"Uchiha Akainu..." Uchiha Setsuna, his aged face clouded with gloom, gritted out each word, "He's just like that Uchiha Itachi, completely brainwashed by the Senju's Will of Fire!"
"His loyalty isn't to the Uchiha clan; it's to Konoha, to the Senju clan! He's a traitor to the Uchiha!"
For an extreme hawk-faction elder like Uchiha Setsuna, any clan member who didn't support the coup plan was a cowardly wimp. And any Uchiha openly siding with the Hokage was seen as hopelessly brainwashed by the Will of Fire.
As for Uchiha Akainu... Uchiha Setsuna maliciously suspected him to be a combination of both types, perhaps even worse. That scoundrel, Uchiha Akainu, had shown genuine killing intent towards him just moments ago. He really wanted to kill him!
"Elder Setsuna," another hawk-faction Uchiha said then, "Uchiha Akainu might become the biggest obstacle to our plan, just like Uchiha Itachi."
"That guy, perhaps he was never truly on our side from the beginning. His stance has never been with the Uchiha."
Uchiha Setsuna snorted, clearly pondering something.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Root base, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't return to the Hokage building. Instead, he went to the Konoha Prison and waited silently. It wasn't long before he saw a Uchiha Police Force member approaching, bringing the troublemaking Naruto Uzumaki to the Konoha Prison—an order given by Fugaku.
"Hokage... sir?"
The police force member, seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi and the ANBU surrounding him, inevitably became nervous. After all, he was a Uchiha ninja, and the kid he was dragging was the rumored Nine-Tails' vessel.
"It's alright," Hiruzen Sarutobi reassured him, motioning him to calm down. He wasn't aggressive at all, just smiling gently. "I've always trusted the Uchiha clan, and I believe you won't do anything out of line. From the current situation, Fugaku made the right choice. You're on Fugaku's side, aren't you?"
The police force member bowed his head. "Indeed, it was Lord Fugaku who instructed me to promptly transfer Naruto Uzumaki to the Konoha Prison, to keep him away from certain clan members."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with satisfaction. He continued, "You can just hand Naruto over to me."
However, the police force member hesitated. "If I hand him over to Lord Hokage, what about Uchiha Akainu...?" Uchiha Akainu was someone even Lord Fugaku couldn't control. He was still a bit wary of Uchiha Akainu.
Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "There's no conflict. Akainu's purpose was to teach Naruto a lesson by having him locked up in Konoha Prison, and aren't you bringing Naruto here now?"
"As Konoha's Hokage, it's my prerogative to pardon Naruto with Hokage's special authority and take him from the Konoha Prison. Even if Akainu is displeased, he'll only come looking for me, not you."
"...Yes, Lord Hokage," the police force member finally conceded after a moment of thought, releasing Naruto.
"Grandpa Hokage!!!"
"Waaah..."
Naruto, who had been on edge all day and was finally "rescued," practically sobbed as he lunged towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked Naruto's head, his tone growing serious as he instructed the ANBU behind him, "Keep a close eye on Root lately. I suspect Danzo won't let this go. That man isn't one to swallow his pride, especially when the one who made him suffer is a genius ninja from the Uchiha clan."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
Evening arrived in a blink. Uchiha Akainu, who had inadvertently stirred up a storm in Konoha's political landscape, casually strolled around the village with Izumi, as if the shifting winds had nothing to do with him. Akainu's composure even managed to calm Izumi's restless mind a little.
"Newbie, report," Akainu said.
"Yes, Senior Akainu!" Izumi straightened up. "Including Naruto Uzumaki, today... we found a total of nine 'villains.' Among them, three disrupted Konoha's order, two were involved in theft, two in brawls, and..."
At this point, Izumi's voice became a little hesitant. "And two were involved in obstructing justice. Out of the nine 'villains,' seven were arrested and imprisoned, and two were killed on the spot." The two "villains" Izumi mentioned who were killed on the spot for obstructing justice were the two Root ninja who died at Uchiha Akainu's hands.
Uchiha Akainu glanced at her. "You missed a lot."
"Huh?" Izumi was bewildered; she didn't think she missed anything! She had even recorded everything that happened today in her little notebook. But... facing Senior Akainu's gaze, Izumi suddenly felt a bit unsure. She simply couldn't muster the courage to say, "Did I miss anything?"
"Di... did I miss something?" Izumi asked meekly.
"Shimura Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and that Uchiha Setsuna, as well as..." Uchiha Akainu calmly listed name after name, like an underworld judge calling out souls. His expression was cold as he said, "These people all stood against justice today, but because our justice isn't strong enough, they're still free."
"All these 'evils' that need to be purged..."
"You missed them all."
Izumi's heart pounded with fear. Senior Akainu had practically listed all the high-ranking officials in the village, hadn't he? He even included some elders of the Uchiha clan. If they were to "purge" all the names Senior Akainu mentioned, wouldn't that be equivalent to...
Rebellion?!
"Write these names down too," Uchiha Akainu said indifferently.
"O-okay, Senior." Izumi could only take out her little notebook and jot down what Senior Akainu had just said. As she wrote, she noticed her fingertips were trembling slightly, especially after writing down the Hokage's name, "Hiruzen Sarutobi." She felt like there was no turning back now.
If this little notebook were to be discovered by those ANBU ninja...
Hiss!
She felt like she'd be spending the rest of her life in Konoha Prison.
As Izumi walked with Uchiha Akainu and recorded things, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a small figure turning the corner up ahead. Izumi's bright eyes widened a bit. She watched as the small figure suddenly turned and bumped into Senior Akainu.
Thump!
Without a doubt, the person fell straight onto their bottom, and the things they were carrying scattered everywhere.
"Ugh—"
Izumi heard the child's pained grunt. "Sasuke, watch where you're going," she then heard a gentle voice say apologetically from further ahead, "I'm so sorry, my child is a bit clumsy; he's caused you trouble."
"Oh? Are you...?"
"Akainu?"
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