Chapter 141: The Even More Cowardly Hiashi
Ikezumi hadn't been in Konoha for a while, so how could Naruto still be affected by 'Absolute Justice'? To the point that he even did such an outrageous and extreme thing today!
He had broken the commandment of killing for the sake of 'Absolute Justice'!
Didn't Naruto know that this wasn't something he should be doing at his age?! Could it be that he was influenced by Ikezumi's extreme personality? Or was this just a simple imitation of Ikezumi's behavior?
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't understand!
"Naruto." Hiruzen Sarutobi forced a gentle smile. He said earnestly to Naruto, "But the child from the Hyūga clan didn't cause the tragedy with his own hands. His bullying was indeed bad and he should be punished. But this kind of punishment… shouldn't be ending his life, should it?"
Sasuke suddenly interrupted with his childish voice, "Lord Hokage, do you mean that since he only indirectly caused the death of a war orphan, his crime is not enough for justice to sentence him to death?"
"Yes!" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked slightly to the side, feeling that Fugaku's child seemed a little more mature than Naruto.
Of course, it was only a little. If Sasuke were a little more mature, he shouldn't have been fooling around with Naruto. He should have stopped Naruto from fooling around.
"Lord Hokage, didn't the Daimyō of the Land of Fire also not directly kill anyone, but his actions indirectly harmed many people?"
Sasuke couldn't help but say, "But Lord Ikezumi still killed him. Because in the face of 'Absolute Justice,' the Daimyō's actions were subjectively malicious."
"He didn't have the intention to kill at first, but that's only because his initial malice hadn't been twisted and pathological yet. But a small malice resulted in a great evil. Should it be treated as if nothing happened after a slight punishment?"
Sasuke took a deep breath and said with a serious young face, "This is not fair to the person who died because of it! That's why we feel that a person like 'Yata Hyūga' must pay with his life so that the victim can rest in peace."
"This is the reason why we must execute justice!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't expect that a seven-year-old child could come up with so many "righteous sophistries." And the starting point of this sophistry was too extreme. It was obviously Ikezumi's style!
"Did… Ikezumi teach you to say this?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's gentle smile had become a little stiff.
"No!"
Sasuke looked up and said, "These are some of the things Lord Ikezumi once told us, and I just added some of my own thoughts."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "…"
He realized why these two kids could still be affected by 'Absolute Justice' during the time Ikezumi wasn't in Konoha.
He had forgotten about that Uchiha girl, Ikezumi Uchiha! She was an Uchiha who had perfectly inherited Ikezumi's will!
"Naruto Uzumaki…"
"Sasuke Uchiha…"
Not far away.
Neji Hyūga, who was only one year older than Naruto, looked at the scene in front of him. He could see a ninja clan member lying in a pool of blood through the gaps between the feet of the adults in front of him. He could also see the bloodstained profile of that Hyūga clan member.
He recognized this ninja clan member—the other party was a fourth-year student at the Ninja Academy, two years older than himself. At the same time, the other party was also a member of the Hyūga clan's branch family.
Just like him, he was also branded with the Caged Bird seal from a young age. He was a pitiful person trapped in a cage.
Neji vaguely remembered… that this guy's personality was very bad. Not long ago, he had caused a big trouble at the Ninja Academy. If he wasn't only ten years old, he would probably have been thrown into the Konoha prison to reflect for more than ten years.
But Neji didn't expect… that this guy would die at the hands of those two kids today.
"If you indirectly caused someone's death… you must pay the price you deserve?"
Neji whispered, repeating a sentence that Naruto had just said.
"Only by making such people pay with their lives can the person who died because of them rest in peace…"
He murmured, repeating a sentence Sasuke had said.
For some reason, Neji suddenly felt a strong sense of resonance.
"Father…"
He bit his lower lip, and blood oozed out from his lips. His clenched fists were also trembling slightly, and his eyes were filled with hatred.
"What those two said is right. The person who caused your death, even if he only indirectly caused your death, must pay the price he deserves. I will never forgive the group of villains from the main family!"
At this moment, he suddenly developed a strong interest in Naruto and Sasuke, who were not far away. Or rather, he developed an interest in their beliefs.
At the same time.
Akatsuki.
"Nagato, why do you think that guy is so interested in Uchiha Ikezumi from Konoha?" Konan said with a cold face. "He actually took the initiative to ask us to investigate Uchiha Ikezumi. This seems to be completely different from his usual way of doing things."
The emaciated Nagato was silent for a moment and said, "He said that Uchiha Ikezumi's existence will seriously affect our plan. Especially the other party's 'Absolute Justice,' which has a huge and irreconcilable conflict with Akatsuki's ideology."
Nagato paused and continued, "The moment Akatsuki wants to control the ninja world with absolute pain, Uchiha Ikezumi, who believes in 'Absolute Justice,' will be our enemy."
Konan crossed her arms and said, "The problem is, the moment our plan is officially implemented, the ninja world will be filled with our enemies. Why is he so special?"
Nagato frowned and thought for a moment. "Perhaps a ninja with two kekkei genkai is very troublesome in 'Madara Uchiha's' eyes. He believes that Uchiha Ikezumi will be our number one enemy."
"That reason is not enough for me to believe."
Konan gently shook her head. "I suspect that Uchiha Ikezumi has some secret related to 'Madara Uchiha.' After all, they are both from the Uchiha clan, so there might really be some connection."
"Perhaps only this can explain why 'Madara Uchiha' is so interested in him. And the secret Uchiha Ikezumi holds might be a very fatal piece of information."
"This information is so important that 'Madara Uchiha' doesn't dare to act on him alone. Otherwise, he would have done it a long time ago."
Konan's words made Nagato fall into deep thought again. Then he looked up at Konan. "You don't seem to trust our partner very much."
Konan said frankly, "I have never trusted him."
In fact, it was more than just not trusting him. She had been secretly investigating "Madara Uchiha" for a long time and treated him as a potential enemy of Akatsuki.
Nagato said, "You can do whatever you want, just don't forget our ultimate goal. If your actions interfere with our plan, it's best to stop them immediately."
"I know."
Konan said, "I have already sent people to investigate Uchiha Ikezumi, and I won't tell 'Madara Uchiha' about my investigation results. I also won't let 'Zetsu,' who has a close relationship with 'Madara Uchiha,' know."
"If my estimation of the time is not wrong, the person I sent has already arrived in the Land of Fire and may even be close to Konoha. Don't worry, the person I sent has a relatively clean background."
"From what I know, Uchiha Ikezumi's 'Absolute Justice' only targets villains."
After saying that, Konan paused and continued, "'Madara Uchiha' knows many of our secrets, but we don't know his background."
"I think… if we investigate him a little, we will have a way to counter him if he reveals any flaws in the future."
Nagato nodded slightly.
Konoha Village.
Just as Neji Hyūga was lost in painful memories, a sudden sound of footsteps came from his side. While he was startled, he also immediately turned his head to look behind him.
He saw—a young ninja in the Uchiha Military Police Force uniform walking toward them unhurriedly. Behind him were two female ninjas. One of them was also in the Uchiha Military Police Force uniform, and the other was wearing the combat vest of a Konoha Special Jonin.
There was also a cat standing on the left shoulder of the Uchiha female ninja. It was a chubby orange cat.
Neji suddenly noticed that the moment the few of them appeared, whether it was Lord Hokage, Hiashi Hyūga, or the ninjas wearing masks, they all looked at them in unison.
"Ikezumi…"
Neji faintly heard Lord Hokage slowly say these two words, which made his eyes widen.
Ikezumi… he was Uchiha Ikezumi?!
Neji's gaze couldn't help but fall on Uchiha Ikezumi's face, but he found that the man also slowly shifted his gaze over. In the first second that their eyes met in mid-air, Neji lost and felt a chill in his heart.
"I…"
"…am scared!"
Neji was shocked to find that the reason he didn't dare to continue looking at him was that a sense of fear had suddenly risen in his heart!
At the same time, he was a little curious as to why this famous man would suddenly glance at him. Was there something special about him that made him notice?
Neji was nervous. He watched Uchiha Ikezumi pass him. He also found that the other person's gaze seemed to have been retracted, and then he calmly walked over to Lord Hokage's side.
Whether it was Neji's illusion or not, he felt that Hiashi Hyūga, the clan leader of the Hyūga clan, seemed a little unusually uncomfortable after noticing Uchiha Ikezumi approaching!
You know, Hiashi Hyūga didn't have this kind of obvious discomfort even when he saw Lord Hokage!
Neji was very shocked.
"Lord Ikezumi!" x2
Naruto and Sasuke were both very happy to see Uchiha Ikezumi's arrival.
Uchiha Ikezumi glanced at the corpse on the ground, then looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. His calm eyes made Hiruzen Sarutobi always hesitate to look him in the eye.
"Third Hokage, I don't think there's anything wrong with believers of 'Absolute Justice' executing their justice in Konoha," he said. "It's just killing a young villain. Is it necessary for you, the Third Hokage, to make such a big fuss about it?"
The words "just" made Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyelids twitch.
"Ikezumi." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. His tone was very serious and stern. "I won't talk about how extreme your justice is, and I won't talk about whether the young Hyūga clan member killed by Naruto deserved to die. The mere fact that your 'Absolute Justice' ideology instigated Naruto to kill someone in the village has already put Naruto on a wrong path in life!"
"I've said it before, Naruto's justice should be justice that stands on Konoha's side. And the premise of Konoha's justice is that it needs to be recognized by everyone in the village. This kind of justice is the justice that conforms to the Will of Fire."
"It's also the justice that is most suitable for Naruto. The problem is…"
"He killed someone… the nature of the matter has changed! You know that Naruto's identity is special. If everyone in the village finds out that he killed a young Hyūga clan member, will they still recognize him?"
"And his current actions have been pushed too fast by you. His growth trajectory shouldn't be so extreme!"
"Ikezumi…"
"If you cared about Naruto even a little, you should stop him from doing things like this!"
These were all Hiruzen Sarutobi's inner thoughts. He truly believed that he was doing this for Naruto's own good. He felt that he didn't have any ulterior motives to use Naruto.
But why didn't Ikezumi or Naruto understand his good intentions?
Hiashi Hyūga, who was on the side, wanted to speak but stopped himself. Lord Hokage was saying, right in front of him, the Hyūga clan leader, that he wouldn't talk about the young Hyūga clan member killed by Naruto. This was almost like tearing his face off as the clan leader.
Especially since there were Hyūga clan ninjas nearby. Hiashi Hyūga could already sense the looks of confusion in his clan members' eyes when they looked at him. The clan members probably didn't understand why Lord Hokage was so disrespectful to the Hyūga clan. But Hiashi Hyūga also didn't quite understand.
He could only guess that in Lord Hokage's heart… Uchiha Ikezumi's priority was many times higher than the Hyūga clan's. The Nine-Tails jinchuriki was the same.
That makes sense. Uchiha Ikezumi killed Lord Hokage's two sons, yet Lord Hokage could still hold back the killing intent in his heart. This meant that the Hyūga clan was indeed inferior to Uchiha Ikezumi. After all, if the Hyūga clan had killed Lord Hokage's two sons, their fate would probably not be much better than the Uchiha clan's.
While Hiashi Hyūga's expression was uncertain, Uchiha Ikezumi spoke. "Third Hokage, if you really want what's best for Naruto Uzumaki, you should let go of the chain in your hand. Naruto Uzumaki is just practicing his justice on the right path."
"If the people in the village don't recognize his actions when he has done nothing wrong, then it's a problem with those people in the village, not with Naruto Uzumaki."
"Why should a person who has no problems be tied with a chain that he shouldn't be tied with? Should a good person be threatened with a knife?"
"Why don't you point the finger at the people who don't recognize Naruto Uzumaki's execution of justice? They are the ones with the wrong values."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was dumbfounded. Just as he was in a daze, he suddenly found that Naruto's eyes, when he looked at him, seemed to be filled with a look of wronged confusion.
"Grandpa Hokage…"
Naruto pursed his lips and said in a wronged, small voice, "I obviously didn't do anything wrong. If they don't even recognize this, I don't know what I should do to get their recognition. Is it that by letting a villain live, I can get their recognition?"
"I'd rather not have that kind of recognition."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent. He really wanted to tell Naruto—"Recognition" is not as simple as you think. It's not that everyone in the village will recognize you just because you do the right thing. You have to make everyone not afraid of you, make everyone love you, make everyone need you… and also, make some people who are already in the gray area not have any resistance toward you.
But he also knew very well that as soon as he said these words, Ikezumi would immediately refute him.
Among everyone present, only Ikezumi didn't give him, the Konoha Hokage, any face. And yet… he was helpless.
"Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki's injuries have been treated. But medical ninjutsu is not omnipotent. He may need some time to rest before he can fully recover."
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into an awkward silence, a medical ninja timely helped him change the subject.
Hiruzen Sarutobi forced a smile. "Naruto, how could Grandpa Hokage force you to do something you don't want to do? What happened today is too heavy for a child like you. And with your injuries, you need to get a good rest."
Hiruzen Sarutobi added, "And, Sasuke-kun too."
He said, "Yoshinobu."
The Anbu ninja, Yamanaka Yoshinobu, walked out helplessly. "Lord Hokage."
"You will send Naruto and Sasuke back," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"Yes!"
Hiashi Hyūga watched Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, who had killed a young clan member, leave under the protection of Anbu ninjas. He, the clan leader of the Hyūga clan, had remained silent the entire time.
"Hiashi."
Hiruzen Sarutobi then looked at him. "You should know how to handle this little incident, right?"
"…I do," Hiashi Hyūga said in a low voice. "It is indeed our young Hyūga clan member who was in the wrong. His malicious actions led to the death of a child, and now he has only paid the price he deserved."
"I have no objections to the actions of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. I think the parents of the young Hyūga clan member, who got what was coming to him, will not have any other opinions on this matter either."
He was even more cowardly than Fugaku Uchiha.
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