Chapter 96: The Hokage Must Be The Enemy Of Absolute Justice!
“Simply indulging Danzo in his evil deeds, treating him as a black glove, knowing full well that Danzo’s crimes are deeply heinous yet failing to punish him, instead tacitly permitting and indulging him, sometimes even supporting his actions… this is already colluding with the Evil of the Ninja World.”
Under the watchful eyes of a crowd of Anbu Ninjas, under Sarutobi Hiruzen’s stunned gaze.
Every word Uchiha Ikeizumi said was unsparing.
Like knives stabbing ruthlessly at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
“In this situation, how does the Third Hokage have the face to claim he is not a villain? Just because you are Konoha’s Third Hokage, do you then possess privileges that other villains do not?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s mouth twitched a few times. Faced with Uchiha Ikeizumi’s words, he truly did not know how to quickly refute.
Because upon honest self-reflection, he had indeed treated Danzo as a black glove. After all, Root was originally Konoha’s dark side.
Only by combining light and dark could there be today’s powerful Konoha Village.
Some of the dirty deeds Danzo did naturally had his tacit permission and support. Many people in the village actually knew about this, but no one would say it out loud.
They would all give this Hokage some face.
However…
Among so many people in Konoha, there were always some who would not give him face, such as the Uchiha Ikeizumi right in front of him.
But after seeing Naruto unexpectedly reveal a look of sudden shocked realization.
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately felt his heart tighten.
He coughed once, putting on a serious demeanor with hands clasped behind his back, and calmly retorted: “Danzo’s Root and this old man as Hokage are two different systems in Konoha. Strictly speaking, the superior-subordinate relationship between this old man and him is not that rigidly defined.”
“He often acts on his own initiative, doing things even this old man does not know about. He only notifies this old man after finishing those things, making this old man clean up his mess. And as Hokage, this old man must maintain Konoha’s order at all times.”
“In this situation, this old man can only be forced against his will to clean up Danzo’s vile actions. If this old man were to act against him, Root would fall into chaos, and Konoha would as well.”
“At that time, the village would suffer many innocent casualties, something this old man as Hokage does not wish to see.”
As he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a slight sigh.
Revealing that sense of helplessness in being unable to control Danzo.
He was not entirely talking nonsense; sometimes he truly could not control Danzo’s behavior.
And these words of his seemed to refute Ikeizumi, but were actually meant for Naruto to hear.
He absolutely could not let Naruto misunderstand this Grandpa Hokage.
“…Oh, like that!” Naruto scratched his head in a half-understanding way.
In truth, he did not quite understand Grandpa Hokage’s words.
On the contrary, the scary man’s words were a bit more straightforward and easy to understand.
However…
Grandpa Hokage’s meaning should be that he is not a bad person, right?
This inexplicable feeling of being surrounded at the center by so many people made Naruto feel very novel.
Just as he anticipated what the scary man would say next.
He discovered that the other had directly turned around.
Uchiha Ikeizumi talking to Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Fugaku, and others was a case of words not matching at all. Exchanging even one more unnecessary word with them would be seen as wasting time executing justice.
He only left Naruto with a back view, re-covering the white sheets on the morgue table that he had previously lifted one by one. Then, without looking back, he said to Naruto: “If you want to witness true 「justice」, then follow along.”
With that said.
Uchiha Ikeizumi ignored the Anbu Ninjas blocking the way ahead, and with Uchiha Izumi, Kijiro, and a black Ninja Cat, strode directly toward the morgue exit.
Sarutobi Hiruzen secretly made a hand gesture, and the crowd of Anbu Ninjas parted to the left and right, making way.
Naruto looked around left and right.
He hurriedly followed after.
Like a little tagalong.
“…Sigh.” Watching Naruto trotting happily behind Uchiha Ikeizumi, showing intense interest in so-called 「justice」, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only sigh silently.
If he had arrived ten minutes earlier, he might have been able to save Naruto from the quagmire of 「justice」.
Unfortunately…
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s 「justice」 imprint seemed to have already taken root deep in Naruto’s heart, and with some past events also revealed by Uchiha Ikeizumi, it caused this child to develop a bit of rebellious psychology toward some of his own words.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that what he could do now was try his best to ensure the 「justice」 in Naruto’s heart never gained the word ‘absolute’.
「Justice」 is not wrong; Sarutobi Hiruzen also thought justice was good.
But… he thought 「Absolute Justice」 was wrong!
Konoha already had one Absolute Justice, which gave him enough headaches.
If another came along, he might even have to consider retirement.
Because by Ikeizumi’s 「Absolute Justice」 judgment standards, he as Hokage was probably on the list of villains! Although Sarutobi Hiruzen believed he was not the kind of ‘must-kill’ villain in Ikeizumi’s eyes, he could not help feeling a bit uneasy.
Precisely because of this…
Every time Sarutobi Hiruzen had to meet Uchiha Ikeizumi, he would bring a large group of Anbu Ninjas with him.
“Hokage, what now?” An Anbu Ninja glanced at Uchiha Ikeizumi’s back, then turned his head and asked in a low voice.
The stiff amiable smile on Sarutobi Hiruzen’s face receded, and he said in a deep voice: “Follow them. We absolutely cannot let Naruto walk down Ikeizumi’s overly extreme crooked path.”
After taking just a few steps, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly paused.
He said to Uchiha Fugaku, who was awkwardly standing in place feeling caught between a rock and a hard place: “Fugaku, thank you for today. This old man can see your intentions and magnanimity. With a leader like you, the Uchiha Clan will absolutely not fall into the tragic future prophesied by Ikeizumi.”
The words from the Hokage finally allowed Fugaku to breathe a sigh of relief.
At least…
The Hokage side recognized his actions.
And Fugaku took Sarutobi Hiruzen’s words as a promise. This inevitably stirred some small excited emotions in his heart; he felt his actions had received due reward.
The village could finally slightly trust the Uchiha a bit more.
And today’s misunderstanding would probably be resolved.
…
Uchiha Ikeizumi arrived outside the morgue, found a Police Force Ninja, obtained a file of information on the family of four victims, and handed the file to Izumi.
“Rookie, you investigate.” Uchiha Ikeizumi said.
Izumi immediately realized this was also a test for her.
After all, a senior could not possibly treat her only as a little tagalong every moment; he definitely wanted her to stand on her own.
She hurriedly took it: “Yes, Senior!”
But looking at the file in hand, Izumi’s first step already had her a bit frozen: where should she start investigating?!
Hmm…
Right!
She had clearly already analyzed in front of Senior what kind of identity the murdering villain likely had. It must be because the atmosphere earlier was too tense, making her nervous, so she still had not recovered.
Izumi could not help looking at Uzumaki Naruto beside her, who had a curious expression.
If she guessed right, this child was also one of Senior’s 「Absolute Justice」 believers, right?
Even if Uzumaki Naruto had not yet understood what Absolute Justice was.
But at least Senior thought he had the potential for it.
“You look too.” Izumi said.
“…Eh?”
Naruto, who had been cautiously peeking from the side, immediately said in surprise: “I really can?!”
“Mm.”
As Izumi nodded, she pointed at the couple among the family of four, saying to Naruto: “We need to find people who had conflicts with this family of four, and such people are most likely their relatives, friends, neighbors, or other acquaintances.”
“The acquaintances of those two children most likely have no connection to the murdering villain, so we need to screen from the acquaintances of the wife and husband to see which few are most suspicious.”
Izumi then asked Kijiro: “Senior Kijiro, can you have your Ninja Cats help investigate some information?”
“No problem, meow!” Kijiro gladly agreed.
No one knew what method it used, but soon over twenty Ninja Cats of various patterns assembled in front of the Police Force Headquarters, whispering and gossiping among themselves.
A large group of talking Ninja Cats left Naruto dumbfounded.
“Kid, my cat descendants are the most elite intelligence specialists in the Ninja Cat world! Even the youngest Ninja Cat among them has followed Lord Ikeizumi for one or two years; they will all be your seniors in the future!”
Kijiro added: “Also, from now on when addressing me, call me ‘Senior Kijiro’ like Uchiha Izumi!”
With that said.
Kijiro jumped down and strutted importantly to the crowd of Ninja Cats, beginning to assign various tasks to them.
In no time, the twenty-plus Ninja Cats dispersed.
“Like this… and it’s done?” Naruto scratched his head in confusion.
Izumi smiled slightly: “Believe in Senior Kijiro; its Ninja Cats are really amazing. Many times, Senior Izumi and I can discover case leads first because Senior Kijiro’s Ninja Cats have been gathering all sorts of information throughout Konoha.”
“Hmm…”
Izumi thought for a moment and made an analogy: “You can think of these Ninja Cats as Senior Ikeizumi’s Anbu!”
The Anbu Ninjas surging out from behind: “…”
Hey, hey, hey! Comparing us Konoha Anbu elites to a bunch of Ninja Cats—are you going a bit overboard, young lady?
“Having this group of Ninja Cats is indeed very convenient.” Sarutobi Hiruzen stood beside Uchiha Ikeizumi with hands behind his back. But his body posture was slightly tilted outward, keeping his eyes from meeting Uchiha Ikeizumi’s gaze at every moment.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said: “Ikeizumi, if you joined Anbu, with this group of Ninja Cats you could become Anbu’s Captain.”
Watching a calico Ninja Cat disappear from view, Uchiha Ikeizumi said: “Staying in a place like that would only make me sick.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen: “…”
It seemed he had once again asked for a snub; every time he tried to find a topic, he met with sarcasm.
This further confirmed the extremism of 「Absolute Justice」.
A 「Absolute Justice」 that even the Hokage could not tolerate—he absolutely would not let Naruto be tainted by it.
Otherwise…
Sarutobi Hiruzen simply did not dare imagine what Naruto, with the Nine-Tails’ power, might do after believing in 「Absolute Justice」! Especially since the Tailed Beast’s power was extremely uncontrollable; perhaps Naruto would become an even more unstable factor than Ikeizumi!
…
Meanwhile.
Koharu Utatane returned to the Hokage’s Office Building with a gloomy old face.
Homura Mitokado, who had been waiting here for a long time, frowned upon seeing only Koharu Utatane: “Where is Uzumaki Naruto? Why did not Hiruzen come back with you?”
After noticing that Koharu Utatane’s old face seemed a few shades darker.
Homura Mitokado realized the situation was not quite right.
“Did something unexpected happen?”
Koharu Utatane took a deep breath and recounted everything that happened, causing Homura Mitokado to furrow his brows tightly.
“Uchiha Ikeizumi… he actually has this kind of power to bewitch? With just a few words, he made the Jinchuriki take a strong interest in his 「Absolute Justice」. Even developing severe rebellious psychology toward your attempt to forcibly take him away… to the point where the Nine-Tails’ power nearly lost control.”
Homura Mitokado’s expression grew increasingly grave; the development of this situation had already exceeded all their expectations.
“However…”
Homura Mitokado pondered: “With Hiruzen at the scene, he should be able to prevent Uzumaki Naruto from suffering more serious influence.”
Koharu Utatane said with a gloomy face: “I hope so.”
“Otherwise…”
Her eyes flickered uncertainly: “If the Nine-Tails falls into Uchiha Clan hands, this old body dares not guarantee that the Nine-Tails incident, which nearly turned Konoha into ruins back then, will not happen again.”
Homura Mitokado said: “Uchiha Ikeizumi probably would not let such a thing happen, since he wants to uphold his extreme justice.”
“That’s not certain.” Koharu Utatane snorted coldly: “There will always be those who think they can control the immense power of a Tailed Beast. But when it loses control, it will be too late.”
…
As time passed, by afternoon.
The twenty-plus Ninja Cats had already returned to the Police Force Headquarters one after another, bringing the intelligence they gathered.
Izumi recorded all the intelligence and carefully organized it.
She handed a list to Uchiha Ikeizumi.
“Senior Ikeizumi, I believe these five people are the most suspicious. These five had conflicts with the couple among the family of four victims, and they are all Ninjas. They absolutely have the ability to silently kill a family of four in a short time.”
Izumi was just about to say—as long as they brought them in for a good interrogation, they should be able to get useful information.
But she remembered Senior Ikeizumi’s special ability.
It seemed they could completely skip the interrogation step.
“Let this old man’s Anbu Ninjas bring these five over!” At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s sudden interjection stunned Izumi slightly, giving her a tiny bit of a better opinion of this Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said seriously: “Though this is the Police Force’s duty, this old man is after all Konoha’s Hokage. For such a vicious case in the village, this old man must personally handle it and strive to arrest the murdering villain and imprison him as soon as possible.”
He smiled at Naruto: “Naruto, even just carrying the Will of Fire allows one to execute justice in Konoha. The combination of Will of Fire and justice is what makes an excellent Ninja.”
Izumi’s tiny bit of improved opinion of Sarutobi Hiruzen instantly vanished.
She realized this Hokage was just guarding against Senior Ikeizumi teaching Uzumaki Naruto about 「Absolute Justice」.
—The Hokage was indeed an enemy of 「Absolute Justice」!
This bold thought emerged in Izumi’s mind.
…
Under Sarutobi Hiruzen’s orders, five Anbu Ninjas detached from the group and brought all five of the most suspicious Ninjas Izumi mentioned in less than twenty minutes.
Izumi suddenly felt her sleeve being tugged.
She looked down.
It was Naruto.
Naruto asked quietly and nervously: “Are they really the murdering villains? What if… what if they do not admit it?”
Izumi shook her head, indicating she was not certain either.
She gave Naruto a reassuring pill: “Do not worry. Senior Ikeizumi has the powerful ability to see through Past Evil and Future Evil. As long as the murdering villain stands in front of Senior Ikeizumi, Senior can see through him at a glance.”
Izumi paused, then added: “This is because Senior Ikeizumi believes in 「Absolute Justice」, so he possesses this power.”
Naruto looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi in surprise.
So this scary man had this kind of ability too? But what is 「Absolute Justice」… how is it different from justice?
Such doubts arose in Naruto’s heart.
Just as Izumi wanted to carefully ask Uchiha Ikeizumi something, she suddenly heard Senior Ikeizumi coldly say: “None of the five.”
Izumi: “!!!”
Izumi was stunned on the spot; she seemed to have failed Senior Ikeizumi’s test for her…
Naruto said in shock: “Eh? None of them?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen also could not help being stunned. He felt Uchiha Izumi’s method of screening criminals was correct; if it were him, he would investigate the same way.
That was why Sarutobi Hiruzen had unhesitatingly ordered the Anbu Ninjas to immediately bring all five suspects.
But he had not expected this answer from Uchiha Ikeizumi!
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and said: “Then bring the other lower-suspicion people over to check as well?”
“No need.” Uchiha Ikeizumi rejected Sarutobi Hiruzen’s words, saying expressionlessly: “Kijiro, investigate the interpersonal relationships of that seven-year-old victim. I need a list of suspects who had conflicts with him. Remember, suspects are not limited by age.”
“Yes, Lord Ikeizumi!” This time Kijiro personally set out.
“Seven years old… that boy the same age as me?” Naruto recalled that corpse which still gave him chills thinking about it.
As Naruto hesitated to speak, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and voiced the question Naruto most wanted to ask: “Ikeizumi, in a seven-year-old child’s interpersonal relationships, the people with conflicts with him are mostly peers around the same age, right?”
“What use is investigating these children?” Sarutobi Hiruzen was very puzzled, but he was only asking, not questioning.
Because he knew Uchiha Ikeizumi was more professional than him.
Uchiha Ikeizumi did not explain in detail, simply saying: “Your imagination of the Evil of the Ninja World is too impoverished, and you lack understanding of how twisted and diseased the Ninja World truly is.”
…
…
