[Read up to Chapter - 89 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Konoha Military Police Station
"Sandaime Hokagay-sama, please follow me. The Patriarch is expecting you," Souta, who had been waiting outside the building.
Hiruzen's expression was grim. 'Knew I'd come, did he?'
The fact that Kanzou had someone waiting for him at the entrance only confirmed that this was deliberate provocation.
"Patriarch, the Sandaime Hokagay has arrived," Souta announced as he led Hiruzen into the office, then quietly stepped out.
Of course, Hiruzen wasn't offered a seat and had to remain standing while Kanzou casually sat on a chair, and drank from the cup of tea presented to him by Hazuki standing beside him.
At the Hokage office, everyone visiting has to remain standing… only Hiruzen sits… but at the Office of the Captain of the Police Force, everyone has to remain standing… even the Hokage, and only Kanzou sits.
Staring at the standing Hiruzen, who felt a bit awkward… Kanzou was amused, and before Hiruzen could say a word, Kanzou spoke first—cutting straight to the point.
"Sandaime Hokagay-sama, your parenting has been an utter failure."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"Your eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, already has a history of assaulting members of the Police Force. And your youngest? He may be just a child, but he's clearly following in your footsteps—already harassing little girls and sneaking peeks into the women's bathhouse."
"Huh?" Hiruzen was taken aback by the accusation. "What are you talking about…?" he asked aloud, while his mind raced.
'How does he know about that? No one should know!' After all, the peeping had been done through his crystal ball—something only the ANBU were aware of.
'Is there a traitor among the ANBU?' he wondered briefly, before quickly dismissing the thought.
'No… that's impossible,' Because even within the ANBU, only the Hokage Guard Platoon was aware of it—and Hiruzen was fairly confident they wouldn't say a word.
'He's probably just spouting nonsense to smear my name…' Hiruzen thought to himself.
Unaware of the thoughts in Hiruzen's mind, Kanzou continued.
"Tell me, how did you even become a father? Completely unqualified," Kanzou said sharply.
"Is it a genetic issue—all the Sarutobi children are born ugly… crooked in hearts, being a bunch of perverts and dog lickers—or is it simply a failure in your parenting? Either way, I think you should reflect on it."
Hiruzen felt momentarily stunned by the unexpected scolding and disrespect.
'Wait… wasn't I the one who came here to confront him?'
How had the tables turned so quickly? How was he the one being lectured by Uchiha Kanzou?
"What's the matter? Not convinced?" Kanzou continued, his tone unrelenting.
"Do you think just because you're the Hokagay, your sons can run wild and do whatever they please?"
"The safety of Konoha falls under my jurisdiction," he declared. "I won't allow scum like that to thrive in this village. If he's this rotten as a child, imagine what kind of disaster he'll become once he grows up."
"Even if he's the Hokagay's son, I'll still execute him if necessary," Kanzou said coldly.
Hiruzen's face darkened. 'Is he seriously going to keep pushing this?'
"Uchiha Kanzou, enough with the self-righteous talk," Hiruzen snapped. "We all know what kind of man you are—drop the act and hand over Asuma."
Hiruzen's fury was palpable. And he was in his ripe age at the moment…
At this peak, his power was nothing to scoff at.
While the title 'God of Shinobi' might have been exaggerated, no one weak ever became a Kage.
His strength had already reached the peak of the Kage-level.
In fact, Hiruzen represented the upper limit of what a ninja without a special bloodline or special cheat-tier Jutsu (I am looking at you Minitoe) could achieve.
Beyond that? You'd need a cheat.
His killing intent was overwhelming—but unfortunately, it didn't intimidate Kanzou in the slightest.
If they really fought, Hiruzen wouldn't even have the chance to land a blow.
One clean strike from Kanzou… and the Sarutobi clan would be preparing a funeral for their Patriarch; meanwhile, Sarutobi Biwako would have to tell everyone that her husband never returned with the milk.
Killing Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't be difficult for Kanzou—but what would be the point?
At most, it would earn him 100 evil points. The system didn't differentiate between a powerful Kage-level shinobi and a regular civilian with no chakra. The value was the same.
In that case, keeping Hiruzen alive might bring even greater benefits.
"It's not impossible to release Sarutobi Asuma," Kanzou said calmly, leaning back in his chair. "But I must say, Hokagay-sama… your attitude leaves me rather disappointed."
At that moment, Kanzou looked more like the Hokage than Hiruzen did.
And yes, he looked like Hokage… not Hokagay.
Hiruzen's face grew grim. "Uchiha Kanzou, my patience has limits. Don't test me—it won't end well for you or the Uchiha clan. And don't think you can throw your weight around just because Uchiha Mikoto has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
His tone was serious, his expression like still water—cold and unreadable.
By mentioning Mikoto's eyes, Hiruzen was making one thing clear: the Uchiha clan's secrets were not hidden from him.
"Looks like there's a traitor within the Uchiha clan," Kanzou muttered, not losing his smile, but if one were to look closer, they'd notice a touch of coldness in his eyes.
Very few people had witnessed Mikoto awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Kanzou had given strict orders to keep it a secret.
Yet somehow, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew.
Hokagay knew of that…
There was only one explanation: someone from within had leaked the information.
And Kanzou had no tolerance for traitors—especially those who betrayed their own for the benefit of outsiders.
"But yes, I'm arrogant," Kanzou said with a smirk, turning his gaze to Hiruzen. "So what? What can you do about it?"
"Do you really dare to go to war with the Uchiha? You know full well the destructive power of Susanoo, don't you?"
"Even if the Uchiha can't defeat the whole of Konoha, we can still inflict damage. Enough damage to cut off Konoha's roots for at least a decade or two… And when that happens, do you really think the other great Shinobi villages won't take advantage of Konoha's weakness?"
Kanzou's words struck Hiruzen like a hammer to the chest.
The Hokage had come here hoping to intimidate Kanzou into releasing Asuma—but instead, Kanzou had chosen to rip the mask off and confront him head-on.
A counter-threat—clear and deliberate.
But the worst part? What Kanzou said was exactly what Hiruzen feared most.
Danzō had once suggested joining forces to suppress the Uchiha, but Hiruzen had refused. This—this—was the reason why.
Especially after learning through special channels that Uchiha Mikoto had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Hiruzen's wariness of the Uchiha had only deepened.
He knew all too well the destructive power of Susanoo.
The Valley of the End itself had been carved out during the battle between Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage.
Even if Uchiha Mikoto's Susanoo couldn't match Madara's, the devastation it could unleash on Konoha would be no less than a full-blown tailed beasts' rampage.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, I'm calling you 'Hokagay-sama' out of courtesy," Kanzou said coldly. "But if I choose not to… You are worth nothing in my eyes... not even the floor to be stepped upon beneath my feet…"
Kanzou stood up and stepped forward, towering over Hiruzen. There was a major difference in their height with Hiruzen being only 163 centimeters… meanwhile, Kanzou is 192.5 centimeters…
With a condescending grin, he reached out and pressed his index finger against the top of the Hokage's head.
[Ding! The host has committed the crime of insulting a village's Kage. Reward: +10,000 Evil Points]
'Oh? Even that earns a reward?' Kanzou blinked in mild surprise—
Then his grin widened, even more arrogant than before.
"I heard they call you the 'God of Shinobi,' right? But in reality, you're more like the God of Braggarts and incompetents… leeching off of others."
"And still the so-called 'strongest Hokage'? The only categories I'll place you in as the strongest are incompetence and crookedness. You're good at bragging, I'll give you that. Could you even lay a finger on the First or Second Hokage? The First Hokage could kill you a thousand times without even lifting his finger. Just hearing the bunch of your self-given titles makes me cringe… "
[Ding! Target ruthlessly humiliated — reward: Evil Value +20,000]
"Uchiha Kanzou, that's enough!" Hiruzen roared, his eyes sharp as blades as he looked up at him.
"What? You want to spar with me?" Kanzou said mockingly. "I don't mind."
Suddenly, the terrifying chakra hidden within Kanzou surged outward, radiating pure killing intent.
The pressure alone made Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively tense.
Feeling the danger bearing down on him, Hiruzen's rage began to cool—replaced by a flicker of unease.
'No wonder he dares act so arrogantly in front of me… I underestimated him.' He had assumed Kanzou was still at the quasi-Kage level.
But now, it was clear—Uchiha Kanzou had already reached full Kage-level strength.
The pressure Kanzou released just now—there was no mistaking it. He definitely has enough strength to threaten him.
Otherwise, Hiruzen wouldn't have felt that sense of danger.
"…What will it take for you to release Asuma?" Hiruzen asked, forcing down his anger as reason took over.
Kanzou's power was a serious threat. If Kanzou could hide his strength this well, then what else had the Uchiha clan been hiding?
Has he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as well?
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew the conditions for unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan—Uchiha Kagami, a trusted disciple of the Second Hokage, had once told him.
And given that Senju Tobirama was known for his deep distrust of the Uchiha, the fact that Uchiha Kagami became his student said a lot about Kagami's character.
According to Kagami, the Mangekyō Sharingan could only be awakened through the trauma of witnessing the death of a close friend or relative.
But Hiruzen couldn't recall Uchiha Kanzou ever having close companions.
His parents had died when Kanzou was still very young, and that was when he had awakened his Sharingan.
No such incident happened after that.
So logically, Hiruzen concluded, 'Kanzou shouldn't have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.'
That didn't mean Uchiha Kanzou was easy to deal with—far from it.
In fact, Sarutobi Hiruzen found him even more troublesome than Uchiha Mikoto, despite her having awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"It's not impossible to release Sarutobi Asuma," Kanzou said coolly. "But first, tell me this, Hokagay—who informed you that Mikoto had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Traitors who betrayed their own clan had to be rooted out first.
The Uchiha may be proud and arrogant, but they looked after their own—especially when it came to sharing benefits and protection.
Anyone who enjoyed the advantages of being Uchiha while secretly betraying the clan… Kanzou would never tolerate such a person.
Hearing the question, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes flickered—just for a moment.
"If the Sandaime Hokage chooses not to answer, I won't force you," Kanzou added. "But in that case, little Asuma will remain imprisoned in the Prison cell."
"I wonder if little Asuma can endure such hardship at his age," Kanzou said with a faint smile and added wickedly, "And maybe… little Asuma might also lose his little Asuma in order to ensure that he doesn't step on that path again…"
With each word from Kanzou, Hiruzen's expression grew darker.
Kanzou claimed he wasn't forcing anything—but every sentence dripped with veiled threats.
Had Hiruzen not been so wary of Kanzou, he might have exploded with anger by now.
Kanzou leaned back in his chair, calm and composed, as if he were seated on the iron throne itself.
Even if Hiruzen refused to reveal the traitor's identity, Kanzou had other ways to find out.
After all, only a handful of people had witnessed Mikoto's Mangekyō Sharingan awakening.
Kanzou could interrogate them one by one—
And with the Sharingan's power of hypnotic suggestion, especially after unlocking the Mangekyō, how many could truly resist?
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 89 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]