Chapter 137: Tsunade’s Killing Intent!
Hokage’s Office Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of handling today’s official duties. He was holding a long pipe in his mouth, furrowing his brows tightly as he puffed out clouds of smoke, as if only the pungent sensation of the tobacco could calm him down a bit.
Meanwhile, the group of envoys from the Village of Rain had been arranged elsewhere by him, to be received by Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen was well aware that with his current emotional state, it wasn’t a good idea to interact with the Rain Ninja envoys.
He needed some personal space to cool down.
At that moment, a ninja dog jumped from outside onto the windowsill, immediately alerting the Anbu guards inside the Hokage’s Office.
Before the ninja dog Pakkun could speak, three sharp ninja swords were suddenly pressed against its small dog head.
The three Anbu Ninjas wearing Anbu masks were staring at it with scrutinizing gazes, as if any unusual movement from it would make its dog head roll instantly onto the ground.
The ninja dog Pakkun was nearly scared into wetting itself, but fortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed it and spoke up: “You’re Kakashi’s ninja dog, right? Do you have some special information to pass to this old man?”
Upon hearing this, the ninja dog Pakkun felt the ninja swords pressed against its dog head shift slightly away, at least no longer tightly against its fur, allowing it to breathe a sigh of relief.
It swallowed nervously and said urgently: “Kakashi sent me to tell you about the situation at the Ninja Academy.”
Pakkun relayed everything Kakashi had told it earlier.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned in place upon hearing it.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had imagined many possibilities.
—Other ninja village spies acting as the mastermind, trying to affect the mindset of him, the Konoha Hokage, in this way. Making him lose his composure and expose vulnerabilities he shouldn’t.
—Ikeizumi’s Mangekyo Sharingan Illusion Technique might have had a slight issue, causing that child to recall dark memories.
—Maybe the deceased wasn’t Sakurako Sarutobi, and it was a case of mistaken identity.
He had considered all sorts of absurd possibilities.
But he had never anticipated…
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell into a deathly silence.
In his stereotypical impression… the three Sarutobi Clan juniors who were supposed to be cute, lively, and future pillars of the Sarutobi Clan,
were supposed to be Ninja Academy teachers cultivating more excellent ninjas for Konoha,
All of this seemed too absurd.
It was truly hard for Sarutobi Hiruzen to accept.
“How could this be…” Sarutobi Hiruzen was deeply confused. He served as the clan leader of the Sarutobi Clan, and he also held the honorary position of principal at the Ninja Academy. Yet problems had arisen with people from both places—was this inescapably related to him as Hokage? He found it hard to convince himself that none of this had anything to do with him.
After taking a deep breath, Sarutobi Hiruzen swept away the confusion in his eyes, his expression complex as he said to the ninja dog Pakkun: “This old man understands. Go back and tell Kakashi…”
“Just say…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly hesitated. He clenched his fist and then released it, placing the long pipe in his hand on the table, staring at a wisp of smoke slowly rising from the pipe.
After an unknown amount of silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally spoke: “Just say… tell him not to interfere. Let Ikeizumi handle it.”
After saying this, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to have half his strength drained, slumping weakly into the office chair.
He was truly lost.
……
Inside the Ninja Academy.
“Sarutobi Terushi.” Under the watchful eyes of the Ninja Academy teachers swallowing nervously, and amid the painful wails of the kid underfoot, Uchiha Ikeizumi casually named one, which happened to make the Sarutobi Clan junior’s screams abruptly stop.
Because his name was Sarutobi Terushi!
Sarutobi Terushi’s eyes widened in shock, with emotions of terror and despair seemingly overshadowing the pain on his face and palm.
He was still just a child!
This Uchiha Ninja probably wouldn’t do anything to him, right?
The other had already stabbed through his palm with a ninja sword and crushed half his face with a foot—that had to be the limit of punishment, right?
But hearing Uchiha Ikeizumi’s cold tone as he spoke words that shocked without dying: “Your heinous actions have reached an unforgivable level!”
“Wait…”
Sarutobi Terushi’s eyes showed endless terror, but as soon as one word left his mouth, he suddenly felt the foot stepping on his head erupt with extremely terrifying power.
He seemed to hear his facial bones crack with a “crack,” the splitting headache making his facial expression extremely contorted.
He felt like his head was about to explode!
Bang!!!
The expressions of several Ninja Academy teachers had now become utterly horrified. They watched the scene before them in stunned silence. Logically, as ninja teachers, they should stop everything—but this was the Ninja Academy!
Yet none of them dared to take a single step forward.
The three Uchiha Police Force Ninjas’ eyelids twitched slightly. Clearly, even as Uchiha Clan ninjas, they felt Uchiha Ikeizumi’s actions were a bit too extreme.
If it were them handling it, they would at least take these three kids back to the Police Force for processing.
But the three of them were still much calmer than the Ninja Academy teachers.
Tsunade had her eyes slightly closed at this moment. She hadn’t stopped any of it. She didn’t know if she was now suppressing her fear of blood or her killing intent.
If her personality were just a bit more extreme…
Probably.
She would do the exact same thing as this Uchiha Ikeizumi kid.
“Lady Tsunade…” Shizune swallowed hard while looking at Tsunade with great concern.
“…I’m fine.”
Tsunade shook her head.
Uchiha Ikeizumi slowly moved his right leg, which had bloodstained pants, away. His cold eyes glanced at a trembling Sarutobi Clan junior, every word he said like the King of Hell calling roll, making one’s soul tremble: “Sarutobi Katsuji.”
The Sarutobi Clan junior named “Sarutobi Katsuji” hadn’t even reacted when Uchiha Ikeizumi brushed past him and continued: “Sarutobi Kuranosuke. Heinous crimes, unforgivable.”
“M-My father is a Konoha Jonin of the Sarutobi Clan! You can’t…”
Pfft—
Sarutobi Kuranosuke saw a flash of blade light before his eyes, and his words cut off abruptly at that moment.
Sarutobi Katsuji: “!!!”
Sarutobi Katsuji was horrified yet utterly bewildered as he was brushed past.
Sarutobi Terushi and Sarutobi Kuranosuke were dead—why was he still alive? This terrifying man had clearly passed by him. Could his crimes not warrant death? But the other had clearly said he was to be executed immediately…
Just as Sarutobi Katsuji was stunned, he suddenly felt his vision blur, the scene before him shift, and a wave of dizziness hit his head.
Under everyone’s gaze.
A faint bloodline slowly appeared on his neck.
Until the bloodline grew thicker, until blood slowly flowed from his neck, until his head uncontrollably tilted and slid off.
Sarutobi Katsuji suddenly understood.
So…
He had already been killed.
……
At the same time, atop a large tree not far away.
“Don’t interfere…” Kakashi’s mouth twitched because the ninja dog Pakkun had already relayed the Third Hokage’s order. But even without that order, he wouldn’t have interfered.
Blocking Uchiha Ikeizumi from executing justice would be like betting his life on the words “he won’t kill me.”
Many had done so, but they all lost the bet.
Kakashi didn’t think he had any heaven-defying luck.
“Moreover.”
Kakashi murmured lowly: “Hokage, your order came too late. Uchiha Ikeizumi has already handled it. The Sarutobi Clan might have to hold another funeral, and… possibly bury four kids at once.”
Kakashi, hidden in the tree, watched the horrifying scene ahead.
He muttered helplessly: “Couldn’t Uchiha Ikeizumi have picked a hidden spot? Even taking them back to the Police Force would work. Doing it at the Ninja Academy—sure it won’t scare the kids?”
However.
Maybe Uchiha Ikeizumi had his own considerations, perhaps even intending to scare those kids.
This was also a “kill the chicken to warn the monkeys” kind of warning.
Kakashi figured quite a few Ninja Academy kids peeking out must have been terrified by Uchiha Ikeizumi.
And in fact.
That was the case.
……
“Gulp—”
Haruno Sakura’s little face was pale as death, needing to lean against the wall just to stand steady.
She had just watched a head get brutally stomped and explode.
The other two had their heads chopped off!
She even saw three headless corpses spraying blood like three fountains. The crimson blood entered Haruno Sakura’s vision, scaring her so much her whole body went limp and powerless.
Though somewhat distant, she was still young with sharp eyesight, clearly seeing two heads frozen in terrified despair staring blankly in her direction.
“Murder… Iruka-sensei!” Haruno Sakura teared up, her little face pale: “Someone’s killing outside… Three people died, and… they’re all Ninja Academy students…”
“I said, don’t look! And don’t pay attention!”
Iruka already regretted not requesting the Hokage to install thick curtains in every classroom.
“Naruto!”
“Sasuke!”
“You two, stop tiptoeing to look outside! I told you to stand in the corner as punishment, not to watch what’s happening out there. And… Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji! What are you doing? Get back to your seats!”
Iruka, with a dark face, wished he could drag every student back to their seats and chain them down.
Because he was genuinely worried these kids might get caught up in whatever was happening outside.
“Iruka-sensei, you’re our teacher, and Teacher Ikeizumi is our teacher too. What’s wrong with me and Sasuke just watching Teacher Ikeizumi execute justice?”
Naruto grumbled discontentedly.
“Executing justice isn’t something for your age to get involved in! At your stage, you need to properly shape your worldview and morals! At least get some education so you can understand what justice is!”
Iruka emphasized wearily.
……
“This is the Absolute Justice of the ‘Lava Release Ferocious Beast’?”
Juzo Biwa, trailing far behind Uchiha Izumi and Mitarashi Anko, had witnessed the entire process of Izumi and Anko executing justice in Konoha.
He had watched that Uchiha girl named “Uchiha Izumi” torture someone in broad daylight.
Even Juzo Biwa’s eyelid twitched at such a bloody, ruthless method.
When he thought the Uchiha girl might get in trouble for her impulsive actions, he noticed the surrounding Konoha residents were merely fearful of the scene, with no excessive reactions or anyone running to notify Anbu Ninjas.
It gave Juzo Biwa the feeling that they were already accustomed to “street torture” like this.
This suddenly made Juzo Biwa a bit dazed.
Where did this come from? Was this still Konoha? It felt like he’d arrived in the Hidden Mist Village enforcing the Bloody Mist Policy.
Maybe this was actually the Hidden Mist Village, and he was under an illusion thinking it was Konoha Village, right?
Hiss…
Were Konoha’s ninjas all this bloodthirsty?
While Juzo Biwa was dazed, he suddenly saw the two female ninjas ahead stop. By the time he realized something was wrong, they had turned and fixed their gazes on him.
“Ah… discovered… But I never intended to hide my presence, so it’s normal to be found.”
Juzo Biwa fearlessly met their eyes.
“You, you’ve been following us the whole way, right?” Mitarashi Anko called out from over ten meters away, staring remotely at Juzo Biwa: “That weird outfit—one look and it’s clear you’re no Konoha Village ninja. Who the hell are you?!”
Juzo Biwa said expressionlessly: “Looks like it’s because I haven’t been active in the Ninja World for a while, so you don’t recognize me just from seeing this sword.”
“Sword…”
Anko’s gaze fell on the Executioner’s Blade slung across Juzo Biwa’s back.
Though most of the Executioner’s Blade was obscured by Juzo Biwa’s figure.
But the exposed part still made her pause.
It immediately jogged Anko’s memory, making her already serious expression even more vigilant. At some point, one hand had already drawn a kunai.
She first warned Izumi beside her: “Be careful. This guy is very likely one of the Hidden Mist Village’s ‘Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist’! If I remember right, he’s the wielder of the Executioner’s Blade, Juzo Biwa—a very dangerous guy with cruel methods!”
“Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!” Izumi was slightly startled, clearly having heard of the name: “Why is this guy in Konoha Village?”
Though puzzled inside, Izumi was on full alert.
She had drawn the ninja sword from her waist, its blade still bearing some bloodstains that couldn’t be wiped clean—from torturing villains with it.
“Hey, don’t misunderstand.” Juzo Biwa didn’t draw the Executioner’s Blade but stood in place and said: “I’m no longer a Hidden Mist Village ninja. Now I’m from the Village of Rain, here as a Rain Ninja envoy visiting Konoha. You Konoha Ninjas wouldn’t attack an envoy, would you?”
“It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.” Izumi said: “Senior Ikeizumi has even killed envoys sent by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. What’s a mere Hidden Mist rogue ninja envoy from the Village of Rain?”
Juzo Biwa: “…”
He seemed to have heard some incredible information.
Uchiha Ikeizumi… killed a daimyo’s envoy? Was this guy insane? Who could even kill that?
How was he more bloodthirsty than Bloody Mist ninjas?!
“Hey, hey, I mean no harm.” Juzo Biwa didn’t want conflict with Konoha Ninjas; he remembered the true purpose of this trip to Konoha: “If I were an enemy, would I be standing here so openly?”
“Moreover. There are definitely plenty of Anbu Ninjas from Konoha monitoring me from the shadows. If I were an enemy, they’d have taken me down already.”
Juzo Biwa paused, then asked: “You two are Uchiha Ikeizumi’s subordinates, right?”
Izumi nodded slightly: “Yes.”
Juzo Biwa smiled: “I’m very interested in your superior, or rather… in his「 Absolute Justice」. You wouldn’t mind introducing me to him, right?”
Izumi said: “Very much so.”
Juzo Biwa: “…”
Izumi said in a crisp, cold voice: “That tone of yours doesn’t sound like someone truly interested in Absolute Justice. You’re just using justice as an excuse to achieve some goal of your own.”
“Am I right? Akatsuki member, Juzo Biwa!”
Uchiha Izumi was intently staring at the white box above Juzo Biwa’s head. She had seen his future evil.
And some of his true information!
Juzo Biwa: “!!!”
……
Inside the Ninja Academy.
“Izushima Kaede.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi didn’t shake the blood off his blade. He turned expressionlessly, his gaze full of killing intent falling on Izushima Kaede, who was already scared limp and slumped on the ground.
This Ninja Academy teacher was already regretting to the point of sobbing, mumbling through choked sobs: “I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t… I didn’t know she would do that. I just said something I shouldn’t have… How was I to know she would actually do it? I didn’t know…”
“I-I didn’t kill her with my own hands…”
Izushima Kaede, eyes red, looked pleadingly at her fellow Ninja Academy teachers: “I didn’t kill her. She committed suicide! By the laws of the Land of Fire, I’m no murderer—just incitement at worst… Right?”
The several Ninja Academy teachers didn’t respond at this inappropriate moment.
They even quietly stepped back a bit, putting some distance between themselves and this woman.
“Incitement… incitement doesn’t warrant death. You should arrest me and put me in prison, not execute me, right? Say something, you guys… Right!?”
“Why are you stepping back, you…”
Just as Izushima Kaede was despairing in a hoarse voice.
A figure suddenly passed Uchiha Ikeizumi, who was approaching her, and stood directly in front of her, causing Uchiha Ikeizumi to pause briefly, his gaze falling on the graceful back before him.
“Lady Tsunade?!”
Shizune was dumbfounded, because that figure was none other than Tsunade!
“Kid…”
Tsunade’s tone was very low now: “Let me do one thing first.”
She then said to Izushima Kaede: “You, stand up.”
Izushima Kaede was stunned.
She recognized Tsunade—one of the Konoha Sannin, a legendary kunoichi of Konoha! Could it be… could Lady Tsunade here to save her? She must think her actions absolutely didn’t warrant death!
It had to be!
Izushima Kaede, who had fallen into despair and collapse, suddenly burst into tears of joy. Some newfound strength surged, making her scramble to her feet. Just as she was about to express infinite gratitude, Tsunade interrupted her expressionlessly.
“As expected…”
Tsunade had already opened her eyes, as this angle hid the blood.
With thick disgust on her face: “If you truly regretted causing that poor child Sakurako Sarutobi to commit suicide, you absolutely wouldn’t show this guiltless expression. Your earlier regret was only because you realized your actions might lead to your own death.”
“You’re just simply afraid of dying.” Tsunade said the last part word by word.
Every word squeezed out through gritted teeth.
“You…”
“You’re beyond salvation!!!”
The disgust and anger on Tsunade’s face left Izushima Kaede frozen, completely unlike the ‘script’ she had imagined.
A sudden faint “crack” from the ground made Izushima Kaede instinctively shift her gaze downward.
She saw the ground had cracked.
In that instant, Izushima Kaede’s eyes widened abruptly, bloodshot veins crawling madly in her already red-from-crying eyes. Her pretty face twisted ferociously, an indescribable pain climbing onto her features.
Terrifying monstrous strength poured unrestrained from the fist, visibly caving in Izushima Kaede’s chest rapidly, her bones crackling endlessly.
The airflow shock from the horrific monstrous strength tore her upper clothing into shreds.
But the exposure lasted less than 0.001 seconds.
Her frontally collapsing chest exploded!
Massive blood, shattered bones, organ fragments, and morsels of meat sprayed from the huge gash in her chest. Her whole body flew backward uncontrollably like hit by a ten-thousand-ton boulder, blood gushing from all seven orifices!
Bang!!!
Her flying body snapped a tree as thick as a bowl mouth.
Bang!!!
Then crashed through an iron fence of the Ninja Academy.
Bang!!!
Until slamming into a building wall, her body embedded forcibly into it, limbs and head dangling limply, blood staining half the wall red.
Except for Uchiha Ikeizumi, everyone present was stunned.
“Is this Konoha Sannin’s Princess Tsunade?” One of the three Police Force members’ eyes flashed with horror as he muttered warily: “Even Three-Tomoe Sharingan’s dynamic vision struggles to track her movements.”
“I heard Sannin Tsunade excels in monstrous strength taijutsu.” Another Police Force Ninja glanced at the shattered ground under Tsunade’s feet: “She must have held back. Otherwise, with that monstrous strength, the person would be pulverized.”
Another Police Force Ninja said: “Hey, shouldn’t the focus be why she suddenly attacked?”
“Moreover…”
He narrowed his eyes: “That was definitely a killing blow. That female Ninja Academy teacher is surely dead. As expected of one of the Sannin—her burst of killing intent even startled me.”
Shizune stared blankly at Tsunade’s back: “…Lady Tsunade?”
“Huff…”
“Huff…”
Tsunade’s pupils trembled as she looked at her blood-covered arms.
The splattered blood had drenched half her body, covering her in crimson spots.
This punch was barely a warm-up for her, a powerful Konoha Sannin.
Yet her hemophobia brought such terror that she gasped heavily.
Layers of sweat beaded on her pale skin; she couldn’t tell if the damp feeling was sweat or blood.
Just as Tsunade’s limbs went weak and she nearly collapsed.
As Shizune cried out, dropping Tonton and rushing over, a hand suddenly supported Tsunade from behind, giving the backward-falling Tsunade a brace.
With that support, Tsunade barely steadied herself.
“You didn’t need to interfere.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi said indifferently: “No need to push yourself like that. Executing villains is the duty and responsibility of Absolute Justice.”
“Shut it, kid! Don’t underestimate my capacity!”
Tsunade tried to take two steps but couldn’t, forced to press a hand on Uchiha Ikeizumi’s shoulder for support.
The tremor in her voice was uncontrollable—clearly, that last line was pure bravado.
Tsunade was deeply confused: “That child was already so pitiful… How could someone be so psychologically twisted as to bully a child like that? Has the Ninja World’s morality really become so diseased and warped?”
Before others could respond, she heavily exhaled, her face pale as she looked up at Uchiha Ikeizumi.
“Kid, if your Absolute Justice can truly make this Ninja World better, reduce these villains, and correct everyone’s thinking.”
“Huff…”
“You shouldn’t go it alone. Find like-minded people, those willing to support you. Even just cleansing Konoha’s evil has you running all over every day—what about the entire Ninja World?”
“Those people also dream of changing the Ninja World. Kid, you should spread your thoughts and ideals to them. You should lead them to execute Absolute Justice together.”
As Tsunade spoke, her trembling voice finally eased a bit: “One Izumi, one Anko, one you—isn’t enough.”
“Then, count me in.”
……
……
