Chapter 44: All Talk Of Grand Justice
At midnight, the Hokage Building was brightly lit.
The door to the Hokage’s Office opened, and Yoru followed behind Kiiroinu and Kurozaru, seeing the scene inside.
The Third Hokage was smoking at the desk.
On the sofa on one side sat Danzo and Mito Mon’en, and on the sofa on the other side sat Clan Head Rinki.
Behind Senju Rinki stood Kato Dan.
Kato Dan had silver-white long hair and a stern expression.
The three Anbu entered the office and stood behind Danzo.
Yoru glanced around; both sides had ugly expressions, as if they had just finished arguing.
Danzo turned his head and said, “Kiiroinu, report on tonight’s situation.”
“Yes! Lord Danzo!” Kiiroinu said:
“Tonight, all the spies from the Hidden Cloud Village moved. Some created chaos elsewhere to attract the Anbu’s attention, while others directly targeted the Whirlpool Princess.
The Anbu took action immediately. The Whirlpool Princess’s guard squad was blocked by Cloud Ninja, but the Kurozaru Squad appeared in time and followed the Whirlpool Princess.”
Yoru thought to himself that something was off. The Kurozaru Squad’s original intent was to chase the Cloud Ninja spy that Yoru had discovered, but with the Kiiroinu Captain describing it this way, it seemed like the Anbu had prepared in advance.
This report greatly reduced the Anbu’s responsibility.
Kiiroinu continued:
“The Cloud Ninja escaped from a hidden hole in the Konoha Wall and were caught up by the Kurozaru Squad one kilometer from Konoha.
The Cloud Ninja spies were completely annihilated, and the Kurozaru Squad rescued the Whirlpool Princess.”
The Third Hokage nodded repeatedly; the Anbu’s performance this time was very good, stopping the damage in time.
Kiiroinu said:
“There are two reasons why the Whirlpool Princess was abducted.
First, at 11 p.m., the Whirlpool Princess lingered outside the Senju Compound, and no one came out to bring her back.
Second, the Cloud Ninja spies were deeply infiltrated; at least five spies, with no traces discovered before.”
The Kiiroinu Captain was not only powerful but also first-class at shifting blame.
He didn’t say the Anbu had no responsibility, only that they hadn’t discovered the five Cloud Ninja spies.
This wasn’t a serious offense; Konoha welcomed and sent off so many mission clients and tourists entering the village every day, so it was impossible to exclude all spies.
The Anbu had issues, but they were neither light nor heavy, not even requiring accountability.
The first reason he mentioned was pointedly indirect.
The Whirlpool Princess was abducted because she didn’t go home late at night, increasing the danger.
As for why the Whirlpool Princess didn’t go home, the Anbu didn’t know.
The Third Hokage looked at Senju Rinki.
Senju Rinki explained:
“Kushina hasn’t adapted to Konoha yet. I told the clan that no matter what Kushina does, let her follow her heart and not force her.
Her mood hasn’t recovered from the clan annihilation; she has nightmares and insomnia every day, so she doesn’t want to go back to her room to sleep.
I did this to help her adapt quickly and complete the Nine-Tails Seal as soon as possible.”
The matter of changing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki didn’t need to be hidden from the people in this room.
The high-ranking officials aside, the three Anbu being here proved they were trustworthy, executors of the village’s secrets.
Kato Dan was a core figure of the Senju Clan, and with his mastery of forbidden jutsu, he could exert Kage-level combat power in special situations.
The Spiritualization Technique was a forbidden jutsu for ultra-long-range assassination, with astonishing deterrence.
Danzo said at this time:
“Clan Head Rinki! If you can’t manage the Whirlpool Princess, you can completely hand her over to the village!
The village has better ways to manage the Whirlpool Princess!
Let the Whirlpool Princess do as she pleases? How did you come up with such a terrible idea?
Lord Mito has worked diligently for decades; which day has the village ever worried about the Nine-Tails because of her?
After the older generation of the Senju withered away, it’s increasingly disappointing the village.
The Senju Clan’s handling of changing the Jinchuriki was too poor.
If the Anbu hadn’t reacted quickly tonight, the Whirlpool Princess would have been taken to the Hidden Cloud Village!
Intelligence from the border says the Cloud Ninja infiltration unit has already reached 60 kilometers from Konoha Village.
If it had been half an hour later, Konoha would have permanently lost the Whirlpool Princess and the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
I suggest stripping the Senju Clan of their guardianship of the Whirlpool Princess and having the village supervise her directly.
I think Biwako Sarutobi is a great candidate; she’s a powerful medical ninja who has raised several children and is fully capable of taking care of the Whirlpool Princess!”
Senju Rinki glanced at Danzo, then at Mito Mon’en, and finally stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s hand holding the pipe paused in mid-air, not knowing why Senju Rinki was looking at him like that.
Senju Rinki said slowly:
“Big Brother Hiruzen, I still remember picking you up at the clan compound entrance when we were young and taking you to see my father.
Back then, you were the big brother who patiently guided my ninjutsu.
I admired you so much that even though Father and Uncle Tobirama treated you better than us cousins, I never felt any resentment.
From when did the conflicts between us grow bigger and bigger? Harder and harder to bear?
You became Hokage, and my Senju Clan fully supported you.
But why have you increasingly targeted my Senju Clan?
Big Brother Hiruzen, how long has it been since you went to the Senju Compound or saw your master’s wife, my mother?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
Yes, how long had it been since he visited Lord Mito?
His wife Biwako went often; Biwako was Mito Uzumaki’s personal physician, monitoring Mito Uzumaki’s physical condition at all times.
It seemed everyone was waiting for Mito Uzumaki’s death.
After getting old, the greatest tragedy was seeing the expectation of one’s own death in others’ eyes.
It seemed that as long as one died, many problems would disappear.
Upon careful thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized only Mito Uzumaki had an open-minded mindset; how could an ordinary old person endure such a situation?
When the news of the Uzumaki Clan’s annihilation came, Mito Uzumaki must have been heartbroken, unable to find peace every day like Kushina Uzumaki.
The replacement of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was imminent.
Mito Mon’en spoke at this time:
“Clan Head Rinki, the village absolutely has no targeting of the Senju Clan or any ninja clan.
The current problem is that as a Jinchuriki, the Whirlpool Princess should always prioritize the village.
I’ll be direct: we’re very worried now.
The Whirlpool Princess is being raised by the Senju Clan and instilled with incorrect ideas, making her consider the Senju Clan in everything.
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is too important; if her growth deviates, serious problems will arise.
The Hidden Stone Village’s Jinchuriki and the Hidden Cloud Village’s Jinchuriki were both controlled by their tailed beasts due to grudges with their villages, causing riots within their villages.
Jinchuriki are too prone to breeding hatred.
The nurturing of a Jinchuriki cannot have the slightest mistake!”
Yoru watched from the back with great interest; the quarrel among the high-ranking officials was too entertaining.
Each one spoke of great righteousness, but no one could convince the other.
Senju Rinki’s expression was ugly; Mito Mon’en had pointed out the most irreconcilable point between them.
The Nine-Tails—was it Konoha Village’s Nine-Tails, or the Senju Clan’s Nine-Tails?
