Chapter 136: Hiruzen, He's Old!
"Uchiha Ikeizumi? That name sounds familiar…" Choji Akimichi was chewing on a potato chip and pondering, but before he could catch the flash of inspiration in his mind, a ninja cat walked past him from behind.
"What a fat cat!" Just as Choji couldn't help but exclaim, another figure walked up from behind him. Choji also noticed that Shikamaru, who was in front of him, looked like he was scared and couldn't speak at all.
"Uchiha Ikeizumi…"
Choji, who was still a chubby kid, couldn't help but look up at the man in the Uchiha Military Police Force uniform in front of him.
"Eh?!"
He finally caught the flash of inspiration in his mind, and Choji's small eyes widened. His chubby face was full of shock and panic, and he didn't even notice when the half-eaten bag of potato chips in his hand fell to the ground with a "plop."
He also saw a female ninja following behind Uchiha Ikeizumi. Choji finally remembered! At that moment, he seemed to realize something and hurriedly picked up the potato chips that had fallen to the ground. Then, he grabbed the broom next to him and started sweeping the ground diligently.
It wasn't until the terrifying man's back finally disappeared from sight that Choji, covered in sweat, collapsed to the ground.
Shikamaru also stopped what he was doing. He looked ahead, sighed with relief, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He mumbled, "Two days ago, the village was saying that he killed the Fire Daimyō. Logically, he should still be in the capital of the Land of Fire, right? Why is he back so soon?"
Although Shikamaru knew that his Nara clan had a special connection with Uchiha Ikeizumi's 'Absolute Justice,' this didn't stop him from being a little afraid of Uchiha Ikeizumi. A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. That man wouldn't go easy on him just because he was a seven-year-old kid!
"Someone in the village is probably going to die again," Shikamaru murmured.
The news of Uchiha Ikeizumi's return to Konoha spread throughout the entire village in less than half a day. When the next morning came, everyone in Konoha was alarmed.
"Lord Ikeizumi!!!"
The girl ran to see Uchiha Ikeizumi as fast as she could. She was a little out of breath and quickly bowed to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were back yesterday evening. I'm truly sorry for not welcoming you right away!"
"Meow, why did you forget about me?" Kojiro couldn't help but interject. "Newbie, don't you want to welcome me?"
Izumi immediately bowed again and added, "And I forgot to welcome you too, Lord Kojiro. I'm very sorry!"
Kojiro looked very pleased. His cat eyes narrowed.
At this time, Izumi suddenly thought of something and said to Uchiha Ikeizumi, "Lord Ikeizumi, the night before last…"
Izumi told him everything that had happened at the clan meeting, without hiding any details. She especially emphasized that many Uchiha clan members had already approved of 'Absolute Justice.'
After hearing this, Uchiha Ikeizumi said in a cold tone, "It was indeed a boring clan meeting. One is stuck in a power struggle, and the other is limited by Konoha. With their mindset, they will never be able to get the approval of all the clan members."
"Oh, and Lord Ikeizumi," Izumi continued, "the three Uchiha jonin who first stood up that night found me afterward. They said that if there was a chance, they wanted to meet you."
"I think they've already prepared themselves to follow you. Otherwise, they wouldn't have publicly refuted and even mocked Elder Setsuna and Lord Fugaku."
Uchiha Ikeizumi nodded slightly. "Tell them to come find me when they have a chance. They can meet me anytime."
"However…"
Uchiha Ikeizumi continued, "'Absolute Justice' is not a game for ninjas, and it's not a tool for them to be mavericks. Once they choose to believe in 'Absolute Justice,' they must be prepared to risk their lives to uphold justice."
"They must also be prepared to be judged by 'Absolute Justice' once they tarnish or betray justice. Justice will not miss a single person, including those who believe in it."
Izumi's face turned serious. "Yes, sir!"
Then, she asked with a hint of curiosity, "Lord Ikeizumi, who is that?" The girl's eyes fell on a spot not far behind Uchiha Ikeizumi. She saw a short-haired female ninja standing there motionlessly. The other party seemed to want to come over. At first glance, she and Lord Ikeizumi seemed to know each other.
Noticing that she was being watched, Anko Mitarashi could only walk over. She introduced herself. "Anko Mitarashi, Konoha special jonin. And… a criminal."
To Izumi's surprise, Anko said to Uchiha Ikeizumi, "I know I still have to stay in Konoha Prison for more than two years, but I hope to atone for my sins in another way, just like that kid named Naruto Uzumaki!"
It was obvious that after returning to Konoha yesterday, Anko had been frantically trying to find out all the news about Uchiha Ikeizumi. She didn't know why she was doing this, but she just really wanted to know more about her former ninja academy classmate.
Moreover, she found that the more she asked, the more she was shocked. But the more she learned, the more she respected him. His 'Absolute Justice' was truly unadulterated! That respect gradually turned into an approval that Anko herself had not expected. When she suddenly felt that she had no aversion to Uchiha Ikeizumi's 'Absolute Justice,' she realized that she might have been impressed by his magnanimity.
Just like how she respected Orochimaru back then.
However… Uchiha Ikeizumi and Orochimaru were two completely different people. The latter would walk down the extreme path of evil because of his desires. The former… would probably never go down that path.
"I'm not saying this because I don't want to be locked up in Konoha Prison. I have true determination!" Anko gritted her teeth. Even though she felt immense pressure staring directly at Uchiha Ikeizumi, she still persisted and stared intently into his eyes.
"In the capital of the Land of Fire, I saw how countless the sins in the ninja world truly are. I also realized that if this twisted and sick ninja world isn't corrected, it will never be able to return to normal!"
"There will only be more and more people going down the wrong path and becoming villains like Orochimaru. I… Ugh! I don't want a second Orochimaru to appear in the ninja world!"
"I have absolute belief! This is a belief that surpasses my faith in the Will of Fire!"
Every word Anko said came from the bottom of her heart. She wasn't faking it at all.
Ever since she was abandoned by Orochimaru and even had her memory wiped by him, Anko's life had been a daze. Even when Uchiha Ikeizumi threw her into prison more than two years ago, she felt a little dazed and lost.
Until now.
She realized what she needed to do. She was fighting for an opportunity.
The air fell silent. Just as Anko was feeling uneasy, Uchiha Ikeizumi's voice slowly sounded. "To atone for your not-so-serious sins by believing in 'Absolute Justice'? If you can pass the test of 'Justice,' it's not impossible."
Anko's uneasy face suddenly showed a look of ecstasy. She was afraid that Uchiha Ikeizumi would suddenly go back on his word and quickly said, "I can pass any kind of test!"
She said with great seriousness, "Even if it costs me my life!"
Uchiha Ikeizumi said indifferently, "Just remember what you said."
"Izumi Uchiha," he called to Izumi next to him.
"Here!!!"
The girl immediately straightened her back and shouted with a confident voice.
Uchiha Ikeizumi said, "Go back to the Uchiha clan compound."
"Yes, sir!"
Izumi nodded heavily, but she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Lord Ikeizumi, what are we doing?!"
"Upholding justice." Uchiha Ikeizumi said expressionlessly, "The target is Setsuna Uchiha."
Izumi: "!!!"
He glanced at Anko. "You follow as well. This is your first test."
Just the first test?
How strict!
Anko was speechless. She felt that the name "Setsuna Uchiha" sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was.
"Yes, sir!"
She imitated Ikeizumi's stance.
In the Uchiha clan compound.
"Uchiha Ikeizumi… that kid is back?" Setsuna Uchiha's cloudy old face became even more gloomy. If it weren't for Uchiha Ikeizumi, he would have forced Fugaku Uchiha to step down the night before last and become the new clan leader himself.
But because of his so-called 'Absolute Justice,' which he used to brainwash many young Uchiha clan members through some method, at least one-fifth of the people left the clan meeting that night. On top of that, there were still some people who sided with Fugaku.
In this situation… even if the clan meeting was forced to continue, there wouldn't be enough votes. To Setsuna, Uchiha Ikeizumi was a black sheep! He had ruined his plans again and again!
And… Setsuna had not forgotten that Uchiha Ikeizumi had killed his own grandson! He didn't even leave a single corpse!
The new and old hatreds were all piled on top of each other, making his liver hurt from anger again. Setsuna originally thought he could live for more than ten years, but now he felt that he might only live for five or six years from being so angry.
"Huff!" He clutched his aching heart. His expression was uncertain as he seemed to have thought of something. "Will that kid pin the crime of selling contraband drugs on me? Although I didn't personally participate, I did provide Hayata with a lot of secret conveniences… And with that kid's extreme methods, he'll definitely come after me, right?"
"He's back in Konoha. He's not going to cause trouble for me, is he?" The moment this thought arose, Setsuna suddenly felt that he had lost at least half of his sense of security. He knew very well that the other party would not hesitate to kill his blood relatives! Even the Fire Daimyō was nothing in his eyes. What's more, an elder of the Uchiha clan's hardline faction like him?
Urged by the intense feeling of unease, Setsuna immediately called for a dozen young Uchiha ninjas from the hardline faction to gather around him. This was to ensure his personal safety. Only then did he feel a little sense of security.
At the same time, in another location.
As Uchiha Ikeizumi walked toward the Uchiha clan compound, a sudden voice made him stop. "Hey, kid! You're finally back."
Izumi, who was next to him, was also stunned. Kid? Is she talking about me? But I've been in Konoha the whole time!
Wait a minute!
Izumi's eyes widened. Could she be talking about Lord Ikeizumi?
She was shocked and quickly turned her head. She saw a well-endowed woman standing not far behind them. Next to her, there was a female ninja dressed in black, holding a small pink pig, who seemed a little introverted.
And… Izumi also found a lewd old man with white spiky hair and wooden clogs standing behind the two female ninjas.
What a strange combination!
Why didn't I notice them in Konoha these past few days?
"Meow, it's Lady Tsunade!" Kojiro's voice sounded, answering the girl's confusion. "And… the one behind her should be Lord Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin, right?"
"Ahahaha! I didn't expect a ninja cat to recognize me." Jiraiya laughed loudly and said with a boastful tone, "That's right, I'm the great Jiraiya the Sage!"
Jiraiya… Tsunade… When these two keywords were filtered in her mind, the girl's eyes widened even more.
Gasp!
The Konoha Sannin!!!
Before Izumi could be shocked for long, Tsunade's voice sounded again. "Kid, those seventy-nine brats have been placed in the Konoha Village orphanage. They haven't recalled what they went through. Your Sharingan genjutsu is indeed very useful. At least it got rid of their psychological trauma."
Tsunade walked over nonchalantly and even patted Uchiha Ikeizumi's shoulder as if they were old friends. She chuckled. "But I didn't expect that after you cleansed the crime from the Tanzaku district, you would do something so big again."
"That was the Fire Daimyō! And all those nobles of the Land of Fire, you killed them without even blinking."
Izumi felt a little nervous. Could it be that these two Konoha Sannin were here to confront Lord Ikeizumi?
"Kid, you're quite capable!"
Tsunade's reaction was completely different from what Ikeizumi had guessed. "I've been telling those two old geezers that you did nothing wrong. Shouldn't you thank me properly?"
Kojiro interjected, "Meow, the old geezers Lady Tsunade is talking about should be Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, right? Even if Lady Tsunade didn't help Lord Ikeizumi explain to them, they wouldn't dare to say anything strange in front of Lord Ikeizumi anyway."
At this moment, Uchiha Ikeizumi's gaze went past Tsunade and fell on Jiraiya behind her. Jiraiya's complicated gaze also fell on Uchiha Ikeizumi.
"Ah… we seem to have met once not long after the Third Shinobi World War ended, right?" Jiraiya scratched his head and said.
.....
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