The next day, early in the morning, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already dressed in his mourning attire. Today was the day his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, was to be laid to rest. Perhaps the heavens weren't in a good mood either, as a fine, persistent rain was falling.
"Let's go. To the Konoha Cemetery," Hiruzen said, his voice heavy with sorrow, before walking ahead, letting the rain fall on him.
Behind him followed Sarutobi Fudou, Shinnosuke's wife, holding their young son, Konohamaru. A procession of other Sarutobi clan members followed closely.
Besides them, only a handful of Shinnosuke's closest friends from when he was alive were present. A Hokage's eldest son's funeral should have drawn a much larger crowd. However, the negative rumors swirling around Shinnosuke in the village had grown increasingly intense. Even Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, tried to quell the public opinion, but he found it impossible to control. The more he tried to suppress it, the more the villagers believed the rumors were true. This was, in a way, a classic "Konoha civilian" move.
Under such circumstances, it wasn't suitable to have a grand funeral. After all, in the eyes of many Konoha villagers, if an "evil person" who acted unscrupulously because his father was the Hokage were to receive a lavish funeral after his death, wouldn't that be incredibly unfair to the victims?
Helpless, considering the negative public sentiment in the village, Hiruzen could only simplify everything as much as possible, inviting only a few of Shinnosuke's friends.
Before long, Hiruzen and the others arrived at the Konoha Cemetery. The Konoha Funeral Home had already transported Shinnosuke's coffin there.
"Lord Hokage, can I see him one last time?" Fudou asked, tears welling in her eyes, as she clutched Konohamaru's small hand.
"Yes," Hiruzen nodded solemnly.
"Mommy, why is Daddy lying here?" Konohamaru, barely three years old, asked innocently, his words still a bit unclear.
Tears finally overflowed from Fudou's eyes. Weeping, she said, "Konohamaru, your daddy is just sleeping. But this time, he's going to sleep for a very, very long time. When you grow up, you'll understand why he's sleeping for so long."
Not far away, several staff members from the Konoha Funeral Home were whispering among themselves.
"Is that the Hokage's daughter-in-law? She's really beautiful... Hey, Yamada, are you staring? I'd advise you not to get any ideas; she might be a kunoichi, she could squash you with one finger."
"Yamada? You've been acting strange these past two days. You don't respond when called. You haven't really fallen for the Hokage's widow, have you?"
Yamada jolted, shaking off his daze, and quickly retorted, "Don't talk nonsense! If Lord Hokage hears you, you'll get me into big trouble." He tried to suppress his unsettled thoughts and added, "It should be about time, shouldn't we bury the coffin now?"
His colleagues nodded in agreement. "Indeed."
However, just as the funeral home staff were about to approach, an unexpected disturbance suddenly erupted. They faintly heard people arguing.
"Hey! Uchiha Akainu! What are you doing here?! You're not welcome today!"
"Uchiha Police Force, enforcing the law. Unauthorized personnel must not obstruct. Otherwise, lethal force will be used."
"You!!!"
"Uchiha Akainu? That name sounds familiar..." one of the funeral home staff members mumbled, stroking his short beard. Then he noticed the "Yamada" next to him looked a bit off. He asked, puzzled, "Hey, Yamada, why is your face so pale?!"
"N-nothing..." Yamada's lips were trembling slightly. The smile he forced out was uglier than a cry. "I just got wet in the rain, maybe... maybe I caught a chill..."
Yamada was screaming "Impossible" in his mind. There's no way his actions from four years ago could have been exposed! Maybe... maybe it was just a coincidence. After all, Konoha Village isn't that big; it's perfectly reasonable for that plague, the Uchiha Police Force, to be anywhere. It was just his bad luck today to run into him, right? Besides, he'd handled things so cleanly back then; for four years, no one from the Police Force had bothered him. How could it be exposed?!
Meanwhile, Hiruzen and the others also noticed the commotion. When they faintly heard the name "Uchiha Akainu," the expression on Hiruzen's face visibly darkened.
When he saw his daughter-in-law, who was kneeling beside the coffin, suddenly stand up silently... Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat. He was terrified that Fudou, after experiencing the grief of losing her husband, would do something irrational.
He said, "I'll go check. Fudou, you stay here and see Shinnosuke off on this final journey."
Hiruzen took a deep breath and, accompanied by two Anbu guards, quickly headed towards the source of the commotion. Sure enough, he saw the one person he least wanted to see during this time—Uchiha Akainu!
"Lord Hokage," several Sarutobi clan shinobi who were blocking Akainu immediately made way upon seeing Hiruzen, respectfully greeting him.
Hiruzen slowly walked forward, standing before Akainu, with less than two meters separating them.
"Akainu..." Hiruzen said with a complex expression, "You should know that someone who did what you did shouldn't be here. Your presence will only provoke many people and cause unnecessary conflict."
"If you wish to pay your respects to Shinnosuke..." The drizzling rain made it difficult to discern Hiruzen's expression, but he paused, then continued, "You can come tomorrow. As for today... perhaps not."
Upon seeing Akainu appear at Shinnosuke's funeral, a flicker of anger in Hiruzen's heart had actually subsided. At least, Akainu still remembered their past teacher-student bond. At least, he was still willing to come and send Shinnosuke off for the last time. It seemed Akainu hadn't become so extreme as to abandon all ties, but his "absolute justice" was simply too radical.
Before, when Akainu's "blade" hadn't fallen on Hiruzen, Hiruzen thought that even if Akainu was a double-edged sword, as long as he used him well, Akainu would be an excellent elite shinobi for Konoha.
But when that double-edged sword, Akainu, wounded Hiruzen, he suddenly felt that Akainu's "absolute justice" had become so extreme that it made him extremely uncomfortable.
However, Akainu's reply caught Hiruzen completely off guard: "Third Hokage, I might come to pay my respects to Teacher Shinnosuke someday, but not today. I am here to enforce justice."
Hiruzen's internal alarm bells suddenly blared. The two Anbu guards trailing him also narrowed their eyes. The atmosphere instantly turned delicate with Akainu's words.
Enforce... justice?! What did that mean?
"Uchiha Izumi," Akainu said then.
"Present!!!" The girl's loud shout almost made Hiruzen think Akainu was about to openly defy Konoha. Until he saw Izumi step out from behind Akainu. Hiruzen's old face darkened slightly, confused as to why this Uchiha girl suddenly yelled.
Akainu said, "You tell him."
"Yes! Senior Akainu!"
Izumi gathered her courage, suppressing her nervousness, and spoke directly to the Hokage: "Lord Hokage, Senior Akainu has uncovered an extremely heinous case of murder and dismemberment. Yesterday and this morning, Senior had already screened many suspects, and now only the last suspect remains to be investigated—that is, 'Yamada Toshijiro' from the Konoha Funeral Home!"
Hiruzen frowned. "Dismemberment case?"
Izumi nodded. "The victims are a mother and daughter. The culprit dismembered the bodies and threw the body parts into Konoha's sewers. Although Senior Akainu could only find partial bone fragments, he was able to identify the deceased through those fragments."
"We've been continuously investigating suspects based on the clues, and now, only Yamada Toshijiro is left."
Hiruzen was silent for a while. He had to admit that he fully acknowledged Akainu's detective abilities, 100%. However...
"Akainu," Hiruzen said gravely, "Today is Shinnosuke's burial. Let him have his final peace. If you want to arrest someone, you can wait until after the funeral."
Akainu's face was devoid of emotion. "Third Hokage, justice has been delayed for four years. Do you want it to be delayed even further?"
"Justice delayed cannot be denied further." His eyes stared directly into Hiruzen's. "Or, in the Third Hokage's eyes, is the posthumous peace of a villain who fell into darkness more important than the long-overdue justice for two innocent victims?"
Hiruzen clearly caught the hostility in those eyes. No... rather than him catching it, it was Akainu's undisguised, naked hostility!
Hiruzen's old face tightened, and he said firmly, "Akainu, show this old man some respect. Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow."
Akainu replied, "If the Third Hokage's respect could rewind time and revive the dead, I would show it."
Hiruzen already saw Akainu's right hand resting on the hilt of his ninja sword. The Anbu guards behind him quickly gripped their own sword hilts. The already delicate atmosphere instantly became tense, like a drawn kunai.
"Akainu, I am the Hokage..."
Click—
Hiruzen's eyelid twitched because Akainu's thumb had already pushed open the sword guard. The inch of snow-silver blade revealed was particularly glaring in Hiruzen's eyes. This was truly a rogue ninja, a wild dog beyond his control as Hokage! Even Danzo wouldn't dare to be this forceful with him, Hiruzen!
Hiruzen was in an extremely foul mood, his face visibly darkening. "Must it come to this?"
Akainu had already drawn his ninja sword. The two Anbu guards immediately drew their swords without hesitation. They quickly blocked Akainu's path.
"Put them away!" But Hiruzen's gritted command caused the two Anbu guards to freeze for a moment.
"Lord Hokage?"
"Put them away!" Hiruzen repeated, and the two Anbu guards reluctantly sheathed their swords, though the wariness in their eyes hadn't dissipated. As long as Akainu made any sudden moves, they would immediately act.
Hiruzen gave Akainu a deep look. Finally, he turned and left without a word.
"Senior Akainu, we..." Izumi, startled by the tense, confrontational atmosphere, spoke weakly.
Akainu interrupted her with a blank expression: "Go in and make the arrest."
"Yes, Senior!"
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