Naruto: Uchiha's Absolute Justice

Chapter 48: Recognition of [Absolute Justice]

At the same time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing that it was completely dark, rubbed his aching temples and sighed deeply. However, the gloomy expression on his old face wouldn't easily dissipate.

He had intended for Shin'nosuke Sarutobi to have a quiet final journey today.

But who would have thought that Uchiha Ikeizumi would suddenly appear?

Hiruzen Sarutobi harbored extremely complex feelings regarding Uchiha Ikeizumi's actions today.

Publicly, he should support Uchiha Ikeizumi in executing justice. After all, Tsujirō Yamada's actions had pierced through the bottom line of the Land of Fire's laws. Even if Ikeizumi's methods were a bit extreme, directly having his subordinate kill the culprit…

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Uchiha Ikeizumi had done nothing wrong.

....

However.

Privately, he was Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's father. For a father, such an extremely discordant interlude at his eldest son's funeral was a huge provocation and stimulus.

Not to mention, it was Ikeizumi who killed Shin'nosuke!

"Hah…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, "But Konoha cannot afford a civil war without any prior preparation. The pillars that can support the village are becoming fewer and fewer… Ikeizumi, he is one of the few young talents in the village who can carry such a burden."

"Even if the Uchiha clan cannot produce a Hokage, in the future, he could replace Danzo, or Homura, or Koharu's position."

It was this kind of single-minded, dead-end dilemma.

It made him unable to pinpoint his own emotions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi tidied up his troubled mood.

He prepared to leave the Hokage's office.

But just then, an ANBU ninja suddenly leaped in through the open window. He knelt before Hiruzen Sarutobi and reported swiftly: "Hokage-sama, Uchiha Ikeizumi killed his only blood relative, 'Uchiha Onigawara,' today."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's steps halted.

"Uchiha Onigawara… Is that the one suspected of torturing and killing two ANBU comrades during a mission outside the village?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not unfamiliar with the name Uchiha Onigawara.

Because he had once been a member of ANBU.

And it was he who had ordered Uchiha Onigawara's temporary suspension for investigation.

"Yes," the ANBU ninja nodded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, "Since Ikeizumi killed him, that means I did not wrong him."

He suddenly thought of something and directly asked, "Was Uchiha Onigawara Ikeizumi's only living blood relative?"

"Yes."

The ANBU's answer was the same as before, but with a subtly undetectable emotional fluctuation.

Clearly, Uchiha Ikeizumi's actions had shocked even the battle-hardened ANBU ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also fell silent.

"A [Absolute Justice] that spares no relatives, huh…" He didn't know how long he was silent before he finally spoke these words with a complex expression.

Hiruzen Sarutobi vaguely understood what Uchiha Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice] truly was.

"Hah…"

"Ikeizumi, it's precisely because you are so outstanding, and so dedicated to justice, that I cannot see you as my enemy due to the hatred brought by Shin'nosuke's death…"

.....

"Hmph! As expected of a naturally evil Uchiha brat! Someone who doesn't even spare his own blood relatives is already an emotionless killing machine. The evil bloodline flowing through the Uchiha clan shouldn't exist in this world!"

Meanwhile, Danzo also received word from his Root ninja.

"The eyes of the Uchiha clan conceal an evil power unimaginable to the world. This power requires extremely strong mental stimulation to have a certain probability of being activated."

Danzo's eyes couldn't help but narrow, his gaze flickering with suspicion and danger.

He was speculating about Uchiha Ikeizumi's actions from the most malicious perspective.

He suddenly thought of Shisui Uchiha.

Shisui's eyes possessed the most evil power rumored in the Uchiha clan. And it was precisely because Shisui Uchiha was a walking treasure and his "crime" was so great that the entire Konoha higher-ups were wary of him, that Danzo couldn't resist laying hands on him.

And tried to seize the Mangekyo Sharingan!

Now… Danzo began to suspect if Uchiha Ikeizumi had awakened a Mangekyo Sharingan similar to Shisui Uchiha's?

Did he also possess that evil power that sent shivers down one's spine just by hearing about it?

Feeling the slight tingling that occasionally came from his left ear.

While Danzo felt wary in his heart, he couldn't help but feel his anger surge, muttering, grinding his teeth: "Monkey, if you hadn't stopped me that day, I would have already stifled this evil Uchiha brat, who threatens the village, in his cradle!"

His anger was not only directed at Uchiha Ikeizumi.

It also extended to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even though Danzo knew that the probability of Uchiha Ikeizumi awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan was not very high, otherwise he wouldn't have waited so many years and only encountered one Uchiha Shisui.

But once this speculation arose in his mind, it couldn't be suppressed.

Like weeds, they continuously took root and sprouted in Danzo's heart.

Leaving his face alternating between grim and uncertain.

"Uchiha Ikeizumi…"

"Sharingan…"

.....

"It's the second time killing someone today!" Izumi soaked herself completely in the bathtub, her hair spreading across the steaming water.

Only the top of her head was visible, and her mumbled words sounded like "gurgle gurgle."

The first time she killed, Izumi remembered clearly, she was anxious all night long.

Even after returning home, she worried she might be caught by ANBU.

Now, she seemed to be getting used to it.

She found that she no longer felt any apprehension; in fact, the discomfort of killing had long since dissipated.

"And…"

She gently clutched her chest, her head emerging from the water, and confusedly muttered to herself, "Why do I feel a sense of glee? I'm not some crazy serial killer, it definitely can't be because I killed someone that I'm having this strange feeling, can it?"

Izumi stood up, stepped out of the bathtub, and after rinsing off the soap, a thought flashed through her mind.

She suddenly understood.

"—It's recognition!"

She realized that the reason she felt a secret joy was because she discovered that within the Uchiha clan, there were already people besides herself who recognized Senior Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice]!

And there were quite a few of them!

After all, on her way home after saying goodbye to Senior Ikeizumi today, she had heard many people discussing Senior Ikeizumi.

And it wasn't negative discussion!

Even if they were just strangely admiring and revering Senior Ikeizumi due to his overly extreme methods.

But…

At least it was a good start.

....

"Father, I want to meet with Uchiha Ikeizumi."

At the dinner table, Itachi Uchiha spoke earnestly to Fugaku.