Naruto: Uchiha's Absolute Justice

Chapter 32: Farewell, Shinnosuke-sensei

Shinnosuke Sarutobi had been constantly diverting his chakra to mitigate the effects of the Sharingan genjutsu, carefully avoiding eye contact with Uchiha Ikeizumi during the entire ordeal.

Yet, he never expected to still fall prey to the opponent's "Sharingan genjutsu"!

When he saw the last ANBU ninja fall to Uchiha Ikeizumi's hands.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi's expression was a mixture of shock, horror, and extreme ugliness.

His former Genin had now grown to a point where even he, his Jonin instructor, couldn't suppress him.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi realized he had become a receding wave on the beach.

The half of a ninja blade remaining in his hand offered him no sense of security.

Uchiha Ikeizumi asked, "Shinnosuke-sensei, even now, are you still so stubbornly misguided?"

Shinnosuke Sarutobi remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a "Tch" laugh.

"Uchiha Ikeizumi."

He tossed aside the melted half of his ninja blade, straightened up, his face solemn, and flawlessly performed the Confrontation Seal, saying, "Tonight, let me correct your misguided justice. A ninja's justice is rooted in the village's interests; only justice that benefits the village is true justice."

"Your justice, however, is merely self-centered. No one in the entire ninja world will recognize your justice. Because everything you are doing now is practically putting you against the whole world!"

Uchiha Ikeizumi also stood his ground, less than ten meters from Shinnosuke Sarutobi.

He likewise formed a standard Confrontation Seal.

"Shinnosuke-sensei. My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror; all my deeds are for justice—I remember saying these words to you, Sensei, a very, very long time ago, when I was still a Genin."

Uchiha Ikeizumi said calmly.

"Ha…" Shinnosuke Sarutobi sighed, "You're truly beyond saving. Someone like you will destroy Konoha someday."

Uchiha Ikeizumi said, "Shinnosuke-sensei thinks I'm too extreme. You're not even willing to take the time to understand your student. Sensei, your understanding of me is less than that of a Police Force intern who has only followed me for a few days."

Shinnosuke Sarutobi's eyes narrowed: "Then perhaps I won't have the chance to understand you anymore, because you will soon be deep in the underworld."

As his words fell.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi swiftly formed hand seals, his chest rapidly expanding. He opened his mouth and spat: "Fire Style: Red Earth Spider!!!"

Surging flames erupted from his mouth, forming a giant spider that charged towards Uchiha Ikeizumi.

Uchiha Ikeizumi did not rely on his "Lava Release Chakra Mode" to ignore the flames.

He also formed hand seals.

"Fire Style…"

"Great Fire Annihilation!!!"

Flames far grander in scale and temperature than Shinnosuke Sarutobi's Fire Style spewed from Uchiha Ikeizumi's mouth. The raging inferno instantly swallowed the charging fire spider and surged towards Shinnosuke Sarutobi with overwhelming force.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi immediately dodged into a side corner, the terrifying flames brushing past his nose, even curling his eyelashes with their intense heat.

"Tch, are you still holding back in this master-student battle, Uchiha Ikeizumi! Is your self-centered justice growing soft now?"

Shinnosuke Sarutobi gritted his teeth, biting his right thumb directly, and slammed his palm onto the ground.

Dense summoning jutsu formulas spread across the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Great Ape!!!"

Boom—

After a puff of white smoke, a gigantic ape, over three meters tall and covered in red fur, suddenly appeared. This was Shinnosuke Sarutobi's strongest summoning beast, a sturdy ape whose strength rivaled a Konoha Jonin—the Great Ape!

The moment the Great Ape appeared, it saw a scene of lava and a sea of fire, and further ahead, Uchiha Ikeizumi.

"Shinnosuke, this scene isn't looking good! Should I step aside for your master-student conflict?"

The Great Ape spoke in a booming, somewhat mocking tone.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi took a deep breath: "Great Ape, it's a matter of life and death now, don't make cold jokes."

The Great Ape stood behind Shinnosuke Sarutobi.

And confronted Uchiha Ikeizumi.

"Uchiha Ikeizumi's so-called absolute justice has threatened Konoha," Shinnosuke Sarutobi said gravely.

The Great Ape said, "Shouldn't you have expected this long ago? Although you've always been unwilling to understand your disciple, judging by his demonstrated personality and actions, this confrontation today was bound to happen sooner or later, wasn't it?… However, Shinnosuke… do you really think this child is wrong?"

Shinnosuke Sarutobi was silent for half a second, then said, "Justice that is not beneficial to Konoha is wrong. A ninja should stand for the village. Great Ape, let's end this here today."

"…Understood."

....

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi, rushing towards the secret research base with his ANBU ninja, could already see the base, ravaged and scarred by the lava.

He could also see the dense forest ahead that had turned into a sea of fire.

Although he hadn't fully approached yet, he could smell the faint scent of sulfur in the air.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank.

"Immediately go put out the fire!" He decisively gave the order: "Don't let the fire spread to Konoha! At the same time… immediately stop this unnecessary conflict; intercept both parties!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The ANBU ninja forcefully increased their speed. They all knew that the person stationed at the secret research base was the Hokage's eldest son.

They also knew that the person who forcefully entered the secret research base was a genius from the Uchiha clan whom the Hokage held in high regard.

It seemed.

The Hokage was unwilling to give up either of them.

He intended to replicate how he stopped the conflict between Uchiha Ikeizumi and Danzo Shimura, to stop this night's…

Conflict that was probably already too late to stop.

...

The battle between Uchiha Ikeizumi, Shinnosuke Sarutobi, and the summoned Great Ape had entered a white-hot phase.

"Roar!!!"

The Great Ape picked up a concrete pillar weighing over ten tons and, with a roar, carried the pillar and charged towards Uchiha Ikeizumi.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi circled behind Uchiha Ikeizumi, gritting his teeth while lightning crackled in his right palm.

"Lightning Style…"

"Lightning Blade Technique!"

A blinding bolt of lightning transformed into a two-meter long blade, striking heavily at Uchiha Ikeizumi's back; the massive concrete pillar, almost wide enough to encompass Uchiha Ikeizumi, also crashed in from the front.

Whoosh!!!

Boom!!!

The lightning blade "split" Uchiha Ikeizumi's body in half; the large concrete pillar slammed down heavily, sending the lower half of Uchiha Ikeizumi's body, which had been cut in two, crashing into the ground with a "thud."

"Shinnosuke, be careful! The feeling is off! His body is strange!" The Great Ape suddenly warned.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi's eyes suddenly widened.

Because he saw Uchiha Ikeizumi, whom he had cut in half, slowly "stand up" as his body's lava writhed.

"Water Replacement Jutsu?" Shinnosuke Sarutobi was momentarily stunned. He could no longer distinguish how many of Uchiha Ikeizumi's trump cards had been revealed.

"Shinnosuke! Get out of the way!!!" This was the Great Ape's urgent shout.

"If you were proficient in Water Style, you might have been able to prolong this struggle with me." Uchiha Ikeizumi's right arm's five fingers slightly flexed, his right arm seemingly transforming into a gigantic lava demon hound, its monstrous maw open wide, fiercely "biting" towards Shinnosuke Sarutobi's chest.

"Farewell, Shinnosuke-sensei."

"Shinnosuke! Get out of the way!!!" This was the Third Hokage's belated, panicked cry.

....

For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon

[email protected]/Chaos_God

Thank you so much for your support and for reading