
In the end, they could only let the Police Force Ninjas forcibly cuff their hands behind their backs, and all their ninja tools were removed from their bodies.
Kunai were also pressed against their backs; if they made any unusual moves, the kunai would unhesitatingly pierce into their bodies.
“…It’s over.” Kakashi in the crowd also didn’t stop this conflict.
He stood neither with the Police Force nor with the Anbu Ninjas, like an indifferent bystander on the edge.
Kakashi sighed slightly in his heart, murmuring in a voice only he could hear: “After today, probably few in the entire Anbu will remain loyal to the Hokage. After all, he couldn’t even protect his own subordinates.”
Kakashi didn’t know whether some of the named Anbu Ninjas were villains or normal people.
If calling them villains…
In carrying out Anbu missions, some collateral damage was inevitable in cases of more intense methods.
So if calling them normal people…
In cases of collateral damage during missions, instead of making amends, they turned and left. Afterward, they didn’t seek ways to remedy their mistakes, indirectly leading to the victims either living miserable subsequent lives or directly losing their lives.
From an ordinary person’s perspective.
This seemed wrong too.
Of course… aside from those few Anbu Ninjas that left Kakashi somewhat unclear, for the other Anbu Ninjas’ actions, Kakashi could determine they wouldn’t survive.
Because that wasn’t collateral damage; it was purely a mindset problem during missions, deliberately committing evil deeds and even covering up traces afterward, with extremely vile behavior.
At this time.
Kakashi watched with his own eyes as fully seven or eight Anbu Ninjas were escorted away by Police Force Ninjas.
Among them.
One Anbu Ninja suddenly stopped in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Even after being pushed by the Police Force Ninja behind him, he didn’t take a step forward, but gritted his teeth, turned his head, and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
“Hokage, you really know how to maintain the village’s balance. You really know how to treat the village’s contributors well. No wonder your son and daughter-in-law successively died due to Absolute Justice. No wonder you’ve been gradually sidelined to this point.”
The Anbu Ninja was wearing a mask, so Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn’t see his expression.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen could guess that the other’s face must be extremely ugly and extremely disappointed.
“Hokage, if I’m sentenced to death by the Police Force, please don’t show up at my funeral to pay respects, or I fear I’ll rise from the coffin.”
“If I’m not sentenced to death, then please strike my name from the Anbu Ninja list directly. I’d rather go be a Konoha Genin than be an Anbu Ninja, let alone a member of the Hokage’s direct secret force.”
This sentence was the true heart-piercing remark.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his whole self somewhat dazed.
He tried to open his mouth to retain him, but found that this Anbu Ninja had already left.
The other escorted Anbu Ninjas also gave him, the Third Hokage, a glance of utter disappointment before leaving.
Only that severely injured Anbu Ninja had passed out.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn’t help but look at the other Anbu Ninjas behind him.
This group of unarrested Anbu Ninjas stood motionless in place.
Their gazes, more or less, fell on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt the emotion of “disappointment.”
At this moment…
He lost the trust and loyalty of the vast majority of Anbu Ninjas.
Just because of his brief hesitation of a few seconds!
……
The news of the Anbu Ninjas and Police Force Ninjas confronting each other, resulting in a complete defeat, quickly spread throughout Konoha. The news spread so fast naturally because someone was fanning the flames.
“Shikahisa, the Hokage only needs to investigate a bit seriously to find out that the Nara Clan secretly spread the news throughout Konoha.”
Inside the Konoha barbecue shop, Choza Akimichi said to Nara Shikahisa: “Aren’t you afraid of drawing the Hokage’s displeasure?”
Nara Shikahisa shook his head and said: “Choza, the situation is completely different from before. A week ago, I indeed wouldn’t have done this. Because the Hokage still had great influence in the village, doing this would be playing with fire.”
“But today, a week later, especially on the day the Hokage couldn’t protect his Anbu subordinate… I had to do this. Even if it offends the Hokage, the Nara Clan no longer cares.”
Choza Akimichi asked doubtfully: “Why?”
Nara Shikahisa said seriously: “Choza, haven’t you seen the current situation in the village clearly? Many people are already fed up and dissatisfied with the Third Hokage’s rule.”
“In this situation, every faction in the village will take action. Those who act early get the bigger share of the fruits, those who act late can only lick the leftovers at the end.”
Choza Akimichi’s pupils shrank slightly; he roughly understood.
—Many people no longer wanted the Third Hokage to continue sitting in that position. Moreover, everyone wanted to seize more benefits for their own ninja clans from the Third Hokage.
“Aren’t you afraid of the Hokage’s counterattack? He is still Konoha’s Hokage after all, and he still has some foundation in Konoha. Even if most of it has been destroyed now, a skinny dead camel is still bigger than a horse, right?”
Choza Akimichi hesitated.
“Indeed.”
Nara Shikahisa nodded, but then changed his tone, slowly saying: “No one in the village can withstand the Hokage’s counterattack, including our Nara Clan.”
“However…”
“Today’s Konoha has Ikeizumi in charge. The Hokage’s counterattack won’t get past Ikeizumi. The Nara Clan’s action today is actually for Ikeizumi’s Absolute Justice.”
“Only by cutting away more of the Hokage’s influence in the village, even making the Hokage no longer sit in that position, can Ikeizumi’s Absolute Justice spread throughout the village.”
Choza Akimichi drew in a sharp breath.
This…
Was practically half of Konoha hunting the Third Hokage!
And the Third Hokage might still think this was just Uchiha Ikeizumi’s “offensive” against him.
“Shikahisa, has your action… received Ikeizumi’s approval?”
Choza Akimichi frowned.
Nara Shikahisa said: “I already went to talk to Ikeizumi early on. He said—as long as it doesn’t violate the bottom line of justice, and doesn’t affect innocent ordinary people, let the pig-deer-butterfly three clans act freely. If the Hokage side puts pressure, Ikeizumi will step in to back us up.”
Choza Akimichi exhaled a breath of turbid air and leaned back in his chair.
He said: “Since you’ve said that, the Akimichi Clan can only go along with the Nara Clan. By the way, how’s Inoichi? Have you told him?”
Nara Shikahisa smiled: “Inoichi’s action was even earlier than mine.”
……
“Hokage, this is our resignation letter.”
In the Hokage’s Office.
Three Yamanaka Clan Anbu Ninjas placed three resignation letters on Sarutobi Hiruzen’s desk.
They had deliberately left the office door open before entering, so their voices were even heard by some Konoha Ninjas in the corridor outside.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, dazed in his office chair, snapped back to his senses.
He stared at the three letters on the desk, then looked up at the three Yamanaka Clan Ninjas in front of him who had already removed their Anbu masks.
“Why?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked in a hoarse and weary voice.
One of the Yamanaka Clan Ninjas said: “The three of us are unable to fulfill the Anbu duties. The intensity of Anbu missions has far exceeded our capabilities. We also don’t want to be pointed at with ninja swords by our own people in our own village after completing ninja missions, and be called ‘criminals’ by them.”
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyelids were already twitching, and his breathing had quickened slightly.
“…Is this what Inoichi instructed you to say to me?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned word by word.
The Yamanaka Clan Ninja said: “It has nothing to do with Yamanaka Inoichi, nothing to do with the Yamanaka Clan. This is our three’s own decision.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart had already begun to cool.
……
……
