Chapter 93: Hokage is Indeed the Enemy of [Absolute Justice]!
"Simply tolerating Danzō's evil deeds, treating him as a dark hand, knowing his profound sins yet not punishing him, instead tacitly allowing and even supporting his actions—this, in itself, is already complicity with the 'evil' of the ninja world."
Under the watchful eyes of the ANBU ninja, under Hiruzen Sarutobi's shocked gaze, every word Uchiha Ikeizumi spoke was merciless.
Like knives, they stabbed deeply into Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"In such circumstances, how does the Third Hokage have the face to claim he isn't an evildoer? Just because you are Konoha's Third Hokage, do you possess privileges that other evildoers do not?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth twitched a few times. Faced with Uchiha Ikeizumi's words, he truly didn't know how to quickly refute them.
Because, honestly, he had indeed used Danzō as a dark hand; after all, Root was inherently Konoha's dark side.
Only with the combination of light and dark could Konoha village be as strong as it was today.
Some of the dirty deeds Danzō committed certainly had his tacit approval and support. This matter was actually clear to many in the village, but no one would speak of it aloud.
They would all give him, the Hokage, face.
However...
Among the many people in Konoha, there were always some who wouldn't give him face, such as Uchiha Ikeizumi before him.
But when he saw Naruto suddenly reveal an expression of dawning shock, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart immediately tightened.
He coughed, adopting a serious demeanor, hands clasped behind his back, and subtly retorted: "Danzō's Root and I, as Hokage, are two different systems within Konoha. Strictly speaking, the superior-subordinate relationship between us is not so strictly defined."
"He often acts presumptuously, doing things even I don't know about. He only informs me after he's done them, making me clean up his mess. And as Hokage, I constantly need to maintain Konoha's order."
"In such circumstances, I am forced to reluctantly clean up Danzō's malicious actions. If I were to move against him, Root would fall into chaos, and Konoha would also fall into chaos."
"At that time, the village would suffer numerous innocent casualties, which is something I, as Hokage, do not wish to see."
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi even sighed slightly, revealing the helplessness of being unable to control Danzō.
He wasn't entirely lying; sometimes, Danzō's actions were indeed beyond his control.
And his words, while seemingly refuting Ikeizumi, were actually meant for Naruto.
He absolutely could not let Naruto misunderstand him, "Grandpa Hokage."
"...Is that so!" Naruto scratched his head, half-understanding, half-confused.
He actually found it a bit difficult to understand Grandpa Hokage's words.
In contrast, the terrifying man's words were easier to grasp.
But...
Grandpa Hokage probably meant that he wasn't a bad person, right?
This strange feeling of being surrounded by many people made Naruto feel very new.
Just as he was eagerly waiting to see what the terrifying man would say, he found that the other person had already turned around and left. Uchiha Ikeizumi had little to say to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Fugaku Uchiha, and the others, as their conversations were not aligned. Any extra word with them felt like a waste of time that could be spent on executing justice.
He left only his back view for Naruto, replacing the white sheets he had previously removed from the morgue beds. Then, without looking back, he said to Naruto, "If you want to witness true [Justice], then follow."
With that.
Uchiha Ikeizumi, disregarding the group of ANBU ninja blocking the way, led Uchiha Izumi, Kijirō, and a black ninja cat directly towards the morgue's exit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi subtly made a gesture, and the ANBU ninja respectfully moved aside, opening a path.
Naruto looked left and right.
He quickly followed.
Like a little shadow.
"...Sigh." Watching Naruto eagerly trot behind Uchiha Ikeizumi, displaying intense interest in what was called [Justice], Hiruzen Sarutobi could only sigh silently.
Perhaps if he had arrived ten minutes earlier, he could have saved Naruto from the quagmire of [Justice].
Unfortunately, Uchiha Ikeizumi's imprint of [Justice] seemed to have already fallen deep into Naruto's heart. Coupled with some past events that Uchiha Ikeizumi revealed, it caused Naruto to develop a slight rebellious attitude towards some of his own words.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that all he could do now was try his best to ensure that the word "Absolute" was never added to the [Justice] in Naruto's heart.
[Justice] itself was not wrong; Hiruzen Sarutobi also believed justice was good.
But... he felt "Absolute Justice" was wrong!
Having one Absolute Justice in Konoha was already giving him a massive headache.
If another one appeared, he might even consider retirement.
Because by Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice] judgment standards, he, the Hokage, was most likely on the list of villains! Although Hiruzen Sarutobi believed he wasn't the kind of "must-kill" villain in Ikeizumi's eyes, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
For this very reason...
Every time Hiruzen Sarutobi had to meet Uchiha Ikeizumi, he would bring a large group of ANBU ninja with him.
"Lord Hokage, what now?" An ANBU ninja glanced at Uchiha Ikeizumi's retreating back, then turned his head and asked in a low voice.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's rather stiff benevolent smile faded. He said in a deep voice, "Follow them. We absolutely cannot let Naruto go down that overly extreme and crooked path of Ikeizumi's."
After only a few steps, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly paused.
He turned to Fugaku, who was awkwardly standing there, feeling like he was caught between a rock and a hard place, and said, "Fugaku, thank you for today. I can see your intentions and your magnanimity. With a leader like you, the Uchiha clan will definitely not fall into the tragic future predicted by Ikeizumi."
The words from Lord Hokage finally made Fugaku breathe a sigh of relief.
At least...
Lord Hokage's side acknowledged his actions.
And Fugaku took Hiruzen Sarutobi's words as a promise. This made Fugaku feel a little excited; he felt his actions had received a corresponding reward.
The village could finally trust the Uchiha a little more.
And today's misunderstanding was most likely resolved.
Uchiha Ikeizumi stepped out of the morgue and found a Military Police Force ninja, requesting a copy of the four victims' information. He then handed the document to Izumi.
"Newbie, you handle the investigation," Uchiha Ikeizumi said.
Izumi immediately realized this was a test for her.
After all, her senior couldn't possibly treat her as just a subordinate all the time; he surely wanted her to be able to stand on her own.
She quickly accepted it. "Yes, senior!"
But looking at the document in her hand, Izumi was immediately a bit stumped. Where should she even begin the investigation?!
Hmm...
Right!
She had already analyzed the likely identity of the murderous evildoer in front of her senior. It must be because the atmosphere just now was too tense, causing her to be nervous and unable to recover yet.
Izumi couldn't help but look at Naruto Uzumaki, who was curiously gazing at her.
If she wasn't mistaken, this child was also one of her senior's disciples of [Absolute Justice], wasn't he?
Even if Naruto Uzumaki hadn't yet understood what Absolute Justice was.
At least her senior believed he had the potential.
"You can look at it too," Izumi said.
"..." Naruto, who was cautiously peeking from the side, immediately brightened, "Can I really?!"
"Yes."
As Izumi nodded, she pointed to the couple among the four victims and said to Naruto, "We need to find people who had conflicts with their family of four, and such people are most likely their relatives, friends, or neighbors—acquaintances, in other words."
"The acquaintances of the two children are unlikely to be related to the murderous evildoer, so we need to screen the acquaintances of the wife and husband to determine who are the most suspicious."
Izumi then asked Kijirō, "Senior Kijirō, can your ninja cats help investigate for information?"
"No problem, meow!" Kijirō happily agreed.
She didn't know what method he used, but soon over twenty ninja cats of various colors gathered in front of the Military Police Force building entrance, whispering and discussing amongst themselves.
A large group of talking ninja cats left Naruto wide-eyed.
"Brat, my Kijirō's cat children and grandchildren are the most excellent intelligence elites in the ninja cat world! Even the youngest ninja cats among them have followed Lord Ikeizumi for one or two years already. They're all your seniors in the future, you know!"
Kijirō added, "Also, when you address me in the future, you should call me 'Senior Kijirō,' just like Uchiha Izumi!"
With that.
Kijirō jumped down and strutted proudly in front of the ninja cats, beginning to assign them various tasks.
Not long after, over twenty ninja cats immediately dispersed.
"That's all it takes?" Naruto scratched his head, confused.
Izumi smiled slightly, "You have to trust Senior Kijirō; his ninja cats are truly amazing. Many times, Senior Ikeizumi and I are able to discover cases immediately because Senior Kijirō's ninja cats have been gathering all sorts of information within Konoha."
"Hmm—"
Izumi pondered for a moment and made an analogy: "You can think of these ninja cats as Senior Ikeizumi's ANBU!"
The group of ANBU ninja who had just come out behind them: "..."
Hey, hey, hey! Comparing them, Konoha's elite ANBU, to a bunch of ninja cats, aren't you going a bit too far, young lady?
"It's certainly convenient to have this group of ninja cats." Hiruzen Sarutobi stood beside Uchiha Ikeizumi, hands clasped behind his back. However, his body posture subtly tilted outwards, allowing his eyes to avoid Uchiha Ikeizumi's gaze at all times.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Ikeizumi, if you could join ANBU, you could become ANBU Commander just with this group of ninja cats."
Uchiha Ikeizumi watched the disappearing back of a calico ninja cat and said, "Staying in such a place would only make me nauseous."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
It seemed he had once again put his foot in his mouth. Every time he tried to make conversation, he was met with the other party's sarcasm.
This further confirmed the extremism of [Absolute Justice].
[Absolute Justice] that couldn't even tolerate the Hokage was something he absolutely couldn't let Naruto get involved with.
Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi simply couldn't imagine what Naruto, possessing the Nine-Tails' power and believing in [Absolute Justice], would do! Especially since the power of a Tailed Beast was extremely uncontrollable; perhaps Naruto would become an even more unstable factor than Ikeizumi!
Meanwhile.
A gloomy-faced Koharu Utatane returned to the Hokage building.
Homura Mitokado, who had been waiting there for a long time, frowned when he found only Koharu Utatane. "Where's Naruto Uzumaki? Why didn't Hiruzen come back with you?"
He noticed that Koharu Utatane's old face seemed to have darkened even more.
Homura Mitokado realized that the situation wasn't quite right.
"Did something unexpected happen?"
Koharu Utatane took a deep breath and recounted what had happened, causing Homura Mitokado to frown tightly.
"Uchiha Ikeizumi actually has such a seductive ability? With just a few words, he made the Jinchuriki intensely interested in his [Absolute Justice]. He even caused a severe rebellious psychological reaction in him when you tried to forcibly take him away, almost to the point where the Nine-Tails' power was on the verge of losing control."
Homura Mitokado's expression grew more solemn. The development of this situation had somewhat exceeded all of their expectations.
"However—"
Homura Mitokado mused, "With Hiruzen on site, he should be able to prevent Naruto Uzumaki from being more severely affected."
Koharu Utatane said with a gloomy face, "I hope so."
"Otherwise—"
Her eyes were unpredictable: "Once the Nine-Tails falls into the hands of the Uchiha clan, I can't guarantee that the Nine-Tails' rampage, which almost turned Konoha into ruins back then, won't happen again."
Homura Mitokado said, "Uchiha Ikeizumi should not let such a thing happen, after all, he is committed to his extreme justice." "That's not certain," Koharu Utatane snorted. "There are always those who believe they can control the powerful force of a Tailed Beast. But by the time it gets out of control, it will already be too late."
As time passed, by the afternoon, over twenty ninja cats had successively returned to the Military Police Force building, bringing the information they had gathered.
Izumi meticulously recorded all the information and organized it.
She then handed a list to Uchiha Ikeizumi.
"Senior Ikeizumi, I believe these five individuals are the most suspicious. All five of them had conflicts with the couple among the four victims, and they are all ninja. They definitely have the ability to silently kill a family of four in a short amount of time."
Izumi was about to say that if they were brought in for interrogation, useful information could probably be extracted.
But then she remembered Senior Ikeizumi's special ability.
It seemed that the interrogation step could be completely skipped.
"Let my ANBU ninja bring those five here!" At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's sudden interjection made Izumi pause. It made her change her view of this Hokage a tiny bit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a serious tone, "Although this is the duty of the Military Police Force, I am Konoha's Hokage, after all. When such a heinous case occurs in the village, I must personally get involved and strive to quickly arrest the murderous evildoer and imprison them."
He smiled at Naruto and said, "Naruto, even just by embracing the Will of Fire, you can execute justice in Konoha. Only by combining the Will of Fire and justice can one become an excellent ninja."
Izumi's slight change in view of Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately vanished.
She realized that this Hokage was trying to prevent Senior Ikeizumi from teaching Naruto Uzumaki [Absolute Justice]. The Hokage was indeed the enemy of [Absolute Justice]!
This bold thought popped into Izumi's mind.
Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, five ANBU ninja detached from the group. In less than twenty minutes, they brought all five of the most suspicious ninja that Izumi had just mentioned.
Izumi suddenly felt her sleeve being tugged.
She looked down.
It was Naruto.
Naruto, a little nervously, quietly asked, "Are they really the murderous evildoers? Wh-what if they don't admit it?"
Izumi shook her head, indicating she wasn't sure either.
She reassured Naruto, saying, "Don't worry, Senior Ikeizumi possesses a powerful ability to see through past evil and future evil. As long as the murderous evildoer stands before Senior Ikeizumi, he'll be able to see through their true nature at a glance."
Izumi paused, then added, "This is because Senior Ikeizumi believes in [Absolute Justice], which is why he possesses this power."
Naruto looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi in surprise.
So this terrifying man had this ability too? But what was [Absolute Justice] and how was it different from justice?
Such questions arose in Naruto's mind.
Just as Izumi was about to cautiously ask Uchiha Ikeizumi, she suddenly heard Senior Ikeizumi coldly state: "None of the five are the one."
Izumi: "!!!"
Izumi instantly froze. She seemed to have messed up the test from Senior Ikeizumi...
Naruto exclaimed in shock, "None of them?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi also couldn't help but freeze for a moment. He thought that the method this young girl, Uchiha Izumi, used to screen criminals was correct; if it were him, he would also use this method to investigate.
That's why Hiruzen Sarutobi had previously given the order without hesitation for the ANBU ninja to immediately bring all five suspects.
But he never expected to get this answer from Uchiha Ikeizumi!
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and said, "Then let's bring over the other less suspicious individuals as well?"
"No need," Uchiha Ikeizumi rejected Hiruzen Sarutobi's suggestion. He said expressionlessly, "Kijirō, investigate the social circle of that seven-year-old victim. I need a list of suspects who had conflicts with him. Remember, the suspects are not limited by age."
"Yes, Lord Ikeizumi!" Kijirō personally set off this time.
"Seven years old—that boy who was my age?" Naruto recalled the corpse that still sent shivers down his spine.
As Naruto hesitated to speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and asked the question Naruto most wanted to ask: "Ikeizumi, most of the people who had conflicts with a seven-year-old child in his social circle would be peers of a similar age, right?"
"What's the use of investigating these children?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was very puzzled, but he only asked a question, not doubted.
Because he knew Uchiha Ikeizumi was more professional than him.
Uchiha Ikeizumi did not explain in detail, simply stating, "Your imagination regarding the evil of the ninja world is too impoverished, and you lack understanding of how twisted and pathological the ninja world truly is."
.....
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