Chapter 22: This Road Is Blocked—whoever Comes Dies
Inside the Root Base.
Danzo stared darkly at the retreating backs of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the group of Anbu Ninjas.
Only after they had completely disappeared from sight.
Did Danzo’s emotions erupt.
“Damn—bastard!!!”
All the research materials on Wood Style and Sharingan had been extorted by that bastard Monkey.
And even… Danzo had been forced to hand over the remaining two Three-Tomoe Sharingan that he hadn’t transplanted into himself.
These Sharingan were all ones he had diligently and secretly obtained during the Third Shinobi World War while leading Root.
And now, not only had Uchiha Ikeizumi wasted one Sharingan.
But that bastard Monkey had extorted two more Sharingan from him!
This was the explanation that Monkey wanted, one that satisfied him.
And moreover.
Before leaving, Sarutobi Hiruzen had given Danzo a warning, or rather a threat.
——”Danzo, do not let me hear of similar things happening again. The first time, I tolerated you because you have indeed made many contributions to Konoha. Next time, I will not have such patience. If there is a next time for this kind of thing, you can give up your position as Root Leader.”
Recalling what Sarutobi Hiruzen had said, Danzo clenched his fists.
“This is clearly Root that I personally nurtured with all my heart and soul—how dare he threaten my position in Root!!!”
He gnashed his teeth, enunciating each word.
“Damn Monkey! And that innately evil Uchiha bastard brat!!!”
At that moment.
A Root intelligence operative hurriedly returned to the Root Base and immediately reported the new intelligence to Danzo.
“Lord Danzo, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto has been taken to the Police Force Headquarters by Uchiha Ikeizumi! It is said that this happened with the Third Hokage’s tacit approval.”
Danzo: “???”
……
Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound.
“Uchiha Ikeizumi took that demon fox brat to the Police Force Headquarters?”
An Uchiha Ninja’s eyes suddenly lit up, a hint of eagerness in his gaze, and he said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime golden opportunity! It is said that the Nine-Tails Demon Fox from back then was sealed inside this brat—he is the Jinchuriki!”
“If we can control the Jinchuriki’s power, who among those old fossils in the village’s upper echelons would dare raise their voice against our Uchiha Clan?”
He said excitedly: “I never expected that guy Uchiha Ikeizumi, who seems so out of place on normal days, extremely antisocial, and even often at odds with his own clan members…”
“But at the critical moment, he is quite reliable!”
Uzumaki Naruto is most likely the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—this fact seemed like a “secret” known only to Konoha’s upper echelons.
But no one is a fool; rumors have always circulated in the village that this brat is the demon fox incarnate, a disaster star.
Most rumors are not groundless.
Just a little association reveals his inseparable connection to the Tailed Beast Nine-Tails Demon Fox.
At this time, another Uchiha Ninja nearby frowned and sneered: “I hear Uzumaki Naruto is in Lord Fugaku’s office right now. Do you think, with Lord Fugaku’s personality… heh, would he let us use the Jinchuriki to intimidate the village’s upper echelons?”
“That is the ‘big-picture’ fierce-eyed Fugaku after all!”
Another Uchiha Ninja gritted his teeth and said: “Hmph! Clan Head Fugaku is just indecisive! But if we gather a group of clan members and put some pressure on him, could he really refuse?”
“If we have the demon fox’s power, the coup plan we have been plotting could be implemented ahead of schedule.”
“We can ask Elder Setsuna to step in!”
“…”
This group of Uchiha Ninjas numbered over twenty.
These were all the hawk faction forces within the Uchiha Clan.
They were all centered around “Uchiha Setsuna,” the hawk veteran of the Uchiha Clan who had once attempted a coup, leading to his imprisonment by the Second Hokage for many years, and had only been released in recent years.
But this group of relatively young Uchiha Clan hawk Ninjas was still too slow to react.
The several Uchiha Hawk Elders led by “Uchiha Setsuna.”
Had already headed straight for the Police Force Headquarters!
However…
……
“Uchiha Ikeizumi, what do you mean?!” Uchiha Setsuna, who was about the same age as Sarutobi Hiruzen, leaned on a cane and stared intently at Uchiha Ikeizumi blocking the middle of the street.
“Ike… Senior Ikeizumi, what are you…” Izumi, following behind Uchiha Ikeizumi, also stared dumbfounded at Ikeizumi.
There.
Uchiha Ikeizumi directly drew the ninja sword from Izumi’s waist and stood quietly in the street of the Uchiha Compound, holding the sword.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
The guards brought by the several Hawk Elders also stepped forward a few paces, confronting the suddenly appearing Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Uchiha Ikeizumi ignored Uchiha Setsuna’s questioning; he merely said calmly to Izumi beside him: “Rookie, if ‘evil’ conflicts with ‘evil,’ such a conflict could make them both suffer, even perish together.”
“But such a conflict would affect many people who should not be involved. Do you think 「Absolute Justice」 should stand by idly, or should it intervene to stop it?”
Izumi was stunned.
She pondered deeply, twirling the tip of her hair with her fingertip, and tentatively said: “Senior, this question is too profound… But I think 「Absolute Justice」 should not be so heartless.”
Her courage gradually built up: “If… if it were me making the decision, I would choose to intervene and stop it!”
Eh, wait…
Senior Ikeizumi definitely wouldn’t ask her this question for no reason.
Plus Senior Ikeizumi’s current actions.
Hiss!
Could it be that, in Senior’s eyes, these elderly Uchiha Clan Elders before them are also existences of “evil”?
Then the other “evil”…
Who is it? Lord Fugaku? Or the Hokage?
Izumi swallowed hard.
“Rookie, you only got half of it right.” Uchiha Ikeizumi said slowly: “「Absolute Justice」 has no regard for feelings; it inherently requires utterly ruthless means to carry it out to the end. The reason to stop such things—is that 「Absolute Justice」 does not tolerate any ‘evil’ parading openly before it.”
“Even if you know that letting ‘evil’ fight ‘evil’ would only benefit 「justice」 with no downsides. But… allowing ‘evil’ to act recklessly before your eyes is already a betrayal of 「Absolute Justice」.”
“Rookie, never hold the idea of tolerating one ‘evil’ to let it mutually destroy with another ‘evil.’ If there is even the slightest mistake, and they do not both suffer…”
“Such an approach will only let one of the ‘evils’ grow in power to the point where even 「Absolute Justice」 cannot suppress it.”
The Uchiha hawks’ coup plan was not “evil” to Uchiha Ikeizumi, because it was just a plan.
But their reckless, justice-trampling, twisted, and perverse actions during the coup process…
Were “evil” in Uchiha Ikeizumi’s eyes.
The reason he knew this so clearly was entirely because of those red-and-white checkered frames before him.
“Evil” was displayed in them to the fullest.
Then.
Only then did Uchiha Ikeizumi acknowledge Uchiha Setsuna, whose expression fluctuated between dark and clear.
But his words made Uchiha Setsuna’s anger surge.
“This road is blocked.”
“Whoever comes dies.”
……
……
