Inside the Hokage Building.
After Sarutobi Hiruzen silently approved the resignation requests of those three Yamanaka Clan ninjas and watched them leave, he suddenly saw a familiar figure barging directly into the Hokage's office.
"…Koharu?"
Seeing Utatane Koharu before him, Sarutobi Hiruzen—whose mind was already in disarray—was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Weren't you supposed to be in Konohagakure Prison?"
He ended up asking such a foolish question that, the instant it left his mouth, he realized the answer himself.
Frowning, he said, "You used Root's power to get yourself out of prison, didn't you? Koharu, if you do something like this and Keizumi finds out, conflict will be inevitable."
With her aged face cold and stern, Utatane Koharu said, "Hiruzen, if I didn't come out now, Konoha would already be beyond saving! And if you keep worrying about whether conflict breaks out or not, that will only make you even more indecisive—incapable of making a decisive choice."
"Hiruzen, I need you to cooperate with me," Utatane Koharu said seriously.
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze.
He faintly guessed what she meant. Taking a deep breath, his expression gradually steadied as he spoke in a low voice, "Have you truly prepared yourself to risk everything? You really don't have to go that far. I can still barely manage to maintain stability in the current situation."
Utatane Koharu said, "Hiruzen, stop forcing yourself. If you truly could maintain stability, Uchiha Keizumi wouldn't be sitting atop your head as Hokage, acting however he pleases."
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth, but no words came out.
In the end, he could only sigh.
"So long as it doesn't touch my bottom line, whatever you need, you can tell me." At such a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had also made his decision.
Utatane Koharu said, "Do your best to keep Uchiha Keizumi occupied. As for Homura, just go speak with him directly."
Having said that, she turned and left.
...
"What?!"
When Homura was summoned by Sarutobi Hiruzen and learned from his mouth about Utatane Koharu's actions, he couldn't help showing a horrified expression and immediately said, "Hiruzen, why didn't you stop Koharu? She's completely out of control! She's already been blinded by anger and is acting irrationally!"
"No matter what plan she has, in the end it's bound to lead to a direct clash with Uchiha Keizumi. Hiruzen, do you think Konohagakure can withstand a battle of that scale erupting within the village? And yet you let her do this—what on earth are you thinking?"
Homura couldn't understand Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions.
In his eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been step by step compromising with Absolute Justice.
They had even reached a kind of tacit understanding—a very delicate balance.
But now, at this moment, that delicate balance had suddenly been broken.
Sarutobi Hiruzen now seemed unwilling to compromise any further. What had all those prior concessions been for, then?
Was this all a joke?
Homura could smell the gunpowder of war in the air—
and also felt a strong sense of absurdity.
"Homura, let Koharu have her shot," Sarutobi Hiruzen said heavily, without offering any further explanation.
"Hiruzen…"
Homura said earnestly, "You keep going back and forth like this—you'll regret it."
Just as he tried to continue persuading him—
He was cut off by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Homura…"
"I am the Hokage."
Homura: "…"
...
"You intend to leave the Akatsuki and join Konohagakure?" Looking at Biwa Jūzō before him, Uchiha Keizumi asked a question.
"More precisely… to join your camp, Uchiha Keizumi." Biwa Jūzō corrected him,
after a pause he continued: "After all, it is obviously impossible for me to swear allegiance to the Hokage of Konohagakure. However, if the object of my allegiance is you, Uchiha Keizumi, then it is not impossible."
"Fine." Uchiha Keizumi's brief reply left Biwa Jūzō stunned on the spot.
"Ah? That's not—"
Biwa Jūzō could not help but blurt out the astonishment in his heart: "Aren't you at all curious why I refuse to swear allegiance to the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, and will only swear allegiance to you, Uchiha Keizumi?"
"I don't care." Uchiha Keizumi said indifferently.
Biwa Jūzō: "…"
Biwa Jūzō believed that if he were to seek refuge with the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, that person would certainly investigate all his motives in detail, and in the early stages would be absolutely distrustful of him.
Yet the man before him showed not a shred of suspicion about his motives.
Was he not afraid that he would be turned by the Akatsuki, that the purpose was to come over as a spy for the Konoha Police Force?
Uchiha Keizumi seemed to see through his inner thoughts.
Calm and without ripple he said: "If I see sin on you, the moment you step through that door you will already be dead."
Cold sweat immediately poured from Biwa Jūzō.
He did not doubt Uchiha Keizumi's ability to instantly kill him.
Because he had witnessed how terrifying this magma monster before him was!
From the Akatsuki's treating it as if facing a formidable enemy in their intent to hunt and assassinate him, one could further confirm the value of Uchiha Keizumi's strength!
At that moment, Biwa Jūzō suddenly heard Uchiha Keizumi add: "It just so happens I can use you as a stepping stone to set foot in the Land of Water. Eliminate all the evils of the Land of Water, leave not one behind."
Biwa Jūzō was taken aback.
He forced a serious expression onto his face, and finally a look of surprise appeared; he said in astonishment: "You intend to intervene in the Land of Water? Wait, aren't you provoking a war between nations? That would lead the shinobi world to erupt into the Fourth Great Ninja War, wouldn't it?"
Uchiha Keizumi asked slowly: "So do you have a simpler, more straightforward, and very effective method to thoroughly end Kirigakure's Blood Mist policy and restore Kirigakure?"
Biwa Jūzō opened his mouth.
But could not utter a single word.
If he truly had such a method, he would not need to defect from Kirigakure.
He could implement his plan directly within the village.
And Biwa Jūzō also realized that he seemed unable to persuade the man before him.
When that person decided to do something, no one could persuade him otherwise.
At the same time, Biwa Jūzō gained a deeper understanding of Uchiha Keizumi's [Absolute Justice] — the other's justice was not confined to Konohagakure or the Land of Fire. Uchiha Keizumi truly wanted to spread his [Absolute Justice] across the entire shinobi world.
No…
Not right.
[Absolute Justice] might just be a tool in Uchiha Keizumi's hands. What he truly wanted was to use [Absolute Justice] as a tool and means to purge all the sins of the shinobi world!
To wrench this twisted, malformed shinobi world back onto the right track! This is the man's [Nindō]!
Many people only saw the surface of Uchiha Keizumi's Absolute Justice.
They failed to see the deepest factors behind [Absolute Justice]!
Taking a deep breath to steady his thoughts and mentally prepare himself, Biwa Jūzō asked, "Then what method will you use to eliminate the evils of the Land of Water and end the Blood Mist policy you spoke of?"
"Kill." This time, Uchiha Keizumi gave only a single-word answer.
Yet it made every hair on Biwa Jūzō's body stand on end.
It was as if he hallucinated a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Uchiha Keizumi had already slaughtered with such madness in the Land of Fire.
Then, in a foreign land, would he not have even less of a psychological burden?
Biwa Jūzō suddenly felt a trace of unease.
…
When Mitokado Homura returned home, he was so restless he could hardly sit still.
He could clearly feel that both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu had already been cornered by Uchiha Keizumi, with no room left to retreat.
The only choices left for those two were either to step down entirely and hand over their authority to the capable younger generation—
Or to stop retreating and take a step forward to face Uchiha Keizumi, who was pressing them step by step.
As for standing on the same side as Uchiha Keizumi? Directly joining him?
That was simply not an option!
Differences in ideology created differences in stance. These two camps could never stand together.
And this…
Also caused Konohagakure, already burdened with immense pressure and contradictions, to seem on the verge of having those contradictions completely explode.
Utatane Koharu felt aversion toward Uchiha Keizumi, believing that his very existence posed a tremendous threat to Konohagakure. This way of thinking was actually identical to that of the already-dead Uchiha Itachi.
As for Sarutobi Hiruzen, his feelings toward Uchiha Keizumi were hatred mingled with helplessness.
Mitokado Homura was convinced that Hiruzen could never let go of the hatred for his sons' deaths.
Because back when Hiruzen led the Anbu to the capital of the Land of Fire, he had already prepared to stop Uchiha Keizumi's actions while avenging his two sons.
He simply hadn't expected that the daimyo's son would surrender first…
Leaving Hiruzen awkwardly standing there, forced to abandon his original plan.
And afterward—did Hiruzen really let go of that hatred?
How could that be possible!
"Haa… cornered step by step by Uchiha Keizumi, his authority continuously eroded, and realizing that Konohagakure cannot be replaced by Absolute Justice—Hiruzen has released a small portion of the hatred he's been suppressing inside."
"Although Hiruzen is the Hokage, he's still human. He's not a saint, nor a holy mother, and certainly not a purely political creature."
After finishing his analysis, Mitokado Homura found himself powerless.
If he were to support Utatane Koharu and Sarutobi Hiruzen, he felt somewhat cowardly about it.
Whether they succeeded or failed, the resulting consequences would certainly affect the Mitokado clan—and even himself, Mitokado Homura.
Among the three high-ranking elders of Konohagakure, the Mitokado clan to which he belonged was the weakest in power.
A small family with a small estate.
They couldn't withstand any upheaval.
But the problem was—could he, as a Konoha advisor, really stay out of this matter?
Absolutely impossible, right!
"Koharu asked Hiruzen to pass this matter on to me—perhaps she's also asking how I plan to take a side. In this incident, it's clear that there is no neutral camp." Within the Mitokado clan compound, Mitokado Homura looked at his clansmen.
He clenched his teeth and finally decided, at his age, to push himself once more and wager the most important stake of the Mitokado clan.
Mitokado Homura used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself.
Then he headed toward the Uchiha clan.