At Konoha Hospital.
Overcome with sorrow and fury, Sarutobi Hiruzen had fainted on the spot.
Kakashi had rushed him to the hospital for emergency treatment. Now, the Third lay in a hospital bed, unconscious.
Upon hearing the news, Mitokado Homura had hurried over.
When he arrived, he found Kakashi standing vigil outside the hospital room.
"He hasn't woken up yet?" Homura asked.
"No," Kakashi replied with a shake of his head. "Hokage-sama has been unconscious for over two hours now. But the medical-nin say his vital signs are stable. It's just a stress-induced collapse—brought on by extreme emotional agitation."
"Huu…"
Homura let out a long sigh. He moved to the other side of the doorway, his expression dark as he spoke slowly: "No one could stay calm in a situation like this. Even though Hiruzen has weathered many storms in his life… enduring the pain of losing two sons—it's just too much to ask of him."
"After all… he's still human."
After his sigh, Mitokado Homura asked, "You've heard the rumors going around the village, haven't you? Are they true?"
"…Most likely." Kakashi replied, "You know how it is—Uchiha Keizumi would never lie. If he says Sarutobi Asuma led the Twelve Guardian Ninja to ambush and assassinate him, then that's exactly what happened."
Homura fell silent.
Over the years, Uchiha Keizumi's flawless track record in executing justice had already left a lasting impression in the minds of many Konoha shinobi—
Those killed by Uchiha Keizumi were never good people.
In other words—
When most of the village learned that yet another son of the Third Hokage had died at Keizumi's hands, their first thought would be:
What did the Hokage's second son do wrong?
Rather than suspect Keizumi of indiscriminate killing.
This kind of bias…
Homura had it, too.
After a long pause, Homura asked again, "Asuma's body… it's already been sent to the Yamanaka clan, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then let the Yamanaka give us a reasonable explanation."
Homura sighed deeply.
"It's just… I don't know whether Hiruzen, after losing two sons in a row, will be able to accept that explanation."
...
At the Nara Clan compound.
Since the Yamanaka Clan's compound had yet to be rebuilt, most of the Yamanaka had temporarily taken residence at the Nara estate, while a smaller group was staying with the Akimichi Clan.
As a result, the ANBU had to bring the mutilated corpses to the Nara territory.
Nara Shikaku stood with his eyes lowered, quietly staring at Sarutobi Asuma's body.
He let out a bitter laugh and said with resignation to Yamanaka Inoichi beside him: "Inoichi… this has gotten pretty out of hand, huh? If it weren't for the fact that Sarutobi Shinnosuke left behind a posthumous child, the Hokage's branch of the Sarutobi Clan would have ended with this."
Yamanaka Inoichi's expression didn't waver. He responded plainly and directly: "In this matter, Keizumi is in the right. If the Hokage tries to come after him for it, the Yamanaka Clan won't just stand by."
Shikaku asked, "You're that sure, even before investigating the memories of the corpse?"
"I am."
Inoichi gave a small nod.
"Ah… really now…"
Shikaku sighed heavily, jamming his hands into his pockets.
His gaze drifted away from the body on the floor, and he gave Inoichi's shoulder a pat as he smiled and said: "The Ino–Shika–Chō trio has always stood together. Since you've already made your decision, I'll be on your side when the time comes."
"Chōza… he'll make the same choice too."
Just as Nara Shikaku finished speaking, a crisp exclamation suddenly rang out from outside.
"Kurenai! This is the Nara Clan's compound! You can't just barge into another shinobi clan's territory without warning!"
Nara Shikaku frowned and followed the voice, only to see two kunoichi rudely forcing their way into the Nara Clan's premises.
He didn't recognize one of the kunoichi, but the other he identified at a glance.
— Yūhi Kurenai!
Mainly because Shikaku was familiar with Kurenai's father, Yūhi Shinku, an elite jōnin of Konohagakure who had perished on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage. Incidentally, that man had once been Shikaku's senpai.
Shikaku's displeased expression eased slightly.
He asked the young Kurenai with notable patience, "Kurenai, what brings you to the Nara Clan?"
Only upon seeing Shikaku did Kurenai realize her lack of decorum. She immediately bowed in apology, then hurriedly asked, "Uncle Shikaku, is Asuma... with you?"
Shikaku's heart stirred in realization. He nodded.
"He's here."
"Then he..." Kurenai seemed to cling to a last shred of hope.
Shikaku replied plainly, "He's dead."
He paused, then added, "If you want to see his body one last time, come with me."
Kurenai stood in a daze.
She wasn't even aware how she ended up walking behind Shikaku through the Nara Clan grounds. Not until she saw the many dismembered corpses covered in white sheets strewn across the ground did her mind begin to return to her body.
Among the bodies, there was one that hadn't been covered.
It was unmistakably the corpse of Sarutobi Asuma.
Kurenai fell silent.
No matter what, she and Asuma had grown up together. They'd been close friends for many years. Just yesterday, Asuma had stood before her full of life, saying strange things—and today, he was nothing but a cold, lifeless body.
The jarring contrast sent Kurenai's thoughts into chaos.
The kunoichi beside her, upon seeing the gaping, charred hole in Asuma's chest, couldn't help covering her mouth.
"How could Uchiha Keizumi be so cruel to a fellow shinobi of his own village?"
The words slipped from her lips without thought.
Yamanaka Inoichi, standing off to the side, cast her a glance.
His tone was cold as he said, "Only those with kind hearts and a proper sense of morality are worthy of receiving mercy and compassion from others. But those with twisted minds, corrupt morals, and lives steeped in sin—no matter how cruel the methods used against them, none of it is undeserved."
The kunoichi was left speechless by Inoichi's rebuke.
Kurenai murmured, "Asuma... 'steeped in sin'?"
Inoichi replied, "Has anyone who died by Keizumi's hand ever been innocent?"
Kurenai too was struck speechless.
She had come rushing over after hearing the rumors spreading like wildfire through the village. She knew the reason why Asuma had been killed by Uchiha Keizumi. But she had clung to a sliver of hope—just enough to drive her here in desperation.
Yūhi Kurenai took a deep breath, her eyes filled with confusion.
Because like most people, she also believed that Uchiha Keizumi would never stain his hands with the blood of the innocent. In fact, she had even developed a certain interest in his [Absolute Justice]—especially in recent days, the various rumors about Uchiha Keizumi had significantly changed her impression of this so-called "Plague God of the Uchiha."
Yet who would've thought…
That very [Absolute Justice] she had once held a sense of admiration for had now turned its blade toward someone she knew.
Looking down at the corpse, Kurenai murmured with a complex expression, "Asuma… why did you do those things?"
Clearly—
She didn't believe there were any innocents beneath the executioner's blade of [Absolute Justice].
She thought Asuma must have lost his way.
Kurenai pursed her lips tightly.
Her emotions were in utter turmoil.
...
"Keizumi-sensei… killed the Hokage-ojiichan's second son today."
"W-What…?"
Upon hearing the rumors circulating through the village, Naruto was completely stunned. The first thing he did was rush to find Uchiha Izumi.
Panting, hands on his knees, it took him a moment to catch his breath. Then he lifted his head to seek the truth from her.
"It's true."
Izumi still had a trace of indignation on her face. She explained seriously, "Sarutobi Asuma gathered the Twelve Guardian Ninja and formed a temporary assassination squad of eleven people under his command. Their goal was to ambush and kill Keizumi-senpai outside the village! If Keizumi-senpai hadn't been so powerful, he might've already been murdered."
She paused, then added, "Though Keizumi-senpai came out mostly unscathed, Tachibana Jirō-senpai was seriously injured. When I saw him, he was covered in wounds from head to toe. That assassination squad didn't hold back at all."
Naruto was dumbfounded.
He had already sensed that there were some ideological differences between Hokage-ojiichan and Keizumi-sensei…
But he had never thought those differences would escalate to the level of violence.
At the very least—
In front of him, Hokage-ojiichan had always been very tolerant, even seemingly accepting of Keizumi-sensei's unconventional version of justice. And while Keizumi-sensei occasionally said some "harsh" things, he never openly turned against the Hokage either.
After all, it was impossible for people to never have disagreements!
To Naruto, the tension between them seemed perfectly normal.
Who knows—
Maybe one day, Hokage-ojiichan would come to accept Keizumi-sensei's [Absolute Justice], and the two would shake hands and reconcile?
But now…
After what happened today, could "shake hands and reconcile" really still happen between Keizumi-sensei and Hokage-ojiichan?
If their ideological conflict had escalated into a physical confrontation—worse, into a life-or-death feud—then whose side should he stand on?
Naruto was lost.
His small head just couldn't process such a complicated problem right now.
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