Chapter 87: Such Justice Only Makes Me Sick
The crimson blood splattered on the ground continuously stimulated Hiruzen Sarutobi's nerves. The solidified expression on the severed head made his hair stand on end. A myriad of thoughts converged into two words: It's over!
Although there was no explicit regulation, by the common tacit understanding of many powerful figures, the "kozōshi" attire was something only the highest-ranking nobles in the ninja world were qualified to wear.
Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly saw that the expensive clothing on the headless body at his feet was of the "kozōshi" style.
He no longer held onto any last shred of hope. The wrinkles on his face twitched ceaselessly, and his lips trembled slightly.
He wanted to say something, but it was caught in his throat.
His face was terrifyingly grim.
"Lord Hokage, we are too late," an ANBU ninja whispered. "Even if medical ninjas reattach the head, it will likely only give the corpse a dignified appearance in death."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
"Lord Hokage? Are you the Konoha Hokage?!" A retainer, who had been too intimidated to make a sound by Izumi's impassioned words, suddenly perked up and immediately shouted: "What exactly does your Konoha want to do? Do you want to rebel? Lord Daimyō allocates vast funds to Konoha every year, yet your village's ninja killed Lord Daimyō's offspring!"
He hurriedly pointed at Uchiha Ikeizumi, complaining to Hiruzen Sarutobi, and urgently said: "It's this madman of the Uchiha clan! He killed Lord Gyōen'in Kyūsuke! Can your Konoha bear the responsibility of killing Lord Daimyō's second son?"
"Oh, and two of Lord Daimyō's retainers, as well as a Twelve Guardian Ninja, also died at the hands of this madman! He's insane, what makes him think he has the right to judge the Daimyō's son!"
But when Uchiha Ikeizumi's largely emotionless gaze turned towards him.
The loud retainer was instantly terrified, like a duck whose neck had been squeezed.
His mouth opened and closed silently with a look of terror.
In the end, not a single sound escaped him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
Anyone could sense that the atmosphere had become extremely eerie. Some sharp-eyed ANBU ninjas also saw Lord Hokage clenching his fists tightly, the veins on his hands trembling.
It was unclear whether Lord Hokage was enraged that a mere retainer dared to shout at him, the Third Hokage—
Or if he was enraged by Uchiha Ikeizumi's blatant murder of the Land of Fire Daimyō's second son right on the street.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was for the first time so dark that it was almost sinister. He tried to avert his eyes from the corpse on the ground.
He ignored the shouting, hopping Daimyō's retainer.
Instead, he cast a highly displeased look at Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Hmph, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a heavy sigh, trying to suppress the anger rising in his heart. His face was rigid as he spoke: "Will your explanation to this old man still be based on your overly extreme [Absolute Justice]? Your [Absolute Justice]—could it be that it's carried out by sacrificing Konoha's interests and damaging Konoha's reputation?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not imagine how the nobles of the Land of Fire would view Konoha if this matter spread.
Konoha's ninjas, possessing powerful strength, suddenly turning against the Land of Fire's nobles, even daring to kill the Daimyō's son!
In this situation—
The entire Land of Fire's noble class would probably be in a state of panic, wouldn't they?
Would they still be willing to support Konoha then?
Or would they still be willing to support him, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"Ikeizumi!" With his emotions fluctuating wildly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice grew much louder. He gritted his teeth and said: "This young man, Gyōen'in Kyūsuke, his father is the Daimyō of the Land of Fire! He is an existence at the pinnacle of the Land of Fire! He is the one who controls the lifeblood of all industries in the Land of Fire!"
"Even if Konoha Village were to re-elect a Hokage, it would still depend on who the Daimyō wishes to support. Without the Daimyō's support, Konoha Village could not have been established, and the ninjas of the Land of Fire would probably still be in a state of division and conflict—"
"And you—and you today—"
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his breathing was too rapid.
So much so that he felt a little dizzy.
"So, does the Third Hokage think I should have spared him?" Uchiha Ikeizumi's gaze met Hiruzen Sarutobi's. When Hiruzen Sarutobi saw those deep, dark eyes, he suddenly thought of something, and startlingly, quickly shifted his gaze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth: "Ikeizumi, you have unilaterally sacrificed Konoha's future for your [Absolute Justice]. Do you think this is correct? Without the Daimyō's funding, the village's infrastructure, villagers' medical care, and employment would not be guaranteed."
"Such complex problems cannot be solved by your [Absolute Justice]. If your extreme actions in executing justice bring negative impacts to the village, making the lives of Konoha's people worse day by day, is such an act of yours justice or evil?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's consecutive questions were his true feelings.
"Hey, hey! As Konoha's Hokage, why are you debating these things with a madman? Shouldn't you quickly apprehend him?"
The retainers of the Daimyō, still shaken, suddenly interjected.
"Exactly! This madman killed Lord Kyūsuke! Is killing the Daimyō's son not considered a rogue ninja act?!"
"This insane, mad ninja should be brought to justice on the spot, to avenge Lord Kyūsuke, and his family should be implicated, making his entire family buried with Lord Kyūsuke! Are you a competent Konoha Hokage?"
"As Hokage, you wouldn't be trying to protect a ninja from your village, would you? He's a murderer!"
Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi's appearance made them feel safe and gave them a backbone.
But they were not ninjas; they were not loyal to the Konoha Hokage; they were loyal to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
In the eyes of some Konoha ninjas, the status of the Daimyō and the Hokage was not very different. One governed the economy, livelihood, and political power of the Land of Fire, while the other governed its military.
But in the eyes of these Daimyō's retainers, the status of the Konoha Hokage was, after all, one level lower than the Daimyō.
So much so that even when they found their backbone, they weren't very polite.
Those words made Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrow even deeper.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's grim, indifferent gaze swept over the Daimyō's retainers. The aura of this Third Hokage couldn't suppress Uchiha Ikeizumi, but it terrified the retainers, making them break out in a cold sweat.
"This is Konoha's internal affair!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly: "This old man will handle it as he sees fit. What status do you have to criticize this old man here?"
He stepped aside slightly, his face grim, and said: "If you want to avenge the Daimyō's second son, then this old man won't stop you. The 'murderer' is right here; go ahead and act."
The Daimyō's retainers:
"..."
Seeing that these guys finally quieted down, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. Being interrupted by these people, a surge of anger in his heart, for some reason, suddenly deflated a bit.
So much so that when he spoke again, there was a little less force in his voice.
"Ikeizumi, not every person who commits a mistake needs to be executed with such extreme and absolute means," Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and continued: "The evil in the ninja world cannot be solved by your rampant killing. What's the use of killing so many? Even if you can kill a hundred people, a thousand, ten thousand—but in the vast ninja world, there are far more evildoers than that!"
"Making Konoha better, making the lives of everyone in the village better, is also not something you can achieve by slaughtering evildoers. Excessive killing will only accelerate the outbreak of conflict. Once some conflicts erupt, they will lead to more evil!"
"You killed the Daimyō's son today. Do you know how much chaos this will cause? The Daimyō of the Land of Fire, even his offspring, cannot be killed!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, without even fully realizing it himself, actually began to "reason" with Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Ultimately, it was still due to his excessive apprehension of Uchiha Ikeizumi's Mangekyo Sharingan ability, which led to a lack of confidence.
To tear relations with Uchiha Ikeizumi over the Daimyō's son, sparking an unprecedented war in Konoha that would undoubtedly drag the Uchiha clan into it.
Or, to simply let it be.
The choices before Hiruzen Sarutobi were essentially only these two.
As Hokage, what choice he would make was not hard to guess.
"Third Hokage," Uchiha Ikeizumi said coldly: "If my actions lead to the breeding of more evil in the ninja world, then it only proves that those who commit evil are not normal individuals to begin with; they are born with one foot on the opposite side of absolute justice."
"They merely need an excuse to support the evil within them, and my actions merely happened to become the excuse they needed. Such existences are inherently the hidden enemies of absolute justice."
"They are already among the evils of the ninja world that [Absolute Justice] needs to purge. If, because they might bring chaos to the ninja world, justice chooses to compromise and endure, chooses to no longer speak out…"
Uchiha Ikeizumi narrowed his eyes and continued: "Such justice—would only make me so disgusted that I would be compelled to bend over and vomit."
"Besides—"
Uchiha Ikeizumi added: "To attempt to change an adult's unwavering conviction with just a few words. Third Hokage, are you perhaps overestimating your 'personal charm' a little too much?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was slightly rigid. Even though he knew he had anticipated Uchiha Ikeizumi's reaction.
Yet every time he was refuted to his face, it always infuriated him.
Throughout Konoha, only Uchiha Ikeizumi would challenge him, the Hokage, with such a barrage of words.
The key was that this also meant Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice] was no longer a double-edged sword he could control.
Once.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could still rely on Uchiha Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice] to deter those with ill intentions in the village.
Now.
He no longer had the ability to control it, and he couldn't see whom this double-edged sword would ultimately strike in the village. "I forgot to remind you, Third Hokage," Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind churned and he was left speechless, Uchiha Ikeizumi's voice came again: "Excluding one person, everyone else behind you is an evildoer in my eyes."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted. He then realized that Uchiha Ikeizumi's ninja blade had not been returned to its sheath!
"Evildoers—need to be purged."
As Uchiha Ikeizumi's words fell, the ANBU ninjas Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought immediately became vigilant and quickly formed a human wall, surrounding and protecting Hiruzen Sarutobi.
They too had witnessed Uchiha Ikeizumi's Mangekyo abilities.
They absolutely could not let this dangerous individual, Uchiha Ikeizumi, use that terrifying Genjutsu on Lord Hokage!
Whoosh!—The ANBU ninjas, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched wide-eyed as Uchiha Ikeizumi's figure instantly vanished.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, "Stop him," were caught in his throat.
Because he truly felt the killing intent emanating from Uchiha Ikeizumi.
And a strange thought popped into his mind—if he really let the ANBU stop Ikeizumi, there would be a deadly conflict with heavy casualties here, a hundred percent!
It was precisely this hesitation from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Uchiha Ikeizumi had already plunged into the group like a tiger into a flock of sheep, his ninja blade slashing across the neck of one of the Daimyō's retainers. As he passed by, a head flew into the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the ANBU ninjas looked back in shock.
In their vision—
More than a dozen heads, frozen in expressions of horror, flew high into the air. The blood sprayed from a dozen headless bodies was like a rain of blood. One drop even pierced through the thick human wall of ANBU ninjas, splashing onto Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage Robe.
There were no screams, no cries of pain; only the muffled thuds as a dozen heads dropped to the ground, and a dozen headless bodies collapsed.
"Gurgle, gurgle—"
A large head rolled to the feet of an ANBU ninja.
The chilling, bone-deep coldness made this battle-hardened ANBU ninja involuntarily break out in goosebumps.
Uchiha Ikeizumi, this man was simply too dangerous!
This was almost a consensus among all ANBU ninjas.
But not a single ANBU ninja secretly criticized Uchiha Ikeizumi's actions as wrong.
After all, no one would question this man's judgment of "evil."
This was also the reason for Hiruzen Sarutobi's complex expression.
His thoughts surprisingly aligned with some of the ANBU ninjas'.
"No… don't…"
"Don't kill me—"
A series of continuous, terrified sobs broke the eerie silence. The sole surviving Daimyō's retainer was already incontinent from fear, slumped in a pool of blood and excrement, staring in terrified horror at the expressionless Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that Uchiha Ikeizumi paid no attention to that person.
This young man, who even made him feel a pang in his heart, turned directly away, without looking back, and said to him: "Third Hokage, I shouldn't need to explain their evil deeds one by one, should I?"
Then he watched Uchiha Ikeizumi leave.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
The blood flowing on the ground had already spread to Hiruzen Sarutobi's feet.
He couldn't help but open his mouth.
But not a single word came out.
"That—Lord Hokage," Izumi tore a few pages from her small notebook, took small steps forward, handed them to an ANBU ninja, and said: "This is my record of Gyōen'in Kyūsuke's crimes, all dictated by Senior Ikeizumi. You can send the bodies to the Yamanaka clan and have them examine the corpses' memories to see if they match."
The ANBU ninja's expression beneath his mask was quite strange as he accepted the several pages of writing from the young girl.
Then he passed them to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took them, silently gazing at the writing.
Finally, he sighed deeply.
...
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