Uchiha Akainu's scorching crimson lava was something no ninja's fragile, "glass cannon" body could withstand. The monstrous lava hound predictably pierced through Sarutobi Shinōzuke's chest, quickly charring his flesh and internal organs. It also made Shinōzuke's already wide eyes even wider.
He opened his mouth and vomited a stream of congealed blood. The gaping hole in his chest, which had almost severed him at the waist, already foretold the ultimate outcome of this battle. As Uchiha Akainu slowly withdrew his arm, Sarutobi Shinōzuke's body lost its support, slumping to his knees and then collapsing heavily onto the ground.
"Shinōzuke!!!"
A figure rushed forward, immediately cradling the fallen Sarutobi Shinōzuke. Hiruzen Sarutobi's tiger-like eyes were brimming with tears, his breathing became ragged, and his ancient, wrinkled hands trembled uncontrollably, as if trying to hold onto his eldest son's fading life.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Sarutobi Shinōzuke, clinging to his last breath, slowly turned his head, his blurry gaze falling upon Uchiha Akainu, who stood nearby.
"Cough, cough... your justice..." he spoke intermittently, "is truly... decisive, isn't it... The things I did, were they really so morally corrupt in your eyes? Come to think of it, ha, they truly weren't good things..."
"Akainu..."
"The only difference is our positions; you cannot... stand against the entire ninja world alone. Many people cannot tolerate your justice. You need to make your justice Konoha's justice! But, you... it seems you've never listened to my admonishments."
"Old Man..."
"Cough, cough... you don't need to hand me over to the Yamanaka clan to extract my memories. Everything this kid tells you afterward is true. He still sees good and evil as clearly as ever."
"Even though I was burned by lava..."
"My body feels so cold..."
"...So cold, truly."
As Sarutobi Shinōzuke desperately struggled to slowly close his eyes, his breathing completely ceased. Until the very last moment of his life, he still held opposing views on Uchiha Akainu's "justice." He didn't think Uchiha Akainu was wrong. But... he also didn't think it was right.
"Ike... Akainu..." The anguish of losing his son made Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged body tremble. He looked up, meeting Uchiha Akainu's gaze, his teeth tightly clenched, his pupils slightly quivering, and his sclera heavily bloodshot.
The words Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke at this moment were almost forcibly squeezed out: "Was it necessary to make things so tense? Was there nothing you could discuss with me, the Hokage? Was it necessary... was it necessary to kill Shinōzuke?"
"He's my eldest son! He was your former Jonin instructor! Akainu! Even if your justice makes you so cold-blooded that you never consider the bond between teacher and student, can't you at least consider me?!"
Question after question, from initial unbearable grief to a final furious roar. Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer distinguish his own emotions. It was even harder to decide how to handle this situation.
"Third Hokage, I am a member of the Police Force." Uchiha Akainu gazed at Sarutobi Shinōzuke's corpse, the surrounding firelight and the red glow of the lava obscuring the expression in his eyes.
He slowly said, "When I saw my former Jonin instructor fall into darkness, all I could do was let him die with understanding, nothing more."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for an unknown period. Under the gaze of the large group of elite ANBU ninja behind him, he staggered to his feet and picked up his eldest son. Could he say Uchiha Akainu was wrong? Shinōzuke, in his dying moments, had already said Akainu wasn't wrong.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt angry. He even harbored a chilling killing intent. He was the Kage of the village, and a father. He had countless thoughts of directly ordering the ANBU ninja behind him to swarm Uchiha Akainu and kill him on the spot.
But...
Shinōzuke's dying words had blocked such an action. Shinōzuke had admitted to committing evil deeds that, while good for the village, were morally corrupt on a personal level.
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't tell... were these the confused ramblings of Sarutobi Shinōzuke in his dying moments? Or were they words spoken with Shinōzuke's last shred of rationality?
If it was the latter, then Shinōzuke's purpose was likely to legitimize Uchiha Akainu's act of killing him with [Absolute Justice], wasn't it?
Shinōzuke...
He fulfilled his final duty as a Jonin instructor. He had failed to protect two Genin students who made mistakes back then, and now he was trying to protect his last student.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply.
'Is this the last will and testament you left me, Shinōzuke?'
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was a chaotic mess. Despite living for so many years, despite having grandchildren, he suddenly felt confused as to how human nature could be so complex. He clenched his fist, then unclenched it. Clenched it, then unclenched it... This repeated for an unknown period.
"Uchiha Akainu. Tomorrow, give me a detailed mission report. Just hand it over to ANBU; you don't need to see me." He finally spoke these words.
"Hokage-sama!" An ANBU ninja from the Sarutobi clan, stunned for a moment, cried out anxiously beside Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Sarutobi Shinōzuke was one of your right-hand men!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes drooped.
"Hokage-sama..." Just as the Sarutobi clan ANBU ninja was about to say something else urgently, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. He turned back in surprise.
Kakashi Hatake, also wearing an ANBU mask, subtly shook his head.
"Let the Hokage-sama calm down alone."
Kakashi's expression was complex: "Shinōzuke-senpai's words before his death were effectively his last will. And Hokage-sama also understood Shinōzuke-senpai's last will. Although his position was different from Uchiha Akainu's, in his last moments, he still expressed great respect for his former student."
"He was also willing to become a burning leaf, turning to ash to nourish the most rebellious student in his eyes. Sarutobi Shinōzuke-senpai truly embodied Konoha's [Will of Fire]. He also used his life to tell his student that Konoha's Will of Fire is not much inferior to Absolute Justice."
With that, Kakashi's gaze fell on Uchiha Akainu, finding that the "teacher-killer" had already turned and walked away. Uchiha Akainu's retreating footsteps were clear. But Hokage-sama did not speak to stop him, nor did he order the ANBU ninja to pursue him, simply holding Sarutobi Shinōzuke's gradually chilling corpse in silence.
'Sarutobi Shinōzuke-senpai and Uchiha Akainu were both not wrong.'
—This thought suddenly emerged in Kakashi's mind.
So the question arises, what was wrong then? If neither of them was wrong, then was the ninja world wrong?
Kakashi couldn't understand.
"Let's return to the village, rookie."
Uchiha Akainu slowly said, "Tonight will be a sleepless night."
"Yes, Senpai."