Naruto: Uchiha's Absolute Justice

Chapter 12: Apprehending Naruto Uzumaki

Even after Uchiha Ikeizumi and the Uchiha girl had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi still couldn't understand how he had "insulted" anyone.

He pinched a bit of tobacco onto his pipe, struck a match, and as he lit the tobacco, he gently sucked on the mouthpiece of his pipe.

"Hmph…"

A wispy cloud of smoke enveloped his aged face. Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, "Now it's pretty much confirmed that this child, Ikeizumi, won't pose a threat to Konoha. Are you satisfied, Danzo?"

As his words faded, an "ANBU Guard" stepped out from the corner of the office.

However, its form changed after only a few steps.

It gradually transformed into an old man wrapped in bandages, with only one eye visible, and an intensely sinister, gloomy aura.

This was the master of Konoha's Root!

The magnet for all of the ninja world's shadows and dirty work!

—Danzo Shimura!

"When Uchiha Ikeizumi walked into the office, he glanced in my direction. He must have spotted me immediately," Danzo said, squinting his single eye towards the door, his hostility and aloofness not intentionally hidden.

Then, he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and continued, "Hiruzen, you can't guarantee that Uchiha Ikeizumi didn't say those things deliberately because he saw me. This Uchiha operates with a style so extreme that his evil is visible to the naked eye!"

"You just heard him say it, he'd dare draw his blade on the Hokage, even if you stood in his way. This kind of naturally evil Uchiha brat shouldn't exist in Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, saying, "Danzo, I know what you're up to. You are not to lay a hand on Uchiha Ikeizumi. He is someone I value, just like Itachi. He's an Uchiha."

"While his extreme methods are somewhat inappropriate, he has indeed brought a new wind of justice to the village, making some of Konoha's ill-intentioned individuals considerably more restrained."

Hiruzen Sarutobi declared, "Ikeizumi's existence has both pros and cons for the village, but for now, the pros outweigh the cons."

"Hmph," Danzo snorted sinisterly. "What 'pros outweigh cons'? That's just your indecisiveness. You're only saying that because it was the Gekkou clan who died today."

"If it were a ninja from the Sarutobi clan who was killed, would you still have this expression, Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi replied calmly, "I only act for the public good, not for personal gain."

Danzo admitted he almost laughed at the old monkey's words.

"Allowing this naturally evil Uchiha to operate his so-called [Absolute Justice] in Konoha is playing with fire! One day, you will regret this, Hiruzen!"

Danzo gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a deep look.

Hiruzen Sarutobi met his gaze, stating gravely, "Danzo, you always fail to grasp your own position. In Konoha, I am the Hokage. And you are merely Konoha's 'shadow'."

"If I say Ikeizumi cannot be touched, then he cannot be touched! Don't forget, 'Root' only continues to exist with my tacit approval. With just one order from me, 'Root' will be completely disbanded!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes narrowed: "Danzo, as the Hokage, my power is limitless. You don't want me to do that, do you?"

Danzo's eyes widened: "You monkey—"

"Hmph!!!"

With nothing more to say, Danzo, his old face grim and simmering with anger, left without another word.

BANG—

The heavy slam of the door revealed just how agonizingly suppressed his fury was.

...

"Ikeizumi still isn't back?" Far away at the Uchiha Police Force headquarters, Fugaku Uchiha was currently looking at four corpses, deeply troubled.

"No," an Uchiha Police Force coroner replied.

Fugaku let out a heavy sigh: "He's struck at another Konoha ninja clan. With this, the conflict between the Uchiha and the village… is likely tipping even further towards an irreparable situation."

This was Fugaku's greatest concern.

Truth be told.

What Uchiha Ikeizumi did, while extreme, was often correct—so correct that even Fugaku himself rarely found fault with it.

But this kind of "correctness," for the currently precarious Uchiha clan, was a series of fatal death warrants.

Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha clan had been under intense suspicion from the village.

Many ninja clans who once had a decent relationship with the Uchiha had grown increasingly distant over the past few years.

The Uchiha's reputation among some civilians had also worsened.

This external pressure, in turn, exacerbated the pressure from the hawkish Uchiha within the clan on him, their clan head.

Today…

Several Uchiha clan members had privately met with him again, demanding a complete Konoha coup plan be formulated.

"Sigh…"

Fugaku sighed. Was there truly no one in the entire Uchiha clan, besides his eldest son Itachi and the deceased Shisui, who wouldn't cause him trouble?

...

"U-U-U-Uchiha Ikeizumi's here!!!"

At the same time.

A trembling shriek, filled with terror, instantly shattered the tranquility of a Konoha village street.

A thief, who had been stealthily pickpocketing, froze, his expression ashen and devastated.

He frantically stuffed the stolen wallet back where he found it.

Without even daring to look in Uchiha Ikeizumi's direction, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground in the most humble "dogeza" pose.

"I surrender! I'm willing to surrender! I'm willing to honestly confess all my crimes to the Police Force! Please don't kill me!" the sweat-soaked thief wailed in despair.

At the other end of the street, a pair of Konoha villagers, who had been arguing and spewing insults at each other, instantly swapped to beaming, enthusiastic faces.

They slung their arms around each other, calling each other "good brothers," making it impossible to tell that they had just been red-faced from shouting at each other.

A villager who had casually littered frantically picked up the trash he'd thrown and stuffed it into his own pocket.

"How… how exaggerated…" Izumi was finally seeing just how immense Senior Ikeizumi's reputation was in Konoha.

She had been so absorbed in her studies at the Ninja Academy.

She really hadn't paid attention to anyone with such a huge reputation outside the academy.

Izumi felt that if Senior Ikeizumi just patrolled the village regularly, Konoha's crime rate would drop by several percentage points!

"You brat! Stop right there!!!"

But soon, an angry shout broke the eerie silence.

"Who's gonna stop! If you catch me, it'll be terrible, dattebayo!"

Another shout rang out.

The former was an adult's voice, the latter a child's.

Izumi turned her head in confusion.

She saw a blonde kid frantically running without a clear path, chased by a man holding a rolling pin.

Chaos followed wherever the two went.

The blonde kid occasionally picked up various items from the street and threw them behind him to hinder his pursuer.

But this also made the street a mess, frightening many passersby and villagers who quickly moved out of the way.

Just as the blonde kid sped past Izumi.

She caught a glimpse of Senior Ikeizumi suddenly reaching out a hand.

The blonde kid, running joyfully, was instantly scooped up.

He'd been caught!