Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha

Chapter 189 The Third Hokage Loses Loyalty! The Heartbroken Hokage
Faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's seemingly gritted teeth in questioning.

Uchiha Ikezumi replied calmly and simply, "Don't get too cocky, Third Hokage."

The angry expression that was about to appear on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face suddenly froze.

What does this mean? Could it be that... Uchiha Ikezumi never took me seriously from the beginning? Am I just deluding myself into thinking that he's deliberately targeting me?
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat bewildered, a sudden argument broke out behind him, which startled him.

"What are you doing? What do you police force want? I'm an Anbu ninja! I'm a direct subordinate of the Hokage, and I've rendered meritorious service to Konoha. You have no right to arrest me and take me to the police force!"

One of the Anbu ninjas whose name had been called by Uchiha Ikezumi saw several police ninjas walking towards him.

He immediately took a few steps back and placed his hand on the hilt of the ninja sword, the blade of which was already halfway out.

They adopted a posture of refusing to cooperate and resist arrest.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself that something was wrong again, a loud metallic clanging sound suddenly erupted behind him.

When he hurriedly turned around, he saw two police ninjas already drawing their swords and slashing at the ANBU ninjas!
If the ANBU ninja hadn't reacted quickly and immediately drawn his sword to block, he would probably have been seriously injured!
"stop!!!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted angrily, but he didn't expect that the police ninjas would not listen to his orders as the Hokage.

The two sides instantly engaged in a fierce battle.

In a two-against-one situation, the ANBU ninja quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.

The situation was urgent.

Just as other ANBU ninjas were trying to rush up to help, a group of police ninjas immediately stepped forward and blocked them.

"Hey! You wouldn't want to help a criminal who uses force to resist arrest, would you? Helping criminals is, in the eyes of 'absolute justice,' colluding with evil and becoming a part of sin!"

A high-ranking ninja from the police force stared at an ANBU ninja in front of him.

He had already activated his three-tomoe Sharingan, and when he looked at the ANBU ninja, his eyes were filled with a dangerous and wary look.

The police force's drastic actions deterred other ninja from making any rash moves.

Without the Hokage's orders, they were unsure whether they should launch a full-scale war against the police force.

And upon witnessing this scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi...

His face had turned extremely dark.

"Third Hokage, what do you want to do?" Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around to rescue the ANBU ninja, an extremely cold voice made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart tighten suddenly.

He had a premonition.

—If I help my subordinates in the Anbu to "arrest" him, then Uchiha Izumi will not hesitate to take action against me!
wrong!

The other party has most likely wanted to take action against him, the Hokage, for a long time, but just hasn't had a good opportunity. This is because he, as Hokage, has always been protected by a large number of Anbu ninja.

And once his actions as Hokage trigger a major battle between the police force and the Anbu ninja.

The ANBU ninja will be held back by other police ninja units.

So, when I face Uchiha Izumi...

It turned into a one-on-one situation!

to be frank.

If he could be twenty or thirty years younger, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt he wouldn't be afraid to face Izumi Uchiha alone.

But I'm already quite old, and I'm not necessarily a match for this young man.

And the other party is truly willing to kill when dealing with "villains".

They won't care about the identity of the "villain".

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire...

Shimura Danzo...

These are two excellent examples!
His indescribable feelings and situation left Hiruzen Sarutobi in a dilemma.

Forcibly protecting the Anbu ninja would greatly diminish his prestige as Hokage in the eyes of the Konoha civilians. Many might even distrust or disapprove of him as Hokage. In that situation, his title would become meaningless, a mere empty name.

When the time comes, many of his decrees will be issued, but I doubt many people will cooperate with them.

If he remains unmoved in the face of so many ANBU ninjas, he will lose their loyalty.

He hesitated for a moment.

It was already too late... there was no time for him to make a decision.

puff-

As the sound of blades tearing through flesh rang out, the ANBU ninja who had attempted to violently resist arrest screamed. He was finally defeated under the combined assault of the police ninja force.

One arm was severed at the root, and his abdomen was also slashed open, blood spurting wildly, his intestines almost spilling out of the gash.

The next moment, two blood-stained ninja swords were already at his neck.

The police ninjas were somewhat restrained; otherwise, his head would have been severed from his body in that instant!
The other Anbu ninjas who were called out by Uchiha Izumi were stunned by this scene.

He was also deeply saddened by Hiruzen Sarutobi's indifference.

They opened their mouths, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't; their fingertips twitched, as if they wanted to do something but dared not move.

In the end, they could only let the police ninja forcefully handcuff their hands behind their backs and remove all their ninja tools.

There were also kunai (a type of kunai) pressed against their backs; if they made any unusual movements, the kunai would pierce their bodies without hesitation.

"...It's over." Kakashi, standing in the crowd, did not stop the conflict.

He stood neither on the side of the police force nor on the side of the ninja, as if he were an indifferent outsider.

Kakashi sighed inwardly and murmured in a voice only he could hear, "After today, I'm afraid there will be very few people in the entire Anbu who will remain loyal to the Hokage. After all, he can't even protect his own subordinates."

Kakashi didn't know whether some of the Anbu ninjas who were mentioned were villains or normal people.

If you call them villains...

In the course of carrying out covert missions, if the methods used are somewhat drastic, accidental injuries are unavoidable.

So if we say they are normal people...

In the event of accidental injury during a mission, instead of taking remedial action, they simply turned and walked away. They also failed to seek remedies for their mistakes afterward, indirectly leading to either a tragic future for the injured victims or even their deaths.

From the perspective of an ordinary person.

That seems wrong again.

Of course... aside from a few ANBU ninjas that Kakashi couldn't quite distinguish, he was certain that the other ANBU ninjas were doomed based on their actions.

Because that wasn't an accidental injury; it was purely a case of someone having a mental breakdown during the mission, deliberately committing evil deeds, and even trying to cover up their evil actions. Their behavior was extremely despicable.

At this time.

Kakashi watched as seven or eight Anbu ninjas were taken away by police ninjas.

One of the ANBU ninjas suddenly stopped in his tracks as he approached Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even after being pushed by the police ninja behind him, he didn't take a step forward. Instead, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Lord Hokage, you truly understand how to maintain the balance of the village, and you also know how to treat the village's heroes well. No wonder your son and daughter-in-law died one after another because of absolute justice, and no wonder you have been gradually sidelined to this point."

Because the ANBU ninja was wearing a mask, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't see the other's face clearly.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi could guess that the other party's expression must be very unpleasant and disappointed.

"Lord Hokage, if I am sentenced to death by the police force, please do not attend my funeral, sir. Otherwise, I fear I might rise from my coffin."

"If I am not sentenced to death, please just remove my name from the list of ANBU ninjas. I would rather be a Konoha genin than an ANBU ninja, let alone a member of the Hokage's secret unit."

This sentence is the truly scathing remark.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat dazed.

He tried to persuade the ANBU ninja to stay, but found that the ninja had already left.

The other Anbu ninjas who were taken away also looked at the Third Hokage with great disappointment before leaving.

Only the heavily wounded ANBU ninja fell unconscious.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but look at the other Anbu ninjas behind him.

The group of ANBU ninjas who hadn't been captured stood motionless.

Their gazes, more or less, were all fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of disappointment.

this moment……

He lost the trust and loyalty of the vast majority of the ANBU ninjas.

Because of his brief hesitation!

……

News of the ANBU ninja's utter defeat in their standoff with the police ninja quickly spread throughout Konoha. The speed at which the news spread was undoubtedly due to someone stirring things up.

"Shikaku, if the Hokage investigates even a little, he will definitely be able to find out that it was the Nara clan who secretly spread the news throughout Konoha."

Inside the Konoha yakiniku restaurant, Akimichi Choza said to Nara Shikaku, "Aren't you afraid of incurring the Hokage's displeasure?"

Nara Shikaku shook his head and said, "Choza, the situation is completely different now. A week ago, I certainly wouldn't have done this. Because the Hokage still has a lot of influence in the village, doing this would be like playing with fire and getting burned."

"But today, a week later, especially now that the Hokage can no longer protect his Anbu subordinates... I have no choice but to do this. Even if it offends the Hokage, the Nara clan doesn't care anymore."

Choza Akimichi asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why?"

Nara Shikaku said sternly, "Choza, haven't you seen the current situation in the village? Many people are already tired of and dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's rule."

“In this situation, everyone in the village will take action. Those who act early will reap greater rewards, while those who act late will only get scraps in the end.”

Akimichi Choza's pupils contracted slightly; he roughly understood.

Many people no longer want the Third Hokage to remain in that position. Moreover, everyone wants to take advantage of the Third Hokage to extract as much benefit as possible for their own ninja clans.

"Aren't you afraid of the Hokage's counterattack? He is still the Hokage of Konoha, and he still has some foundations in Konoha. Even though most of his foundations have been destroyed, a starved camel... is still bigger than a horse, right?"

"I hesitated," said Akimichi Dingza.

"really."

Nara Shikaku nodded, but then changed his tone and said slowly, "The Hokage's counterattack is something that few people in the village can withstand, including our Nara clan."

"However……"

"Konoha is now under the leadership of Ikezumi. The Hokage's counterattack will not be able to get past Ikezumi. The Nara clan's actions today are actually for Ikezumi's absolute justice."

"Only by reducing the Hokage's influence in the village, and even removing him from that position, can Izumi's absolute justice spread throughout the village."

Akimichi Choza gasped.

This……

It was practically a hunt by most of Konoha against the Third Hokage!
The Third Hokage probably thought this was just an "offensive" by Uchiha Ikezumi.

"Shikaku, have your actions... been approved by Ikezumi?"

"I frowned," said Akimichi Choza.

Nara Shikaku said, "I already spoke with Ikezumi a long time ago. He said that as long as we don't violate the bottom line of justice and don't affect ordinary innocent people, we, the Ino, Shika, and Cho clans, can do whatever we want. If the Hokage is under pressure, Ikezumi will step in to help us withstand it."

Choza Akimichi let out a breath and leaned back in his chair.

He said, "Since you've put it that way, the Akimichi clan has no choice but to join the Nara clan. By the way, how's Inoichi doing? Have you spoken to him yet?"

Nara Shikaku smiled and said, "Inoichi acted even earlier than I did."

……

"Lord Hokage, these are our three resignation letters."

Inside the Hokage's office.

Three ANBU ninjas from the Yamanaka clan placed three resignation letters on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.

The three of them deliberately left the office door open before entering, so much so that their voices were even heard by some Konoha ninjas in the hallway outside.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been sitting blankly in his office chair, suddenly snapped out of his daze.

He stared at the three letters on the table, then looked up at the three Yamanaka clan ninjas who had removed their ANBU masks.

"why?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked a question in a rather hoarse and tired voice.

One of the Yamanaka clan ninjas said, "The three of us are not up to the task of ANBU. The intensity of ANBU missions far exceeds our capabilities. We also do not want to be confronted with ninja swords by our own people in our own village after completing a ninja mission, and to be called 'criminals' by them."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyelids began to twitch, and his breathing became slightly rapid.

"...Was this what Haiyi instructed you to say to me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked the question, enunciating each word clearly.

The Yamanaka clan ninja said, "It has nothing to do with Yamanaka Inoichi, and nothing to do with the Yamanaka clan. This is a decision made by the three of us."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was already turning cold.

……

……

(End of this chapter)