Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha

Chapter 89: That kind of justice only makes me nauseous (Part 2, please subscribe)
The crimson blood splattered on the ground was constantly stimulating Hiruzen Sarutobi's nerves, and the frozen expression on his head made his hair stand on end. All his thoughts converged into two words—it's over!
Although there is no explicit rule, under the tacit agreement of many powerful figures, the "Short Straight Robe" is a garment that only the most elite members of the ninja world are qualified to wear.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly saw that the valuable clothes on the headless corpse at his feet were in the style of "kojiro".

He had no more lingering hope; the wrinkles on his face twitched incessantly, and his lips trembled slightly.

I wanted to say something, but it got stuck in my throat.

The expression on his face was frighteningly dark.

"Lord Hokage...we're too late." An ANBU ninja said in a low voice, "Even if we manage to reattach the head with the help of medical ninjas, we can only give the corpse a dignified death."

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

"Hokage-sama? You're the Hokage of Konoha?!" A retainer who had been too intimidated to utter a word by Izumi's impassioned speech suddenly perked up and shouted, "What exactly does Konoha want to do? Are you planning a rebellion? The Daimyo clearly allocates a large amount of funds to Konoha every year, yet your village's ninjas have killed the Daimyo's son!"

He then hurriedly pointed to Uchiha Ikezumi and complained to Hiruzen Sarutobi, urgently saying, "It's this madman from the Uchiha clan! He's the one who killed Lord Kusuke of the Ooenin clan! Your Konoha killed the second son of the Daimyo, can you bear this responsibility?"

"Oh, right... two daimyo retainers and one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja also died at the hands of this madman! He's gone mad, what makes him think he's qualified to judge the daimyo's son!"

But when Uchiha Izumi glanced at him with eyes that showed little emotional fluctuation.

The loud-mouthed retainer was so frightened that he was like a duck with its neck being choked.

His mouth opened and closed silently, his face filled with fear.

In the end, he didn't utter a single sound.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

Anyone could sense that the atmosphere had become very strange. Some sharp-eyed ANBU ninjas also saw that the Hokage was clenching his fists tightly, and the veins on the back of his hands were trembling.

It's unclear what exactly angered the Hokage so much about a mere retainer daring to yell at him, the Third Hokage...

Still, she was furious that Uchiha Ikezumi had so brazenly killed the second son of the Fire Country's daimyo in the street...

"Chiquan."

For the first time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes darkened to a sinister degree as he struggled to look away from the corpses on the ground.

He ignored the daimyo's retainers who were jumping around and shouting.

Instead, he cast a very dissatisfied look at Uchiha Ikezumi.

"call--"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a deep breath, struggling to suppress the anger rising within him. His face stiffened as he spoke, "Next... is your explanation to me still based on your overly extreme 'absolute justice'? Your 'absolute justice'... is it done by sacrificing Konoha's interests and damaging its reputation?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't even imagine how the powerful figures of the Land of Fire would view Konoha if this got out.

—The powerful Konoha ninjas suddenly turned against the nobles of the Land of Fire, even daring to kill the son of a daimyo!

In this situation……

I'm afraid the entire elite class of the Land of Fire will be filled with unease.
Will they still be willing to support Konoha then?
Or would you still be willing to support Hiruzen Sarutobi?

"Ikezumi!" With his emotions surging, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice rose considerably as he gritted his teeth and said, "Kyusuke Oenin... this young man's father is the daimyo of the Land of Fire! He's at the very top of the Land of Fire! He controls the lifeline of every industry in the Land of Fire!"

"Even if Konoha were to re-elect a Hokage, it would depend on which Daimyo would support. Without the Daimyo's support, Konoha wouldn't have been established at all, and the ninjas of the Land of Fire would probably still be divided and fighting each other..."

"And you...and you today..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his breathing becoming too rapid.

As a result, I felt a little dizzy.

"So, does the Third Hokage think I should let him go?" Uchiha Izumi and Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes met. When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw those dark and deep eyes, he suddenly realized something and quickly looked away in shock.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and said, "Ikezumi, do you think it's right to sacrifice Konoha's future for your 'absolute justice'? Without the Daimyo's funding, the village's infrastructure, villagers' medical care, and employment will all be insecure."

"This kind of complex problem cannot be solved by your 'absolute justice.' If your extreme actions of justice bring negative impacts to the village, making the lives of everyone in Konoha worse day by day, can you be considered righteous or evil?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's series of questions were his true feelings.

"Hey! As the Hokage of Konoha, why are you arguing with this lunatic? Shouldn't you just arrest him?"

The group of daimyo retainers behind him, still shaken by the experience, suddenly interrupted.

"Yes! This madman killed Lord Kusuke! Killing the son of a daimyo, isn't that being a rogue ninja?!"

"This kind of mentally deranged ninja should be executed on the spot to avenge Lord Kyusuke, and his family should also be implicated and buried with Lord Kyusuke! Are you even qualified to be the Hokage of Konoha?"

"As the Hokage, you wouldn't be trying to protect a ninja from your village, would you? He's a murderer!"

"..."

Perhaps it was Hiruzen Sarutobi's appearance that gave them a sense of security and a pillar of support.

But they are not ninjas, and they are not loyal to the Hokage of Konoha; they are loyal to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

In the eyes of some Konoha ninja, there isn't much difference in status between the Daimyo and the Hokage. One is in charge of the Land of Fire's economy, people's livelihood, and political power... while the other is in charge of the Land of Fire's military.

However, in the eyes of these daimyo retainers, the Hokage of Konoha was ultimately a level below the daimyo.

So much so that even when they find a leader, they aren't very polite.

Each of those words made Hiruzen Sarutobi frown even more deeply.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the group of daimyo retainers with his gloomy and indifferent eyes. The Third Hokage's aura could not suppress Uchiha Ikezumi, but it made the group of daimyo retainers break out in a cold sweat.

"This is Konoha's internal affair!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly. "I will handle it however I want. Who do you think you are to criticize me here?"

He stepped aside, his face grim, and said, "If you want to avenge the second son of the daimyo, then I will not stop you. The 'murderer' is right here; go ahead and do it."

The daimyo's retainers: "..."

Seeing that the group had finally quieted down, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. The anger that had been building up inside him, interrupted by these people, inexplicably dissipated a little.

So much so that when he spoke again, he was less forceful than before.

“Ikezumi, not everyone who makes a mistake deserves such extreme and absolute punishment.” Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and continued, “The evil in the ninja world cannot be solved by your insane killing spree. What’s the use of killing so many people? Even if you can kill a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand people… there are far more evil people in this vast ninja world than just a few.”

"Making Konoha a better place, and ensuring everyone in the village lives a better life, isn't something you can achieve by slaughtering evil people. Excessive killing will only exacerbate existing conflicts. And once some conflicts erupt, they can lead to even more evil!"

"You killed the son of the daimyo today. Do you know how much chaos this will cause? The daimyo of the Land of Fire... even his offspring are not to be killed!"

Without even realizing it himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi actually started "reasoning" with Izumi Uchiha.

Ultimately, he was too wary of Uchiha Izumi's Mangekyou Sharingan abilities, which led to his lack of confidence.

—For the sake of the daimyo's son, he will break ties with Uchiha Ikezumi, igniting an unprecedented war in Konoha, and will almost certainly drag the Uchiha clan into it.

—As before. In reality, Hiruzen Sarutobi only had these two choices.

What choice would he make as Hokage...?

No need to guess.

“Third Hokage,” Uchiha Izumi said coldly, “If my actions cause more evil to grow in the ninja world, then it means that those who do evil are not normal people at all, and are born with one foot on the opposite side of absolute justice.”

"They just need an excuse to support the evil in their hearts, and my actions just happen to be the excuse they need. Such beings are the hidden enemies of absolute justice."

"They are one of the evils of the ninja world that [absolute justice] needs to eradicate. If justice chooses to compromise and remain silent because they will bring chaos to the ninja world..."

Uchiha Ikezumi narrowed his eyes and continued, "That kind of justice... only makes me so disgusted that I can't help but bend over and vomit."

"Besides..."

Uchiha Ikezumi continued, "You think you can change an adult's convictions with just a few words? Third Hokage, aren't you overestimating your 'personal charisma'?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was slightly stiff, even though he knew he had anticipated Izumi Uchiha's reaction.

But every time he was contradicted in person, it always made him very angry.

Looking across the entire Hidden Leaf Village, only Uchiha Izumi would use such a string of words to rebuke him, the Hokage.

The key point is... this also means that Chi Quan's "absolute justice" is no longer a double-edged sword that he can wield.

once.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still able to rely on Izumi Uchiha's "Absolute Justice" to intimidate some of the village's treacherous individuals.

just now.

He no longer had the ability to wield it, nor could he see clearly what kind of people in the village this double-edged sword would ultimately strike.

"I forgot to remind you, Third Hokage." Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned and speechless, Izumi Uchiha's voice came again: "Those people behind you, except for one of them, are all villains in my eyes."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted, and he realized that Izumi Uchiha's ninja sword had never been sheathed!
“The villains… need to be eliminated.”

As soon as Uchiha Izumi finished speaking, the group of Anbu ninjas brought by Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately became alert and quickly formed a human wall, surrounding and protecting Sarutobi Hiruzen.

They had all witnessed Uchiha Izumi's Mangekyou Sharingan abilities.

We absolutely cannot allow that dangerous guy, Uchiha Izumi, to use that terrifying eye technique on the Hokage!

whoosh-

All the Anbu ninjas, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched helplessly as Uchiha Ikezumi's figure vanished in an instant.

The words "stop him" were stuck in Hiruzen Sarutobi's throat.

Because he could clearly feel the killing intent emanating from Uchiha Ikezumi.

A strange thought popped into his mind—if he really let the Anbu stop Ike Izumi… there would be a deadly conflict breaking out here!

It was precisely this hesitation of Hiruzen Sarutobi that led to this.

Uchiha Ikezumi was like a tiger among sheep, his ninja sword slicing through the neck of one of the daimyo's retainers. As he and his opponent passed each other, a head flew into the air.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Anbu ninjas turned around in astonishment to look back.

In sight...

More than a dozen heads, their expressions frozen in terror, were tossed high into the air. The blood sprayed from the headless corpses was like a rain of blood. One drop of blood even pierced through the dense wall of ANBU ninjas and splattered onto Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage robe.

There were no screams, no howls of pain, only the muffled thuds of a dozen heads falling to the ground and a dozen headless corpses collapsing to the ground.

"GuluGulu——"

A head the size of a bucket rolled to the feet of an ANBU ninja.

The bone-chilling coldness sent shivers down the spines of even this battle-hardened ANBU ninja.

—Uchiha Ikezumi, this man is simply too dangerous!
This is a consensus among almost all ANBU ninjas.

However, none of the Anbu ninjas secretly criticized or criticized Uchiha Ikezumi for doing something wrong.

After all, no one would question this man's judgment of "evil".

This is also why Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was complicated.

His ideas were surprisingly aligned with those of some of the ANBU ninjas.

"no, do not want……"

"Do not kill me……"

Intermittent sobs of terror broke the eerie silence. The only surviving retainer of the daimyo had lost control of his bladder and bowels. He sat slumped on the blood and excrement, staring in horror at the expressionless Uchiha Ikezumi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Uchiha Ikezumi completely when he saw him.

The young man, who made his heart clench, turned around and said to him without looking back, "Third Hokage, do you think I need to explain their evil deeds one by one?"

Then he saw Uchiha Ikezumi leave.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

The blood flowing on the ground had spread to Hiruzen Sarutobi's feet.

He couldn't help but open his mouth.

But he couldn't utter a single word.

"Um... Lord Hokage." Izumi tore off a few pages from the small notebook in his hand, took a few steps forward, handed it to an ANBU ninja, and said, "This is a record of the crimes committed by Koen-in Kyusuke, all dictated by Senior Izumi. You can send the body to the Yamanaka clan and have them examine the body's memories to see if they match up."

The ninja, his expression strange beneath his mask, accepted the few sheets of white paper covered in writing that the girl handed him.

Then it was passed on to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi reached out and took it, silently gazing at the words on it.

Finally, he let out a deep sigh.

……

……

(End of this chapter)