Chapter 171: Itachi's Death Will Only Bring Cheers
"There are two of the Legendary Sannin here, and one of them has chosen to stand with Uchiha Ikeizumi." At the same time, at the Hyūga clan compound, Hyūga Hiashi slowly let out a breath.
The veins around his eyes gradually receded. He mumbled to himself, "It looks like nothing will come of the conflict between the Hokage and Uchiha Ikeizumi tonight."
Feeling the residual heat in the air and smelling the faint scent of sulfur, Hyūga Hiashi was quite relieved. He was grateful that the "Susanoo" summoned by Uchiha Ikeizumi had its back to the Hyūga clan compound.
If it had been facing the Hyūga compound and had brought down its blade… it would have split the Hyūga compound in two!
Because the compound was less than a kilometer away from the center of the battle between Uchiha Ikeizumi and Uchiha Itachi. This was why Hyūga Hiashi had been able to see the situation so clearly with his Byakugan. He even knew who Uchiha Ikeizumi had been fighting.
Just then, Hyūga Hiashi seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned his head and saw a figure rushing past. The other person also seemed to sense his presence and glanced back at Hyūga Hiashi.
"Uchiha Fugaku…"
Hyūga Hiashi immediately recognized that face. His expression became complicated. "I wonder what he'll think when he finds out who Uchiha Ikeizumi killed."
"Hmm?"
Hyūga Hiashi suddenly felt another hostile gaze. He looked over and saw that not-so-distant Hyūga Neji had turned his back to him and was walking toward a house with a cold, expressionless face.
"Sigh, is this child still holding on to it?"
Hyūga Hiashi sighed softly, feeling a little guilty but not knowing how to talk to Neji about it.
"Ikeizumi, why do you have Shisui's Kotoamatsukami? Who were you fighting just now? Did that person also use Susanoo? Was that person also an Uchiha ninja?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't get too close to Uchiha Ikeizumi, which was an instinctive precaution. This was also why he couldn't refute Tsunade's earlier question.
In response to the questions from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Ikeizumi glanced at Izumi and said, "She will answer you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "…"
Is he so disgusted that he doesn't want to say a few more words to me?
"Huh?"
Izumi was stunned. She looked around, swallowed hard, and quickly put away the scroll that sealed "Amaterasu."
She immediately composed herself and said, "Uchiha Itachi has developed the pathological and extreme ideology that Ikeizumi-senpai once predicted. He was planning to collude with 'Uchiha Obito' and initiate the Uchiha clan massacre in the next two months."
"He even wanted to assassinate a Leaf ninja who believed in Absolute Justice. He wanted to kill me! Ikeizumi-senpai appeared at the crucial moment and saved me, and he judged and killed Uchiha Itachi in the name of [Absolute Justice]!"
"Uchiha Itachi's future crimes have become a reality. If that's the case, he must accept the consequences of a life of crime. Ikeizumi-senpai saved the entire Uchiha clan by killing him!"
"And he even saved the ninja world! Because Uchiha Itachi, with his distorted and extreme ideology, would have caused even greater crimes in the ninja world sooner or later."
Just as the girl was saying these shocking words, she suddenly saw someone else arrive. Or rather, the person had already arrived about ten seconds ago. The person must have heard what she had said.
"Fugaku Clan Head…"
The person who came was none other than the frantic Fugaku.
At this moment, Fugaku was completely stunned. Izumi's words echoed in his mind.
"Fugaku…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen also saw Fugaku. He subtly noticed that Fugaku's emotions were not normal. Connecting this with the girl's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep, heavy breath.
"My condolences."
In the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only utter these two words. His voice brought Fugaku back from his daze.
Uchiha Fugaku stiffly looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi, his fists clenched at some point. He, who had always considered himself calm enough, was now overwhelmed with turbulent emotions.
Anger.
Grief.
Reluctance.
Confusion.
Hatred.
… all kinds of emotions exploded like bombs in his heart, causing the whites of his eyes to turn red. The muscles on his stern, expressionless face were also twitching slightly.
That was his eldest son, his greatest pride. The future of the Uchiha clan in his eyes. His own flesh and blood.
And now, he had become a victim of Absolute Justice. He, as a father, hadn't even had time to rush over to save his eldest son, nor had he been able to see him for the last time.
Fugaku had thought that he was tough enough. But the sorrow of a father burying his son was something he couldn't get rid of no matter what. He truly and deeply felt the pain that Sarutobi Hiruzen had experienced twice!
"Ikeizumi…"
"Why?"
Fugaku's voice became hoarse. He was desperately trying to control his emotions as he questioned Uchiha Ikeizumi. "Itachi is still just a child whose values haven't fully matured. Even if he developed some inappropriate ideas, you shouldn't have… shouldn't have…"
When he reached this point, Fugaku himself couldn't continue.
Shouldn't have what? Shouldn't have killed him?
From the perspective of Absolute Justice, and from the perspective of the Uchiha clan, should he really not have?
"You should have known this day was coming." Uchiha Ikeizumi glanced at him with cold eyes. "If you hadn't taken my words lightly, if you had disciplined the beast you gave birth to, or if you had tried to forcibly change his ideology… none of this would have happened tonight."
"Uchiha Fugaku. Compromise is your greatest human quality. When faced with the village's relentless pressure, you chose to compromise. When faced with the extreme ideology of the beast you gave birth to, you also chose to compromise."
"The root of all this can even be traced back to you."
He walked up to Uchiha Fugaku, his eyes meeting the other's.
"Who was the one who sent Uchiha Itachi to the battlefield at the age of four? When Uchiha Itachi's comrades were killed and he awakened the Sharingan, who was the one who didn't comfort him but instead praised him for awakening it at the age of eight?"
"When you learned that your eldest son would fall into the abyss of evil in the future, who was the one who did nothing to stop him, but instead gave up and even condoned him?"
"Uchiha Fugaku, your actions bred this evil. But you, weak and indecisive, will never admit that it was your fault."
"Don't soil my ears with your nauseating words."
Uchiha Ikeizumi didn't give Uchiha Fugaku any face. He pointed out all of Fugaku's flaws and mistakes.
And Uchiha Ikeizumi didn't exaggerate at all. Because these were all things Fugaku had done.
Of this family, besides Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Sasuke, the other two were inherently abnormal.
"Fugaku."
A hand patted Fugaku's shoulder, signaling him to calm down. Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Izumi with a complicated expression and asked, "Are you saying that Itachi colluded with Uchiha Obito from the Akatsuki?"
Izumi shifted her wary gaze from Uchiha Fugaku. She had been worried that the Uchiha clan head would attack Ikeizumi-senpai in a fit of emotion. Thankfully, the clan head, who had been indecisive and compromising his whole life, compromised once again.
She immediately nodded. "Yes!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent. He could probably guess Uchiha Itachi's intentions—Itachi must have felt that he couldn't defeat Ikeizumi's Absolute Justice or carry out the clan massacre on his own.
Itachi needed to borrow external power. And he, as the Hokage, would never allow him to wipe out the Uchiha clan. So he couldn't borrow power from the Hokage and could only seek it outside the village.
Itachi chose the "Akatsuki" and "Uchiha Obito."
"Phew!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly exhaled a mouthful of air. He had already advised Itachi several times and warned him repeatedly. Itachi usually listened to him, so why was he so stubborn now?
He had said "I understand" and "I got it" to him several times. But what did he understand? What did he get?
Did Itachi… really understand?
Sarutobi Hiruzen calmed his feelings of helplessness, forced to accept the fact that the Leaf had lost another powerful asset. He said with a complicated expression, "Where is Itachi's body? Return Itachi's body to Fugaku so he can take it back…"
Fugaku's slightly twitching facial muscles stopped. He also looked at the Uchiha girl.
"Vaporized." Izumi replied. "Not a single cell was left."
She thought for a moment and added comfortingly, "If you really want to bury him, you can use his clothes to make a cenotaph."
Just as she said this, Izumi heard Kijirō's voice. "Newbie, let's go with the other newbie, meow. There's no need to be long-winded and babble with these guys."
Izumi quickly turned her head. She saw that Ikeizumi-senpai and Kijirō-senpai had already ignored the Hokage and Clan Head Fugaku. They were both leaving.
"Okay!" Izumi immediately helped the still-unconscious Mitarashi Anko up, put her on her back, and followed them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "…"
Fugaku: "…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but look at the slightly trembling Fugaku next to him. He frowned and coughed. "Fugaku, I don't want to see a serious internal conflict within the Uchiha clan."
"A conflicted Uchiha clan will become extremely unstable, which is not a good thing for the Leaf. Fugaku, don't do something that I and others don't want to see."
"As for Itachi…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "Itachi chose to cooperate with the Akatsuki to fight a ninja from his own village. This is something that many people will not tolerate. It can even be considered an act of a rogue ninja."
"Fugaku, this matter is not good for the Uchiha clan if it gets out, and it's certainly not good for you. It will also cause even more serious damage to Itachi's reputation."
When he said this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but think of his second son, Sarutobi Asuma. Asuma had colluded with a colleague in the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Just that caused many people in the village to despise him.
Not to mention Itachi, who for some unknown reason suddenly wanted to collude with the Akatsuki.
The Akatsuki, Uchiha Obito, the masked man… they were very likely the ones who had started the Nine-Tails rampage in the Leaf Village back then! Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't understand why Itachi would cooperate with people like them.
"…Yes, Hokage-sama."
Fugaku was silent for a few seconds. In the end, he lowered his head.
Half an hour later. Uchiha Fugaku didn't know what kind of state he was in when he walked back to the Uchiha clan compound. The moment he stood in front of his door, he slightly raised his eyes and saw that his wife and his second son had been waiting for him at the door for a long time.
Uchiha Mikoto noticed that Fugaku's emotions were extremely abnormal.
Even on the day he learned that Sasuke believed in [Absolute Justice], Fugaku hadn't shown this kind of emotion.
"What's wrong?" Mikoto quickly asked.
"Itachi…"
Fugaku lowered his eyes. "He chose the path that Ikeizumi predicted. He wanted to first kill Uchiha Izumi, the girl who believes in Absolute Justice. Then Ikeizumi appeared, and then Itachi…"
"Died."
After saying this in an extremely low tone, Fugaku walked past Mikoto and didn't even look at Sasuke, walking straight into his house.
He only left behind a lonely figure for his wife and second son.
And the fists hidden in his sleeves were already white. The veins on the back of his hands were twitching slightly.
Fugaku hated that he had compromised once again. He hated that he hadn't fulfilled his duty as a father—to avenge his deceased son.
But he didn't hate that he had taught Itachi wrong. Fugaku didn't think there was anything wrong with his educational approach, and there was nothing wrong with sending his child to the battlefield at the age of four. He felt that only this way could he test Itachi's true capacity and unleash the potential of the Uchiha clan.
His second son, Uchiha Sasuke, who hadn't experienced war, was a good counterexample.
Although he had been stimulated by Itachi to awaken his Sharingan, he still couldn't compare to Itachi.
"Itachi… died…" Sasuke didn't know that his father was despising his talent at this moment. He was shocked beyond belief by Uchiha Fugaku's words.
"He was killed by Ikeizumi-sensei…"
Sasuke wanted to stop Uchiha Itachi from falling into the abyss, so he desired the power of Absolute Justice. But he didn't expect that before he could get stronger, Itachi was already beyond saving.
Unlike Fugaku, Sasuke didn't feel a trace of hatred, only shock and confusion. He couldn't help but look at Uchiha Mikoto. He found that his mother's reaction was similar to his, and maybe even more intense. His mother's eyes seemed a little red.
After all, Uchiha Itachi was also her flesh and blood, raised by her. How could she not have any feelings for him?
"Fugaku! Where is Itachi's body?"
At this moment, Mikoto suddenly spoke, calling out to Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku's steps paused. He took three deep breaths in a row before he finally said, "There is no body."
Mikoto's pretty face froze.
Fugaku turned around and looked at his wife. He said honestly, "Are you still going to ask about Ikeizumi? He's completely fine. Itachi tried his best. He even used Susanoo, but he couldn't even scratch Ikeizumi. I…"
"Hah! I didn't attack Ikeizumi either. I suppressed the hatred in my heart. I chose to remain silent in the face of Ikeizumi's aggressive questioning. I chose to compromise in the face of the Hokage's warning."
"Maybe, part of Ikeizumi's assessment of me was correct. I am an indecisive person who is good at compromising."
Fugaku was prepared to see a look of disappointment in his wife's eyes.
But to his surprise, Uchiha Mikoto just nodded slightly and sighed with a complicated tone, "Itachi chose the wrong path. Ikeizumi just made Itachi pay the price for his wrong choice. Fugaku, instead of saying you backed down and compromised, it's better to say… this time you truly understood what is right and what is wrong."
Fugaku was stunned.
"In your eyes, Itachi is wrong? And Ikeizumi is right? Even though Itachi died at Ikeizumi's hands tonight, you still think so?"
He asked.
"Yes." Mikoto nodded.
Fugaku: "…"
Fugaku's expression was a little dazed.
....
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