Chapter 148: Am I Truly a Worthy Hokage?
Under the gaze of all the onlookers, the Sarutobi clan members whose names Uchiha Ikeizumi had called out were all taken away.
Some tried to struggle, but when a kunai was pressed against their throats and the blade carved a thin line of blood on their skin, they became docile.
Others desperately looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoping that the Hokage would show mercy and spare them from falling into Uchiha Ikeizumi's hands, even if it meant being thrown into prison.
But when the Hokage looked away, not even bothering to glance at them, their hopes were instantly crushed.
"Sigh…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a deep sigh as the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.
Then, he looked at the three clan heads of the Ino-Shika-Chō.
He said tiredly to Inoichi Yamanaka, "Inoichi, I would like you to provide me with a copy of the investigation report."
He no longer had any expectations for Inoichi to side with the Hokage.
He only hoped that the Ino-Shika-Chō clans would remain loyal to Konoha for generations to come.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Inoichi nodded slightly. He still had to show some respect to the Hokage and not completely sever their ties.
After watching the three clans leave one after another, Hiruzen heard Tsunade's voice. "Old man, sometimes you should let the younger generation in the village use their talents. Don't always try to restrain their thoughts or actions."
Tsunade, with her back to the two pools of blood, said earnestly, "The future of Konoha will ultimately be in the hands of the young. After all, you can't be Hokage forever, can you?"
"If you don't let them use their talents, how will you know that they won't do better than you?"
"Shizune, the show is over. Let's go."
With that, Tsunade also turned and left.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade! Wait for me!"
Shizune, carrying Tonton, hurried after her.
The only people left were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Jiraiya, the ANBU, the Root ninjas, and the Sarutobi clan members. The atmosphere was eerily silent.
Until the sound of a cane tapping the ground broke the silence.
Homura Mitokado…
He had finally arrived.
The equally exhausted Homura was slightly startled by the grand spectacle at the Sarutobi clan compound. He tried to look for Uchiha Ikeizumi but couldn't find any trace of him.
"He was here," Koharu said, breaking the silence. "He left a minute ago. You are a step too late."
Homura then noticed the two corpses on the ground.
He sighed and asked, "Could so many people not stop him?"
"We didn't stop him," Koharu said gloomily.
Homura was taken aback.
Koharu then explained what had just happened.
"…Phew!" Homura said with a bitter expression, "There was no reason to stop him. His justice stood on the side of righteousness. If we had stopped him, it would have made us look like we were the problem."
"Hiruzen, the people Ikeizumi took away, after tonight, they are very likely to…"
Homura's words were cut off by Hiruzen.
"If they have committed unforgivable sins, they are no longer members of my Sarutobi clan," Hiruzen said, his face strained, trying to show the resolve of a Hokage. However, the exhaustion and confusion in his eyes were impossible to hide.
What did I do wrong to have so many evildoers in my own clan?
This was the confusion in Hiruzen's heart.
He didn't understand.
Nor could he comprehend.
…
At the Uchiha Police Force.
The two police officers on night duty were yawning. Konoha's nightlife wasn't particularly lively, and there were rarely any incidents at night. The police officers on night duty were usually the idlest, with a new case only every month or so.
"Hmm?"
But then, a police officer suddenly noticed that people were walking toward the Police Force building.
And there were quite a few of them.
"Wait…" Through the dim moonlight, he could vaguely make out the familiar face of the person in the lead. This made him gasp in shock.
"Uchiha Ikeizumi!"
The two police officers watched as Uchiha Ikeizumi and his group walked in, escorting several dejected "criminals." Then they saw three more people walking toward them.
"Is that…?"
"Inoichi Yamanaka?!"
They recognized one of them immediately. After all, the Yamanaka clan and the Uchiha Police Force had a cooperative relationship.
"The other two look like Shikaku Nara and Chōza Akimichi. It's Konoha's Ino-Shika-Chō trio!" one of the police officers exclaimed with emotion. "I heard… they chose to side with Uchiha Ikeizumi's Absolute Justice."
In the past, no clan would have been willing to stand with the Uchiha clan, who were ostracized by the Konoha elders.
But ever since Uchiha Ikeizumi's power had grown.
Everything had changed.
They didn't know why, but they inexplicably felt like they could walk with their heads held high.
…
Shikaku Nara walked into the police building, looking around as he said, "This is my first time in the Uchiha Police Force building."
Chōza Akimichi said to Inoichi Yamanaka, "It's probably not convenient for us to go in with you. We'll wait for you here."
Inoichi nodded slightly. He walked in alone and made his way to the Uchiha Police Force's underground interrogation room.
There, he saw four Sarutobi clan members sitting on benches in the same room.
Inoichi walked into the interrogation room and nodded to Uchiha Ikeizumi, a silent greeting.
Uchiha Ikeizumi also nodded in acknowledgment.
"You're… the Yamanaka clan head…"
Anko looked at Inoichi in surprise.
Beside her, Izumi explained, "Ikeizumi-senpai has a close working relationship with the Yamanaka clan head. Most of the time, after Ikeizumi-senpai kills an evildoer, he needs the Yamanaka clan to investigate the corpse's memories and record the more detailed crimes of the deceased."
Anko suddenly understood.
"Ikeizumi, they probably haven't confessed yet, have they?"
Inoichi asked.
"No," Uchiha Ikeizumi said calmly, leaning against the cold wall of the interrogation room with his arms crossed. "Perhaps they've realized that their fate won't change and want to cause us some trouble. I was just about to use some more drastic measures, and then you arrived."
Inoichi said with a sigh, "I thought you would just kill them all and then wait for me to come and search their memories."
This made the four Sarutobi clan members go pale.
Uchiha Ikeizumi said, "You probably don't know me well enough. I only resort to extreme measures when the evildoer resists justice's judgment. As long as they're willing to cooperate, I don't mind following the proper procedures."
"I see…"
A faint smile appeared on Inoichi's stoic face.
Inoichi asked, "Should I go first, or you?"
"I'll go first."
Their conversation was as if they had been cooperating for years. Uchiha Ikeizumi took a few steps forward and stood in front of the ninja named "Kōya Sarutobi," looking down at his feigned calm face.
Before Uchiha Ikeizumi spoke, Inoichi said to the four people, "A friendly reminder, you'd better reveal all your crimes. You don't want Ikeizumi to make a move."
The four Sarutobi clan members looked at each other, their faces filled with panic, struggle, and hesitation.
"You have ten seconds," Uchiha Ikeizumi said indifferently. "If you don't speak after ten seconds, I will assume you are a hardheaded person."
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight…"
"Uchiha Ikeizumi… you're going to kill me anyway," Kōya Sarutobi gritted his teeth and looked up at Uchiha Ikeizumi. "Stop with the fake interrogation! Even Lord Hokage has judged me as a Konoha rogue ninja! What are you hesitating about? Either let me go or kill me!"
"…One."
"Zero."
Uchiha Ikeizumi's eyes suddenly transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The terrifying genjutsu from the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Instantly implanted itself into Kōya Sarutobi's mind!
In an instant.
Kōya's expression stiffened. Then, as if he had seen something terrifying, a look of sheer panic and despair appeared on his face. Bound by the steel wires to the cold bench, he began to struggle wildly, letting out a series of desperate whimpers.
As he struggled, the steel wires cut into his skin, leaving bloody marks and oozing blood droplets.
Tears and snot poured out of him. As he whimpered, he mumbled to himself, "Don't come near me, don't come near me… What's wrong with me doing things for money?"
He saw the Konoha ninjas who had died because of the intelligence he sold. He saw Hizashi Hyūga, who was forced to die in place of Hizashi Hyūga because of his collusion with the Cloud Village ninjas. He saw the innocent passerby who was crushed to death by the shoddy building he built, and he saw the passerby's grief-stricken family.
Each of them whispered in his ear. Some were confused, some were angry, some were calm, and some were sad. The voices overlapped, driving him insane.
"Don't come near me… don't come near me…"
His voice grew louder, becoming more desperate and panicked. The string of his sanity was about to snap.
"DON'T YOU DARE COME ANY CLOSER!!!"
After a final, desperate roar that made the veins on his forehead bulge.
Kōya Sarutobi's eyes became vacant, and he fell silent. An indescribable odor began to spread through the interrogation room. It was clear that he had soiled himself.
He trembled all over.
He shakily looked up, and the terrifying crimson Mangekyō Sharingan reflected in his eyes.
"Ge… Genjutsu?!"
"Looks like you don't need me." Inoichi Yamanaka shook his head helplessly. Sharingan genjutsu was as effective for interrogation as the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. He could tell that this Sarutobi ninja's mind had already broken.
The other three.
Were scared stiff.
Sure enough, the next interrogation was not difficult. Uchiha Ikeizumi only asked a few simple questions, and the four Sarutobi clan members confessed everything, even wanting to talk about the stupid things they had done as children. Their crimes were even easier to talk about.
Inoichi's eyebrows furrowed as he listened.
Then he shook his head helplessly.
"This is how the ninja world is," Uchiha Ikeizumi said, glancing at him. "Only when the ninja world undergoes a fundamental change will things get better."
Inoichi asked, "Ikeizumi, can your justice truly make this sick ninja world normal? Can it truly give people a proper sense of morality and values?"
"Yes," Uchiha Ikeizumi said with a firm tone. "On this point, I have never doubted myself."
Inoichi smiled. "Perhaps it is that very confidence that made me risk everything and bet on you."
Izumi, who had witnessed everything, suddenly looked thoughtful.
Perhaps.
Before I met Senpai, he wasn't alone. He had friends, and there were people who supported his ideals. It's just that back then, those people didn't openly show their support.
As for why they are doing it now, and even openly taking a side.
Izumi speculated…
Perhaps people like Inoichi Yamanaka have realized that this ninja world really needs to change.
And it's a change that can't wait.
"Rookie."
"Present!" Izumi, who had just finished recording everyone's crimes, instinctively shouted.
Uchiha Ikeizumi looked at Anko, who hadn't said anything. "And your response?"
Anko was stunned. She immediately realized that Ikeizumi had already considered her a new follower of Absolute Justice!
Although Ikeizumi was the same age as her, and even a former classmate from the Academy. But at this point, her status was probably far below his.
Lowering my position is no big deal.
"Present!"
Anko copied Izumi.
"Two each. Execute them on the spot. Make three copies of tonight's report. One for Fugaku, one for the Third, and the last one will be filed in the Uchiha Police Force archives."
"Yes!" x2
…
An hour later.
Konoha Village, now 4 a.m., was finally completely quiet.
Izumi and Anko, their minds in different states, had left after finishing their work.
The three clan heads of the Ino-Shika-Chō had also gone home.
Uchiha Ikeizumi, however, did not return home. He let out a sigh and massaged his tired brow. Just as he was about to move, a slightly odd voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Meow, Lord Ikeizumi, take me with you." Torajirō said, standing behind Uchiha Ikeizumi. "Lord Ikeizumi, you're going to find that little girl whose parents died tonight, right?"
He paused, then continued, "Actually, sometimes Lord Ikeizumi's thoughts are very easy to guess. And, Lord Ikeizumi, you've experienced something similar before."
"Six years ago, Lord Ikeizumi, you handled a similar case—a monstrous father defiled his daughter, causing her to suffer from a mental illness. The mother, in a fit of rage, tried to kill the father but failed, and ended up losing her own life."
"Lord Ikeizumi killed that monstrous father. But at that time, Lord Ikeizumi didn't realize there was another victim—the defiled daughter. The next day, after hearing that her mother had been killed, the already mentally ill daughter took her own life."
"In the suicide note she left behind, she wrote that she was a sinner, that she was filthy and shouldn't exist in this world, and that it would be better to just leave it all behind."
Torajirō's eyes were filled with a complicated emotion. "Lord Ikeizumi once said that it was a tragedy that shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake of justice."
"One mistake took the life of a victim. Lord Ikeizumi was very hard on himself for a long time."
As he said this, Torajirō scratched his face like a human with his cat paw.
He smiled. "Many people in the village think that Lord Ikeizumi is an emotionless robot, including some who think they know Lord Ikeizumi well. But Lord Ikeizumi just hides all his emotions and doesn't show them."
"Because Lord Ikeizumi believes that if justice shows emotion, evildoers will see it as a weakness, and they will naively think that absolute justice has a weakness."
Uchiha Ikeizumi was silent for a moment. "Sometimes, you, a bystander, understand me better than I understand myself."
"Let's go."
"Yes, Lord Ikeizumi!"
…
.....................
AN: Check out my P@treon For +80 extra chapters.
Thank You For your Support!!
Join now: Patreon com/Chaos_God