Chapter 217: Juzo Biwa: "The Akatsuki Are Bullying Me!
Konoha Village.
Jiraiya found Tsunade, stopping in front of her with a complex expression.
Tsunade looked at him strangely, a little impatiently: "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't stand in front of me without speaking. Why are you being such a worrywart?"
Jiraiya's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath: "Tsunade, Orochimaru—something has happened."
But after saying this line, which Jiraiya thought was "shocking," he found that Tsunade's expression hadn't changed much.
Jiraiya couldn't help but add: "Orochimaru is likely dead. This is the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage, and the Great Toad Sage's prophecies are never wrong."
Tsunade deadpanned: "Are you going to tell me next that Ikeizumi Uchiha killed him?"
Jiraiya was stunned: "You already know?"
"I've known for a long time," Tsunade said flatly. "Were you also planning to use this incident to warn me that Ikeizumi Uchiha is too extreme, and that Orochimaru was, after all, our close friend, so he should have captured him alive instead of killing him?"
Jiraiya's mouth twitched: "You have too many preconceptions about me—I wouldn't say something like that."
Tsunade said expressionlessly: "It's quite reasonable for me to have this suspicion when those two toads are constantly brainwashing you with their moral values."
Tsunade continued: "Orochimaru is dead, so be it. This is the retribution he deserved, and his end was to be expected. If you were to commit evil like Orochimaru under the influence of a few toads, I would kill you myself, without Ikeizumi needing to step in."
Fukasaku Sage: "..."
Shima Sage: "—"
Jiraiya could only force an awkward laugh: "When are you planning to tell the Old Man about this? I think we should wait a few days. The Old Man is already stressed out about the Sarutobi Nadoko matter, and now the Uchiha Clan is also—"
Tsunade interrupted him directly: "I already had Shizune go tell the Old Man. If he, the mighty Hokage, can't handle a blow like this, then what is he doing as Hokage? He might as well retire!"
"Besides—"
Tsunade said faintly: "If the Old Man is saddened by the death of an evildoer like Orochimaru, it means he can't distinguish right from wrong. I even suspect that the reason Orochimaru was able to escape Konoha back then was because the Old Man was reluctant to strike. This allowed an evildoer like Orochimaru to live, and he went on to kill many innocent people over the years."
Jiraiya suddenly didn't know what to say. He felt that Tsunade in front of him had become strangely unfamiliar.
Tsunade seemed colder than before, like a creature lacking normal human emotions.
It was as if—
She was like Ikeizumi Uchiha!
Watching Tsunade walk away, Jiraiya frowned, eventually letting out only a soft sigh.
"Little Jiraiya, this is the flaw of Absolutism," Shima Sage slowly said. "It may indeed improve order in an area in the short term and bring justice to some innocent victims. However, it will also gradually strip a person of their emotions and kindness, turning them into a cold, merciless tool of the law."
"Because if those who believe in Absolutism do not reach the point of 'disowning family and friends,' they are violating the very Ninja Way they believe in. In their eyes, that is not justice."
"Tsunade is heading in this direction. You must not follow her."
Shima Sage spoke earnestly.
"Lady Tsunade, those two toad couple from Mount Myōboku were talking badly about you behind your back. That's pretty much what they said." A slug clone, perched on Tsunade's shoulder, spoke.
It was evident that this clone was slightly smaller than before.
Clearly, Tsunade had secretly asked the Slug Sage to split off another part of itself to eavesdrop on the conversation between Shima Sage, Fukasaku Sage, and Jiraiya.
"Hmph, it didn't surprise me. Those two toads are talking badly about me again, and that guy Ikeizumi too. The toads of Mount Myōboku, it seems their only skill is to bewitch people."
Tsunade pouted, naturally feeling annoyed.
But she didn't want to warn Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was an adult. If he could still be manipulated by two toads to this extent, it meant that no amount of warning would help. He would only stubbornly stick to his own opinions.
Tsunade thought for a moment, then cautiously asked: "Slug Sage, do you think those two toads' assessment of me is correct?"
Out of all the people and summoning animals she knew, Tsunade would likely only be polite to the Slug Sage.
The Slug Sage slowly said: "No, it's not. What they said to Jiraiya was selective emphasis. They emphasized that believers of Absolute Justice abandon emotions and self. But they did not mention why the believers of Absolute Justice harden their hearts to do so."
"Although I am not human, I can venture an assessment—the reason Absolute Justice believers would take actions such as justly eliminating a family member is usually that their relative committed an unforgivable evil. The two toads ignored this 'cause.' They only mentioned the 'effect.'"
"They also failed to mention why Absolute Justice emerged in the ninja world. When one extreme ideology appears, there must be another extreme ideology present. That Absolute Justice can flourish in the ninja world means that there is Absolute Evil in the ninja world."
"That is my view on this matter."
Tsunade sighed with emotion: "Perhaps, Lady Slug Sage, you should open a 'Thought Correction School' in Konoha, and throw some of the village's people inside so they can understand why the ninja world needs justice."
"I am not skilled at teaching and nurturing people."
The Slug Sage said gently.
Inside the Hokage Building.
Shizune, who had just informed Hiruzen Sarutobi about the news of Orochimaru, nervously twisted the corner of her clothes, cautiously watching the Hokage, who had suddenly fallen into a daze.
Shizune was worried about the Hokage's emotional state. After all, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was still the Hokage's disciple.
The Hokage had just received the news of his disciple's death.
Secondly, she felt guilty, because Shizune recalled that Lady Tsunade had said something when she was drunk last night, and her voice was very loud. The neighbors likely heard everything.
"The Old Man was fine when he was young, but now that he's old, this damn Hokage job he's doing is completely substandard! I'd do a better job as Hokage than him! Even a dog would do a better job than him!"
Although she had quickly clapped her hand over Lady Tsunade's rambling mouth.
She didn't know if Konoha's ANBU had heard it.
And whether they had reported it to the Hokage.
Fortunately, Shizune's worries were unnecessary. Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly took a breath. He waved his hand and said:
"The Old Man knows. You may leave now."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Shizune hurried out.
"—Sigh." Not long after Shizune left, a heavy sigh echoed in the Hokage Office. Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples. It was impossible for him not to feel any emotion for Orochimaru; otherwise, he wouldn't have let him escape with a soft heart back then.
Now, learning of Orochimaru's death gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a sense of déjà vu—a white-haired person sending off a black-haired one. And what made him feel sad was that this sense of déjà vu was not the first time.
"Lord Hokage—"
Just then, a voice came. The familiar voice instantly sharpened Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
He discarded the sorrowful emotion in his heart. Looking toward the sound, he saw Kakashi Hatake had entered through the window at some point.
Kakashi, wearing an ANBU mask, said: "We have uncovered another Sarutobi clan ninja secretly collaborating with the Kumogakure spy. This one was captured alive. Furthermore, because we had already contacted the Sealing Team ninja to provide preemptive support, the curse mark in their brain was not triggered."
"Through the investigation of the Yamanaka clan ninja within ANBU, we have obtained the most crucial intelligence." As he said this, a hint of complexity appeared in Kakashi's normally calm tone.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also sensed the abnormality in Kakashi's tone.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank.
Kakashi continued: "The mastermind who attempted to sow discord between you, Lord Hokage, and Ikeizumi Uchiha was indeed a Kumogakure spy. And a total of three Sarutobi clan ninjas were deeply involved. One of them died due to an ANBU error, another is the one I just mentioned to you, Lord Hokage, and the last one—"
"is Sarutobi Nadoko."
A single sentence stirred up a thousand waves. Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened, and he abruptly rose from his chair. A disbelieving exclamation instinctively escaped his lips: "Impossible!"
Kakashi's expression remained unchanged. He seemed to have anticipated Hiruzen Sarutobi's emotional reaction. He slowly said: "But this is the truth. If you do not believe it, Lord Hokage, you can arrange for another Yamanaka clan ninja to examine the memory of the Sarutobi clan ninja who colluded with the Kumogakure spy."
"If you no longer trust the Yamanaka clan ninjas, Lord Hokage, you can personally interrogate that Sarutobi clan ninja. His psychological defense has already been breached by ANBU. He will answer whatever you ask truthfully."
With Kakashi having said all this, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that no matter how unbelievable he found it, this was the irrefutable truth.
He sat down in a daze. The back of the chair seemed unable to support his spine, and his posture involuntarily slumped slightly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a shaky voice: "Why? What were their—their three motives?"
Kakashi answered: "The motive was to use you, Lord Hokage, against Ikeizumi Uchiha. In their eyes, your delay in taking action against Ikeizumi Uchiha was too weak. And your clan members harbor hatred for Ikeizumi Uchiha in their hearts. They have never forgotten the hatred and have always been focused on it."
"They believed that if things continued, you, Lord Hokage, might forget how Ikeizumi Uchiha 'persecuted' the Sarutobi clan. Well, at least in their eyes, Ikeizumi Uchiha's execution of justice was a form of persecution against the Sarutobi clan."
"The only exception is Sarutobi Nadoko."
Kakashi paused, continuing: "The reason she collaborated with the Kumogakure spy was that she wanted to avenge her husband. Her motive was that simple."
"The fact that she, an Elite Jonin, could be killed without a sound was not because the person who secretly attacked her was too strong, nor was it because a Sarutobi clan member killed her."
"The person who killed her was her own Shadow Clone. The other two Sarutobi clan ninjas merely staged the scene after her death to lead you, Lord Hokage, to point the finger of suspicion at Ikeizumi Uchiha."
"She used her own death to instigate this turmoil in Konoha, to force you, Lord Hokage, to part ways with Absolute Justice."
Kakashi did not continue, because he knew that the Hokage in front of him also realized that Sarutobi Nadoko's revenge had failed.
Because this Hokage, who usually seemed so indecisive, had shown himself to be exceptionally firm and wise at the critical moment.
"—Is this the truth?" Hiruzen Sarutobi tilted his head slightly, staring blankly at the ceiling above.
He could handle the big and small affairs of the village.
But he couldn't grasp the hearts of every person in the village.
"Leave the Old Man alone for a while—" Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Kakashi, leaving the Hokage Building, finally let out a sigh of relief.
The pressure has been truly immense during this period of investigation.
Perhaps the truth he found was not the truth the Hokage most wanted to hear, but the facts were just that.
All in all, had he not just cleared Ikeizumi Uchiha's Absolute Justice of suspicion? Although that guy, Ikeizumi Uchiha, probably wouldn't care about such trivial matters anyway.
Land of Rain.
Juzo Biwa grumbled discontentedly: "That woman pretends she doesn't mind me bringing you here, but in reality, she completely distrusts me. She won't let me into the core base of the Akatsuki organization at all. She says I'm an official member of Akatsuki, but in reality, what official member would be ostracized like this!?"
Juzo Biwa never expected that even after joining an extreme organization like Akatsuki, he would still suffer workplace bullying!
Damn it—
That accursed woman!!!
As he spoke, Juzo Biwa glanced warily at the Wood Clone of Ikeizumi Uchiha next to him.
He also subconsciously moved a little further away from the clone.
He was afraid that he had lost his usefulness in Ikeizumi Uchiha's eyes, and no one from the Bloody Mist Village knew better than him what fate awaited a person who had lost their usefulness.
"No need to rush."
Ikeizumi Uchiha's Wood Clone said indifferently: "Perhaps you won't need to actively search for the core base of the Akatsuki organization. The main body's purpose for this trip might be achieved."
Juzo Biwa looked confused.
"The main body learned from Orochimaru that the Akatsuki organization has already listed him as a top priority hunting target. That is to say, they will actively seek out the main body."
"And the main body's purpose is to eliminate the evil within the Akatsuki organization. Now, this evil is about to deliver itself to our doorstep."
The Wood Clone explained.
Juzo Biwa was instantly dumbfounded: "Huh? You're wanted by the Akatsuki organization? How come I, a member of the Akatsuki organization, don't know about this?"
Juzo Biwa realized what he had said as soon as the words left his mouth.
His face turned ashen.
Workplace Isolation!!!
Workplace Bullying!!!
Juzo Biwa's goodwill toward the Akatsuki organization instantly plummeted to rock bottom.
.............
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