Not long after Hiruzen himself had watched the Daimyō's burial, an Anbu ninja hurried over to report: "Hokage-sama, this is the collection of 'conspiracy theories' we've gathered over the past few days. As you suspected, many people believe this matter is connected to you."
Hiruzen's eyelid twitched violently. He did not know how long it took to steel himself before taking the intelligence scroll from the Anbu's hands.
The moment he glanced at it, he nearly fainted.
The densely packed words, each one, was a dagger to the heart.
—"The Daimyō's death must be tied to Konohagakure! Isn't that Uchiha Keizumi one of their ninjas? How could a single man storm the Daimyō's mansion alone? Obviously other Konoha ninja aided him from within. Didn't the Third Hokage himself also appear at the Daimyō's estate?"
—"I heard the Third Hokage of Konoha is hailed as a hero of the shinobi world... A hero who betrays the Daimyō? That's a first. These ninja are far too dangerous—could this have been their scheme all along?"
—"Is Konohagakure trying to break free from the Daimyō's authority? Is this the ambition of the entire village, or merely the Hokage's own?"
—"I heard the Hokage's younger son is one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja protecting the Daimyō! The Hokage planted a spy inside the Daimyō's mansion long ago. This has clearly been plotted for years!"
—"Was the Crown Prince's weak, submissive silence also forced by the Hokage's threats?"
—"The Hokage wants to usurp the throne!"
"..."
"Outrageous! Outrageous!"
All Hiruzen could do was mutter those same words over and over again.
He paced back and forth in agitation, his old face burning red with shame as he stared at the words before him.
His conscience screamed at him.
But the problem was...
These were all absurd conspiracy theories! He, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had never harbored such thoughts! None of this had anything to do with him!
How could it be possible that he had rushed across hundreds of kilometers with his Anbu just to coordinate with Uchiha Keizumi from within?
He was being wronged!
For the first time, Hiruzen felt fear. He finally understood the crushing weight of public opinion that Hatake Sakumo had once borne.
And the rumors against him were still restrained—born from fear of the "insidious Hokage of Konoha." People dared not go too far in their accusations.
Otherwise...
Hiruzen believed he too might have felt the urge to end his own life.
To clear his name through suicide.
Fortunately—
That irrational thought was quickly pushed from his mind.
"Can public opinion be contained?" Hiruzen, utterly lost, even turned to his surrounding Anbu for advice.
One Anbu replied, "Hokage-sama, some of the conspiracy theories concerning you have already spread beyond the capital of the Land of Fire. And the capital is far larger than Konoha; controlling the spread of rumors here is several times—perhaps more than ten times—more difficult."
"Besides, this is not Konohagakure. To control public opinion here, we would need the Daimyō's support. But..."
The Anbu hesitated, then finally chose to continue: "But at present, between you and Uchiha Keizumi, the Daimyō's mansion clearly favors Uchiha Keizumi."
"If he chooses to intervene, there will be no way to control public opinion."
Hiruzen fell silent.
The name "Uchiha Keizumi" was not only a nightmare to countless people in the capital of the Land of Fire—
It was also his own nightmare.
…
Meanwhile—
"Blade." Uchiha Keizumi uttered the word plainly. Mitarashi Anko quickly pulled one from the pile of ninja blades she carried in her arms and handed it to him.
Then, before her eyes, Keizumi discarded the dulled blade in his hand and, with the fresh one, slashed without hesitation across a villain's neck—separating head from body.
'The 4,756th...'
'And the 11th blade...'
Anko swallowed hard, whispering the two numbers silently to herself.
She thought that after all these days, she should have grown numb to Keizumi's extreme methods.
But as the numbers climbed higher and higher, she found that numbness never came.
Each day brought new shock. Each day inflicted a fresh wound on her mind.
Numbness was impossible.
And what's more, standing behind Uchiha Keizumi, she had seen countless villains she had never encountered before, and heard endless sordid deeds she had never dared to imagine.
Some of the atrocities these villains had committed still made her stomach churn just recalling them—plaguing her nights with nightmares.
Her outlook, too, had begun to change as time passed.
'Perhaps... these people truly do not deserve to live in this shinobi world. Their existence only taints this land; their twisted thoughts only fuel the spread of sin...'
Staring at the headless corpse before her, Anko knew that just days ago she would have been unable to understand. But now—now she thought, Good riddance!
She had long since been numbed of any sympathy by the revolting crimes of these villains.
No matter how pitifully they wept and wailed before death—
She felt not the slightest mercy.
But suddenly, confusion seized her. She could not help but glance at the pile of ninja blades in her arms, then lower her gaze to her own hands. Her eyes revealed hesitation, even fear.
"I… what kind of evil deeds did I commit for Orochimaru? Am I the same as these people? Did I hurt many as well? Do I even deserve to live in this shinobi world?"
Each whispered question tormented her conscience.
She knew she was Orochimaru's disciple.
But to prevent certain secrets from ever being exposed, Orochimaru had already erased parts of her memory. As a result—no matter how she tried, the current Anko could not recall what sins she might have committed.
"If your evil deeds were as grave as those of the villains I've slain," Uchiha Keizumi's cold voice drifted to her ears, "then by now, you would already be a corpse, waiting for microbes to decompose."
His words struck her like a bell in the fog.
That's right!
If she truly were that kind of villain, how could she still be alive?
Anko drew a deep breath. Steadying her thoughts, she somehow found the courage to ask the old classmate from the Academy—now a figure who had become ever more fearsome: "Keizumi, you will find Orochimaru and kill him... won't you?"
"I may not remember everything clearly. But still..."
Keizumi cut her off, cold and absolute.
"I will."
…
The events in the capital of the Land of Fire inevitably reached Konohagakure. Homura and Koharu could no longer suppress them.
At such a time, trying to seal off information would only make things look worse.
Within the Nara clan compound—
The three clan heads of the Ino–Shika–Chō sat together.
"Uchiha Keizumi really has shaken the world this time!" Nara Shikaku's eyes flickered with shock. Lifting a cup of tea, he took a sip to steady his nerves before sighing deeply: "Inoichi, I have to say I truly acknowledge his [Absolute Justice] now. When it comes to justice for the shinobi world, he isn't joking."
"He even killed the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, and wiped out the entire noble class of the capital in blood. They say he also purged Tanzaku Town from top to bottom."
The awe in Shikaku's eyes could not be hidden.
Akimichi Chōza frowned in thought. "Shikaku, doesn't this spell trouble for the three of our clans? After all, Keizumi has made enemies of all the nobility. Won't that inevitably drag us down as well?"
Shikaku shook his head. "If it were trouble, I wouldn't say I recognized his [Absolute Justice]."
He continued, "Keizumi used absolute strength to subdue everyone in the capital who opposed him. Even the Daimyō's eldest son has abandoned the thought of avenging his father. Do you understand what that means, Chōza?"
Shikaku answered his own question: "It means that the entire upper class of the capital—the noble families, the Daimyō's children—have tacitly agreed to close this chapter and move on."
"They won't cause trouble for Uchiha Keizumi because of this, and they certainly won't implicate the Ino–Shika–Chō clans."
Akimichi Chōza stroked his triple chin in thought and said, "In other words, doesn't this mean they've been frightened into submission? To the point that they've bowed their heads to Keizumi?"
Yamanaka Inoichi cut in, "They simply see Keizumi as the victor in this struggle, so they'll back the winner. As for the Daimyō of the Land of Fire who was killed—in their eyes, he's nothing more than the loser now."
Expressionless, he continued, "But one day, if Keizumi's [Absolute Justice] ever weakens, those same people will turn against him without hesitation, bringing back every old grievance."
Nara Shikaku smiled faintly. "That's how the 'great figures' play their game. Who cares? For now, at least, it's not necessarily a bad thing."
"But the Hokage will have a headache over it."
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