"Senpai, that Anbu ninja... the one called Shin'nosuke Sarutobi, was he your sensei? And... is he really close to the Third Hokage, sir?"
Throughout their journey, Izumi felt like Akainu-senpai was walking incredibly slowly. The awkward silence was starting to make her a bit uncomfortable. Mustering her courage, she gently broke the quiet.
"He was my jonin instructor," Akainu Uchiha replied. "Several years ago, when the Third Great Shinobi World War broke out, he took me to the battlefield. His last name is Sarutobi, so he's definitely related to the Third. He's the Third's eldest son."
Izumi: "!!!"
Izumi hadn't fully caught the conversation between Akainu-senpai and that Anbu ninja during their fight. She couldn't even get close enough to that level of combat. She never imagined Shin'nosuke Sarutobi was the Hokage's eldest son!
Izumi couldn't help but gulp, feeling sweat break out on her palms. She couldn't wipe it away fast enough. This was practically like completely alienating the Third Hokage, right? But then Izumi felt a bit confused. Why did the Hokage just let her and Akainu-senpai leave? The Hokage had brought so many Anbu with him; it looked like he was ready to come down hard on them.
"Then, Lord Hokage, he..."
Before Izumi could even voice her worry, Akainu Uchiha interrupted, "Don't worry. Since the Third didn't choose to detain me just now, it means he respected Shin'nosuke-sensei's dying wish." He glanced at the uneasy Izumi and added, "You don't need to worry about Anbu ninjas sneaking into your room in the middle of the night."
It seemed Akainu-senpai had read her mind again.
"Oh!" Izumi mumbled, nodding. She didn't really understand the underlying currents, nor did she know when the Hokage's eldest son had left a dying wish. But since Akainu-senpai said it was fine, then it probably, maybe, definitely was fine, right?
Just then, Izumi felt her head dip, as if something heavy had landed on it, making her yelp in surprise. Then, a strangely accented voice sounded from on top of her head: "Meow. Rookie, just let Lord Akainu have some peace and quiet, don't ask so many questions all the time, meow!"
Izumi immediately fell silent. In their small group of two people and one cat, her status was probably the lowest. Even lower than a cat.
"You don't need to overcomplicate things," Akainu Uchiha said calmly. "Shin'nosuke Sarutobi went down the wrong path, unknowingly sinking into an abyss. In his final moments, he finally understood something, but he still had no regrets."
"The current shinobi world is so sick that even an elite jonin feels it's no big deal to fall into an abyss. Countless examples like this will happen simultaneously in different parts of the shinobi world."
"Rookie, this is your fourth lesson."
"No matter what grand excuses others use to justify 'evil,' you must unswervingly carry out absolute justice. Even if it means turning your blade on the people you know best."
Izumi took every word Akainu Uchiha said to heart.
"Understood, Senpai!" she said earnestly.
Meanwhile, in Konoha
"Lord Danzo, what is the meaning of this from your Root Anbu?"
Fugaku Uchiha, leading a group of Uchiha Police Force members, was confronting Danzo Shimura and his Root operatives. The Uchiha Police Force members behind him also glared angrily at the Root ninjas in front. The atmosphere was extremely tense.
It was a standoff, ready to erupt.
Fugaku's face was grim as he stared directly at Danzo Shimura, his voice stiff. "Akainu Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha Police Force, encountered an urgent situation outside the village that required assistance. I'm taking other Police Force members to support him. That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
"On the other hand, Lord Danzo... what do you intend to do by blocking us with so many Root ninjas?"
As he spoke, Fugaku's gaze couldn't help but drift to the bandages on Danzo's arm. He remembered Akainu Uchiha revealing Danzo's trump card to him. If Akainu wasn't mistaken, those white bandages might be covering one Sharingan after another!
Fugaku's eyes involuntarily clouded with a hint of darkness.
"Hmph!" Danzo uncomfortably shifted his body. From Fugaku's reaction, he knew that inherently evil Uchiha brat must have told Fugaku about it. Damn that kid! He truly was the biggest menace in the village. Danzo wondered if that monkey, Hiruzen, had managed to eliminate him.
Danzo refused to back down an inch; he absolutely couldn't allow Fugaku to support Akainu Uchiha.
Danzo said coldly, "The Hokage has already gone to 'support' them with the Anbu. There's no need for the Uchiha clan to interfere. Furthermore, your enforcement authority is limited to within Konoha Village. Outside Konoha, your Uchiha Police Force has no enforcement authority whatsoever."
When facing the Uchiha clan, "speaking politely" simply wasn't in Danzo's vocabulary.
Fugaku paused. He gave Danzo a deep look and said, "With reinforcement from the Police Force, Lord Hokage will resolve this matter quicker. Lord Danzo, please allow our Police Force to leave the village for support."
Danzo's eyes grew colder. "Fugaku! Are you defying the orders of the higher-ups?"
The Root ninjas behind him already had their hands on their ninja tools. The Uchiha clan ninjas immediately became wary.
"You..." Just as a younger, more radical Uchiha ninja was about to speak, Fugaku quickly cut him off with a look. Fugaku gave him a warning glance.
Then, he turned back to Danzo: "If, due to Lord Danzo's delay, our Uchiha clan inexplicably loses a genius with a dual Kekkei Genkai, I will definitely report it to Lord Hokage."
Danzo let out a cold hmph.
Just then, a Root ninja who had been observing the distance suddenly walked up to Danzo and said, "Lord Danzo, the commotion over there has stopped for at least ten minutes. If my subordinate isn't mistaken, it means the Hokage and his team have arrived and have been there for a while, stopping the battle through some unknown means."
Fugaku also heard the Root ninja's voice. He frowned.
Danzo, on the other hand, smirked coldly. His objective had been achieved. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Fugaku, it seems things have ended over there. Do you still intend to gather so many Uchiha here? Or... do you have ulterior motives, Fugaku?"
Fugaku clenched his fist, then loosened it.
"Disperse!" He took a deep breath, his face still stiff, and spoke to the Uchiha clan ninjas behind him.
"Lord Head!" Many Uchiha ninjas were extremely unwilling. It wasn't necessarily that they genuinely wanted to go support Akainu Uchiha. It was more that they were incredibly annoyed and angry at being distrusted.
"Disperse!" Fugaku gritted out again.