Sarutobi Hiruzen eventually returned to the Sarutobi Clan compound—after all, he couldn't very well live in the Hokage Building for the rest of his life.
It was just as he had expected.
Upon returning to the Sarutobi Clan, Hiruzen could feel that some of the clansmen's attitudes toward him had grown distinctly cold.
Even saying a simple "Hokage-sama" sounded perfunctory, as if they were doing it most unwillingly.
At this, Hiruzen did not feel anger, because he knew that everything he had done truly had not taken the perspective of the Sarutobi Clan into account. Whether it was the clan's hatred or his own, he had never dealt with it—instead, he had allowed the power of their "enemy" to grow ever stronger.
But there was one thing Hiruzen knew that the rest of the Sarutobi Clan did not.
And that was—
The reason he had tolerated Uchiha Keizumi was simply because he truly no longer had the power to restrain him.
The members of the Sarutobi Clan, however, had a mistaken understanding of him as Hokage—they believed that as the Hokage, he held the greatest power in all of Konohagakure. In their eyes, if the Hokage wished to deal with Uchiha Keizumi, it would not take much effort at all.
That misunderstanding was precisely what led to their current coldness toward him.
"Hiruzen, why?" An aged voice caused Sarutobi Hiruzen's footsteps to stop involuntarily.
Turning his head, he saw one of the clan's elders—a man already over eighty years old.
The elder's voice rasped as he asked, "Shinnosuke was killed, Asuma was killed, and Nadeshiko was killed… All three were your kin. Why do you still remain indifferent now?"
Hiruzen recognized the man.
In terms of seniority, he was of his uncle's generation. Moreover, the man had watched both Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Sarutobi Asuma grow up and must have felt some affection for them.
Hiruzen was silent for several seconds before he slowly said, "What the village needs is balance, not meaningless conflict. If this old man were only the head of the Sarutobi Clan, then perhaps I would gather every bit of strength I could to avenge my own blood."
"But beyond that identity, this old man is also the Hokage of Konohagakure. A Hokage cannot act so willfully—he cannot let the village fall into chaos, nor weaken its power for the sake of personal grudges."
"Balance, stability, peace, and prosperity—these are what a competent Hokage must strive for after taking office."
Just as Hiruzen finished speaking, a sudden voice cut in.
"If you were truly a competent Hokage, would that bastard Uchiha Keizumi have been able to kill so many people in the village? Just within Konohagakure alone, he's already slaughtered nearly a thousand people, hasn't he?"
A young man of the Sarutobi Clan, eyes red, shouted at Hiruzen, "Under your leadership, nearly a thousand people in Konohagakure have been killed in the name of so-called justice—is that what you call being a competent Hokage, Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen froze.
The young man, overcome with emotion and heedless of his words, went on, "You want to be a good Hokage, but you're not a good Hokage at all! You simply don't have what it takes! If you truly had that ability, Uchiha Keizumi would never have come to believe in something like Absolute Justice in the first place!"
"Since that's the case, why not simply be a more hardline Hokage? At least that way, you could vent our anger for us!"
One question after another came from the Sarutobi clansmen.
Leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen standing frozen in place.
"I…"
"Isn't a good Hokage?"
He murmured hoarsely.
…
Yakushi Kabuto had already attempted the Summoning Technique over a dozen times. From his initial shock, to confusion, to panic, and finally to calm, he had realized that something must have gone wrong in Ryūchi Cave.
Perhaps even—
Orochimaru-sama might have run into trouble as well! If Orochimaru-sama were fine, and such a disturbance had occurred in Ryūchi Cave, he would surely have used his special channels to share the intel with him.
Since no information had come from Orochimaru-sama's side, it meant that Orochimaru-sama's situation was not looking good either.
"So then…"
"What exactly happened?"
Kabuto began to suspect—had Orochimaru-sama's arrangement for him to infiltrate the Akatsuki been exposed?
Perhaps the members of Akatsuki had decided that if Orochimaru dared to plant a spy within their organization, it proved he had never been loyal to it at all—and thus they planned to secretly eliminate him?
As that strange thought surfaced, Kabuto felt a chill run through his entire body.
It meant that his true identity might have been uncovered.
Yet the members of Akatsuki hadn't immediately captured him.
Was it because they saw him as harmless?
Or did they have some other scheme in mind?
"Wait… I think I've overlooked something." The lenses of Kabuto's glasses flashed faintly as he suddenly caught a thread of inspiration.
"I remember that Orochimaru-sama has always coveted Uchiha Keizumi's body, intending to use that man's body as his next vessel."
"And as for Uchiha Keizumi's Absolute Justice, it would, without question, see Orochimaru-sama as an enemy."
"Orochimaru-sama had the intention to hunt Uchiha Keizumi, and Uchiha Keizumi also had the motive to hunt Orochimaru-sama."
"Moreover, the Uchiha Keizumi that Sasori encountered earlier was only a Wooden Clone, not his true body. Doesn't that mean Uchiha Keizumi's real body is searching for Orochimaru-sama? Perhaps they've already clashed—and even settled the outcome?"
"The unknown anomaly that occurred in Ryūchi Cave could also be connected to this. If so, then everything makes sense now…"
Kabuto muttered under his breath.
…
Today, Akatsuki convened yet another "online meeting." Since Biwa Jūzō had defected, and the Uchiha Keizumi in the Land of Rain was only a clone, it was clear that this was once again a meeting directed at Uchiha Keizumi.
But soon they noticed that someone was missing.
—The last time, the one who had shown great interest in Uchiha Keizumi and suggested that he should preferably be captured alive—and if not alive, at least his corpse obtained—Orochimaru, was nowhere to be seen!
Hidden in the shadows, Nagato furrowed his brows.
Controlling the Deva Path Pain, he asked in a low voice, "Does anyone know where 'Kū' has gone? Why hasn't he responded to my summoning technique?"
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Clearly, none of them knew where Orochimaru had gone.
Nor did anyone know what Orochimaru was doing.
At that moment—
The projection of "Uchiha Obito," standing motionless, flickered almost imperceptibly. His head seemed to tilt slightly to the side, as though someone beside him had just whispered something.
His subtle movement did not escape the notice of the others; many gazes turned toward him.
"'Kū's' hiding place has been destroyed."
At that moment, Uchiha Obito straightened his posture and took the initiative to speak. "His hideout is covered with cooled magma, and there are many charred corpses there—they should all be his subordinates. The entire land has turned into a barren wasteland, with no possibility for any life to survive. You can imagine for yourselves what his situation must be."
Sasori let out a click of his tongue and said, "Looks like that guy ran into Uchiha Keizumi's real body. Maybe right now he's being hunted down by that man, running all over the ninja world in panic. After all, that snake's only real skill is escaping."
Clearly, Sasori held quite a grudge against Orochimaru and did not see him favorably.
"There's another possibility—one that's even more likely."
Konan spoke, her voice cold. "Uchiha Keizumi was hunting Kū, and Kū has already died by his hand. This would make him the first member of Akatsuki to fall to Uchiha Keizumi. We tried to hunt him, but he's also been hunting us."
As Konan's words fell, a heavy silence lingered for several seconds.
Then the Deva Path Pain's voice sounded. "I will continue attempting to contact Kū. If there is still no response within three days, we will regard him as truly dead at Uchiha Keizumi's hands. The target we seek to hunt may be far more dangerous and powerful than we imagined."
"The next time anyone encounters him, do not face him alone. You must contact the other members—at least three people are required to engage him. No accidents must occur."
"Uchiha Keizumi's mere clone was enough to almost make 'Gyoku' suffer a defeat. Do not underestimate him."
Sasori clicked his tongue again, visibly displeased, but said nothing.
Because that was indeed the truth.
In order to shake off those strange black flames, he had nearly been forced to dismantle Hiruko entirely.