Chapter 122: The anxious Daimyo of the Land of Fire
Three days later.
Konoha Village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been discharged from the hospital, but he hadn't fully recovered. Still, he had to handle all the village affairs as the Hokage.
Especially the mess that Uchiha Ikeizumi had left behind, which Hiruzen had to personally deal with.
On the other hand, in the few days that Uchiha Ikeizumi was away, Hiruzen felt that the entire village was much quieter and more "peaceful."
This also allowed him to properly hold a funeral for Asuma Sarutobi.
In recent days, although the Uchiha Military Police Force would still arrest criminals and throw them in jail, at least no one had died.
When Uchiha Ikeizumi was in the village, a death a day was just a warm-up.
He would often kill several people a day, and on extreme days, over a dozen!
The Konoha Funeral Home's business was booming.
You'd think Konoha was in the middle of a war!
However...
What Hiruzen didn't expect was that this hard-won peace didn't last long.
When an ANBU ninja rushed in with an urgent report, Hiruzen nearly bit through the mouthpiece of his pipe.
"Hokage-sama!" The ANBU ninja's voice was filled with urgency. "Naruto Uzumaki... almost killed someone just now!"
"Cough... cough! cough!!!"
Hiruzen choked, tears welling up in his eyes. After he finally recovered, he stared at the ANBU ninja with red, disbelieving eyes.
"What happened?!"
The ANBU ninja immediately replied, "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were following Izumi Uchiha as she 'enforced justice' in Konoha Village. They found a criminal. It seems the criminal's actions enraged Naruto Uzumaki, who stabbed a kunai into the criminal's abdomen."
"Fortunately, Ryoshin Yamanaka, the ANBU watching Naruto, intervened in time. The criminal, who was stabbed in the stomach, was only seriously injured and was not killed by Naruto."
"However... Izumi Uchiha finished him off. She beheaded the criminal with a single strike."
Hiruzen: "..."
Every word the ANBU ninja said left Hiruzen in a daze.
What in the world was going on? Why did Naruto become even more uncontrollable after Ikeizumi left Konoha?
When Ikeizumi was still in the village, Naruto at least wouldn't have used a dangerous weapon like a kunai to attack a criminal, right?
This incident involved the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so Hiruzen had no choice but to set aside his work. He stood up, his face grim. "Lead me to them."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Soon.
Guided by the ANBU ninja, Hiruzen arrived at the Nara clan compound.
Standing at the entrance.
Hiruzen fell silent.
What had happened in Konoha Hospital just a few days ago flashed through his mind.
It was because of the Ino-Shika-Cho's combined pressure that he was forced to swallow his pride, and many members of the Sarutobi clan were now looking at him strangely.
A flash of gloom crossed Hiruzen's eyes, but he quickly hid it.
"Hokage-sama."
"Hokage-sama."
Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka, who were waiting inside the compound, greeted Hiruzen in perfect unison, as if they had known he would come.
Hiruzen took a deep breath.
He nodded slightly to them.
Soon...
He saw Naruto, whose face was bruised and hands were covered in blood. He saw Sasuke, whose knees were scraped. He also saw Izumi Uchiha standing next to the two children, and Ryoshin Yamanaka watching the Jinchuriki from a distance.
He also saw a body lying on the ground, and a Yamanaka clan ninja using their secret jutsu on it.
Hiruzen was about to scold Izumi—How could you have been watching these two children? Why did you let them do something so dangerous? Is this what your and Ikeizumi's so-called 'Absolute Justice' does, nearly turning a child into a murderer?
But in the next second, he suddenly realized that the Uchiha girl was only twelve years old; she was a child, too.
"Ahem!"
After clearing his throat, Hiruzen forced a kind smile onto his face. He crouched down and said to a gloomy-looking Naruto, "Naruto, your Hokage Grandpa knows what happened. Can you tell your Hokage Grandpa why you hurt that person?"
He thought the gloomy expression on Naruto's face was one of guilt.
However...
Naruto replied, "Hokage Grandpa! That guy was no different from a beast! This morning, Izumi-senpai said that her ninja cat had found a case and that she could take me and Sasuke to experience how 'Absolute Justice' handles things."
"Then we discovered that that bastard... he actually... actually..." At this, a furious Naruto couldn't find the words to continue.
It was Izumi's voice that spoke next. "The criminal was a Konoha Genin. He was molesting his own daughter."
"When he realized the Military Police were coming to arrest him, he held a knife to his daughter's naked throat, trying to use her life to threaten the Military Police."
"I used my Sharingan to control him, and Naruto snatched a kunai from my ninja pouch and stabbed him in the abdomen."
"The pain caused the criminal to break free of the genjutsu. He kicked Naruto away. Sasuke went to help, but he was also kicked away."
"The ANBU ninja assigned to watch Naruto intervened and stopped Naruto, who was getting back up, from charging at the criminal again."
"I cut off the criminal's head with a single strike."
"Lord Third, that's the whole story. Instead of coming here to ask Naruto why he hurt that person, you should commend him for his sense of justice. He truly has great potential to uphold 'Absolute Justice'."
As the girl's clear voice faded, the Yamanaka ninja who had been examining the corpse's memories also stood up.
The notebook in his hand recorded the criminal's crimes.
The ninja, who had a slightly pained look in his eyes from viewing the morally repugnant crimes, backed up Izumi. "That's exactly what happened."
"When he realized he had been caught, he even tried to kill the daughter he had abused, hoping to take someone with him."
Hiruzen: "..."
Hiruzen was silent again. He also realized that his initial approach of questioning Naruto was wrong.
After all...
Who would have thought that a criminal like that would appear in Konoha Village?
Logically, shouldn't incidents like this have ceased once Uchiha Ikeizumi, who could see evil, was temporarily gone from Konoha? Why did it feel like it had only slowed down slightly with no sign of stopping?!
Hiruzen looked at the blood-soaked corpse on the ground.
A complex expression was on his face.
My Konoha...
What has happened to it?!
At the same time.
The border of the Land of Fire.
"Ikeizumi... I didn't expect the Hokage would entrust you with a top-secret intelligence mission." A complex look crossed the face of Ibiki Morino, who had a terrifying appearance. "It's been many years since we last met, hasn't it? Last time, you were only eleven. You brought me several criminals and asked me to use torture to pry their confessions out of them."
"Later... you made friends with the Yamanaka clan, and you didn't need my interrogation methods anymore. You could just use the Yamanaka clan's secret jutsu to learn a criminal's hidden secrets."
With that, Ibiki's gaze fell on Kojiro. "This ninja cat, is he the same follower who was with you during the Third Great Ninja War?"
"You should speak with a little more respect to a cat, meow! I'm Lord Ikeizumi's most trusted assistant!"
Kojiro immediately retorted, "You have to know the difference between an assistant and a follower. The new follower is Ikeizumi Uchiha!"
"A new...?" A hint of confusion flashed in Ibiki's eyes.
Kojiro said, "A newcomer who recognizes Lord Ikeizumi's 'Absolute Justice.' She's just a little too green."
Ibiki was surprised. "Recognizes Ikeizumi's 'Absolute Justice,' huh? Interesting."
He put his hands in his pockets and looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi. "Ikeizumi, are you finally not going to go it alone anymore?"
Uchiha Ikeizumi replied, "A single person's 'Absolute Justice' cannot completely cleanse the entire ninja world of evil."
Ibiki let out a long breath, looking up at the blue sky. "I really want to see what a ninja world without evil, or where evil is greatly suppressed, looks like..."
"Ikeizumi, the things you've been doing in Konoha Village recently have reached me. You killed your former Jonin Sensei, you killed your only living family member..."
"Phew! Your conviction and resolve should attract many like-minded people. It's a shame you're so terrible at expressing yourself."
Uchiha Ikeizumi said, "I don't care if people follow me or if they believe in 'Absolute Justice.' As long as they believe that justice and fairness still exist in the ninja world, that's enough."
Ibiki sighed. "You're still so idealistic."
"But then again..."
"If you weren't an idealist, who would go to any length, even sacrificing their life, to uphold justice? I hope that when I return to Konoha, my old friends are still alive!"
After a moment of self-reflection, Ibiki tucked the scroll of confidential documents into his clothes and suddenly asked Uchiha Ikeizumi, "Are you heading back to the village now?"
Ikeizumi said calmly, "First, I'm making a trip to the capital of the Land of Fire."
Ibiki was stunned. "The capital of the Land of Fire? Did the Hokage give you two missions?"
Ikeizumi shook his head. "It's not a ninja mission."
"It's better not to be curious," Ikeizumi added. "The moment you learn the truth, you might risk your life to stop me from going to the capital."
Ibiki's eyes narrowed. One possibility after another flashed through his mind, including some very bold guesses.
"Heh, forget it."
Ibiki said, "Dying at the hands of an enemy is one thing. Dying at the hands of a fellow ninja from the same village would be too pathetic."
He didn't indulge his curiosity.
He suppressed it.
In the capital of the Land of Fire.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire felt that something was wrong. Whether or not Asuma and the others succeeded, they should have at least sent back a summoning animal to report the situation.
Hadn't they sent a summoning animal before to tell him they were about to move?
Why, after a few days, was there no news at all?
The Daimyo paced anxiously inside his chambers.
The food on the table was already cold.
He hadn't touched any of it.
His anxiety caused a cold sweat to bead on his forehead.
The mission of the Twelve Guardian Ninja was to protect the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
Without their protection, the Daimyo lived in constant fear.
He was afraid that one day, he would wake up not to his beautiful concubines, but to an assassin sent from an enemy nation! He couldn't count on the samurai, who could only swing a katana a few times, to protect him!
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
The faint knocking startled the Daimyo, but the familiar voice from outside came as a relief. "Father... may I come in?"
The Daimyo recognized his eldest son's voice.
Feeling a bit of relief, he composed himself and said, "Enter!"
A young man with a short beard entered. He respectfully bowed to the Daimyo and then came straight to the point. "Father, has Kyusuke's body... been brought back yet?"
"..." The Daimyo's silence gave his eldest son his answer.
The eldest son asked in shock, "Eleven of the Twelve Guardian Ninja went out together, and they still couldn't bring back Kyusuke's body? This..."
The Daimyo said grimly, "It's not that they couldn't bring it back. We just haven't received any news yet. I trust Asuma and Kazuma's abilities."
As he spoke...
The Daimyo himself didn't sound so confident.
"Father, so many people from Asuma's group went to Konoha. I'm afraid... they weren't just going to retrieve Kyusuke's body, were they?"
The eldest son's question caused the Daimyo to close his eyes and nod.
"I also ordered them to kill that murderer, Uchiha Ikeizumi."
"They must have completed their mission. Perhaps they were just too hurried on their way back and couldn't send a report."
Konoha Village.
Hiruzen rushed to find Naruto, but in less than half an hour, he returned to the Hokage's office in silence.
He was both relieved and worried.
He was relieved that Naruto's attack was not due to the Nine-Tails losing control.
He was worried that Naruto, at his young age, would dare to stab a kunai into a criminal's abdomen for the sake of "justice"!
If he had struck just a little higher, a blow to the heart, it would have been an instant kill!
Had "Absolute Justice" completely brainwashed him?
And how many days had it even been?
Hiruzen couldn't understand.
What was the difference between the "Will of Fire" that had been cultivated in Konoha for decades and Uchiha Ikeizumi's "Absolute Justice"? Why didn't Naruto have this kind of resolve for the Will of Fire?
"Sigh!" Hiruzen sighed, feeling that ever since Uchiha Ikeizumi had come of age, everything had been going wrong for him.
Suddenly.
An urgent knock on the door caused Hiruzen, who wanted to be left alone, to furrow his brow.
Suppressing his displeasure, he said, "Come in." Two Konoha ninja pushed open the door and entered.
"Jishu? Kenshi?"
When he saw the three dust-covered men, Hiruzen's furrowed brow relaxed. He forced a smile. "It seems you've completed the A-rank mission I gave you, but..."
A look of surprise flashed in Hiruzen's eyes. "Why is Hayate missing?"
He had a bad feeling. Hayate was the only surviving member of the younger generation of the Gekko clan after Uchiha Ikeizumi had wrecked so much havoc on it!
If Hayate had died during the mission...
Hiruzen felt it would be difficult to explain to the Gekko clan.
The ninja named Jishu, breathing heavily, said, "Haya... Hayate will be returning to Konoha a day after us."
This news caused Hiruzen to sigh in relief.
"As long as no comrades were lost, that means you completed the mission perfectly. Young men as excellent as you are destined to one day..."
Just as Hiruzen was about to give a formulaic compliment.
He was interrupted by Jishu, who had finally caught his breath. "Hokage-sama! A major disaster has befallen the Land of Fire!"
Hiruzen's bad feeling returned. He put his hands behind his back and said gravely, "Take your time. Speak slowly."
Jishu spoke quickly. "On our way back to the village, we passed through Tanzaku Gai and found that the entire city was practically engulfed in flames. When we went inside, we found bodies everywhere! The number of corpses was no less than a hundred!"
Hiruzen's expression instantly turned serious.
Tanzaku Gai was a famous place for spending money, and many nobles frequently visited.
If something happened there, it would certainly affect those nobles.
This was indeed a major disaster.
Jishu continued, a look of undisguised horror on his face. "After a simple investigation and questioning in Tanzaku Gai, we discovered that the perpetrator of all the bloodshed... was Uchiha Ikeizumi!"
"Hokage-sama! Uchiha Ikeizumi bathed the entirety of Tanzaku Gai in blood! Too many people have died! Over a hundred bodies was just our preliminary estimate; we don't know the exact number."
Hiruzen: "???"
...
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