Under Koharu Utatane's wide-eyed, incredulous stare, Tsunade spoke without mincing words, her meaning sharp enough to draw blood: "It's not just the Root shinobi who hurt this kid who count as evildoers. The ones who condoned them—and ordered them—are committing evil too.
"Every last one of them will pay the price for this. And that isn't some rule 'Absolute Justice' made up on a whim. It's the written law of the Land of Fire."
She paused, her gaze settling on Koharu again.
"Old woman, as the head of Root, you let your subordinates harm others. By the laws of the Land of Fire, even if you didn't swing the blade yourself, you're one of the masterminds."
"My advice? Take a trip to the Uchiha Police Force."
"As for those subordinates of yours who laid hands on people…"
"They need to 'report' to the Police Force even more. You get two options: turn yourselves in—or I'll throw you in."
Tsunade's open stance and merciless tone had Koharu shaking with fury.
She'd already backed down. She'd even agreed to release the prisoners. So why was Tsunade still clamping down and refusing to let go?
How was this any different from Uchiha Chizumi's mad-dog habit of latching onto a target and never letting go? She's copying Uchiha Chizumi, isn't she?
"Tsunade, don't go too far…" Koharu took a deep breath, teeth clenched. "Even if I went to the Uchiha Police to 'turn myself in,' do you think they'd dare keep me? Do you think Uchiha Fugaku would dare throw me into Konoha's prison? You're pestering me for nothing!"
Hm? Wait…
Koharu's expression changed. Somehow, Tsunade had dragged the frame of the argument so far that Koharu actually felt guilty, as if she really had committed a crime!
"What's there to be scared of, meow? That timid Fugaku might not dare to keep you, might not dare to toss you into Konoha's jail—that much I can buy. But me? I'm not afraid of you, you old hag, meow!"
The sudden voice reached everyone's ears.
The cadence was odd—more like an animal than a person.
At the same time, figures flashed in from every direction, sealing off all four sides.
Koharu darted glances left and right.
Her pupils tightened.
From all around, Uchiha Police Force shinobi—summoned from who-knows-where—were racing in and tightening a ring around Koharu and the handful of Root operatives with her!
Every officer was fully armed, bristling with ninja tools, scrolls, and paper bombs at their belts. A few had even summoned their familiars.
If you didn't know better, you'd think they were heading to some battlefield in the wider ninja world.
Koharu spotted one officer with a very fat orange cat perched on his shoulder.
The orange cat looked a bit worse for wear, fur matted, leaves and twigs stuck all over it.
Looked like it had sprinted back to the village from outside and run straight to the Police to call in the cavalry.
"Uchiha Chizumi's ninja cat!!!"
Koharu didn't know its name—Jujiro—but she knew that hateful cat followed Uchiha Chizumi everywhere.
Hadn't that damned cat left the village with Chizumi? Why was it here? Did it get word and rush back?
If it was back…
Did that mean Uchiha Chizumi was back too?
Koharu snapped to high alert.
"Quit staring, meow."
Jujiro took a moment to steady his breath and hide the fatigue in his face. He fixed his eyes on Koharu and bared his little fangs. "We don't need Chizumi-sama to deal with you. I, Jujiro, am more than enough!"
Not far off, Fukasaku raised a froggy brow at the standoff and muttered to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya, is Konoha always this chaotic lately? The situation feels even messier than during the great ninja wars."
Jiraiya could only give a wry smile. "I don't know how it got like this either. I only happened to return to the village these last few days."
Shima said, "It looks like a clash of ideals. In shinobi history, conflicts of ideology are the hardest to reconcile."
She paused, then went on, "Unless one side is completely wiped out, clashes of ideology don't end."
"And when the ideological fight drags on, it turns into a fight of force. That's how you get… this."
Shima added, "Jiraiya, if you don't step in to stop this farce, they really are going to start fighting."
"Got it."
Jiraiya drew a deep breath. He already had a plan in mind to make both sides back down a step. He lifted a foot in his geta to move forward—when a hand clapped down on his shoulder.
The swat nearly smacked Shima off his shoulder.
Jiraiya found he couldn't move. The hand on his shoulder pressed down with such force his whole shoulder dipped.
He turned in shock—and saw Tsunade.
"Jiraiya, if you set yourself against justice," Tsunade said, voice flat, "then our years of friendship end here. And don't let these two weird-looking toads scramble your worldview."
"Weird-looking… toads…"
Shima, who had narrowly avoided a swat, heard that and, ancient composure or not, felt her eyelid twitch like mad.
"What an ill-mannered little brat from Shikkotsu Forest…"
She bared her teeth right back. "I'd love to know what kind of teaching that Slug Sage gave you!"
"What seniority do you have to pass judgment on the Slug Sage?" Tsunade flicked an ear, gaze cool. "Even the Great Toad himself isn't qualified to criticize her."
Shima's eyelid was twitching at seizure speed now.
Sensing this could go south, Fukasaku hurriedly hopped over.
He grabbed Shima and soothed, "Calm yourself. Don't stoop to quibbling with a kid."
Then he looked up at Tsunade. "Tsunade-chan, we haven't poisoned Jiraiya's worldview. Because of our careful guidance, he's become a hero of the shinobi world."
"A hero of peeping at women's bathhouses?" Tsunade dug a pinky in her ear.
Jiraiya mumbled, "...That was for research."
The grip on his shoulder clenched, and the pressure crushed the geta under his feet to splinters.
Tsunade's eyes were cold. "Your old Mount Myōboku ways from centuries ago are obsolete. Neither the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest nor the Great White Snake of Ryūchi Cave ever impose their will on the shinobi world.
"They understand the world is constantly changing. If they barged in with old, rigid ideas, the unintended consequences could be catastrophic.
"If their meddling caused a tragedy, those sages wouldn't forgive themselves. But you lot at Mount Myōboku keep trying to interfere in everything."
"I'm beginning to wonder if your meddling helped trigger the last few shinobi wars—one butterfly effect after another."
"Is Mount Myōboku the source of much of the shinobi world's evil?"
The sudden pile of hats she forced on their heads—trashing two to praise two—left Fukasaku looking sour.
Sandwiched between them, Jiraiya was sweating bullets.
Tsunade had been verbally hammering Koharu a moment ago—why was she turning her guns on the two toad sages now? Because once the Uchiha Police arrived in force, Tsunade decided she didn't need to keep pressing Koharu herself?
…
While Tsunade sparred with the sages, Jujiro's side never missed a beat.
The Uchiha Police had the Root operatives sealed in tight.
Plenty of officers had already drawn blades.
Their eyes toward Root were openly hostile.
Line after line of crimson Sharingan made Koharu's scalp prickle.
Even if the whole Police Force wasn't here, at least half had shown up! Was this cat's pull really that strong?
No— It was Chizumi's pull. The cat represented Uchiha Chizumi.
…
"This… seems to be beyond the Hokage's expectations."
Hidden nearby, Yamato—assigned to monitor Root—felt a bad turn coming.
He flashed a hand sign.
One of his Anbu understood and sprinted off to find Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Soon after, the Anbu found the Third Hokage and reported everything that had happened to Koharu.
"I understand."
Hiruzen's face hardly moved. He nodded slightly and said, "Have Yamato stop the clash."
The Anbu blinked, hesitating, then stayed, clearly wanting to say more.
"I know Yamato's squad alone can't stop them," Hiruzen said before the man could speak. "I'm not asking him to suppress both sides by force. I'm telling him to tell Koharu that I am ordering her to stand down.
"Tsunade, Jiraiya, Chizumi's ninja cat, and the Uchiha Police are already involved. Tell Koharu to take her people to the Police and cooperate."
"Tell her it's my order. Even if she gets put in a cell, I'll get her out. She doesn't need to be angry."
The Anbu exhaled with relief.
With their small unit, trying to crush both sides head-on would just have meant dying in vain.
So things weren't beyond the Hokage's predictions after all.
He'd seen this coming.
As expected of the Third.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Hiruzen watched the Anbu leave and murmured at the fading figure, "Kakashi…
"After the string of foolish choices I've made, with the village this chaotic, you should have found something by now."
…
"Captain Kakashi, new lead." An Anbu whispered to Hatake Kakashi, "A Sarutobi clansman keeps stoking the clan's emotions. Harsh words are natural in times like these, but he's acting… unusually.
"Whenever the clan starts to calm down, he's the first to rile them up again, and every line points at Uchiha Chizumi and his Absolute Justice. He's even urging them to keep complaining to the Hokage."
"I think he's off."
This Anbu was from Yamanaka. These days, not all of Konoha's Anbu stood solidly with the Hokage.
At least…
Those tied to the Ino–Shika–Cho clans were wavering.
"Investigate him," Kakashi said quietly. "Arrest him. Use the Yamanaka secret technique and read his memories."
Just then another Anbu rushed in.
"Captain Kakashi, we intercepted a ninja pigeon!" He held out a white bird inked with eerie curse marks across its feathers.
"The seals are meant to destroy the intel. But I disabled them in time."
Kakashi examined it, then suddenly grabbed the bird's head and tore it off.
He split the carcass along the neck with his hands.
A tiny scroll dropped free.
Kakashi snatched it midair, but didn't open it. He tossed it to a subordinate. "To the Sealing Unit. Extract the contents without breaking the scroll."
"Yes!"
"Whew…" Kakashi shook blood off his fingers and sighed. "Looks like someone's pulling strings in the dark. This is the Hokage's tactical manuever—let the village get chaotic and force the hidden hand to slip."
Moments later, the first Anbu Kakashi had sent off returned, hauling in an unconscious Sarutobi clansman.
The Yamanaka went to work immediately.
Ten seconds into the mind probe—
—boom!!!
The Sarutobi's skull burst like a cracked melon.
Gore spattered across Kakashi's vest.
"…A failsafe?" Kakashi's perpetually drooping eye flashed darkly. "Accidentally killed a Sarutobi. That'll be hard to explain to the Hokage."
"But…"
"At least we confirmed one thing—some members of the Sarutobi clan are tied to this."
Kakashi rubbed his brow. He didn't want to wade any deeper into this muck. He was afraid that seeing too much darkness would make him numb to it—that the last thread of hope he held for the village would snap.
But… the Hokage had given him the job.
And the Hokage didn't have many people left to use.
Most had died at the hands of Absolute Justice…
…
Yamato's Anbu squad sprinted back and relayed the Hokage's command.
Yamato froze for a beat.
So…
Was the Hokage basically forcing Koharu and Root to bow to Absolute Justice?
That would definitely earn Koharu's resentment.
Even if the Hokage promised to spring her right away, resentment like that didn't just evaporate.
But thinking it over, Yamato realized: between Absolute Justice and Root, the only "soft target" left… was Root.
They couldn't move against Absolute Justice. What if they pushed the Uchiha into open revolt?
"Your own" like Root were the easiest to squeeze.
He drew a steadying breath and pushed through with his squad.
They were few, but they still forced themselves between the two sides.
"Everyone, please don't turn this into a fight between comrades inside the Konoha."
Masked, Yamato cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "At the end of the day, we're all Konoha shinobi. No need to tear each other apart over this."
Then he turned to Koharu and lowered his voice further. "Advisor Koharu, the Hokage asks that you bow your head—just a little—to Absolute Justice. If Root clashes with the Police, Root will be the one to lose."
Koharu: "???"
For a moment, she wondered if Hiruzen's left and right brains were brawling.
He'd been the one who told her to lead Root out and arrest the believers of Absolute Justice.
Now that she was in trouble, he wouldn't back her with Anbu, and instead told her to bow to Absolute Justice? The absurdity almost made her laugh.
Before she could speak, Yamato leaned in and whispered more. Koharu's face clouded, then cleared, then darkened again.
"…Hiruzen really said that?"
Her voice carried a heavy disappointment.
"He did. Please, bear with this for now."
"Bear with it… heh." Koharu let out a cold, sour chuckle. "For Konoha, we all bear with things."
She didn't keep butting her head against the wall.
She might be a senior adviser, and she might have inherited Root, but she didn't have Danzō's free hand. When the Hokage gave an order, she followed it.
She flicked a cold glance at the Uchiha officers bristling in front of her.
"Fine. No need for you to lay a finger on me," she snapped. "I'll go myself."
Every word was squeezed out through clenched teeth.
Which told you exactly how much she was swallowing.
"Tsk. Didn't even need to use the Mangekyō Sharingan Chizumi-sama gave me…" Jujiro muttered, guessing the Third Hokage's invisible hand had forced Koharu's head down.
In all of Konoha, only two people could really pin Koharu down: Chizumi-sama and the Third. As for Tsunade? She could make Koharu step back—but not kneel.
Around Jujiro, the Police officers traded looks.
"She's a village adviser, right? And the new head of Root. Even someone like that bends to Justice."
A chunin drew a steadying breath, eyes bright with excitement. "So it's true—throwing in with Absolute Justice is the Uchiha's future!"
"Toppling the current Hokage or cozying up to him—neither will restore the clan to glory. Only Uchiha Chizumi's Absolute Justice can do that!"
As soon as he finished, another Uchiha beside him cut him a cold look. "Your 'justice' isn't pure enough. Chizumi-sama won't take you."
"Pure?" the chunin blinked.
"Clearly you didn't learn a thing in the last study session," the other said, face unreadable. "Absolute Justice allows no impurities. One heart, for Justice alone—to wipe out evil in the shinobi world.
"You just said 'make the Uchiha more glorious.' That's small-minded clan thinking."
"In other words, you lack vision. And you lack the capacity."
Listening to the whispers ripple through the ranks, Jujiro's whiskered face took on an odd look.
"Tsk…"
"Seems a few of them do have the makings of true believers."
…
"Looks like they won't be needing us." On a rooftop not far off, Inoichi Yamanaka lowered his spyglass and exhaled.
On his left, Chōza Akimichi rumbled, "So Tsunade-sama really is standing with Absolute Justice… Does that mean she's in our camp now?"
Shikaku Nara, on Inoichi's right, said, "So long as we don't violate Justice's taboos, we're aligned."
If anyone else had been there, they'd have balked to see hundreds of ninja standing behind the three clan heads—Ino–Shika–Cho's elite were massed in force. One word from those three, and hundreds would storm in to pull Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Neji out of Root's cells.
But…
From the look of things, they wouldn't need to lift a finger.
Chōza glanced at Shikaku. "You think what's happening with the Sarutobi clan is tied to Chizumi?"
"It is."
Shikaku smiled faintly. "Someone is trying to use this to drive a wedge between the Hokage and Chizumi—to provoke the Third into crushing Absolute Justice for them.
"The mastermind must hate Chizumi's guts. Follow that line and we'll have them soon."
He added, "And the Third isn't so easily baited. They want to use him to kill Justice; he wants to use the chaos to smoke them out."
"He's playing along to catch the villain."
Shikaku shook his head. "If Chizumi were in the village, we wouldn't need all this. He'd pull the rat out with one hand."
Inoichi nodded. "If he were here, nobody would dare try something this brazen."
Chōza clicked his tongue. "Konoha's a real tangle."
…
While Konoha slipped into chaos, Uchiha Chizumi and three other Uchiha jōnin were already a hundred kilometers away.
Up ahead, Chizumi suddenly stopped.
The other three halted with him.
"Time to split up." Just one sentence, and the other three understood.
They hadn't left the village to hunt Orochimaru with him.
Chizumi had given them a different trial—hunt down the merchant magnate Gato.
"Got it." The three didn't waste words. If Chizumi was going after one of the Legendary Sannin alone, it meant he was absolutely confident he could handle Orochimaru.
Once they parted, Chizumi streaked off alone.
He didn't rest for a single minute.
He moved as if he didn't know fatigue.
By afternoon, he stopped again—at the knife-edge peak of a mountain. A sheer drop yawned at his feet. Peering down, he couldn't see the bottom—only a sea of cloud smothering the view.
Suddenly—
He flicked his right hand. A shuriken snapped through the air and pinned a well-hidden green viper not far away.
At the same moment, Chizumi turned his back to the abyss, took two steps, and stepped into thin air—dropping in a vertical plunge.
A hundred meters down, a small, hidden cave opened in the cliff face.
Off to the side of the cave, a shinobi without a forehead protector looked up, shock meeting the chill in Chizumi's eyes.
Swish—
A kunai on steel wire punched through the man's throat.
Chizumi yanked. His body snapped toward the cave, while the dying lookout tumbled backward into the void—the two of them swapping places in the air.
The instant his feet hit stone, Chizumi's cold eyes bloomed crimson.
"Orochimaru…"
"Found you."