Chapter 186: Conflict Between The Police Force And Anbu!
Sarutobi Hiruzen ultimately returned to the Sarutobi Clan Residence after all; he couldn’t live in the Hokage’s Office Building forever.
It was not out of his expectations.
Upon returning to the Sarutobi Clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen sensed that some clan members were extremely cold toward him.
Even saying “Hokage” was extremely perfunctory, as if very reluctant.
Regarding this.
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not feel angry, because everything he had done indeed did not consider the Sarutobi Clan’s perspective. Whether it was the clan members’ hatred or his own hatred, he had not addressed them; instead, he had allowed the “enemy’s” forces to grow stronger day by day.
But there was one point that Sarutobi Hiruzen knew, while the other Sarutobi Clan members did not.
That was…
The reason he tolerated Uchiha Ikeizumi was purely because he truly no longer had the ability to restrict him.
The Sarutobi Clan’s members had a mistaken understanding of him as Hokage, thinking that he, as Hokage, wielded Konoha’s strongest power. In their eyes, he, as Konoha Hokage, would not need to expend much effort to deal with Uchiha Ikeizumi.
This misunderstanding led to their cold attitude.
“Hiruzen, why?” An elderly voice made Sarutobi Hiruzen’s footsteps pause involuntarily.
Turning his head, he saw it was an elder of the Sarutobi Clan, already over eighty years old.
He heard the other’s hoarse voice ask: “Shin’nosuke was killed, Asuma was killed, Fujiko was killed… All three were your blood relatives. Why are you still remaining indifferent now?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen recognized him.
In terms of seniority, he should be of his uncle’s generation, and he had also watched Sarutobi Shin’nosuke and Sarutobi Asuma grow up, so he should have some feelings for Shin’nosuke and Asuma.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying: “What the village needs is balance, not baseless conflict. If this old man were merely the clan leader of the Sarutobi Clan, then perhaps this old man would gather all the forces he could to avenge his blood relatives.”
“But besides this identity, this old man is also Konoha’s Hokage. The Hokage cannot be so willful; he cannot let the village fall into chaos, nor can he weaken the village’s power due to his personal vendetta.”
“Balance, stability, peace, prosperity. These are the most important things an excellent Hokage should do after taking office.”
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen said this, a sudden voice interjected.
“If you were truly an excellent Hokage, would that bastard Uchiha Ikeizumi have killed so many people in the village? Just in Konoha Village alone, he has already killed nearly a thousand people, right?”
A young member of the Sarutobi Clan, eyes red, said to Sarutobi Hiruzen: “Under your leadership, Konoha Village has nearly a thousand people killed by so-called justice. Is this what you call an excellent Hokage? Hokage!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned.
He heard the other, emotionally agitated and speaking without thinking, continue: “You want to be a good Hokage, but you are not a good Hokage at all; you lack that ability! If you had that ability, Uchiha Ikeizumi wouldn’t even believe in absolute justice!”
“Since that’s the case, why not simply be a Hokage with tough methods? That way, at least you could vent for us!”
One question after another from the Sarutobi Clan members.
Left Sarutobi Hiruzen standing frozen in place.
“This old man…”
“Is not a good Hokage?”
He murmured in a daze.
……
Yakushi Kabuto had already attempted the Summoning Jutsu more than a dozen times, from initial shock, to astonishment, to panic, to calm. He had realized that something must have happened at Ryuchi Cave.
Even…
Lord Orochimaru might have encountered trouble! If Lord Orochimaru was fine, with such an abnormality at Ryuchi Cave, he would definitely share the intelligence with him through special channels.
Since he had not received any intelligence from Lord Orochimaru, it meant Lord Orochimaru’s situation was not good either.
“So…”
“What exactly happened?”
Yakushi Kabuto suspected whether the intelligence about Lord Orochimaru arranging him to lurk in Akatsuki had been leaked?
Did the people in Akatsuki think that since Orochimaru dared to plant a spy in Akatsuki, he was not loyal to the organization at all, and then plan to secretly deal with Lord Orochimaru?
After this strange guess emerged in his mind, Yakushi Kabuto felt a chill run down his spine.
This meant his true identity had been uncovered.
But the people in Akatsuki had not taken him down immediately.
Did they think he posed no threat?
Or did they have other plans?
“Wait… I seem to have overlooked something.” A glint flashed across the lens of Yakushi Kabuto’s glasses as he suddenly grasped a spark of inspiration.
“I remember Lord Orochimaru has always coveted Uchiha Ikeizumi’s body, trying to use that man’s body as a container for his next rebirth.”
“And the absolute justice that Uchiha Ikeizumi believes in would one hundred percent view Lord Orochimaru as an enemy.”
“Lord Orochimaru has the idea of hunting Uchiha Ikeizumi, and Uchiha Ikeizumi has the motive to hunt Lord Orochimaru.”
“Plus, the Uchiha Ikeizumi that Sasori encountered before was merely his Wood Style Clone, not his real body. Doesn’t that mean Uchiha Ikeizumi’s true body is searching for Lord Orochimaru? They might have even already clashed and determined a winner?”
“The unknown anomaly at Ryuchi Cave might also be related to this. In that case, everything would make sense…”
Yakushi Kabuto murmured.
……
Today
Akatsuki held another “online meeting” because Juzo Biwa had defected, and the Uchiha Ikeizumi in the Land of Rain was a clone.
Clearly, this was another holographic technique meeting targeting Uchiha Ikeizumi.
But they soon noticed someone was missing.
— Last time, Orochimaru, who had shown strong interest in Uchiha Ikeizumi and suggested capturing him alive if possible, or at least obtaining his corpse if not, was gone!
Nagato, hidden behind the scenes, frowned.
He controlled Pain and asked in a deep voice: “Does anyone know where ‘Empty’ went? Why has he not responded to my technique’s summons?”
The scene fell into deep silence for a moment.
Clearly, no one knew where Orochimaru had gone.
Even fewer knew what Orochimaru was doing.
At this moment.
The motionless holographic shadow of “Uchiha Obito” standing there swayed subtly without a trace, his head seeming to tilt slightly to the side, as if someone beside him had said something.
This subtle little movement did not escape the others; many gazes focused on him.
“‘Empty’s’ hideout has been destroyed.”
At this point, Uchiha Obito straightened up and took the initiative to speak: “His hideout is covered in cooled lava, with many charred corpses, probably his subordinates. The entire ground has become barren wasteland, with no possibility of any living creature surviving. You can guess his situation for yourselves.”
Sasori clicked his tongue and said: “Looks like that guy ran into Uchiha Ikeizumi’s real body. Maybe he’s being chased by that guy right now, fleeing all over the Ninja World. After all, that snake only has that much skill in running away.”
Clearly.
Sasori had a very poor opinion of Orochimaru and did not look favorably on him.
“There’s another possibility, and it’s even more likely.”
Konan spoke up, saying coolly: “Uchiha Ikeizumi was hunting Empty, and Empty has already died by his hand. This is Akatsuki’s first member to fall to Uchiha Ikeizumi. We tried to hunt him, and he is also trying to hunt us.”
As soon as Konan spoke.
The silence lasted for several seconds.
Pain’s voice rang out: “I will continue attempting to contact Empty. If there is no response within three days, then assume he has indeed died at Uchiha Ikeizumi’s hands. Our hunting target may be even more dangerous and powerful than we imagined.”
“Next time someone encounters him, do not fight him alone. You must contact other members; only with three or more people can you engage him. No accidents allowed.”
“Uchiha Ikeizumi was merely a clone, yet he almost made ‘Jade’ stumble. Do not underestimate him.”
Sasori tsked, seemingly very displeased, but said nothing.
Because the facts were indeed so.
To shake off that weird black flame, he had even nearly dismantled Hiruko.
……
Due to one person being absent, Akatsuki’s gathering this time ended hastily.
“Do you think Orochimaru is dead?”
Nagato, sitting in his wheelchair, took a deep breath, slightly lifted his eyelids, and looked at Konan standing by his side.
Konan said coolly: “Rather than whether Orochimaru is dead or alive, I’m more concerned about Uchiha Obito’s intelligence capabilities. Without any of us knowing, he already knew Orochimaru had been attacked by Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
“He seemed to be listening to someone speaking just now. If I guessed right, it should be ‘Black.’ Uchiha Obito hides many secrets, and ‘Black’ hides many secrets too.”
“Even the latter’s secrets are greater than the former’s, because we don’t even know the latter’s real name or why he exists in this world in such a strange life form.”
“These are two very dangerous guys…”
But Nagato interrupted Konan: “The key is Uchiha Ikeizumi, not Uchiha Obito and Black.”
“…” Konan was silent for a moment before saying: “Nagato, do you really think that someone with such grand ambitions, who simply wants to use us to achieve some goal, will leave Akatsuki unscathed afterward? He will treat us as pawns to discard at any time.”
“Nagato, if that day really comes, won’t you regret it?”
Nagato said slowly: “I don’t care.”
……
“Phew… Konoha! Finally here!”
Juzo Biwa felt like he was completely exhausted from running.
He hadn’t stopped for a moment these past two days, constantly draining his stamina and chakra.
Afraid that Akatsuki’s people would catch up to him.
Now that he had finally reached his destination, he completely relaxed, unable to maintain the aloof demeanor of a Blood Mist ninja, even leaning against a tree and panting heavily.
After recovering a bit.
He did not choose to enter Konoha openly, because he worried there were Akatsuki spies in Konoha.
He sneaked in quietly.
“At this point, I can only seek refuge with that guy; I just don’t know if he will take me in. After all, I’m not from Konoha. If he doesn’t take me in, I’ll probably have to wander the Ninja World, dodging Akatsuki’s pursuit everywhere.”
Juzo Biwa murmured.
……
Inside Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just received cold looks from his clan members, learned from a hurriedly arriving Anbu ninja a piece of news that made even him scalp tingle— the Konoha Military Police Force and Konoha Anbu had clashed! Both sides were confronting each other on the village street!
“What exactly happened?!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn’t even returned home yet; the Anbu ninja’s report and his current reaction were all seen by the other Sarutobi Clan members.
But in this emergency, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn’t be bothered to care.
With a grim face, he asked: “Why did Anbu clash with the Police Force?”
Anbu was the only trump card he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, truly held in his hand.
It was precisely because of this card that Sarutobi Hiruzen had even a bit of confidence to face Uchiha Ikeizumi directly.
If something happened to Anbu, he, as Hokage, would become completely powerless!
After all, half of Konoha’s other ninja clans no longer supported him, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In this situation…
Without Anbu, it would be over!
The Anbu ninja kneeling on one knee before Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated before speaking: “…It’s because the Police Force thinks we Anbu are harboring many murderers. They believe that among the people killed by Anbu ninjas, some were not killed for the village’s sake, and not all were villains who deserved death. They plan to conduct a thorough investigation of the Anbu ninjas.”
“Roughly, making all Anbu ninjas go to the Yamanaka Clan for memory inspection. But our Anbu ninjas’ memories involve too many secrets; it’s absolutely impossible to let Police Force ninjas mess around. So… the conflict happened.”
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s brows were deeply furrowed.
In the past, the Police Force would never have done such a thing.
The Konoha Military Police Force led by Uchiha Fugaku treated Anbu ninjas like the plague god, avoiding them whenever they saw them.
But the Anbu led by Uchiha Ikeizumi…
This was too overbearing, too reckless!
Allowing the Police Force ninjas to act wildly in the village in this way would cause big trouble!
Ikeizumi was simply not suited to lead the Police Force; he was not suited to be a leader; he was only suited to be a sharp blade!
One thought after another flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen’s mind.
He knew he definitely had to go there personally.
“Wait… Is Ikeizumi there?” Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly thought of something and immediately asked.
The Anbu ninja replied: “Uchiha Ikeizumi seems to already be on his way.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen drew in a sharp breath.
……
……
PS: Went to pick out Qixi gifts （） Wrote a bit late
