Chapter 187: Trying To Draw A Blade In Front Of The Hokage!
Meanwhile, on a certain street in Konoha.
“Kakashi Senior, you’ve finally arrived.”
When Kakashi hurriedly arrived, an Anbu Ninja immediately came up to him and explained the situation.
Kakashi’s droopy dead fish eyes carried a bit of helpless expression.
He glanced at the nearby Anbu Ninjas gathered together; then looked at the Police Force Ninjas gathered across from them.
Kakashi suddenly felt a bit of a headache.
Who could have thought that the Police Force and Konoha Anbu would conflict in such a way? More crucially, Kakashi found that standing on either side felt a bit off.
As a Konoha Anbu Ninja, Kakashi should logically stand with Anbu.
He should confront the Police Force Ninjas together with the Anbu Ninjas.
But the problem is…
Kakashi actually quite approved of all the acts of justice the Police Force Ninjas had done in the village recently. In this morally distorted Ninja World, it seemed that only this extreme absolute justice could straighten out many people’s distorted moral views.
More importantly, Kakashi had some understanding of Uchiha Ikeizumi’s strength.
He knew even more clearly that after such a conflict occurred, Uchiha Ikeizumi would definitely step in.
That would be a big problem!
After thinking for a moment, Kakashi asked: “The action to thoroughly check all Anbu Ninjas’ memories—was it a decision made arbitrarily by a few Police Force Ninjas, or was it an order from Uchiha Ikeizumi?”
The Anbu Ninja standing in front of him shook his head indignantly: “Not clear. We only know this group of guys is like a pack of rabid Ninja Dogs, biting us and not letting go.”
Kakashi sighed in his heart.
He looked around and saw quite a few more Anbu Ninjas and Police Force Ninjas rushing over here.
The number of Ninjas gathered on this street was becoming larger and larger.
Adding up, there were already dozens, and all were Konoha’s elite Ninjas.
Just as Kakashi wanted to say something, his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly, his gaze focusing in one direction.
“Uchiha…”
“Ikeizumi.”
Kakashi realized the situation had gotten big.
It wouldn’t end easily.
“Lord Ikeizumi is here!” On the other side, with a shout from a Police Force Ninja, all the Police Force Ninjas and Anbu Ninjas’ gazes fell on Uchiha Ikeizumi.
At this moment.
Many Anbu Ninjas stubbornly confronting the Police Force had unnatural twitches in their expressions under their masks.
Obviously.
They were also very clear about the power Uchiha Ikeizumi possessed.
“The Hokage is here too!”
Until a sudden startled cry from an Anbu Ninja rang out.
Only then did all the Anbu Ninjas instantly find their true backbone.
Sure enough.
They saw Konoha’s Third Hokage hurrying over here, escorted by two Anbu Guards.
……
“How did so many people gather…”
Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn’t truly arrived yet, but he already saw the crowd from afar. One side was Konoha Anbu, the other was the Police Force, both sides separated by less than two meters.
That thick “gunpowder smell” was pungent even from over a hundred meters away.
As if just a single spark could ignite and explode the powder keg in front of them.
At that time… it would be a firefight between Konoha Anbu and the Police Force!
The scope of involvement would be huge, possibly dragging the entire village into a massive internal strife.
By then, even he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, wouldn’t be able to mediate the conflict.
After all, the Anbu Ninjas had clashed with the Police Force precisely to be loyal to him as Hokage.
If he, as Hokage, mediated the conflict without favoring Anbu, how would he explain it to those loyal Anbu Ninjas?
But overly favoring Anbu would cause dissatisfaction on the Police Force side, making the conflict even more intense instead.
Just thinking about it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his scalp go numb.
A few years ago, it would have been fine.
Back then, Uchiha Ikeizumi’s wings weren’t fully grown, and Konoha Anbu alone was enough to suppress the entire Police Force.
Not to mention just a conflict—even if the Police Force launched a coup.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had the ability to suppress the coup.
But now it’s different.
Times have changed.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared in the short two-meter gap between the two sides, he had a stern old face, hands behind his back in a Hokage posture, and said to Uchiha Ikeizumi in front of him: “Ikeizumi, let’s end this farce together. There shouldn’t be such contradictions between two different departments of the village. You and I should resolve the subtle misunderstanding between them.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi looked at the not-so-tall Sarutobi Hiruzen in front of him, who was slightly tilting his head, seemingly not daring to meet his eyes.
Uchiha Ikeizumi said calmly without ripple: “If the Anbu Ninjas accept the Yamanaka Clan’s memory inspection, the farce will naturally end, and the Police Force Ninjas won’t trouble the innocents in Anbu.”
The cold tone made Sarutobi Hiruzen’s brows twitch, and also made many Anbu Ninjas’ hearts tighten instantly.
Kakashi in the crowd sighed.
It seemed his prediction was correct; after Uchiha Ikeizumi arrived, it was basically impossible to end it so simply.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice: “Ikeizumi, Konoha Anbu is a secret organization, holding many village secrets. If these secrets leak out, it would be a huge blow to the village’s safety!”
“Moreover, this also involves ‘personal privacy.’ No one would want others to see their privacy, especially when they haven’t done any evil deeds.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi said calmly: “Then if I directly pick specific people to only have them undergo memory inspection, while others don’t need to, wouldn’t that solve it?”
“Third Hokage, among the people I pick, how many do you think are innocent? How many are guilty? How many people’s privacy is worth you, as Hokage, sheltering them?”
After these words, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s pupils shook.
Perhaps due to old age, he momentarily forgot that Uchiha Ikeizumi’s eyes could see through others’ evil!
Uchiha Ikeizumi indulging his subordinates to confront Konoha Anbu meant there were indeed villains bearing sins in Anbu.
And Ikeizumi not directly pulling out the villains from Anbu at the start, but first having the Police Force confront Anbu…
Was he intentionally training the Police Force Ninjas’ courage?
Letting them have the courage to raise the blade of absolute justice against Konoha’s authoritarian power?
Sarutobi Hiruzen, suddenly understanding in his mind, had a slightly darkened expression.
For Uchiha Ikeizumi, this confrontation was perhaps just a tempering of the Police Force Ninjas’ character and capacity.
But for him as Hokage, it seriously undermined his Hokage authority.
Should he let Uchiha Ikeizumi pick out the Anbu Ninjas with unclean backgrounds in front of everyone?
Then he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would lose all support in the entire Anbu.
“Hiss—”
Sarutobi Hiruzen inhaled a cold breath in his heart.
His political instincts told him—Uchiha Ikeizumi was using this incident to achieve four different goals.
First, to temper the Police Force; second, to capture villains; third, to weaken Hokage influence; fourth, to weaken the power around the Hokage!
Standing in the position of Captain of the Police Force, Ikeizumi.
Had finally aimed the cleaver of absolute justice in his hand at him, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
……
Meanwhile.
Ninja Academy.
“Little Jiraiya, with「 absolute justice」 this special variable, teaching the Child of Prophecy can’t be delayed any longer.”
Sage Shima on Jiraiya’s shoulder said earnestly.
“While Uzumaki Naruto is still young, while his views haven’t been completely shaped by absolute justice… What you need to do is impart all the ideals you believe in to him, make him the savior of the Ninja World, make him save the Ninja World that’s about to fall into crisis.”
Sage Fukasaku also chimed in: “In normal circumstances, we’d definitely wait until the Child of Prophecy is older and until a suitable opportunity to teach him.”
“But the situation doesn’t wait. Even if this Ikeizumi has no intention of robbing us of the Child of Prophecy, his extreme ideology is still influencing him.”
“Someone who only believes in absolute justice can’t save the Ninja World. This extreme thinking might even harm the entire Ninja World.”
“Only after your guidance can he bring change to the Ninja World.”
Sage Fukasaku paused, then continued: “Little Jiraiya, we all know you’re under a lot of pressure. Even doing this might cause an ideological conflict with that person called Tsunade.”
“But…”
“Those who truly think for the Ninja World are always misunderstood. The heroes of the Ninja World aren’t necessarily as upright and glamorous as Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
“A Ninja under huge pressure, in ragged clothes, can also be a hero renowned in the Ninja World after teaching the Child of Prophecy.”
The back-and-forth words from the two Toad Sages from Mount Myōboku.
Kept ringing in Jiraiya’s left and right ears.
The slight hesitation on Jiraiya’s face instantly vanished.
“I understand.”
He said: “I’ll go contact Minato’s child.”
……
“Neji Hyuga, has your Hyuga Clan still not settled down?”
During lunch break at the Ninja Academy.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji naturally wouldn’t obediently stay in the classroom for lunch rest; they came to the Ninja Academy’s training ground.
While clumsily throwing kunai at the target, Naruto curiously asked: “I remember you said a while ago that your Hyuga Branch Family seemed to want to select a new Main Family bloodline? So many days have passed; there should be a result by now, right?”
Neji held a wooden kunai, expressionlessly tossed it at the target, and the kunai hit the bullseye directly.
He answered Naruto’s curiosity: “No. An emotion called greed is spreading in the Hyuga Branch Family; many people want to become that new Main Family bloodline. The competition is also becoming more and more intense.”
“Before, they only held a clan meeting every two or three days to discuss this; recently, it’s almost every day, and even those Branch Family Elders want to hold two clan meetings a day.”
Sasuke nearby also hit the center of the target.
Sasuke said: “Your Hyuga Clan’s situation doesn’t look good; if this continues, problems will definitely arise, right? I’m quite familiar with infighting in Ninja Clans.”
“I have a feeling that if your Hyuga Clan continues like this, verbal conflicts might turn into bloody ones. Few power-hungry people are honest.”
Neji Hyuga’s young face nodded heavily.
Agreeing with Sasuke’s statement.
And that was exactly why his mood had been low lately.
Sending the sin-laden Hyuga Main Family entirely into Konoha Prison didn’t seem to bring fundamental change to the Hyuga Clan.
“Ah hahaha! You kids are discussing some really deep issues; are children these days so precocious? Mind if I join in the discussion?”
A sudden shameless loud laugh stunned the three kids present.
When they turned to look, they saw a creepy old man with a sleazy walking posture, clacking over in wooden clogs.
“This guy…”
Neji Hyuga was stunned, then immediately whispered: “It’s one of the Konoha Sannin, Jiraiya!”
Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and asked: “You know him?”
Neji said: “He stalked me late at night.”
After this, whether Sasuke or Naruto, their gazes toward Jiraiya instantly filled with wariness.
Making the enthusiastic smile on Jiraiya’s face freeze awkwardly.
Oh no.
Forgot about that.
When confirming if Neji Hyuga was the Child of Prophecy, he had indeed secretly stalked him. And due to an interlude then, he had to reveal himself and meet Neji.
He didn’t expect the other’s suspicion and vigilance to last until now.
……
“Ikeizumi, is there no room for any compromise?” Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and said expressionlessly: “I can also conduct an internal investigation in Anbu; if anyone really has issues, I naturally won’t shield them.”
Uchiha Ikeizumi shot back: “You, whose two sons are both villains, saying that has zero credibility.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s old face instantly stiffened.
Only hearing Uchiha Ikeizumi continue: “I’ll just say a few names. Those named can choose to do nothing or come forward to turn themselves in. The choice is yours.”
After this, Kakashi in the crowd felt his heart jolt.
He started frantically recalling if he had ever done any evil deeds before.
After finding he couldn’t recall any.
He finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
‘Uchiha Ikeizumi, he’s issuing the final ultimatum!’—This thought flashed through Kakashi’s mind.
The other’s tone seemed very calm, without waves, but anyone could feel the solemn killing intent permeating the air.
The Anbu Ninjas feeling this atmosphere had their muscles tense involuntarily.
While the Police Force Ninjas eagerly placed hands on their ninja sword hilts.
This was the first time Police Force Ninjas faced the Konoha Hokage in such a posture.
Before, they wouldn’t dare.
The scales of “confidence” between the two sides had tilted.
……
……
