Naruto: Uchiha's Absolute Justice

Chapter 17: Is the Hokage Also Going to Obstruct the Execution of Justice?

"Jinchuriki… Naruto?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. He hadn't expected the conflict between Danzo and Uchiha Ikeizumi to involve Naruto.

But facing Danzo's one-sided account, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't entirely convinced.

After all, Danzo always viewed the Uchiha clan with prejudice.

"Ikeizumi, you…" As Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi, he suddenly noticed that Uchiha Ikeizumi was still advancing towards Danzo, the killing intent in his Sharingan undiminished.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on. He remembered that if Uchiha Ikeizumi targeted someone and attacked them, he would usually latch onto them relentlessly.

He wouldn't stop until the enemy in his sights was completely "eliminated."

Unless he encountered truly irresistible force, he wouldn't stop.

"Ikeizumi! Wait a moment!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart tightened, and he immediately shouted, "There must be some misunderstanding. The village has rules; ninja are not allowed to engage in overly violent private conflicts! You and Danzo are both Konoha ninja. How can Konoha ninja fight among themselves?"

He had no choice but to stand between Uchiha Ikeizumi and Danzo with a dozen ANBU ninja.

This separated the two of them.

"Ikeizumi, give me some face. Let's first clarify what happened," Hiruzen Sarutobi said patiently, looking directly at Uchiha Ikeizumi.

Uchiha Ikeizumi glanced at the red box hovering above the Third Hokage's head, and his eyes narrowed slightly: "So, Hokage-sama intends to use the power of the Hokage to protect a perpetrator who obstructs the execution of justice?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi found Ikeizumi's words a bit harsh, but he remained outwardly calm, patiently saying, "Ikeizumi, this is just a misunderstanding."

A dozen ANBU ninja had already subtly surrounded both Uchiha Ikeizumi and Danzo.

"The Hokage is abusing his power for personal gain, protecting one who obstructs justice. I will remember this debt." Uchiha Ikeizumi deactivated his "Lava Release Chakra Armor," and the flowing magma on his body slowly receded.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan also reverted to normal black eyes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "…"

He had a strange feeling, as if Uchiha Ikeizumi's statement wasn't a joke, but utterly serious.

But… he was the Hokage of Konoha. How could Ikeizumi hold this debt against him?

At most, it would just be forgotten over time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back and glared at Danzo: "Danzo! Put away your kunai! Do you want to further escalate this unnecessary conflict?"

Danzo: "???"

Why was the "Monkey" so polite to that naturally evil Uchiha but so forceful with him?

This extremely hypocritical behavior…

Made Danzo's fists clench.

After a deep, sinister glare at Uchiha Ikeizumi, Danzo put away his kunai, his face grim as he coldly said, "Hiruzen, you want to clarify what happened? That evil Uchiha wanted to control the Nine-Tails. I stopped him, and for that, I sacrificed two capable subordinates. It's as simple as that."

With that, Danzo couldn't help but grit his teeth and fume, "If you hadn't suddenly appeared, I would have been able to kill that evil Uchiha brat in just one minute!"

Damn it, he had already been forced to expend one Sharingan.

Yet, that "Monkey" appeared suddenly, making his one-minute Izanagi utterly useless.

Even…

He had exposed one of his trump cards to Uchiha Ikeizumi!

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know what Danzo was thinking. He only focused on Danzo's statement about "two subordinates dying."

"Ikeizumi, why did you…"

Just as he was about to ask Uchiha Ikeizumi, he unexpectedly heard Uchiha Ikeizumi speak in a detached tone: "Those who obstruct justice are my enemies and should be eliminated with absolute force!"

"Root attempted to take away the criminal Naruto Uzumaki. In my eyes, their obstruction of justice is fostering the growth of 'evil'."

"That is my reason for acting. If Hokage-sama believes this reason is insufficient, you can dismiss me from the Police Force at any time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.

It was the same as before. Even before he could ask his question, this child, Ikeizumi, knew what he wanted to ask and directly stated his answer in advance.

This feeling…

It was as if talking to him, the Hokage, made this child Ikeizumi extremely impatient.

He selectively ignored Uchiha Ikeizumi's last sentence.

His focus instead fell on the phrase, "Naruto committed a crime."

In that case, Ikeizumi's and Danzo's statements conflicted.

Danzo thought Ikeizumi intentionally wanted to control the Nine-Tails.

Ikeizumi, on the other hand, seemed to have no such intention, merely thinking Naruto had caused trouble and needed to be apprehended.

"Where's Naruto?" Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then asked the ANBU ninja.

Soon.

The ANBU ninja responsible for monitoring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki quickly brought the terrified Naruto over.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knelt down, ruffled Naruto's golden hair, attempting to calm the child in this way.

"Naruto, what happened just now? Why did this law enforcement officer from the Police Force suddenly try to apprehend you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to keep his tone gentle.

Naruto instinctively turned to look at Uchiha Ikeizumi, but was so scared by his indifferent gaze that he quickly looked down.

Naruto's small face was pale, and he trembled, saying, "Grandpa Hokage, I, I think I committed a crime…"

"Today, I pulled a prank…"

He recounted the entire incident, from beginning to end, truthfully.

In front of Uchiha Ikeizumi, Naruto dared not lie, because the man would truly throw him into prison! Even though he had pulled so many pranks before and nothing had ever happened!

Clearly.

Uchiha Ikeizumi's earlier words about apprehending Naruto and imprisoning him for several months had utterly terrified the child.

Naruto's narrative logic was fairly clear, causing Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face to show an increasingly peculiar expression.

Danzo, listening, was dumbfounded where he stood.

"…Danzo." Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze slowly turned to Danzo: "Indeed… all of this was just your malicious speculation, wasn't it! The source of all this conflict was you, wasn't it?"

Danzo's expression was uglier than if he had eaten excrement.

He clenched his fists, his face grim.

He said nothing.

"This farce is over! Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his expression slightly cold: "I will absolutely not tolerate you looking at loyal ninja like Ikeizumi with such prejudice!"

Danzo gritted his teeth, "Then what about my two dead guards?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned, "Isn't all this fault yours?"

Danzo's fists clenched until they cracked audibly, his chest heaving, his expression changing erratically.

"Hmph!!!"

He turned and left in a huff.

....

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not try to stop him. After sighing with relief in his heart, he promised Uchiha Ikeizumi, "Ikeizumi, Root indeed went too far. They tried to accuse you without giving you a chance to explain. Don't worry, I will deal with them later."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused.

He cleared his throat and said, "I will compensate Naruto for the losses caused by his prank. As for imprisoning him in Konoha's jail… let's drop that. He's still a child; we can teach him a lesson in other ways."

Uchiha Ikeizumi's eyes narrowed slightly.

He then said something that completely took Hiruzen Sarutobi by surprise: "Is the Hokage also going to obstruct the execution of justice?"

For some reason.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the atmosphere suddenly become heavy.

Uchiha Ikeizumi slowly said, "Hokage-sama, gentle methods cannot educate children whose thoughts have gone astray. Only by strictly adhering to Absolute Justice, and never tolerating misdeeds, can their minds be brought back to the right path and help them become proper individuals."

"This way…"

"Will we truly honor the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, wouldn't you agree?"

....

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