Chapter 253: The Power of Absolute Justice
The ninja uniform of the Konoha Military Police Force, besides the Uchiha clan crest, naturally bears the unique symbol of the Konoha Village.
Every Hidden Mist ninja present saw it clearly.
If it weren't for Mei Terumī and Ao leading the way, which gave the Hidden Mist ninjas in the shadows a moment of indecision, they would have likely grabbed their tools and swarmed forward long ago.
After all, the Hidden Mist Village, deeply affected by the Bloody Mist Policy for years, was extremely xenophobic.
A ninja from another village who dared to step onto the Mist Village's territory without an invitation from the Mist's high command had only one end: death.
At this moment.
A Hidden Mist Jōnin, flanked by several other Mist ninjas, walked forward with a deep frown. He first glared with hostility at Jūzō Biwa, Ikeizumi Uchiha, and Izumi Uchicha, then looked at Mei Terumī with some confusion.
"Mei Terumī-sama, what is going on?" The Mist Jōnin's tone sounded initially cold and emotionless, as if years of killing had made him forget most emotions.
While tightly watching Mei Terumī, he did not relax his guard: "If I recall correctly the Mizukage-sama led over thirty Hidden Mist Anbu to pursue the rogue ninja Jūzō Biwa not long ago."
"But "
"Why are Mei Terumī-sama and Ao the ones who have returned? And why is the person being pursued, Jūzō Biwa, here as well? Why are there two Konoha ninjas with you?"
"Where is the Mizukage-sama? Where are the Anbu ninjas? Mei Terumī-sama, everyone in the village needs you to give us a reasonable explanation."
The aggressive questioning made Mei Terumī take a deep breath.
Mei Terumī looked around. She could sense many Hidden Mist ninjas hiding in the shadows, guarding even against her, a fellow villager.
Clearly, due to the presence of Jūzō Biwa and the two Konoha Uchiha ninjas, many of the village's ninjas already did not trust her completely.
The problem was that Mei Terumī couldn't immediately answer the questions.
Should she say in front of so many people the Mizukage-sama was killed by Ikeizumi Uchiha. And that she and Ao observed the entire process of the Mizukage's death from the shadows without intervening to help?
Such behavior would look too much like that of a rogue ninja!
But just as Mei Terumī was speechless, a cold and indifferent voice suddenly rang out from behind her: "Because the Mizukage is already dead, killed by me. It's that simple."
Ikeizumi Uchiha's words dropped.
Mei Terumī's entire face stiffened. Ao beside her felt a sudden prickling on his scalp.
Neither of them could have imagined that Ikeizumi Uchiha would dare to say such a thing in front of so many Hidden Mist ninjas!
This...
Is this the temperament of the ninja who dared to assassinate the Fire Daimyō?
Then, Mei Terumī noticed that the surrounding Hidden Mist ninjas were indeed momentarily stunned by Ikeizumi Uchiha's declaration.
In the open and in the shadows beneath the night sky, one gaze after another focused entirely on Ikeizumi Uchiha.
"Hey! Konoha ninja! What are you saying?!"
At this moment, a Hidden Mist ninja whose face was covered in fierce scars widened his eyes and took a few steps forward, questioning: "You need to understand where you are! The Bloody Mist Village is not a place for a Konoha ninja to talk nonsense! If it weren't for giving Mei Terumī-sama some respect, you'd already be a corpse!"
Mei Terumī: "..."
Mei Terumī wanted to kick this guy. Couldn't he stop dragging her into this? If she were targeted by Ikeizumi Uchiha, she didn't know if she could survive even one move from him.
Ikeizumi Uchiha ignored the man, paid no heed to the surrounding hostile gazes, and did not care how many Hidden Mist ninjas were lurking, ready to move, within the village.
At this moment, he continued, speaking to himself: "The Bloody Mist Policy of the Hidden Mist Village has plunged the entire Land of Water into extreme poverty, backwardness, disorder, and suffering. This place, even the moist air with the mist, is permeated with the smell of sin."
"Whether it is the high-ranking officials of the Hidden Mist promoting the Bloody Mist Policy; the ignorant ninjas and civilians supporting the Bloody Mist Policy; the nobles, Daimyō, and ninja clans profiting from the Bloody Mist Policy; or those who took advantage of the chaotic order in the Land of Water to commit many unforgivable sins..."
"All are villains whose sins cannot be forgiven."
The moment Ikeizumi Uchiha's words which sounded somewhat incomprehensible to many Hidden Mist ninjas fell.
The surrounding air seemed to gradually heat up.
Making many elite Hidden Mist ninjas feel that something was gravely amiss.
It also made Mei Terumī, the closest to Ikeizumi Uchiha, contract her pupils.
Because she felt waves of scorching heat radiating from behind her!
"This guy..." Mei Terumī was sweating profusely. She clearly perceived the killing intent emanating from Ikeizumi Uchiha.
And Ikeizumi Uchiha's voice continued to ring out: "The countless Bloody Mist villains have completely warped the morality and values of the entire Land of Water, leaving no room for the word 'Justice.' The Land of Water, lacking a just order, has become a cradle and breeding ground for countless villains, constantly spawning sins too grievous to witness."
"Hey! What nonsense are you muttering, you bastard?" A Hidden Mist Jōnin, sensing the atmosphere turning sour, tried to interrupt Ikeizumi Uchiha.
But to his surprise, the mumbling Konoha ninja continued talking while walking in his direction.
As Ikeizumi Uchiha moved, he said: "As long as these Bloody Mist villains are not eradicated, the Land of Water will sink deeper into the abyss of sin. Countless innocent people will continue to struggle in this hellish environment "
"When the survival of ordinary civilians becomes an unsolvable problem, and no one in the entire nation cares. It means that this place is virtually beyond saving."
His calm gaze swept over every Hidden Mist ninja within his line of sight.
"Fortunately in this hopeless environment of sin, there are still a few who are out of place. The existence of these few people offers a hope of rescue for the Hidden Mist Village, this 'severely ill patient.'"
As he spoke, Ikeizumi Uchiha had already reached the Hidden Mist Jōnin, the distance between them less than three meters.
"Hey! Konoha ninja! Stop! Don't come any closer!"
Sweat was already dripping from the Hidden Mist Jōnin's forehead. He couldn't tell if it was sweat from nervousness or heat?
Because he felt the ambient temperature was extremely high. Logically, as winter was approaching, the temperature in the Hidden Mist Village shouldn't be like this!
Such an abnormal phenomenon
Made him nervously place his hand on a ninja sword at his waist.
Ready to draw the blade at any moment.
"Tetsuzō Kirigaya." When Ikeizumi Uchiha uttered a name, the Hidden Mist Jōnin's pupils constricted.
Before he could speak again, he heard Ikeizumi Uchiha continue: "Do you remember why you last killed someone? Was it a mission given by the village? Or did you just have an itchy hand and slaughtered a family of five in some part of the Land of Water?"
At this moment.
The Hidden Mist Jōnin named Tetsuzō Kirigaya hadn't realized what Ikeizumi Uchiha intended to do, but Mei Terumī and Ao behind him did.
Realizing what was happening, Ao yelled out in shock: "Ikeizumi Uchiha, please wait "
But it was too late. The moment he shouted the words.
Tetsuzō Kirigaya's arm, which was nervously resting on the sword hilt, suddenly snapped with a "crack." Immediately after, everyone heard the sound of a ninja sword being drawn and instantly sheathed.
The next second, they saw Tetsuzō Kirigaya's head, frozen in a look of astonishment, slide off to one side. Blood sprayed from the severed neck!
They saw that the sword scabbard hanging at Tetsuzō Kirigaya's waist was now empty.
And that ninja sword had appeared in Ikeizumi Uchiha's hand at some unknown moment!
"The first."
Ikeizumi Uchiha's indifferent voice snapped all the Hidden Mist ninjas back to reality. Eyes filled with disbelief stared at Ikeizumi Uchiha.
No one had expected a Konoha ninja to dare to kill on the Hidden Mist Village's territory!
And kill a Hidden Mist Jōnin instantly!
One must remember that this Konoha ninja was brought to the village by Mei Terumī-sama.
What on earth was going on with Mei Terumī-sama?
"Tetsuzō-sama!!!" The several Hidden Mist ninjas following Tetsuzō Kirigaya were shocked, but they also displayed the quality expected of ninjas. They immediately drew the swords at their waists and rushed toward Ikeizumi Uchiha without hesitation.
Mei Terumī attempted to stop the group of Hidden Mist ninjas, but just as her mouth opened, she suddenly saw a blur. The flash of a sword streaked past.
And she saw that Ikeizumi Uchiha's figure had suddenly disappeared.
Mei Terumī quickly shifted her gaze and saw Ikeizumi Uchiha standing behind the group of charging Hidden Mist ninjas at some unknown moment!
And the ninja sword he had seized was already stained with thick blood!
One by one
The bodies of the Hidden Mist ninjas froze in place, then slumped down as if all strength had been drained from them.
This group of Hidden Mist ninjas were almost all headless corpses!
When their bodies fell, their heads separated from their torsos.
The thick smell of blood assaulted everyone's nostrils.
The reason for saying "almost"
Was because there was one survivor.
The sole survivor had both arms severed. He sat collapsed on the ground in terror, staring blankly at the stump where his elbows used to be, seemingly not having processed what had just happened. The Chūnin of the Hidden Mist Village was completely shell-shocked.
"Wait! No one move recklessly!!!" Seeing this, Mei Terumī shouted this sentence at the top of her lungs.
But she was clearly not speaking to Ikeizumi Uchiha, but to the group of Hidden Mist ninjas in the shadows who were shocked and about to attack.
Unfortunately.
Mei Terumī's voice and prestige in the Hidden Mist Village had not yet reached the level it would in the future.
Upon witnessing their fellow villagers killed by a Konoha ninja, the Hidden Mist ninjas hidden in the shadows, filled with murderous intent, revealed themselves! They would absolutely not tolerate a Konoha ninja being so arrogant within the Bloody Mist Village. Where would that leave the honor of the Hidden Mist Village?!
In an instant.
Layer upon layer of illusory mist quickly spread throughout the Hidden Mist Village. Silhouettes seemed to be rapidly traversing within the mist, seemingly looking for an angle and opportunity to strike.
"...Oh no."
Cold sweat streamed down Mei Terumī's face.
Among all the people present, perhaps only she and Ao knew that Ikeizumi Uchiha was a person who absolutely could not be easily provoked!
She had personally witnessed the world-destroying, terrifying battle before. This was a man stronger than a Tailed Beast!
And a man whose thought process was not the same as a normal ninja.
He might genuinely flatten the Hidden Mist Village!
And he absolutely had the ability to do so!
" The Land of Water has been isolated for too long. The ninjas in the village haven't had much contact with the outside world for years. They simply don't know what kind of power this Konoha ninja possesses!"
Mei Terumī's face was grim. She immediately said to Ao beside her: "Ao! Go find Gensui-sama immediately! Now that the Mizukage-sama is killed, he is the only one with the authority to command the village!"
"If the ninjas in the village treat Ikeizumi Uchiha as an enemy, they are only heading for death!"
Ao immediately nodded. Without unnecessary words, he turned and ran, disappearing into the dense mist.
"...He's really decisive. He doesn't even bother to listen to what others are saying "
Jūzō Biwa took a deep breath, seeing this scene.
He hadn't forgotten that he was a rogue ninja of the Hidden Mist Village, nor had he forgotten that he had chosen to stand on Ikeizumi Uchiha's side.
However, just as he lifted the Kubikiribōchō and prepared to join the fight.
Izumi Uchicha suddenly stepped forward and blocked him.
Jūzō Biwa was stunned.
He heard the Konoha girl speak: "You will accidentally kill Hidden Mist ninjas who are not villains."
Jūzō Biwa: "???"
Huh?
While he was utterly confused, Izumi Uchicha explained softly: "Do you know why Ikeizumi-senpai just spared one life? It's because the person is not a villain, and his motivation for attempting to attack Senpai was not out of malicious intent to commit a crime."
"So, Senpai only severed his arms and did not take his life."
"Because Senpai has the ability to see the evil in others. In Ikeizumi-senpai's eyes, the sin of every Hidden Mist ninja cannot be hidden. Senpai always knows clearly who must die, and who can be spared a life and given a chance."
Jūzō Biwa was stunned again.
So, Ikeizumi Uchiha would actually spare others' lives?
Oh!
Right...
If Ikeizumi Uchiha truly killed everyone, then he himself wouldn't be alive right now.
At this moment, he suddenly saw the girl in front of him draw the ninja sword from her waist.
Before Jūzō Biwa could ask, he heard Izumi Uchicha explain proactively while walking forward: "I also possess the power to see the evil in others. This is the power bestowed upon me by Ikeizumi-senpai."
"Just a kind reminder, if you are sincere enough about Absolute Justice, you will also gain this power."