Chapter 204: Ikeizumi and Orochimaru!
A member of Yamato's ANBU Squad rushed back in a hurry and quickly relayed Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders to Yamato.
Yamato was stunned.
This...
Was the Hokage-sama basically forcing Koharu Utatane and her Root to submit to [Absolute Justice]?
This is bound to provoke Koharu Utatane's discontent, isn't it?
Even if the Hokage-sama promised to release Koharu Utatane quickly.
That discontent wouldn't easily dissipate, would it?
But upon careful reflection, Yamato realized that the only "soft target" between Absolute Justice and Root truly was Root.
He couldn't possibly suppress Absolute Justice, could he? What if that really pushed the Uchiha clan to revolt?
Instead, Root, which belonged to the "insiders," was the easiest to suppress.
Yamato took a deep breath and immediately burst through with several ANBU squad members.
Though few in number, the ANBU squad members gritted their teeth and stood between the Police Force ninja and the Root ninja.
"Everyone, please refrain from fighting amongst yourselves within Konoha."
Yamato, wearing his ANBU mask, cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Ultimately, we are all Konoha ninja. There's no need to hurt each other over this matter."
Then.
Yamato turned to face Koharu Utatane. He lowered his voice and said, "Advisor Koharu, the Hokage-sama's intention is for you to slightly submit to [Absolute Justice] first. After all, if Root clashes with the Police Force, Root will be the one to suffer losses."
Koharu Utatane: "???"
For a moment, Koharu Utatane wondered if Hiruzen Sarutobi's two brains were fighting each other.
He was the one who ordered her to lead Root to arrest the followers of Absolute Justice.
Now that she was facing a crisis, the Hokage not only refused to let his ANBU publicly support her but was also ordering her to submit to [Absolute Justice]?
The sheer absurdity of the situation almost made Koharu Utatane laugh out of anger.
Before she could speak, Yamato leaned closer and continued whispering, which made Koharu Utatane's aged face alternate between grim and pale expressions.
"...Did Hiruzen truly say that?"
Koharu Utatane was silent for a long while, her voice filled with deep disappointment.
"The Hokage-sama truly said so. Please endure this temporary inconvenience, Advisor Koharu, along with your Root members."
Yamato whispered.
"Inconvenience... ha!" Koharu Utatane let out a cold, sarcastic snort. "For the sake of Konoha, I must indeed endure inconvenience."
But she did not continue to stubbornly resist.
She was only a Senior Advisor of Konoha; even after taking over Danzō's Root, she did not have the same high degree of freedom Danzō enjoyed. Koharu Utatane could only obey the Hokage's command.
She coldly eyed the aggressive crowd of Police Force ninja ahead.
Koharu Utatane snorted, "Hmph! So it's the Police Force, is it?"
"You won't need to lift a finger!"
"This old woman will go herself!"
Every word she spoke was squeezed out through gritted teeth.
It was clear...
How much distress she was suppressing.
"Tsk, the Mangekyō Sharingan Ikeizumi-sama gave me wasn't even needed..." Kijirō muttered to himself. He blindly guessed that the Third Hokage's invisible hand had forcibly made Koharu Utatane back down.
After all, the only people in Konoha who could truly keep Koharu Utatane in check were probably Ikeizumi-sama and the Third Hokage.
As for Tsunade? She could only make Koharu Utatane take a single step back.
The Police Force ninja surrounding Kijirō all had varied expressions.
"That person is a Konoha Advisor and the new leader of the Root organization. Even someone like that is submitting to justice."
A Police Force Chūnin took a deep breath, his eyes shining with intense excitement: "Indeed! Joining the Absolute Justice faction is the future path for the Uchiha clan!"
"Neither overthrowing the current Hokage nor maintaining peaceful relations with the current Hokage can restore the Uchiha clan to its former glory, or even greater splendor."
"Only Ikeizumi Uchiha's Absolute Justice can achieve that!"
Just as he finished speaking, another Uchiha ninja next to him glanced at him and said coldly, "Your justice is not pure enough. Ikeizumi Uchiha will not accept you."
"Pure?!" The Police Force Chūnin was momentarily stunned.
The ninja next to him said expressionlessly, "It seems you still didn't grasp what Absolute Justice is during the last meeting. Absolute Justice cannot be mixed with any impurities. One must wholeheartedly serve justice and solely focus on eliminating evil in the ninja world."
"Your talk of making the Uchiha clan more splendid is entirely a lesser concern! Only those whose thoughts are limited to their ninja clan would have such naïve and uninteresting ideas."
"In other words, you lack vision. And you lack tolerance."
Listening to the whispered conversation of these Uchiha ninja.
Kijirō's furry cat face showed a few unusual expressions.
"Tsk..."
"It seems a few guys actually have the potential to follow Absolute Justice."
Kijirō muttered to himself.
"It looks like they won't need the three of us," Inoichi Yamanaka, at a high vantage point not far away, withdrew his gaze and slightly sighed in relief.
Chōza Akimichi, standing to his left, remarked emotionally, "Tsunade-sama truly stood on the side of Absolute Justice... Does this mean Tsunade-sama is now in the same camp as us?"
Shikaku Nara, on Inoichi Yamanaka's right, said, "As long as the three of us don't violate the taboos of justice, yes, we are in the same camp."
If an outsider were present, they would be utterly shocked to realize that hundreds of ninja followed behind the contemporary heads of the Ino, Shika, and Chō clans who were briefly chatting!
They were all ninja from the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans!
As long as Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Chōza Akimichi gave the order.
Hundreds of ninja would immediately rush to rescue Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyūga, who were captured by Root.
However...
Judging by the situation the three of them were observing, it seemed their intervention was no longer necessary.
Just then, Chōza Akimichi asked Shikaku Nara, "Do you think the Sarutobi clan incident has anything to do with Ikeizumi?"
"Yes."
Shikaku Nara smiled. "The connection is that someone is trying to use this incident to instigate a conflict between the Hokage and Ikeizumi. They want to provoke the Third Hokage into using his power to kill Absolute Justice."
"The mastermind must have a deep grudge against Ikeizumi. If we investigate in that direction, we won't need long to flush them out."
Shikaku Nara paused, then continued, "The Third Hokage isn't so easily provoked by such things. Someone wants to use him to suppress Absolute Justice, but he also wants to use this chaos to find the person in the shadows."
"The Third Hokage is turning the tables."
As he said this, Shikaku Nara shook his head helplessly: "If Ikeizumi were in the village, none of this trouble would be necessary. With his methods, he could easily find the mastermind."
Inoichi Yamanaka said, "If he were in the village, no one would dare to use such a reckless scheme against Absolute Justice."
Chōza Akimichi clicked his tongue. "The situation in Konoha is truly complicated!"
While Konoha was falling into chaos, Ikeizumi Uchiha and three other Uchiha Jōnin had traveled hundreds of kilometers away from Konoha.
It was then that Ikeizumi Uchiha stopped ahead.
The other three immediately halted their footsteps.
"It's time to split up." Ikeizumi Uchiha's brief sentence was enough for the other three to understand his intent.
They had followed Ikeizumi Uchiha out of the village, but they were not going to hunt Orochimaru with him.
Ikeizumi Uchiha had given them a different test—the hunt for the great merchant Gato!
"Good!" The three didn't say much. They knew that since Ikeizumi Uchiha intended to hunt Orochimaru alone, he must be absolutely confident that his strength was not inferior to the Sannin, Orochimaru.
After the two parties split, Ikeizumi Uchiha alone ran in a single direction.
During this time, he did not rest for a single second.
He moved as if he were tireless.
It wasn't until the afternoon that Ikeizumi Uchiha finally stopped again. He was now standing at the very top of a mountain peak, with a sheer cliff dropping into the abyss ahead. Looking down, he couldn't even see the bottom, only thick layers of misty clouds obscuring the view.
Suddenly!
He flicked his right hand to the side. A shuriken instantly flew out, accurately hitting a well-hidden green snake not far away.
It was then that Ikeizumi Uchiha turned his back to the sheer cliff, took two steps back, stepped into the void, and began to freefall.
When he had fallen about a hundred meters, a very well-concealed cave appeared on the face of the cliff ahead.
At the same time.
From the side of the cave, a ninja wearing no headband locked a shocked gaze with Ikeizumi Uchiha's cold eyes.
Swoosh—
A kunai attached to a thin steel wire instantly pierced through his throat.
Ikeizumi Uchiha yanked hard. His body was pulled toward the cave on the cliff face, while the ninja with the kunai through his throat was yanked off the cliff. Their positions were instantly swapped.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, Ikeizumi Uchiha's cold eyes had transformed into a pair of crimson Sharingan.
"Orochimaru..."
"Found you."
......................
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