"Pfft—"
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen had just taken a sip of tea to soothe his throat when an ANBU's report nearly made him spray it all over Koharu's face.
"The envoy from Amegakure was captured by the Police Force?!" Hiruzen's face was filled with disbelief.
He had thought that after carrying out justice once today, Uchiha Keizumi might finally take a short break. He himself, as the Third Hokage, certainly needed time to digest everything that had just happened.
But before he could even settle into his chair, such news had arrived, leaving Hiruzen completely at a loss.
"Which envoy from Amegakure?!" Koharu, dodging Hiruzen's near-spray with practiced calm, couldn't help but frown. "Weren't those envoys being entertained by Homura? Surely Keizumi wouldn't have dared arrest someone right in front of him?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Koharu froze. She knew she hadn't thought it through.
Because Uchiha Keizumi not only would dare—his boldness in such matters was notorious.
He had even killed a member of the Mitokado clan right before Mitokado Homura himself. Compared to that, what was arresting someone?
"No."
The ANBU shook his head and explained: "The one captured was Biwa Jūzō, who defected to Kirigakure. And it wasn't Uchiha Keizumi who caught him—it was his subordinate, that girl called Uchiha Izumi."
"Her?!" Koharu's expression grew sharp. She vividly remembered that brat, who had once openly mocked her to her face without the slightest restraint.
Her impression of that Uchiha girl was very clear.
And of course—
It was entirely negative.
Koharu pressed further: "You were one of the ANBU tailing Biwa Jūzō, weren't you? Since you witnessed the whole thing, why didn't you stop that Uchiha brat?"
"Because Jiraiya-sama was present as well," the ANBU reported truthfully. "And after Uchiha Izumi and Mitarashi Anko insisted on taking Biwa Jūzō to the Police Force, Jiraiya-sama happened to arrive. He too seemed intent on capturing Biwa Jūzō."
This time it was Koharu who was left stunned.
The matter at the Ninja Academy involving Sarutobi Sakurako had somehow been tied to Tsunade—that she could just about accept.
But in Koharu's mind, there was never much hope for that female gambler. After all, how could someone so mired in gambling ever possess a proper worldview?
It was understandable that Tsunade had been swayed by [Absolute Justice].
The real question was—
How had Biwa Jūzō suddenly become entangled with Jiraiya as well?
The so-called Sannin of Konoha—what was going on with them? They had stayed away from the village for years, but the moment they returned, one trouble after another followed.
"Biwa Jūzō has been taken…" Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows drew tight. "This is no small diplomatic incident! If he were only a rogue from Kirigakure, it would be one thing. But he came here as an envoy of Amegakure. If something happens to him, how are we supposed to explain it to Amegakure's leadership?"
"But…"
A sudden thought struck Hiruzen. "Keizumi's subordinate immediately chose to clash with Jūzō in combat. Doesn't that suggest nothing too serious will come of this?"
Koharu Utatane blinked. "What do you mean?"
Hiruzen explained, "Because with the way Keizumi and his subordinates act, if Jūzō were truly a heinous criminal beyond redemption, their first reaction wouldn't have been to bring him to the Police Force—it would've been to execute him on the spot in the name of [Absolute Justice]."
"By the time we even learned what had happened, Jūzō would either be a corpse or long gone. But the fact that he's been taken alive means, at least for now, he won't be killed by Keizumi or his people."
Koharu's mouth twitched.
She hated to admit it—but it made a certain kind of sense.
"Still, we can't have an envoy of Amegakure locked up in the Police Force. What would that look like? If Amegakure's leader learned of this, Konoha would be in a very difficult position."
Koharu spoke grimly.
"Mm."
Hiruzen gave a slight nod, then addressed the ANBU who had reported: "Go contact Fugaku. Tell him, by his authority as captain of the Police Force, to order Jūzō's release."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
…
Inside the Uchiha Police Force interrogation room.
Uchiha Keizumi's calm, detached gaze stood in stark contrast to the stunned expressions of Jiraiya and Biwa Jūzō.
"Akatsuki…"
Jiraiya drew in a sharp breath. Forgetting that others were present, he asked Keizumi directly: "Keizumi, was Akatsuki founded by Yahiko and the other two?"
Keizumi glanced at him. From that cold, indifferent look, Jiraiya understood the answer—yes.
Once more, Jiraiya felt his chest tighten with dread.
He paid no mind to Keizumi's disdain for speaking with him.
In a rush, Jiraiya pressed again, his tone softer, almost pleading: "Then what was their purpose in founding Akatsuki? According to the years of investigation I've done, it seems to be nothing more than a mercenary organization, stirring up wars in small nations and profiting from the chaos. That… that doesn't sound like them at all."
"What illusion makes you think you can see into their hearts?"
At last, Uchiha Keizumi chose to answer him.
"And what illusion makes you think that just because they were once your disciples, they must shape their futures according to the vision you imagined for them?"
Keizumi's voice was measured, deliberate: "Put away that self-righteous face of yours, Jiraiya. The warped, diseased shinobi world breeds extreme ideologies—and it breeds monsters far more twisted than you can begin to imagine."
"Those three naïve disciples of yours—after the most innocent one died, the remaining two were easily led astray. Or rather, even without anyone leading them on, the twisted shinobi world itself would have warped them, birthing the same kind of diseased ideology."
Jiraiya froze.
"Uchiha Keizumi, the way you speak… it almost sounds as if you understand them even better than I do?" Biwa Jūzō interjected.
He fixed his eyes on Keizumi and continued, "The feeling you give me… it's as if you're the true mastermind behind Akatsuki!"
But to Jūzō's surprise, Keizumi ignored him completely, instead turning his words back toward Jiraiya: "Do you want to know what those two surviving disciples of yours are truly thinking?"
"Yes!"
Jiraiya's reply came without the slightest hesitation.
Jūzō: "…"
Damn it! He was once an elite of Kirigakure, yet here, his words carried no weight at all.
Keizumi was outright ignoring him!
And yet—
Jūzō did not speak again. Because he, too, was curious about what Akatsuki's leaders truly thought. He had only recently joined the organization, and his grasp of its real aims and objectives was still vague at best.
He wanted to know as well.
To Keizumi, Nagato's secrets were hardly secrets at all—for after all, they were not his own: "That disciple of yours, Nagato, believes the shinobi world is already diseased. In this cursed world, he sees no such thing as true peace. He believes people will never truly understand one another."
Jiraiya was stunned.
This…
This was completely different from Yahiko's ideals—utterly opposite, even!
"He seeks out a secret weapon powerful enough to obliterate entire nations. With that kind of strength, he wants to force the world into feeling the agony of war. He believes that only by making people taste pain can he instill fear deep enough to suppress war across the shinobi world."
"As for your other disciple, Konan—she has little will of her own. When Yahiko had a goal, she followed Yahiko. Now that Nagato has one, she follows Nagato."
Here, Uchiha Keizumi smiled.
It was only the faintest curve of the lips, yet Jiraiya noticed it instantly.
And it was not a smile of admiration—
It was pure mockery.
"Jiraiya, when you taught them, did you neglect their education? I can't imagine what sort of hopeless illiterate could come up with such a method of suppressing war. To be honest, he and Uchiha Itachi could be called a pair of twisted prodigies."
Jiraiya could hear clearly enough—Uchiha Keizumi held nothing but disdain for Nagato's idea of "making the world feel pain."
And Keizumi's final question left Jiraiya at a loss for words.
Because…
It was true—he had never taught them cultural studies. Back then was a time of war, and Amegakure itself was barely holding together. All he could teach them was the strength to survive; how could he have had the luxury to teach something like cultural lessons?
Yet now, Jiraiya regretted it.
Perhaps… he really should have taught Yahiko and the others.
No—Yahiko probably wouldn't have needed it. He had been the only normal one.
But Nagato and Konan absolutely should have been taught.
Unfortunately.
It was too late.
"…Hah. Seems I've overheard some intelligence I wasn't supposed to know." Biwa Jūzō's expression grew stiff. It left him with the strong feeling that, once he returned, that woman might silence him permanently—if she ever learned what he had experienced in Konoha.
"So the true source of all evil is you, meow!" Tachibana Jirō pointed a paw straight at Jiraiya, speaking without restraint. "Those three Keizumi-sama just mentioned—don't tell me one of them was the so-called Child of Prophecy you sought back then?"
Jiraiya froze.
"So this is the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad spoke of? This so-called savior? Jiraiya, the savior you found and trained is carrying an ideology bent on destroying the entire shinobi world."
"Meow, how can you guarantee the next Child of Prophecy you find won't also be twisted under your care? Or rather… aren't they like this precisely because of you? Because you raised them crooked, meow!"
"The one who truly needs to reflect is you, Jiraiya! Looks to me like you were the one misled and crippled by that toad! Trusting that old toad is worse than trusting us ninja cats!"
"At the very least, we ninja cats genuinely think about whether the shinobi world can return to an order of true justice. And we truly use our own strength to share Keizumi-sama's burdens."
"Not like that toad—and not like you, Jiraiya—throwing the weight of the shinobi world onto so-called Children of Prophecy."
Tachibana Jirō's words cut harshly, openly condemning both Jiraiya and the Great Toad Sage.
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but not a single rebuttal came out.
He felt his face suddenly grow hot with shame.
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