Capital of the Land of Fire.
The daimyō of the Land of Fire was currently pacing back and forth, his face full of unease. From time to time, he would unfold a letter clutched in his hands, carefully scrutinizing every word, then cautiously fold it again.
This letter…
Had been delivered to the daimyō via a summoning crow by one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
It also served to let the daimyō know that the "assassination plan" was already underway.
"Eleven Guardian Ninja attacking all at once... surely they can kill a single Uchiha shinobi, right? After all... when Asuma discussed the plan with me, he was extremely confident…"
The daimyō of the Land of Fire struggled to keep himself calm.
He didn't know much about the strength of shinobi. All he understood was that jōnin were stronger than chūnin, and chūnin were stronger than genin. So eleven jōnin had to be stronger than one jōnin.
What's more, those eleven Guardian Ninja carried with them the mission of retrieving his second son's corpse from Konohagakure.
The daimyō had no choice but to trust that the operation wouldn't fail.
Besides—
Asuma was the son of the Hokage of Konoha. Even if Asuma couldn't take down that Uchiha shinobi himself, surely Sarutobi Hiruzen, as his father, would step in to help?
Thinking this, the daimyō forced himself to treat the ominous feeling in his chest as nothing more than excessive anxiety.
Time passed.
Night fell.
Throughout the various towns of the Land of Fire, still recovering from the aftermath of the Third Great Ninja War, one could feel the desolation and the sense that everything was still in ruins, waiting to be rebuilt.
But there was one place alone that had long since shed the shadows of war. Even at night, its streets were ablaze with light.
The entire town brimmed with bustling liveliness and a decadent atmosphere that could easily intoxicate even seasoned shinobi.
Casinos, bars, entertainment clubs… all kinds of pleasure dens had turned this place into a true "city that never sleeps."
Tanzaku Quarters!
Tachibana Jirō, wrapped in bandages, looked up at the brightly lit sign above. As he stared, lost in thought, he murmured, "Just wanted to find a place to rest for a while… never expected we'd end up here. Keizumi-sama, how many years has it been since we last came to Tanzaku Quarters?"
"Nine years," Uchiha Keizumi replied. "Back when the Third Great Ninja War was at its most intense."
Jirō's eyes lit up in realization.
"Nyaa, for a cat like me, nine years is a very long time. But now that you mention the Third Ninja War, Keizumi-sama, I remember."
He paused slightly, then continued, "Wasn't it also here… that you killed those two people? And wasn't it in Tanzaku Quarters that you and Sarutobi Shinnosuke had your final falling out?"
"Mhm," Uchiha Keizumi said indifferently. "They fell into the abyss. Only death could atone for their sins."
"Shinnosuke-sensei was their jōnin instructor. So it's not surprising he would sever ties with me after I killed them."
As Keizumi spoke of these long-buried memories, his face showed no sorrow or sentimentality. For him, watching those around him fall into darkness and having to execute them with his own hands was something that had happened far too often. He had long since grown numb to it.
He stepped into Tanzaku Quarters.
Tachibana Jirō quickly followed close behind.
"I still remember…" Jirō said as he trailed behind Keizumi, "the two you killed back then weren't the only ones."
He looked ahead at the bustling crowd.
"Keizumi-sama, that night, you practically single-handedly bathed all of Tanzaku Quarters in blood. At least dozens died that night!"
Uchiha Keizumi murmured, "Not enough died."
Tachibana Jirō froze.
Keizumi continued slowly, "The scum hiding in a place like Tanzaku Quarters—a den of drunken luxury and decadent indulgence—numbered far more than just a few dozen. But unfortunately… Shinnosuke-sensei showed up too early. I had barely dulled the edge of my blade when he stepped in to stop me from carrying out justice."
"Nine years ago, [Absolute Justice] had not yet matured. It still had to yield before all kinds of sharp edges. But today, nine years later—now it's the evil of the shinobi world that must yield before me."
"Tonight, no one can stop the execution of justice."
Those cold words from Uchiha Keizumi didn't shock Tachibana Jirō. On the contrary—they made him stand taller, more invigorated.
Even the pain of his wounds seemed to vanish.
...
Konohagakure.
"The Hokage-sama is awake!"
The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly came to, he heard a voice beside him cry out in surprise and joy.
As he struggled to open his eyes, he saw a woman dressed as a nurse rushing to the door, hurrying off to notify those outside.
Moments later—
Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Kakashi entered the room one after another. Each of them wore a complicated expression as they looked upon the Hokage, who now appeared to have aged several decades.
"Kakashi… I was hoping that the first thing I'd hear after waking up…"
Hiruzen's voice was slightly hoarse as he broke the silence.
"…was you telling me that everything I heard before losing consciousness… was just a nightmare…"
Kakashi lowered his gaze slightly.
"Hokage-sama, everything you heard today… wasn't a dream."
"Ah… how cruel of you, Kakashi," Hiruzen said, shifting his gaze to the ceiling. "You couldn't even lie to an old man like me… not even a comforting lie…"
Kakashi said no more. Anyone could hear that the Hokage had suffered a deep emotional blow.
Even his voice now carried a sense of complete defeat.
"Hiruzen," Koharu said darkly, "Asuma's body is currently at the Nara Clan compound. Inoichi is inspecting its memory. If we confirm that Asuma never did anything to betray Konoha, and Uchiha Keizumi still slaughtered him in cold blood…"
"Konoha will never tolerate a butcher who raises his blade against an innocent shinobi of the village. Hiruzen, surely you understand what I'm saying?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for more than ten seconds before he finally turned his head and looked directly at Koharu.
"I believe Asuma would never betray Konoha. That child… he was rebellious, yes. Ever since he became aware of the world, he refused to call me 'Father'—he only ever called me 'Old Man'…"
"But no matter how rebellious he was, it was only because he couldn't stand the backstabbing and political scheming within the village. His frustration was never aimed at Konoha itself."
A flash of pain crossed Hiruzen's face.
"On the contrary, for Konoha's sake, he would have done anything—made any sacrifice—to eliminate threats to the village. He was an outstanding shinobi of Konoha."
"But…"
His eyes began to lose focus as he muttered, "It's precisely that unwavering determination to eliminate all threats to Konoha—at any cost—that may have led him, unknowingly… to cross a line that should never have been crossed."
"This line he crossed…"
"…was called justice."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had already pieced together the cause and effect—Asuma must have believed that Uchiha Keizumi posed a massive threat to Konohagakure. So, he deceived his own father, the Hokage, and used that trust to help Keizumi leave the village.
But…
He had overestimated himself.
And underestimated Uchiha Keizumi far too much.
Even though Hiruzen had already warned him.
"Hiruzen!" Utatane Koharu suddenly snapped, "That so-called 'line of justice' is nothing more than a shackle forced upon others by that extreme brat Uchiha Keizumi! Have you been so blinded by your indulgence of him that you've fooled even yourself?"
"His justice is his justice! It's not Konoha's justice, and it sure as hell isn't your justice as Hokage! You tolerated it with Shinnosuke back then. Are you going to tolerate it again with Asuma now? Why have you become so indecisive?!"
"Hiruzen! That boy killed both of your sons!"
Koharu's furious scolding stirred some life back into Hiruzen's vacant gaze.
"…Haa…"
"Shinnosuke…"
"Asuma…"
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen gripped the bedsheet tightly, the veins bulging and trembling on the back of his hand, several more people pushed into the hospital room.
"Inoichi? Shikaku? Chōza?" Mitokado Homura, who had remained silent until now, turned toward the new arrivals.
The Ino-Shika-Chō.
An alliance of clans not to be underestimated. Individually, they might not be overwhelming—but together, their influence reached deep into the core of Konohagakure, touching all levels of its hierarchy.
"Hokage-sama,"
Yamanaka Inoichi went straight to the point as he reported, "Of the eleven Guardian Ninja involved, only five heads remained intact. The Yamanaka Clan has used its secret techniques to extract the memories from their minds. These confirm that they received direct orders from the daimyō of the Land of Fire and executed a planned assassination attempt on Uchiha Keizumi."
"The masterminds were the Land of Fire daimyō and Sarutobi Asuma."
"The daimyō's primary motive was revenge for his son's death. Sarutobi Asuma had two motives—first, he believed Uchiha Keizumi's [Absolute Justice] was too extreme and posed a grave threat to the village; and second, he wanted revenge for the death of his brother."
Having said this, Inoichi produced a scroll and placed it on the nearby table.
"All the recovered memory intel is recorded within this scroll. It confirms that this incident was a meticulously planned assassination plot."
Inoichi's expression remained calm as he met Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze directly.
"In other words…"
"This was a criminal attack against a law enforcer."
[Rip—]
A corner of the bedsheet was torn by Sarutobi Hiruzen's trembling grip.
Utatane Koharu turned her head sharply, glaring at Inoichi with fury.
"Inoichi! What the hell are you saying?!"
Her expression darkened with outrage as she shouted, "You're calling Asuma a criminal? One of the masterminds behind a murder plot? And now you're telling me even the daimyō himself was involved? And in your version of the story, Uchiha Keizumi is suddenly the victim?! Inoichi—can you take full responsibility for the words coming out of your mouth?!"
"I do," Yamanaka Inoichi replied with a single, resolute word that left Utatane Koharu completely stunned.
He continued, "Hokage-sama. Advisors Koharu, Homura. The Yamanaka Clan stands only with what is right. Based on our analysis of the memories of Sarutobi Asuma and several of the other deceased, no matter how you look at it, it's Uchiha Keizumi who is in the right."
Mitokado Homura could already see it clearly—
The Yamanaka Clan was dead set on aligning themselves with Uchiha Keizumi.
In this period while Keizumi was absent from the village, they were determined to carry the banner of 'justice' on his behalf.
Homura couldn't make sense of it.
By all logic, the Yamanaka Clan had no vested interest connected to Uchiha Keizumi. And Keizumi himself was clearly not the kind of person who rewarded loyalty with political favors. In fact, anyone who dared bring such expectations before his [Absolute Justice] would likely be met with cold indifference—or outright contempt.
So why was the Yamanaka Clan so firmly supporting him?
What benefit could they possibly gain?
Were they really backing such an extreme young man without expecting anything in return?
Had the Yamanaka Clan lost their minds?!
Homura couldn't understand.
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