Facing Sarutobi Hiruzen's seemingly gritted-teeth questioning,
Uchiha Keizumi's tone was flat, and his reply was extremely simple and straightforward: "Don't think too highly of yourself, Third Hokage."
The anger that was about to surface on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face suddenly froze in place.
What did that mean? Could it be… that Uchiha Keizumi had never once taken him seriously from the very beginning? That his belief the other was deliberately targeting him had merely been his own delusion?
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen found himself somewhat bewildered, a sudden argument broke out behind him, making his entire body jolt.
"What are you doing? What are you from the Police Force trying to do? I'm an Anbu ninja! I serve directly under the Hokage! I've rendered meritorious service for Konohagakure—you have no authority to drag me to the Police Force!"
One of the Anbu ninjas whose name had been called out by Uchiha Keizumi, upon seeing several Police Force ninjas walking toward him,
immediately stepped back a few paces and placed his hand on his ninja sword's hilt—the blade was already half-drawn.
He adopted a stance of absolute refusal to cooperate with the arrest.
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered inwardly that things were bad again, a fierce burst of metallic clashes suddenly erupted behind him.
When he hastily turned his head to look, he saw that two Police Force ninjas had already drawn their blades and were slashing toward the Anbu ninja!
Had the Anbu ninja not reacted swiftly to draw his sword and block, he would likely have been cut down and seriously injured!
"Stop!!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted sharply, but to his shock, the Police Force ninjas completely ignored the Hokage's command.
The two sides instantly clashed into a chaotic fight.
Facing two opponents alone, the Anbu ninja quickly fell into disadvantage.
Seeing the situation turn critical, just as the other Anbu ninjas were about to rush forward to help, a group of Police Force ninjas immediately stepped in to block them.
"Hey, hey, hey! You're not thinking of helping a criminal who used force to resist arrest, are you? Helping a criminal, in the eyes of [Absolute Justice], means colluding with evil—it makes you part of the evil itself!"
A Police Force jōnin stared at an Anbu ninja before him.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan was already activated, and his gaze carried a pervasive sense of danger and vigilance.
Such fierce actions from the Police Force made the other Anbu ninjas too intimidated to act rashly for a moment.
Without the Hokage's order, they didn't even know whether they should go to all-out war against the Police Force.
And upon witnessing this scene, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face had already turned utterly dark.
"Third Hokage, what do you think you're doing?" Yet just as Sarutobi Hiruzen forcefully turned around to rescue that Anbu ninja, a voice of extreme coldness made his heart suddenly tighten.
He had a premonition.
—If he tried to help his Anbu subordinates in this "arrest," Uchiha Keizumi would not hesitate to attack him!
No—
The other party had most likely long wanted to make a move against him, the Hokage, but had never found the right opportunity. After all, as the Hokage, he was always surrounded by numerous Anbu bodyguards.
Once his actions triggered an all-out battle between the Police Force and the Anbu, the Anbu would inevitably be held up by the other Police Force ninjas.
At that point, when he faced Uchiha Keizumi himself… it would turn into a one-on-one situation!
To tell the truth...
If he were twenty or thirty years younger, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that facing Uchiha Keizumi alone wouldn't intimidate him in the slightest.
But now that he was old, he truly wasn't certain he could be a match for this young man.
And the other truly dared to strike to kill when dealing with "villains."
He didn't care about a "villain's" identity.
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire…
Shimura Danzō…
Those two were perfect examples!
The indescribable turmoil and predicament left Sarutobi Hiruzen caught between advancing and retreating.
If he forcibly shielded the Anbu ninja, it would greatly diminish his authority in the eyes of Konohagakure's civilians. Many would stop trusting or even acknowledging him as the Hokage. In that situation, the title of Hokage would become one in name only, devoid of real substance.
When that happened, many governmental decrees he issued might not even receive compliance from anyone.
But if he stood idly by before so many Anbu ninjas, what he would lose would be their loyalty.
He hesitated for just a moment.
And it was already too late… there was no more time left for him to make a choice.
[Squelch—]
With the sound of a blade tearing through flesh, the Anbu ninja who had tried to resist arrest by force let out a miserable scream. Under the encirclement of the Police Force ninjas, he was finally defeated.
One of his arms was severed cleanly from the root, and his abdomen was also slashed open. Blood sprayed wildly, and his intestines were almost spilling out from the gash in his belly.
The next moment, two bloodstained ninja blades were already pressed against his neck.
The Police Force ninjas were still somewhat restrained—otherwise, his head would already have been severed from his body!
The other Anbu ninjas whose names had been called by Uchiha Keizumi were all stunned by this scene.
And they felt a deep chill in their hearts at Sarutobi Hiruzen's indifference.
They opened their mouths, seemingly wanting to speak yet unable to utter a word; their fingers twitched, as if they wished to move, but they dared not make a sound or a motion.
In the end, they could only allow the Police Force ninjas to forcibly pull their hands behind their backs and strip them of all their ninja tools.
Kunai tips pressed against the backs of their hearts—if they made any sudden movement, the kunai would pierce their bodies without hesitation.
"…It's over." Kakashi, standing among the crowd, did not intervene in this conflict.
He stood neither with the Police Force nor with the Anbu ninjas, appearing like an indifferent bystander.
Kakashi sighed faintly in his heart and murmured in a voice only he could hear, "After today, there probably won't be many left in the Anbu who still remain loyal to Hokage-sama. After all, he couldn't even protect his own subordinates."
Kakashi himself didn't know whether some of the Anbu ninjas whose names were called were truly villains or ordinary people.
To call them villains…
In the course of carrying out Anbu missions, with harsher methods, accidental injuries were unavoidable.
But to call them ordinary…
When such accidental injuries occurred during missions, instead of trying to make amends, they simply turned and left. Afterwards, they never sought any means to atone for their mistakes, indirectly causing the victims of those accidents to either live miserable lives or lose their lives entirely.
From the perspective of ordinary people, that, too, seemed wrong.
Of course… aside from those few Anbu ninjas whom Kakashi found difficult to judge, the actions of several others made him certain that they would not survive.
Because those were not accidental injuries—they were pure acts of malice committed when their state of mind faltered during missions, deliberate evil deeds followed by efforts to conceal their traces afterward, their conduct utterly vile.
At that moment, Kakashi watched with his own eyes as many as eight Anbu ninjas were taken away by the Police Force ninjas.
Among them, one Anbu ninja stopped in his tracks when he came before Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Even when a Police Force ninja behind him shoved him forward, he did not take another step; instead, he clenched his teeth, turned his head, and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, you truly know how to maintain the village's balance, and you truly know how to treat the meritorious of the village with kindness. No wonder your son and daughter-in-law both died because of Absolute Justice; no wonder you've been gradually sidelined to this current state."
Because the Anbu ninja wore a mask, Sarutobi Hiruzen could not see his expression.
But he could easily guess that the other's face must be terribly grim and filled with disappointment.
"Hokage-sama, if I am sentenced to death by the Police Force, please, at my funeral, do not come to pay your respects. Otherwise, I fear I might rise from my coffin."
"If I am not sentenced to death, then please strike my name directly from the Anbu roster. I would rather become an ordinary Konohagakure genin than remain an Anbu ninja, much less a member of some secret division directly under the Hokage."
That line was the one that truly pierced his heart.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his entire being go dazed and hollow.
He tried to open his mouth to call out and stop him, but that Anbu ninja had already left.
The other Anbu ninjas being taken away also looked back at him—the Third Hokage—with profound disappointment before they departed.
Only the Anbu ninja who had been gravely wounded had fallen unconscious.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help turning toward the remaining Anbu ninjas behind him.
That group of Anbu ninjas who hadn't been taken away stood still in place.
Their gazes, more or less, all fell upon Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen could feel the emotion of "disappointment."
At that very moment… he lost the trust and loyalty of the vast majority of the Anbu ninjas.
All because of those few seconds of hesitation!
…
The news that the Anbu ninjas had clashed with the Police Force and suffered total defeat quickly spread throughout Konohagakure. The speed of its spread clearly showed that someone was fueling the flames behind the scenes.
"Shikaku, if Hokage-sama just put his mind to it, he could easily find out that it was the Nara Clan secretly spreading the news all over Konohagakure."
Inside the Konoha Barbecue Restaurant, Akimichi Chōza said to Nara Shikaku, "Aren't you afraid of arousing Hokage-sama's displeasure?"
Nara Shikaku shook his head and said, "Chōza, the situation is now completely different from before. A week ago, I indeed wouldn't have done such a thing—because at that time, Hokage-sama still held considerable influence within the village. Doing this would've been like playing with fire."
"But as of today—especially after Hokage-sama failed to protect his Anbu subordinates—I have no choice but to do it. Even if it offends the Hokage, the Nara Clan no longer cares."
Akimichi Chōza asked in some confusion, "Why?"
Nara Shikaku said solemnly, "Chōza, haven't you seen the situation in the village clearly by now? Many people are already growing weary and dissatisfied with Third Hokage's rule."
"In such circumstances, every faction in the village will take action. Those who act early can claim the larger fruits, while those who act late will end up licking the leftovers."
Akimichi Chōza's pupils contracted slightly—he more or less understood.
—Many people no longer wanted the Third Hokage to keep sitting in that seat. Moreover, everyone wanted to seize this opportunity to extract more benefits for their own clans from the Third Hokage.
"Aren't you afraid of the Hokage's counterattack? After all, he's still the Hokage of Konohagakure. He still has some foundation here, doesn't he? Even if most of it has already been destroyed, his remaining strength is still greater than that of others."
Akimichi Chōza said hesitantly.
"Indeed."
Nara Shikaku nodded, but then his tone shifted as he said slowly, "Hokage-sama's counterattack is something few in the village could withstand—including our Nara Clan."
"However…"
"Konohagakure today has Keizumi standing guard. Hokage-sama's counterattack will never pass Keizumi's barrier. The Nara Clan's actions today are, in truth, for Keizumi's Absolute Justice."
"Only by cutting away more of the Hokage's remaining influence within the village, even to the point of removing him from that seat entirely, can Keizumi's Absolute Justice spread throughout the whole village."
Akimichi Chōza drew in a sharp breath.
This… was practically a full-scale hunt against the Third Hokage by more than half of Konohagakure!
And yet the Third Hokage probably still thought this was merely Uchiha Keizumi's personal "offensive" against him.
"Shikaku, your actions… have they received Keizumi's approval?"
Akimichi Chōza frowned as he asked.
Nara Shikaku replied, "I went to speak with Keizumi long ago. He said—so long as we don't violate the bottom line of Justice, and as long as no innocent civilians are harmed, we of the Ino–Shika–Chō Trio may act freely. If pressure comes from the Hokage's side, Keizumi himself will step forward to shield us."
Akimichi Chōza exhaled a heavy breath and leaned back against the chair.
He said, "Since you've said that, then the Akimichi Clan can only follow along with the Nara Clan. By the way, what about Inoichi? Have you spoken with him yet?"
Nara Shikaku smiled. "Inoichi's actions began even earlier than mine."
…
"Hokage-sama, these are our resignation letters."
Inside the Hokage's office.
Three Anbu ninjas from the Yamanaka Clan placed three letters of resignation onto Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.
Before entering, the three had deliberately left the office door open, so that their voices were even heard by some of the Konohagakure ninjas passing through the corridor outside.
Seated dazedly in his chair, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly regained his senses.
He stared at the three letters on the desk, then lifted his head to look at the three Yamanaka Clan ninjas before him, who had already removed their Anbu masks.
"Why?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was hoarse and weary as he asked.
One of the Yamanaka Clan ninjas said, "The three of us are no longer fit to serve in the Anbu. The intensity of Anbu missions has already far exceeded our abilities. We also don't wish to finish carrying out a mission as shinobi, only to have our own comrades in the same village point their blades at us and call us 'criminals.'"
At those words, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelids began to twitch, and his breathing quickened slightly.
"…Was it Inoichi who told you to say this to me?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned, enunciating each word.
The Yamanaka Clan ninja replied, "It has nothing to do with Yamanaka Inoichi, nothing to do with the Yamanaka Clan. This was a decision made by the three of us ourselves."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart had already begun to sink into cold despair.