Konoha: The Absolute Justice of the Uchiha

Chapter 33 The Will of Fire
The scorching crimson magma of Uchiha Izumi was not something that a ninja's fragile, "glass cannon"-like body could withstand.

The ferocious magma hound unsurprisingly pierced through Sarutobi Shinnosuke's chest.

And it quickly burned his flesh and internal organs until they were charred.

This made Sarutobi Shinnosuke's already wide eyes widen even more.

He opened his mouth and vomited a mouthful of congealed blood.

The gaping hole in his chest that nearly shattered him in half foreshadowed the final outcome of the battle.

As Uchiha Ikezumi slowly withdrew his arm, Sarutobi Shinnosuke's body lost its support, collapsed to his knees, and fell heavily to the ground.

"Shinnosuke!!!"

A figure rushed over and immediately helped the fallen Sarutobi Shinnosuke into his arms.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were filled with tears, his breathing became rapid, and his old, wrinkled hands trembled constantly as he tried to save his eldest son's life in this way.

"Cough...cough..."

With his last breath, Sarutobi Shinnosuke slowly turned his head, his blurred vision looking at Uchiha Ikezumi standing right next to him.

“Ahem… Your sense of justice…” he said haltingly, “is really… decisive enough… So, in your eyes, what I did was so morally corrupt? Thinking about it carefully, ha, it really wasn’t anything good…”

"Chiquan..."

"The only mistake is that your stance is different from ours. You cannot... fight against the entire ninja world alone. Your justice... many people cannot tolerate it. You must make your justice Konoha's justice! However, you... seem to never listen to my admonitions."

"Old man..."

"Ahem... You don't need to throw me to the mountain clan to have my memories extracted anymore. Everything that kid told you afterward was true. He can still see through good and evil as always."

"They were clearly burned to death by lava..."

"But I feel so cold..."

"...It's so cold."

As Sarutobi Shinnosuke slowly closed his eyes with all his might, his breathing also completely stopped.

Even in his final moments, he still opposed Uchiha Ikezumi's "justice".

He didn't think Uchiha Ikezumi was wrong.

but……

They didn't think it was right either.

“Ike…Ikezumi…” The pain of losing his son made Hiruzen Sarutobi’s old body tremble.

He looked up and met Uchiha Ikezumi's gaze, his jaw clenched tightly, his pupils trembling slightly, and the whites of his eyes bloodshot.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words at this moment were almost forced out: "Was it necessary to make things so tense? Can't you discuss this with me, the Hokage? Was it necessary... was it necessary to kill Shinnosuke?"

"He is my eldest son! He was your former Jonin instructor! Ikezumi! Even if your sense of justice makes you so cold-blooded that you never care about the bond between master and disciple, can't you at least consider my feelings!"

One question after another, from unbearable grief at the beginning to a furious roar at the end.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer distinguish his own emotions.

It's even harder to decide how to handle this situation.

"Third Hokage, I am a member of the police force." Uchiha Ikezumi stared at Sarutobi Shinnosuke's corpse. In the surrounding firelight and the red glow of magma, it was impossible to see the expression in his eyes.

He said slowly, "When I saw my former mentor, a Jonin, fall into the abyss, all I could do was let him die knowing why, nothing more."

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for an unknown period of time.

Under the watchful eyes of a large group of elite ANBU ninjas behind him, he staggered to his feet and picked up his eldest son.

Can he say that Uchiha Ikezumi did something wrong? Shinnosuke, in his dying moments, already said that Ikezumi did nothing wrong.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was filled with rage.

It even carried a chilling murderous intent.

He was the Kage of a village, and more importantly, a father. Countless thoughts swirled within him wanting to give the order for the ANBU ninja behind him to swarm in and kill Uchiha Ikezumi on the spot. But…

Shinnosuke's dying words sealed the fate of such an action. He admitted that he had done something that, while good for the village, was morally reprehensible.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't tell the difference... This was the incoherent utterance of Shinnosuke Sarutobi in his delirium before his death.
Or were those words spoken by Shinnosuke with his last shred of reason?
If it's the latter, then Shinnosuke's purpose is probably to legitimize Uchiha Izumi's killing of him with "absolute justice," right?

Shinnosuke...

He fulfilled his final duty as a mentor to Jonin.

He failed to protect two genin disciples who made mistakes back then, and now he is trying to protect his last disciple.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply.

'Is this your last message to me, Shinnosuke?'

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was in turmoil.

Even though I've lived this long and even have grandchildren, I'm suddenly puzzled by how human nature can be so complicated.
He clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

He gripped it tightly, then released it...

This went on for an unknown period of time.

"Uchiha Ikezumi. Tomorrow, give me a detailed report on the operation. Just hand it over to the Anbu; you don't need to come see me."

He finally said those words.

"Lord Hokage!" A Sarutobi clan ANBU ninja, after a moment of surprise, called out anxiously to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Shinnosuke Sarutobi is one of your right-hand men!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his eyes.

"Lord Hokage..." Just as the Sarutobi clan ANBU ninja was about to say something, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, and he turned around in surprise.

Kakashi Hatake, who was also wearing an Anbu mask, shook his head slightly.

"Let the Hokage calm down by himself."

Kakashi said with a complicated expression, "Shin-no-suke's words before he died can be considered his last words. And the Hokage also understood Shin-no-suke's last words. Although he and Uchiha Izumi had different positions, he still expressed his respect for his former student in his last moments."

"He was also willing to turn into a fallen leaf burning to ashes to nurture the most rebellious student in his eyes. Sarutobi Shinnosuke-senpai, he truly embodied the 'Will of Fire' of Konoha. He was also using his life to tell his students that the Will of Fire of Konoha is not much worse than absolute justice."

Say it.

Kakashi turned his gaze to Uchiha Ikezumi and found that the "master-killer" had already turned and left.

The sound of Uchiha Ikezumi's departing footsteps was very clear.

But the Hokage did not speak up to stop them, nor did he order the Anbu ninjas to chase after them. He simply held Sarutobi Shinnosuke's gradually cooling body in silence.

'Neither Sarutobi Shinnosuke nor Uchiha Izumi did anything wrong.'

—This was a thought that suddenly popped into Kakashi's mind.

So the question is, what went wrong?

If neither of them is at fault, then is it the ninja world that is at fault?

Kakashi couldn't understand it.

……

"Go back to the village, newcomer."

Uchiha Ikezumi said slowly, "Tonight will be a sleepless night."

"Yes, senior."

……

……

(End of this chapter)