Setsuna murmured as he turned slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hiruzen approaching, and his eyes narrowed. "Sandaime..."
That Hiruzen, as the Hokage, would personally intervene in such a small matter was somewhat beyond his expectations.
His Sensei's Sensei refers to the Hokage?
In other words, this brat is a disciple of the Sannin?
These thoughts flashed through Setsuna's mind, and his expression turned grim. He finally understood why the other party's attitude was so unyielding; they belonged to the Hokage Faction.
The Hokage Faction naturally clashed with the Uchiha Clan.
His own grandson had picked the wrong target.
Followed by several Anbu, Hiruzen slowly approached. He glanced at Seiryū, then at Setsuna, speaking calmly, "Elder Setsuna, I recall that without a major incident, you are not permitted to leave the Uchiha Clan Grounds freely. You have somewhat broken the rules."
Setsuna.
He once plotted to assassinate the Second Hokage, and after failing, was imprisoned.
It wasn't until the Second Hokage died on the battlefield and Hiruzen ascended as the Third Hokage that, at the request of the previous Uchiha Clan Head, he was released.
The condition was that Setsuna could not leave the Uchiha Clan Grounds without permission.
"There was a reason for this. I did not do it intentionally and did not have time to report it. Please forgive me, Sandaime." Facing Hiruzen, Setsuna put away his Uchiha arrogance.
However, his attitude was not overly deferential. He treated him as an equal.
After all, he was of the Second Hokage's generation. His status, position, and age were undeniable.
"Is that so?" Hiruzen nodded slightly, seemingly letting the matter of him leaving the Uchiha Clan Grounds pass.
He continued, "I just heard someone attempting to use private corporal punishment here. Elder Setsuna, although you are an elder of the Uchiha Clan, you are not a member of the Police Force, and even members of the Police Force do not have the right to arbitrarily inflict corporal punishment."
He had heard Seiryū's words.
He had also seen Shinku, who was still under a Genjutsu.
Although the specific reason was unclear, Setsuna's actions were enough to explain many things. Setsuna clenched his fist, his eyes turning cold, but he concealed it well. He knew he couldn't flare up in front of the Hokage.
He said calmly, "It is not corporal punishment. I have always abided by the rules. It's simply that my grandson was crippled, and as his grandfather, I was distressed, so I wanted to know the full story immediately."
Hiruzen appeared, and that brat was a Sannin's disciple, a member of the Hokage Faction.
He understood what that meant.
He had to swallow the loss of his grandson being crippled. The Uchiha Clan, without the Mangekyo Sharingan, could not cause any trouble for now.
"Mm." Hiruzen nodded slightly, his expression unreadable.
Then he looked at Seiryū and showed a warm smile. "Seiryū, what exactly happened? Tell me about it."
This was the second time he had seen Seiryū.
The first was when Shinku brought him back to Konoha.
However, he had paid considerable attention to Seiryū since then.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Seiryū respectfully bowed. Although his Sensei's Sensei implied a closer connection, at this moment, the man before him was the Hokage.
He still needed to show proper respect.
Seeing Hiruzen appear, Kurenai also breathed a sigh of relief and bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama!"
She believed that Hokage-sama would ensure justice for Seiryū.
Hiruzen simply nodded and continued to look at Seiryū.
Seiryū then began to recount the story. "On the way home from school..."
He narrated what he had told Shinku earlier, and this time it was even clearer.
He did not exaggerate, only stating the facts truthfully.
He also explained the reason for his harsh response.
Because of his past experiences, he had acted slightly excessively in protecting his family.
His reasons were sound, and he was not at fault.
"Did something like this happen?" Hiruzen, after hearing everything, frowned slightly.
His gaze turned to Setsuna. "Elder Setsuna, your Uchiha Clan certainly cultivated a promising young man, to commit such a malicious act."
He emphasized the words "promising young man."
A Genin who had graduated years ago had actually gone looking for trouble with an Academy student. Such malicious behavior, and even saying such rebellious things.
The ridiculous thing was that he sought trouble, only to be defeated by Seiryū, who was several years younger.
As for whether Seiryū was lying? Probably not.
Jiraiya, Minato, Shinku, Asuma, and others who had interacted with him all had high praise for Seiryū. He was a good child.
More importantly, his talent was exceptional, and he was the disciple of his disciple.
"..." To be honest, Setsuna had just learned the full details, and it did sound like something his grandson would do or say. Training him to be paranoid and fanatical was effective for awakening the Sharingan. He already possessed the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age.
He might soon awaken the Three-Tomoe.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was not impossible either.
But the drawback was his overly extreme behavior.
Being extreme was fine, as long as he wasn't brainless.
His grandson wasn't brainless, he just never anticipated that this brat would be a disciple of the Sannin. Who could have expected that?
No news of it had ever been leaked.
The opponent had backing and influence. They were part of the Hokage Faction.
That was what made this difficult to handle.
If he had no backing, Setsuna could have made him pay with a single Genjutsu.
Setsuna's eyes grew gloomy, much like his grandson's. He slowly exhaled and slightly bowed to Hiruzen. "I was overly anxious and acted rashly. Please forgive me, Hokage-sama."
The change in address from Sandaime to Hokage-sama meant he had conceded and dropped the matter.
There was no need to dwell on it further. No matter how angry or humiliated he felt, he could only accept the loss and swallow it.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. The fact that Setsuna immediately backed down showed that everything Seiryū said was true.
If Seiryū had been weaker, or if it had been someone else in his place, wouldn't the Uchiha Clan have twisted the facts and framed them?
Konoha does not belong to the Uchiha Clan.
Hiruzen said calmly, "The person you should apologize to is Seiryū, not me. Since a mistake was made, a price must be paid, just as it was for your actions in the past."
It was a warning and a reminder.
Don't forget what you did before, and don't forget your current position.
"..." Setsuna naturally understood. The Three-Tomoe in his eyes spun slightly as rage boiled in his heart, but he could not show it. He could only suppress it.
It was extremely humiliating.
Taking a deep breath, Setsuna looked at Seiryū and said in a calm tone, "Regarding this matter, I apologize to you on behalf of my grandson, and I will also provide appropriate compensation."
[Mission complete. Rewards are being distributed.]
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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