Chapter 166: Pressuring Fugaku! You’re Bringing Shame To The Police Force!
“The Mangekyo Sharingan has a dojutsu that can make people feel endless pain, and it lasts for a very long time… Heh heh, why does he know this so clearly?”
Orochimaru, located in a human experimentation secret research base somewhere in the Land of Fire, was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, pondering darkly.
In the previous Akatsuki organization’s “online” meeting, he had learned about Uchiha Ikeizumi’s dojutsu from a masked organization member.
Orochimaru did not know the masked man’s specific identity, only that the other’s status in the Akatsuki organization was not low.
Vaguely on par with that woman named Konan.
Even though Orochimaru was a member of the Akatsuki organization, many members within the organization still held unsolved secrets in his eyes.
“Heh, he or his pitcher plant partner must have clashed with that justice brat Uchiha Ikeizumi. Perhaps Uchiha Ikeizumi once used the Mangekyo’s dojutsu on them.”
“In this meeting, that pitcher plant was absent. This also means the one suffering from the Mangekyo dojutsu might be that pitcher plant, and it is still enduring the torment of the dojutsu…”
Orochimaru instantly analyzed some intelligence on the “masked man” and the “pitcher plant.”
He also concluded one thing—the masked man should be young, and his scheming was not as deep as imagined.
If the other were a deeply scheming and older ninja, he definitely would not reveal so much unfavorable information in his words.
And the other’s speaking voice was forcibly mimicking an elderly tone.
This made Orochimaru feel a trace of curiosity toward the masked man.
“What exactly is he hiding? So many people in this organization similar to me, all hiding their heads and tails!”
“Unfortunately…”
“The scope of their ideals is too small.”
After sneering, as Orochimaru was about to stand up to conduct an experiment, a sudden weird vibration under his feet made the mocking smile on his face freeze for a moment.
Orochimaru’s brows furrowed slightly.
The smile on his face also receded.
Earthquake?
No.
This weird vibration was more like…
When this thought flashed in his mind, the piercing alarm of the human experimentation research base was immediately triggered by someone, with bursts of sharp alarm sounds constantly stimulating Orochimaru’s eardrums, and the red alarm light above Orochimaru’s head flashing wildly.
“Heh heh…”
“Someone actually invaded.”
Orochimaru narrowed his cold eyes; he did not rush to personally stop the intruder because in this human experimentation research base, he had many subordinates.
It couldn’t be that every random “cat or dog” that sneaks in requires him, Orochimaru, to personally take action, right?
What use would all these subordinates, who were not qualified to be his reincarnation containers, have then?
Charity?
Orochimaru leisurely walked into the monitoring room inside the base, looked up at the rough large-screen monitors in front of him, and stared at the somewhat blurry images with snow noise on them.
At that moment, Orochimaru spotted a figure in one of the screens that surprised him greatly.
This even made Orochimaru pause for a moment.
At the same time.
The figure in the screen seemed to sense something; he slowly pulled the ninja sword out of a bloody corpse, then slightly raised his head and looked toward the monitor above.
Their gazes met across the screen.
“Uchiha Ikeizumi…”
Orochimaru’s fingertips twitched slightly as he couldn’t help licking his dry lips.
He recognized the other.
It was one of the containers he anticipated most!
……
“Intruder! You’ve shown a flaw!”
A ninja without any headband grinned ferociously, his skin covered in weird black curse marks, emanating an evil aura akin to Orochimaru’s.
He instantly appeared behind Uchiha Ikeizumi, his hands thicker than ordinary people’s, with skin showing rock-like textures.
He leaped up, clenched his fists, and smashed heavily toward Uchiha Ikeizumi’s back of the head.
This strike seemed capable of shattering several tons of hard bedrock!
Uchiha Ikeizumi turned around expressionlessly, bending his left arm slightly to block.
Bang!!!
After a muffled sound, dust swirled under Uchiha Ikeizumi’s feet, but the left arm that blocked the strike was unscathed, not even triggering the elementalization of his lava body.
His gaze collided with the sight of the sneak attacker behind him.
He could see the thick shock on the other’s face.
Uchiha Ikeizumi unhesitatingly thrust his ninja sword backward with his right hand.
The sharp blade instantly pierced the other’s heart.
At the same time, several curse mark-activated ninjas charged over.
In Uchiha Ikeizumi’s eyes, he could clearly see that every freely moving ninja here had a glaring red frame and text floating above their heads.
Throughout the entire human experimentation secret research base, aside from those captured as “research materials” like lab rats.
No one was innocent.
All red name villains!
“Wood Style…”
“Flower Tree Eternal Burial.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi formed hand seals with his free left hand and slammed it heavily on the ground. In an instant, the ground beneath his feet surged wildly, with thick tree trunks bursting through the floor.
Under the shocked gazes of the curse mark ninjas, countless tree trunks intertwined, forming a wooden wall that blocked them.
Suddenly, flower buds grew on the tree trunks one after another, blooming in less than a second.
Visible clouds of pollen began to spread wildly.
A curse mark ninja at the forefront was directly sprayed with pollen.
He instinctively halted his charge, but the next second he noticed something slightly off with his body, making him grin and immediately say to his companions behind: “This guy is just bluffing; this ninjutsu is nothing…”
Before he finished speaking.
This curse mark ninja’s expression suddenly twisted into extreme ferocity.
He let out a painful scream and immediately clutched his lungs with both hands.
The curse mark ninjas behind could clearly and horrifyingly see something seeming to burst out from inside his body.
Puff—
Puff—
Puff—
The sound of sharp objects piercing flesh suddenly rang out; the screaming curse mark ninja’s lungs were easily pierced from inside by growing vine thorns! Numerous vine thorns pierced out from different parts of his body simultaneously, turning him into a porcupine—at a glance, more like a blood-colored sea urchin!
“Not good!”
The curse mark ninjas behind paled instantly, but it was already too late.
Several more clutched their lungs in agony, screaming and kneeling to the ground.
Puff—
Puff—
Puff—
Bursts of blood mist exploded in the base corridor.
The pungent bloody smell spread wildly.
“…Wood Style?!”
Seeing the scene in a corridor of the base like a bloody purgatory, a trace of surprise flashed in Orochimaru’s slightly narrowed golden slit pupils.
“Tch… you’ve truly given me another new surprise! Uchiha Ikeizumi, how many treasures is your body hiding?”
“I don’t know why you were in the Land of Rain one moment and suddenly appeared here the next.”
“But, I just need to know you’ve delivered yourself to my door.”
Orochimaru was already struggling to contain his craving.
He was someone who, once desiring something, would stop at nothing to obtain it.
Unless confirmed forever unattainable.
Otherwise, Orochimaru would not suppress his greed.
Back then, his attempt to seize the Rinnegan was due to this personality.
……
At the same time.
Konoha.
Koharu Utatane sat unhappily in the Uchiha Police Force interrogation room, her old face pulled down as if everyone present owed her millions of ryō.
Her several Root subordinates had already been interrogated.
Now it was finally her turn as the “mastermind.”
Click.
The door was pushed open.
Uchiha Fugaku walked in with a heavy mood; he never imagined a hot potato would land on the Police Force’s head, right in his hands.
Most critically, he had no way to blame anyone, nor any means to offload this great Buddha.
Because… the ones who brought Koharu Utatane in were dozens of Police Force ninjas, Sannin Tsunade, and ninja cat Kijiro.
And the one who made Koharu Utatane come obediently to the Police Force.
Was the Hokage!
Uchiha Fugaku, who received the news at noon today, felt like the sky was falling. He gritted his teeth and spent the afternoon interrogating a bunch of Root ninjas, enduring pressures he shouldn’t have, leaving him mentally exhausted.
Now…
It was time to interrogate Koharu Utatane.
“Hah!” Koharu Utatane glanced at the bitter-faced Uchiha Fugaku and said coldly: “Interrogating a Konoha advisor must be something your Uchiha Clan wants most, right? Now, this old woman has made your wish come true. This old woman will firmly remember today’s feelings!”
Uchiha Fugaku’s heart went numb.
Koharu Utatane’s harsh words might not intimidate other Uchiha Police Force ninjas, as most in the Police Force who had decided to uphold absolute justice didn’t take her seriously.
But they intimidated Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku sat directly opposite Koharu Utatane, bearing immense pressure. He took a deep breath and said to her: “The Uchiha Clan does not have the idea you just mentioned, Advisor Koharu.”
“We…”
“We are just doing our duty.” Uchiha Fugaku could only invoke Sarutobi Hiruzen: “We are just following the Hokage’s orders, handling official business impartially, nothing more.”
At that moment, Koharu Utatane suddenly interrupted Uchiha Fugaku.
“Fugaku.”
Koharu Utatane’s old face darkened as she said: “This old woman has a question for you—have you decided to have your Uchiha Clan completely turn toward the stance of absolute justice?”
“Under your leadership, is your Uchiha Clan choosing to abandon the Will of Fire passed down in Konoha Village for many years?”
“Answer me, Fugaku.”
Clearly, Uchiha Fugaku was supposed to interrogate Koharu Utatane, but now the dialogue sounded like Koharu Utatane was interrogating Fugaku.
……
Outside the Police Force interrogation room, there was a one-way mirror allowing visibility inside.
Its special structure let those outside hear inside but not vice versa.
Seeing this, Tsunade’s face showed a strange expression.
She casually looked at a Police Force ninja and asked: “This guy, is he really your Police Force captain? He was already going through the motions during the Root ninja interrogations.”
“Now, he’s not just going through the motions; he’s been countered by that old woman, his presence completely suppressed. The Police Force captain’s presence suppressed by a criminal?”
“Is this the enforcement method of your Uchiha Police Force?”
Tsunade had no intent to mock the Uchiha Clan; she just voiced her straightforward questions.
But these simple questions made the Police Force ninjas outside blush with shame and anger.
The proud and noble Uchiha ninjas.
How could they withstand such “sincere questioning”?
Crucially, Uchiha Fugaku’s performance was indeed embarrassing.
The Police Force headquarters was the Uchiha Clan’s home turf!
Back then, even the Third Hokage needed a large group of Anbu ninjas to dare come here.
Now…
Just a mere Koharu Utatane, and with few Root ninjas she brought, yet Uchiha Fugaku feared her?
“How can he be so weak! Isn’t his nickname Fierce-Eyed Fugaku? Where’s the fierceness?” A Police Force ninja couldn’t stand it anymore, nose crooked in anger at Uchiha Fugaku’s weakness, feeling his behavior shamed the Uchiha Clan.
He gritted his teeth and tried to barge into the interrogation room.
“Wait.”
But a sudden crisp, pleasant voice stopped him.
Uchiha Izumi, slightly panting, returned to the Police Force, dragging an unconscious Root ninja in her hand.
Her clothes were somewhat torn, skin with abrasions, clearly from a battle with this Root ninja.
The battle result was naturally her victory.
Izumi stared at Uchiha Fugaku’s behavior in the interrogation room.
She slowly took a deep breath and said: “Let him continue being weak; no need to interrupt or stop him. What you should do is call all Uchiha Clan members over, let them see what kind of person this Uchiha Clan leader really is.”
“Let all clan members see his true face, make those in the clan still harboring some hope for Uchiha Fugaku completely give up on him. If in this situation there are still clan members willing to support him, to follow him…”
“That can only mean they are birds of a feather.”
Izumi had long seen through Uchiha Fugaku and given up on this clan leader, holding no expectations.
Moreover, Uchiha Fugaku occasionally tripped up Senior Ikeizumi and caused trouble, making Izumi’s opinion of him even worse.
……
“Hokage, I don’t know if you can accept a fact that might be hard for you to accept.”
Kakashi appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen, unusually showing a cautious expression on his partially visible face.
His one sentence made Sarutobi Hiruzen take a deep breath.
“Looks like… you’ve investigated something. Kakashi, you haven’t disappointed my expectations.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, his old face sinking slightly, then continued: “Though old, I’m not that fragile. Tell me everything you need to say.”
Kakashi was silent for a second, then said: “Konoha’s sealing squad decrypted an intelligence scroll from a ninja pigeon’s body; the ciphertext in the scroll was also deciphered—the one who released this ninja pigeon to pass intelligence to the outside was a spy from the Hidden Cloud Village.”
“The ciphertext content in the scroll is— the plan to cooperate with Konoha’s informant is proceeding orderly. Konoha’s Third as expected has lost most of his rationality; there’s a high probability Konoha high-level will have intense armed conflict with Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
“But there’s bad news.” Kakashi continued: “When we tried to capture the Hidden Cloud spy, he reacted immediately and chose suicide. He destroyed his head with ninjutsu; the Yamanaka Clan couldn’t steal his memory intelligence.”
“…Hidden Cloud!” Sarutobi Hiruzen gripped the desk corner tightly, veins trembling on the back of his hand.
The desk corner emitted a slight creak under the strain.
Kakashi did not stop reporting, recounting faithfully: “We can currently confirm the informant developed by the Hidden Cloud spy is from the Sarutobi Clan under you, Hokage. Moreover, the informant developed in the Sarutobi Clan is not just one.”
“Anbu found a Sarutobi Clan informant, but his body had a curse mark. When we tried to steal his memory intelligence, his curse mark triggered, and he died instantly. Sorry, this was indeed Anbu’s mistake and negligence.”
“Hokage, within the Sarutobi Clan, there might be a second, third, or even fourth informant for Hidden Cloud Village spies.”
“We just haven’t had the chance to catch their tails yet; Anbu doesn’t know specifically who yet.”
Kakashi’s words were shocking, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen stunned in place.
Actually…
Sarutobi Hiruzen had considered that someone from the Sarutobi Clan might be involved.
After all, the Sarutobi Clan’s hatred for Uchiha Ikeizumi was obvious, so he had sent Anbu to monitor the Sarutobi Clan.
What Sarutobi Hiruzen didn’t expect was that the informants developed by Hidden Cloud Village spies might all be Sarutobi Clan members!
Equivalent to his daughter-in-law Sarutobi Fujiko’s death happening step by step right under his nose!
He clearly resided in the Sarutobi Clan residence.
Yet was deceived by some bold clan members until now!
“Hoo…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s old face was now covered in deep gloom; even with some prior suspicion, hearing this result from Kakashi still soured his mood greatly.
“Keep investigating.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand wearily.
“Yes!”
After watching Kakashi leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows in deep thought.
“So, the current situation is several Sarutobi Clan members colluding with Hidden Cloud spies, trying to use my hand against Ikeizumi. My attitude toward Ikeizumi must have dissatisfied these few clan members greatly, but they dared not voice it to me, so they resorted to such extreme means and schemes.”
“Or…”
“The Hidden Cloud spy proactively contacted Sarutobi Clan members, informing them of a pre-planned scheme to cause chaos in Konoha. Those few Sarutobi Clan members, blinded by hatred, accepted the Hidden Cloud spy’s plan.”
“It could also be the Hidden Cloud spy downplaying, not telling them how much chaos the plan would cause in Konoha. It can’t be that Sarutobi Clan members knew it would brew great disaster yet insisted on cooperating with that Hidden Cloud spy…”
At this thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly fell silent.
Because he felt the possibility wasn’t zero; one could never underestimate the depravity of human nature.
He had already taught a “Orochimaru.”
Who could guarantee certain clan members in his ninja clan weren’t the type who treated life and village as a joke like Orochimaru?
“Hidden Cloud…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s suddenly forceful hand snapped the desk corner.
Since the end of the Third Shinobi World War…
This was Hidden Cloud’s second provocation against Konoha.
Last time, Hidden Cloud Village targeted the Hyuga Clan; the Hyuga Clan paid with Hyuga Hizashi’s life to resolve that diplomatic incident.
This time, Hidden Cloud Village aimed at the Sarutobi Clan.
Or rather, at him, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
……
In the Uchiha Police Force interrogation room.
With a “click,” the interrogation room door was opened from inside.
Uchiha Fugaku, with a stern face, walked out first.
Following closely was Koharu Utatane.
The emerging Uchiha Fugaku suddenly sensed something off; too many people surrounded the Police Force interrogation room door, far exceeding the total Police Force members.
When he frowned and looked closely…
He found most surrounding the door were not Police Force ninjas, but ordinary Uchiha Clan members!
Fugaku was momentarily stunned.
“Captain Fugaku, our Uchiha Clan’s justice is truly as humble as dust, so polite even to a criminal about to be locked in Konoha Prison. Know that this criminal incited subordinates to capture your own son.”
A Uchiha ninja with arms crossed sneered directly in front of Uchiha Fugaku: “Don’t tell me in your eyes, you only have Uchiha Itachi as your son, not Uchiha Sasuke?”
“I’ve heard you’re always dissatisfied with that youngest son, feeling he’ll never measure up to that beast Uchiha Itachi.”
Uchiha Fugaku’s stern face instantly chilled.
He stared straight at the insolent Uchiha ninja.
“Do you know what you’re saying? Mind your status!” Uchiha Fugaku’s presence was not weak.
The next second.
Someone interjected: “Rather than asking him that, ask it of yourself. Clan Leader Fugaku, have you minded your own status?!”
Uchiha Fugaku suddenly found the voice familiar.
Turning to look…
It was Uchiha Izumi.
Izumi’s small face tense, she faced the crowd of Uchiha clan members, looked up into Uchiha Fugaku’s eyes, and said: “You are the Uchiha Clan leader, and moreover the Police Force captain.”
“Have you fulfilled the duties of the former? Have you protected every non-evil Uchiha Clan member? Have you fought for Uchiha interests within legal bounds?”
“Have you upheld the justice required of the latter? What I saw was you groveling to a criminal in the interrogation room!”
“Your attitude is shaming the Police Force!”
This was Izumi’s first time so sharply targeting Uchiha Fugaku verbally.
She had long been utterly disappointed in this clan leader.
Only because of the care from the Uchiha Clan under Uchiha Fugaku these past years did Izumi endure and say little.
And Uchiha Fugaku’s politeness to Koharu Utatane in the interrogation room.
Was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Making Izumi finally unwilling to endure!
“You’re even shaming justice!” Izumi gritted her teeth and added: “You not only unworthy of being Uchiha Clan leader, you’re even more unworthy of being Police Force captain!”
In the corner.
Watching the drama, Tsunade raised a brow, “tch”ed, and muttered: “Didn’t expect this kid to be so extreme, berating Uchiha Fugaku in front of so many.”
“Looks like she’s been brainwashed by Ikeizumi to have only「absolute justice」 in her heart.”
Jiraiya had somehow blended into the crowd.
He sidled up to Tsunade, coughed lightly: “Since you know absolute justice is through mediation and brainwashing…”
“None of your business?” Tsunade glared fiercely, also glaring at Sage Shima and Sage Fukasaku on his shoulder.
Jiraiya: “…”
I wasn’t even halfway done!
Such differential treatment?
……
—Boom!!!
In a certain place in the Land of Fire, scalding hot lava with volcanic eruption-like terrifying impact instantly baked and vaporized several grotesquely shaped curse mark ninjas ahead.
The rolling lava covering the entire corridor surged forward undiminished.
Upon hitting the corridor end, it instantly melted through the metal wall.
Lava spread through passages in all directions of the base.
Destroying most of Orochimaru’s precious research equipment accumulated over the years.
Also killing most of the tool-like subordinate he cultivated.
In the monitoring room, Orochimaru could now smell a strong sulfur smell seeping through the door cracks.
Seeing a costly machine melted into molten iron by lava, Orochimaru’s eyelids began twitching uncontrollably.
“Heh heh, so crude it’s stirring my killing intent!”
Orochimaru’s eyes grew sinister, watching one tool-like subordinate after another die by Uchiha Ikeizumi’s hand; he felt no pity.
In his eyes, these tool subordinates’ lives’ sole use was to consume Uchiha Ikeizumi’s stamina.
Their existence had value as long as it made Uchiha Ikeizumi use one more ninjutsu.
As long as his cherished containers weren’t found by the other; as long as his precious lab rats were still alive and well.
This loss of tools was not enough to anger him.
Rather, the massive destruction of research equipment…
Made Orochimaru unable to sit still.
……
……
