Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha

Chapter 114 Naruto Unleashes the Power of the Nine-Tails (2 chapters, 1 words each)

"Sasuke, if I remember correctly, your seat isn't here, is it?" Iruka, who had come to the classroom with his textbooks, couldn't help but ask Sasuke, who was sitting to Naruto's left.

If I remember correctly, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha don't seem to have a very good relationship, do they?

With several bandages covering his body and some bruises visible on his skin, Sasuke said, "I'll stay here from now on."

He put on a cool little expression and continued, "I've already switched seats with someone else, and that guy agreed."

Iruka: "..."

Shouldn't the teacher be the one to arrange the seating arrangement?

But the top student in the class always gets preferential treatment.

Iruka thought for a moment, but ultimately didn't say anything more.

"You're such a fake..." Naruto muttered under his breath. He remembered this arrogant guy; he almost cried last night when faced with Ikezumi-sensei's "rejection."

Naruto looked around and noticed that many menacing eyes were staring at him, mostly from the girls in his class.

hateful!

How come this arrogant guy is so popular with girls?

He muttered something bitterly, then couldn't help but ask, "By the way, why did you have to sit next to me?"

Sasuke crossed his arms and gave a soft hum without answering.

Naruto, feeling awkward, yawned. But since it was the first time someone was willing to approach him, he felt a sense of novelty and couldn't help but change the subject, asking, "Is your brother really going to exterminate the clan?"

Sasuke's face visibly turned cold.

He glanced down at the table, quietly clenching his fist, and said, "This is what Teacher Chi... Chi Quan said, it belongs to Uchiha Itachi, my brother's 'future evil'. I won't let him succeed, I will prove that his actions are wrong."

"But..." Sasuke's mood plummeted as he thought about the absurd gap between himself and Itachi Uchiha.

He was certain that as long as one followed [absolute justice], one could obtain great power; Uchiha Izumi was the best example of this.

Sasuke just didn't know how long this would take.

Little did they know that after gaining such immense power...

Would that stop Itachi Uchiha?
"Don't worry!" Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and said with a smile, "Justice can never be alone! Even if you can't beat Itachi Uchiha, I'll help you. With the two of us together, how could we not defeat him?!"

"Heh..." Sasuke thought Naruto was too naive, he had no idea how powerful the Uchiha clan was.

But I don't know why.

I was somewhat moved.

Clatter—Suddenly, the sound of chalk falling to the ground rang out abruptly. Sasuke looked up and was shocked to see that Iruka Umino's expression on the podium had suddenly become extremely blank, and his entire movement seemed to have frozen.

When Sasuke saw a white feather drift down from the sky and just brush past Iruka's nose, he was shocked to see that Iruka-sensei had fallen asleep standing up!
Because he heard the other person snoring even though their eyes were closed!
Thump—another noise rang out, and Sasuke hurriedly turned around to see a classmate behind him fast asleep on the table.

No! It's not just one!
As the white feathers began to fall from the sky, Sasuke couldn't help but widen his eyes.

He was shocked to discover that everyone in the class except him was asleep!
"What's going on?!" Sasuke was so startled that he stood up abruptly and quickly turned to look at Naruto sitting next to him.

"She's...asleep?!"

Sasuke was completely shocked.

The moment the footsteps suddenly sounded, Sasuke immediately turned his head to look in the direction of the classroom door, and the pupils in his eyes visibly contracted slightly.

"Brother...Brother..."

Uchiha Itachi walked in openly and slowly, and said coldly without expression, "Sasuke, you made the wrong choice. You shouldn't have chosen this path that leads to an uncertain future."

……

"Where am I...?" Naruto looked around in confusion, realizing that he seemed to be in a strange place.

The damp and dark environment made him frown slightly, with strange doors on both sides.

He found himself in a long corridor.

"Am I not in the Ninja Academy...?" Just as Naruto was muttering to himself, a terrifying roar startled him. When he quickly turned around, he was completely stunned.

Behind Naruto were two towering, massive iron gates, and it seemed that some terrifying monsters were imprisoned by the gates.

"Heh heh, kid, you look more delicious than usual! Come closer and let me eat you up!" A deep, muffled voice suddenly rang out, causing Naruto to look up in shock.

"Wow, what a huge... fox..." Naruto was shocked, but then he suddenly realized what was happening and exclaimed in astonishment, "You're the Nine-Tailed Fox that the Fourth Hokage sealed inside me?!"

"Kid, thanks to your emotional outburst a few days ago, the seal left by the Fourth Hokage has been loosened."

Kurama, his face contorted in a ferocious grin, lowered his head and stared directly at Naruto: "Otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy to see you!"

Naruto snapped out of his daze and asked, "Did you initiate this meeting with me?"

Nine-Headed Rabjam squinted and grinned maliciously, "Little brat, look up and take a look."

Naruto was shocked. When he looked up, he found that the scene above his head was the classroom of the Ninja Academy!
He met Sasuke.

They also encountered a ninja who was about the same age as Uchiha Izumi.

"Your companion is quite 'dangerous'! The one who made everyone fall asleep is your companion's brother." Kurama's voice was heavily seductive as it said, "Are you just going to watch them die... and just fall asleep like that?"

"He...is Itachi Uchiha?!" Naruto was even more shocked.

"Little brat, do you see the seal on the door?" Kurama said in a low voice, "As long as you tear it off, I can grant you great power, allowing you to break his illusion. At the same time, I can also give you the power to defeat him with just one hand."

"Do you see this chakra?" Kurama instantly unleashed an extremely astonishing chakra surge, with a large amount of visible red chakra spreading throughout the sealed space.

Nine Lamas continued, "Tear it off, they're all yours!"

“I really don’t want that arrogant guy to be hurt by Uchiha Itachi. Even though I don’t particularly like him, he does believe in Ikezumi-sensei’s ‘absolute justice’ just like me.”

"but……"

Naruto clenched his fists, looked up and stared directly at Kurama, and said, "Back then, you were the embodiment of evil, the one who caused the Nine-Tails Night catastrophe! If you need to use the power of evil to help that arrogant guy, then I refuse!"

"Because I don't believe you would be so kind! You must have ulterior motives, you must be using me. If I accept your use, it will definitely lead to very bad consequences."

"If I accept your power, I'm afraid it will only harm everyone in the village... Am I right, Nine-Tailed Fox!"

His voice caused a visible look of disbelief and astonishment to appear on the Nine Lamas's ferocious expression.

What followed was the feeling of being exposed and embarrassed after a seven-year-old kid saw through her little scheme.

"You brat!!!"

Kurama stretched out its huge claws and tried to reach out to Naruto.

However, the powerful seal prevented it from touching Naruto in the slightest.

Naruto took a half step back and said, "I don't care about your power at all, because as long as you choose to believe in [Absolute Justice], [Absolute Justice] will bestow power upon you."

"You brat! You have no right to refuse what I want to give you!"

Kurama bared his teeth, and one of his huge canine teeth was almost bigger than Naruto's entire body.

A torrent of crimson chakra emanated from the iron gate.

"Feel my power, you brat! You'll get addicted! This is far more powerful than any justice you've never even heard of!"

A large amount of chakra surged towards young Naruto.

The seal on the iron gate was shaking wildly, as if gusts of wind were constantly blowing it away.

Naruto: "!!!"

……

White feathers slowly drifted down into the classroom.

"Cough cough cough..." Sasuke gripped Itachi's arm tightly, trying to pry open the arm, which wasn't particularly burly, but Itachi's arm was like an iron clamp, gripping his neck firmly. Even with all his strength, Sasuke couldn't pry it open.

The intense feeling of suffocation had turned Sasuke's face red and blue.

His young body was lifted up by Itachi Uchiha with one hand.

“Sasuke, Uchiha Izumi’s ‘Absolute Justice’ is not suitable for you. Or rather, this ideology is not suitable for Konoha. It conflicts with Konoha’s Will of Fire, and the existence of this ideology will only plunge Konoha into endless internal strife.”

Itachi Uchiha's eyes displayed crimson three-tomoe Sharingan.

“Look at Danzo Shimura, whom he killed; look at the Shimura clan, whom he wiped out; look at his fellow clansmen who died at his hands; and look at the fear that ordinary people in Konoha have of him.”

"My foolish little brother... why do you disappoint me so much every time? Since you believe in so-called absolute justice, then I'll make you kill someone with your own hands."

"You, whose hands are stained with blood, are not qualified to believe in so-called absolute justice. Only you can walk on a true and correct path to the future."

"You, who have been abandoned by justice, will also witness firsthand how the Uchiha clan was completely wiped out by me."

"certainly……"

"There are parts of what I said that you will never remember in your life. You will only live on like a stray dog, filled with deep hatred."

Sasuke's already wide-open eyes widened even more.

"Hah...cough cough cough! U...Chiha...Itachi!"

Sasuke's face flushed red, and every word he managed to squeeze out was the result of his best efforts: "You...really...go...mad!"

A single-tomoe Sharingan also faintly appeared in Sasuke's eyes.

Gazing into Sasuke's eyes, Itachi's lips curled into a smile that even Sasuke, standing so close, could barely make out.

'Sasuke, this is the kind of hatred that must be! Only this kind of hatred can unleash the true power of the Uchiha clan. Compared to this hatred, Uchiha Izumi's absolute justice is nothing.'

"The path I've chosen for you is the one that's best for you. Forgive me, Sasuke... One day, you will uncover the truth. On that day, you will understand my good intentions."

"But even if you don't understand, it doesn't matter. As long as I know that everything I've done is for your own good, that's enough."

After all, I never sought emotional reciprocation for my efforts.

Despite his impassive expression, Itachi Uchiha was experiencing just as much emotional turmoil as Sasuke was right now.

Uchiha Itachi closed his eyes slightly, forcibly stopping the tears that were about to spill from his eyes as he was feeling sentimental.

When she opened her eyes again, Sasuke in front of her was almost suffocating, his eyes rolling upwards.

Itachi Uchiha loosened his grip on the man's throat just a little bit.

suddenly!

A small hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed Itachi Uchiha's wrist.

"……Um?!"

……

Bang! ! !
A deafening roar echoed through the ninja academy, startling the already tense Konoha ninjas, especially the academy's teachers.

"The commotion seems to be coming from Irukaban!"

When they left their students behind and rushed over, they suddenly noticed a ninja dressed as an ANBU member lying unconscious on a tree outside the window.

Before they could even react with surprise, the wall of Irukaban, not far ahead, suddenly shattered!
A figure swept away amidst the shattered building debris; if I'm not mistaken, it also appeared to be dressed as an Anbu ninja.

Then another figure charged straight out of Irukaban.

This……

It looks a bit like a red fox!

"Wait!" A ninja academy teacher's pupils contracted sharply. He stared at the back of the "red fox" and muttered, "Could that be that demon fox brat, Uzumaki Naruto?!"

Although his voice wasn't loud, the ninja school teachers around him heard it clearly.

They were immediately horrified.

The horrifying scene of the Nine-Tails' rampage seven years ago flashed through everyone's minds. Many of them were eyewitnesses to that period, and some even nearly died on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, leaving them with considerable psychological trauma from that day.

"Oh no!!!"

……

not far away.

"Lord Izumi, there seems to be some noise over there." Cats' ears are always more sensitive than human ears. After reminding Izumi, Tachibana Jiro jumped high off Izumi's shoulder.

It nearly knocked the girl over when it fell.

With a serious expression, Tachibana Jiro said, "It looks like a ninja academy. It seems like two ninjas are fighting inside."

"Ninja Academy?" Before Izumi could even think of Tachibana Jiro's name, she exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't today a school day?"

"Keep up, rookie." Uchiha Ikezumi said before heading towards the Ninja Academy.

"Hey? Senior, wait for me!"

The Uchiha police force naturally has the responsibility to maintain order in Konoha, and it's impossible for Uchiha Ikezumi to be killing people every minute of every day.

Otherwise, the entire Hidden Leaf Village combined wouldn't be enough for him to kill alone.

Uchiha Izumi spends most of his time patrolling Konoha as a member of the Uchiha Police Force, maintaining the village's security.

Things like riots happening at the ninja academy.

Naturally, I had to go and see what was going on.

"It shouldn't be related to Naruto and Sasuke, right?" The girl, who was following closely behind Uchiha Ikezumi with all her might, muttered worriedly.

Tachibana Jiro said, "Nya, how could those two brats possibly cause such a commotion?"

"But... isn't Naruto a Jinchūriki?" Izumi asked hesitantly.

Tachibana Jiro's cat-like face stiffened. He grabbed Izumi's finally swaying hair and yanked it while yelling, "Newbie, shut your mouth! Do you know what the consequences are of a Jinchuriki going out of control?"

Izumi's expression darkened, and his mood somber: "My father died during the last Nine-Tails attack... and my three-tomoe Sharingan awakened that very night..."

Tachibana Jiro: "..."

Meow! How could I forget about this?
Damn it!
……

“Nine-Tails… Jinchuriki…” Uchiha Itachi backed away and jumped onto the roof of a building in the Ninja Academy. He looked down at Naruto Uzumaki, who was enveloped in red chakra.

Itachi Uchiha frowned; this situation was truly unexpected. Naruto Uzumaki had been hypnotized by the genjutsu, so how did he suddenly wake up? And how did he suddenly unleash such astonishing chakra?

"The seal suppressing the tailed beast has loosened?" But he felt that something was not quite right.

Because Naruto Uzumaki doesn't look like he's out of control.

Even though the red chakra on the other party was extremely turbulent.

Yet he could still discern a glimmer of reason in the eyes of that young Jinchūriki.

"This situation... is more like a Jinchuriki borrowing the chakra of a Tailed Beast!"

Itachi Uchiha was astonished. Although he didn't know much about Jinchuriki, he roughly understood that this was a bond between the Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beast, a bond that could only be achieved at a very deep level.

"It is indeed a very powerful force, but at your age, you cannot unleash its full potential. And... although you seem to be keeping your head up, it's always better to be safe than sorry. You should get some sleep first."

Itachi Uchiha's three-tomoe eyes instantly transformed into a kaleidoscope.

The moment their eyes met in the office.

The genjutsu from the Kaleidoscope was directly implanted into Naruto's body.

……

“Hmm, Mangekyou Sharingan…” Kurama’s eyes narrowed suddenly in the sealed space, but he quickly shook his head slightly: “No, it’s not the same as the Mangekyou Sharingan from back then.”

Kurama has the ability to break through Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan genjutsu targeting Naruto; he just needs to use his chakra to disrupt the brat's chakra.

But recalling that damn brat's previous arrogant behavior...

The Nine Lamas were so angry that they couldn't help but bare their teeth.

"Hmph!" Kurama snorted coldly, letting Naruto suddenly roll his eyes and collapse weakly to the ground. ...

"Hoo! Cough!" Itachi Uchiha coughed slightly. Even using a genjutsu, not Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu, the Mangekyou Sharingan's power made his body feel weak.

He glanced at the ninja academy teachers not far away, then looked at the Iruka Class classroom in the distance, where two large holes had been torn in the walls.

Although he was somewhat unwilling, he knew that the commotion was too big and it wouldn't be long before many people would be attracted to the area.

"Although I feel some things need to happen sooner, there's still a year's buffer. You and I have plenty of time, Sasuke, you can't escape it..."

Uchiha Itachi murmured something, and after dispelling all the genjutsu, his figure vanished instantly.

The instant he disappeared, Sasuke, clutching his throat and leaning against the wall, staggered out of the classroom in Iruka's class.

"Cough...bottom of the pack...cough cough cough..." The discomfort in his throat and the previous feeling of suffocation made him feel dizzy.

But he still insisted on walking to the corridor to take one last look at the two large holes that had been smashed into the wall.

Sasuke strained to lift his head and look out through the large hole.

He couldn't see Itachi Uchiha, who had already gone astray.

But then they saw Naruto lying on the ground not far away.

"Damn it... Why are you meddling in other people's business, you loser! It's none of your business anyway... cough cough!" Sasuke muttered some disgusted words, but still struggled to rush towards Naruto's direction.

When Sasuke arrived, he saw that Naruto Uzumaki was already surrounded by a group of teachers from the Ninja Academy.

“You are…” One of the ninja academy teachers turned around as if sensing something, and after seeing Sasuke, he pondered, “That young genius Uchiha Sasuke from Iruka’s class?!”

Sasuke: "..."

The phrase "young genius" stirred Sasuke's nerves. If he were truly a genius, how could he appear so weak in the hands of Itachi Uchiha?

How could she be completely powerless to resist and be controlled by the other party with just one hand until she was almost choked unconscious?
A true child prodigy...

Sasuke involuntarily recalled the image of the strange red chakra that had been wrapped around Naruto earlier. A complex expression crossed his slightly pale face, but it was quickly replaced by a strong sense of anticipation—if even a loser could gain such power from the gift of absolute justice, what about him?
"What exactly happened to Iruka's team? Where is Iruka?" the ninja academy teacher continued to ask Sasuke.

Sasuke replied in a hoarse voice, "I was hypnotized by genjutsu. The only ones awake in the whole class were me and... Naruto Uzumaki."

Just as the ninja school teacher was about to ask something, he suddenly caught a glimpse of an outsider entering the ninja school.

Turning his head and taking a closer look, he realized they were Uchiha police ninjas.

and many more!

That guy seems to be...

Uchiha Izumi!!!
Not only were the ninja academy teachers taken aback, but the others also hurriedly took a few steps back.

A person's name is like a tree's shadow. Although Uchiha Ikezumi's reputation has indeed improved somewhat recently, the fear he has harbored for many years cannot be eliminated overnight.

They also saw a ninja cat run up quickly and press a cat paw on Naruto's neck.

"Meow, Lord Ikezumi, that brat Uzumaki is still alive. There's still a strange, violent chakra leaking from his body. If I remember correctly, that should be the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra."

After a preliminary examination, Tachibana Jiro spoke in a very professional manner: "He has probably been implanted with a genjutsu, and it's a Sharingan genjutsu at that. This kind of genjutsu shouldn't harm his body much; at most, it will just make him fall into a deep sleep."

"It's kind of like the tailed beast inside him went out of control, and then some Uchiha who happened to be passing by hypnotized him with genjutsu, meow."

Uchiha Ikezumi walked over and picked Naruto up.

It was like picking up a sleeping golden fox cub.

“He… is at the bottom of the class, but he hasn’t lost control, cough cough!” Sasuke’s dry, hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

He looked up and stared directly at Uchiha Ikezumi: "Ikezumi-sensei, the bottom-of-the-class student... he helped me stop coughing, he stopped Uchiha Itachi. Because Uchiha Itachi broke into the Ninja Academy, he wanted to use the Sharingan to control me to kill people... He said that as long as I killed someone with my own hands, then [Absolute Justice] would abandon me..."

Izumi instantly placed her hand on her ninja sword, staring intently at the handprint on Sasuke's neck.

Considering what Sasuke had just said, she had already guessed a lot.

Izumi Gin gritted her teeth and said, "Uchiha Itachi is terminally ill!"

Sasuke continued, "At the crucial moment... the loser who had been under a genjutsu and fallen into a deep sleep suddenly woke up. He had a lot of red chakra on his body, and he helped me drive away Itachi Uchiha."

Sasuke neither exaggerated nor belittled Naruto.

Even though he felt a little jealous of Naruto's power, Sasuke felt a greater sense of gratitude deep down.

If Naruto hadn't intervened, he might have been controlled by Itachi Uchiha and killed innocent people.

By the time……

[Absolute Justice] will abandon itself.

"What a beast, meow!" Tachibana Jiro was so angry that his claws shot out. He couldn't help but curse, "How can he treat his own brother like this? Does he even have a brain? I should have risked my cat life to kill that guy back then! And that Uchiha Shisui, if he hadn't protected that beast back then, he wouldn't be alive now, meow!"

"Meow! I really wish I could use that Impure World Reincarnation technique to resurrect Uchiha Shisui and let him see what kind of filthy things the beast he protected back then is going to do to outsiders!"

Of course, Tachibana Jiro is not capable of the Impure World Reincarnation technique. He learned about this ninjutsu from Lord Ikezumi.

“Don’t worry…” Uchiha Izumi glanced at Sasuke, who was uneasy and still had lingering fears, and said, “Even if you were controlled by him and killed innocent people, [Absolute Justice] will not abandon you, because it was not your subjective intention to kill. You were forcibly turned into a knife by him. The one who really killed was him, not you.”

"If [absolute justice] has to abandon someone who is devoted to justice because of this kind of thing, then who will be willing to uphold justice? Don't be influenced by that beast's extreme ideas. A person who is already extreme will see everything in an extreme way."

Sasuke was startled.

For some reason, Sasuke wasn't angry at all when Tachibana Jiro and Uchiha Ikezumi called his older brother "beast" repeatedly.

Although I feel that this word is not very good.

But it also feels strangely fitting.

and.

Uchiha Izumi's words did indeed put Sasuke at ease.

……

Konoha, Hokage Building.

"Itachi... what's this?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been exhausted by all sorts of troubles in recent days, looked at Itachi Uchiha kneeling on the ground in astonishment.

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and said, "I've come to apologize to you, Hokage-sama. I accidentally caused a Jinchuriki to lose control today, but... well, it doesn't quite feel like a loss of control..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "!!!"

It's bad enough that Izumi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki are causing me so much trouble, but why is Itachi Uchiha joining in too?

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and asked with a frown, "Itachi, what exactly happened?"

Uchiha Itachi did not hide anything and told Sarutobi Hiruzen everything about the cause, process, and outcome of the matter.

He could not utter the rebuke that Sarutobi Hiruzen was trying to say.

after all……

Everything Itachi did was indeed for Konoha. He did those things to his younger brother so that his brother could dedicate his life to Konoha in peace.

This selfless spirit left Hiruzen Sarutobi with no faults.

If we had to nitpick... it would be that Hiruzen Sarutobi felt Itachi's actions were a bit too extreme. Wouldn't subjecting a seven-year-old to something like that leave some strange psychological scars?!

So, Naruto's sudden "loss of control" was indeed an accident.

“A rational ‘loss of control’…” Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his hands behind his back, frowning in thought. “It sounds… more like he has initially grasped the power of the tailed beast within him. This power can only give him rationality when Naruto has control over it. Otherwise, a new Nine-Tails rampage would have already occurred.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew exactly what this meant—Naruto was heading in the direction of becoming a true Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"It's a bit too early..."

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan, he felt that Naruto needed to graduate from the Ninja Academy before he could gradually guide Naruto to control the power of the tailed beast within him.

Unexpectedly, spurred on by Itachi, Naruto accomplished this ahead of schedule, allowing him to come into contact with the Nine-Tails' power earlier than planned.

anyway.

"Itachi, wasn't Sasuke the one you provoked? Why is Naruto also provoked?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly thought of a question that had been puzzling him for a long time.

Itachi Uchiha was also taken aback, and guessed, "Perhaps it's the bond between Sasuke and him, after all, they both believe in absolute justice."

"The bond..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking a pipe.

Suddenly I felt a headache.

Why did I end up forming a bond with a ninja from the Uchiha clan?
if you can……

He hopes that Naruto and the younger generation of the Sarutobi clan will have a bond.

"Hokage-sama." Suddenly, Itachi Uchiha interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts, saying, "The Uchiha clan has become somewhat out of control under the influence of Izumi Uchiha, and Setsuna Uchiha has become more radical than ever before. Many moderate Uchiha have recently either chosen to join the radical camp or have become quite interested in [absolute justice]."

Upon hearing Itachi's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, as this was one of the things that had been troubling him lately.

If the Uchiha clan were to cause trouble, or even launch a coup d'état that they believed no one knew about but was actually already common knowledge... then Konoha would be plunged into internal strife.

Other ninja villages would very likely take advantage of the situation and invade.

Although the Third Shinobi World War ended not long ago, it doesn't mean that those ambitious individuals with unresolved internal conflicts wouldn't want to start a Fourth Shinobi World War.

"Lord Hokage, I will handle all of this."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and said slowly, "Lord Hokage, there is no need to worry that the Uchiha clan will affect Konoha in the future."

These two sentences startled Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“Itachi…” He recalled the rumors circulating in the village about Itachi Uchiha’s massacre of the clan a year later.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and said with a serious expression, "Itachi, some things don't need to be done so decisively. Only a small number of people can truly affect Konoha."

He did indeed have the idea of ​​wiping out some of the restless Uchiha.

But it was only a part of it, not the extermination of the Uchiha clan.

Itachi's approach was a bit too extreme.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't quite accept it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat, his face grim, and reiterated, "Itachi, sometimes it's not necessary to go to such extremes. The Uchiha clan is ultimately useful to Konoha."

"...Understood, Hokage-sama." Itachi Uchiha replied, concealing the strange look in his eyes.

He stood up.

Turned and left.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama... I should have known long ago that you, who love the village so much, would never allow me to do such a thing. But, if I don't do these things, it might be too late. The Uchiha have already become a serious threat to Konoha..."

Uchiha Itachi murmured to himself as he stepped outside.

Even the Hokage couldn't understand some of his own thoughts.

But why should I expect others to understand?

"The path I chose for Konoha, for the Uchiha clan, for Sasuke... is the most correct path."

Uchiha Itachi, who was muttering to himself, suddenly raised his head.

He saw a ninja with a thick beard pass by him, and the other man seemed to have noticed him as well, his surprised gaze lingering on his face for half a second.

If I remember correctly...

The other party seems to be the Hokage's second son.

Sarutobi Asuma!
……

Staring at the empty office door, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, puffing on his pipe. He was pondering how to deal with the Uchiha clan and bring them some peace...

An unexpected person appeared in front of him.

"...Asuma?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback. He asked in confusion, "Didn't you go to the capital of the Land of Fire a while ago?"

Asuma walked in, closed the door, leaned against the wall, and said, "Old man, I've told Lord Daimyo about it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused in his movements, but did not reprimand Asuma. He simply asked, "What was the Daimyo's reaction? Did he say anything?"

“I’m furious,” Asuma said. “The Daimyo wants the murderer of his son to pay the price.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "If I were to take action against Ikezumi because of this matter, Konoha would be thrown into chaos. If the Daimyo sends you to deliver a message urging me to take action, I can only pretend I didn't hear it. Asuma, don't underestimate Ikezumi. He can absolutely plunge Konoha into unprecedented chaos, which would be no less devastating than the night of the Nine-Tails' attack."

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi not have considered killing Izumi Uchiha?

As the Hokage, he had considered all sorts of bold ideas, and even thought about what would happen if he suddenly committed suicide.

It was precisely because he had considered and deduced that Hiruzen Sarutobi resolutely refused to clash with Izumi Uchiha within Konoha.

The cost of conflict would be too high for Konoha to accept.

Just like how the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha had serious disagreements, they ultimately agreed to fight at the Valley of the End, rather than fighting in Konoha.

Asuma, upon learning this answer from Hiruzen Sarutobi, had a fleeting look of disappointment in his eyes that he quickly concealed.

He took out a cigarette, put the mouthpiece in his mouth, but didn't light it.

“Old man, you’ve misunderstood. Lord Daimyo did not order you to kill Uchiha Ikezumi. He probably knows your predicament. He won’t force you, nor does he have the right to force the Hokage.”

Asuma, with one hand in his pocket and a blank expression, said, "I'm just here to give you advice."

“Since Uchiha Izumi is causing trouble in Konoha, giving you a headache and making you feel helpless... why don’t you release this terrifying tiger and let him carry out missions outside the village?”

Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned.

Asuma continued calmly, "He's a ninja from the Uchiha Police Department, but he's also a ninja from Konoha. A Konoha ninja has to accept the ninja missions assigned to him by the Hokage, right?"

"I know you released this tiger in Konoha to intimidate some of the villagers. Now you've achieved your goal, haven't you? Those people are intimidated, aren't they?"

"Or……"

Asuma narrowed his eyes: "Those people are almost all dead at the hands of Uchiha Izumi, aren't they? Old man!"

"Now that you have achieved your goal, why not release him? Uchiha Izumi is carrying out justice outside Konoha Village and within the Land of Fire, which has nothing to do with you, the Hokage."

"You won't have to worry about him then, because the ones who will have a headache are the powerful, the bureaucrats, and the famous officials."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tightly furrowed brows did not relax.

"Asuma, what do you want to do?" Hiruzen Sarutobi simply asked a crucial question.

Asuma replied, "The Daimyo wants to kill Uchiha Ikezumi, to let him know that he has no power to kill him. He wants Uchiha Ikezumi to offend many people in the Land of Fire, preferably to the point where the whole country is his enemy. That way, someone will eventually be able to kill him."

Ashima pulled a document from her bosom and tossed it at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who caught it with one hand.

Upon opening it, I discovered it was the handwriting of the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

“Old man, the Daimyo did not ask you to deal with Uchiha Ikezumi personally. He only asked you to release him so that he could carry out his ‘absolute justice’ in the Land of Fire.”

"And the Daimyo has decided to increase Konoha's budget by thirty percent next year. Such a request... you should be able to grant the Daimyo's request, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a few seconds.

"A very naive scheme. To achieve its goal, it requires too many coincidences, and it's practically just an unrealistic delusion of Your Majesty. Even if I were to have Izumi leave Konoha temporarily, Your Majesty would most likely still fail to achieve his objective."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then asked in a low voice, "But is this really all there is to it, Asuma?"

Asma retorted, "Old man, don't you trust me? Although... I sometimes don't like what you do, have I ever lied to you before?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath.

“…Okay.” Perhaps it was out of trust in her second son, or perhaps out of a sense of guilt towards the rebellious Asuma.

He believed in Asma.

……

……

(End of this chapter)