Chapter 227: Military Police Force Clashes with ANBU!
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally returned to the Sarutobi Clan compound; after all, he couldn't live in the Hokage Office forever.
It was not unexpected.
Upon returning to the Sarutobi Clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed that some clan members were treating him with extreme coldness.
Even uttering the words "Hokage-sama" was done in a perfunctory manner, as if utterly reluctant.
Regarding this.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt no anger, as his actions had indeed failed to consider the Sarutobi Clan's perspective. He had not dealt with the grudges of his clan members, nor his own, but had instead indulged the increasing power of his "enemy."
However, there was one thing Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that the other Sarutobi clan members did not.
That was...
The reason he tolerated Ikeizumi Uchiha was purely because he genuinely no longer had the ability to restrain him.
The Sarutobi clan members held a misguided perception of him, their Hokage, believing he wielded Konoha's ultimate power. In their eyes, if he, the Hokage, wanted to deal with Ikeizumi Uchiha, it wouldn't take much effort.
This misunderstanding led to their cold attitude.
"Hiruzen, why?" An aged voice made Hiruzen Sarutobi's footsteps involuntarily falter.
He turned and saw an elder of the Sarutobi Clan, a man over eighty years old.
The elder's hoarse voice asked, "Shinnosuke was killed, Asuma was killed, Nadoko was killed... all three of them were your kin. Why are you still doing nothing?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized him.
In terms of seniority, this man was like an uncle to him, and he had watched Shinnosuke Sarutobi and Asuma Sarutobi grow up, so he must have harbored some affection for them.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "The village needs balance, not pointless conflict. If I were merely the head of the Sarutobi Clan, I might rally all the power I could to avenge my blood kin."
"But besides that identity, I am also Konoha's Hokage. The Hokage cannot be so impulsive; I cannot allow the village to fall into chaos, nor can I allow personal vengeance to weaken the village's power."
"Balance, stability, peace, and prosperity. These are the paramount duties of an excellent Hokage upon taking office."
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke these words, a sudden voice interjected.
"If you were truly an excellent Hokage, would that bastard Ikeizumi Uchiha have killed so many people in the village? He's killed nearly a thousand people just within Konoha Village, hasn't he?"
A young man from the Sarutobi Clan, his eyes red, said to Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Under your leadership, Konoha Village has seen nearly a thousand people killed by so-called 'justice.' Is this what you call being an excellent Hokage, Hokage-sama!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned.
The young man continued, emotionally and without thinking: "You want to be a good Hokage, but you are not a good Hokage at all! You don't have the ability! If you had the ability, Ikeizumi Uchiha wouldn't even preach about 'Absolute Justice'!"
"If that's the case, why don't you just become a heavy-handed Hokage? At least that way, you could give us some satisfaction!"
The stream of accusations from the Sarutobi clan members.
Left Hiruzen Sarutobi standing in a daze.
"I..."
"Am not a good Hokage?"
He murmured, crestfallen.
Kabuto Yakushi had attempted the Summoning Jutsu over a dozen times, progressing from initial shock to bewilderment, to panic, and finally to calm. He had realized that something must have happened at Ryūchi Cave.
And possibly...
Something might have happened to Lord Orochimaru! If Lord Orochimaru were fine, he would certainly have shared the information with him through special channels about such an abnormality at Ryūchi Cave.
Since he hadn't received any intelligence from Lord Orochimaru, it meant Lord Orochimaru was also in a bad situation.
"So..."
"What exactly happened?"
Kabuto Yakushi suspected whether Lord Orochimaru's plan to infiltrate the Akatsuki organization had been leaked.
Did the Akatsuki members think that since Orochimaru dared to plant a spy in the organization, he wasn't truly loyal, and thus decided to secretly deal with Lord Orochimaru?
As strange conjectures popped into his mind, Kabuto was struck by a chill.
This implied that his true identity had been discovered.
But the Akatsuki members hadn't captured him immediately.
Did they think he posed no threat?
Or did they have another agenda?
"Wait a minute... I think I overlooked something." A faint light flashed across Kabuto's glasses. He suddenly grasped a thread of inspiration.
"I remember Lord Orochimaru has always coveted Ikeizumi Uchiha's body, intending to use that man's body as the vessel for his next Reincarnation Jutsu."
"And the Absolute Justice Ikeizumi Uchiha believes in would undoubtedly see Lord Orochimaru as an enemy."
"Lord Orochimaru has the idea of hunting Ikeizumi Uchiha, and Ikeizumi Uchiha has the motive to hunt Lord Orochimaru."
"Furthermore, the Ikeizumi Uchiha that Sasori of the Red Sand encountered before was just his Wood Clone, not his main body. Does that mean Ikeizumi Uchiha's real body was searching for Lord Orochimaru? And maybe they've already fought, and a winner has been decided?"
"The unknown anomaly at Ryūchi Cave could also be related to this. If so, everything fits together..."
Kabuto muttered.
Today.
The Akatsuki organization convened another "online meeting." Since Jūzō Biwa had defected, and Ikeizumi Uchiha in the Land of Rain was just a clone.
Clearly, this was another Gedō Art: Projection meeting targeting Ikeizumi Uchiha.
But they quickly realized someone was missing.
—Orochimaru, who had shown great interest in Ikeizumi Uchiha last time and suggested capturing him alive or at least obtaining his corpse, was gone!
Nagato, hidden behind the scenes, frowned.
Controlling Tendō Pain, he asked in a deep voice, "Does anyone know where 'Zero' is? Why did he not respond to my jutsu's summons?"
The atmosphere became utterly silent.
Evidently, no one knew where Orochimaru had gone.
Nor did anyone know what Orochimaru was doing.
At this moment.
The Gedō Art: Projection illusion of "Tobi" Uchiha subtly wavered, his head seemingly tilting slightly to the side, as if someone was speaking beside him.
His subtle movement did not escape the notice of the others; many eyes focused on him.
"'Zero's' hideout has been destroyed."
At this point, Tobi Uchiha straightened up and spoke: "His hideout is covered in cooled lava, and there are many burnt corpses, likely his subordinates. The entire area has become desolate, with no possibility of life surviving. You can surmise his current situation."
Sasori "Tch'd" and said, "It seems that guy ran into Ikeizumi Uchiha's real body. Maybe he's being hunted down by that guy now, scrambling all over the Ninja World. After all, that snake only has the skill to run away."
Clearly.
Sasori harbored strong resentment towards Orochimaru and disliked him greatly.
"There is another possibility, and it's a greater one."
Konan spoke, her voice clear and cold: "Ikeizumi Uchiha was hunting Zero, and Zero is now dead at his hands. This would make him the first Akatsuki member lost to Ikeizumi Uchiha. We seek to hunt him, and he is seeking to hunt us."
Silence lasted for several seconds after Konan's words.
Tendō Pain's voice rang out: "I will continue to attempt to contact Zero. If there is still no response within three days, we will assume he has indeed died at Ikeizumi Uchiha's hands. The target we are hunting may be more dangerous and powerful than we imagined."
"Next time anyone meets him, do not face him alone. You must contact other members. You must engage him with three or more people. We cannot allow any accidents."
"Ikeizumi Uchiha, with just a clone, nearly caused 'Jewel' [Sasori] to stumble. Do not underestimate him."
Sasori 'Tsk'd' but said nothing, seemingly unhappy.
Because the truth was undeniable.
To shake off that strange black flame, he had nearly had to dismantle Hiruko.
Due to one member's absence, this Akatsuki assembly ended hastily.
"Do you think Orochimaru is dead?"
Nagato, sitting in his wheelchair, took a deep breath, slightly raised his eyelids, and looked at Konan standing beside him.
Konan said with a clear, cold expression: "More than whether Orochimaru is alive or dead, I'm more concerned about Tobi Uchiha's intelligence gathering ability. He already knew that Orochimaru was attacked by Ikeizumi Uchiha before we did."
"He seemed to be listening to someone speaking just now. If I'm not mistaken, it must be 'Mysterious' [Zetsu]. Tobi Uchiha hides many secrets, and 'Mysterious' also hides many secrets."
"In fact, the latter's secrets are greater than the former's, because we don't even know the latter's real name, nor why he exists in such a strange life form in this world."
"They are two very dangerous individuals..."
Nagato interrupted Konan: "The key is Ikeizumi Uchiha, not Tobi Uchiha and Mysterious."
"..." Konan was silent for a moment, then said: "Nagato, do you truly think that after a person with such vast ambitions simply uses us to achieve his goals, the Akatsuki organization will remain unharmed? He will treat us as a disposable pawn, to be cast aside at any time."
"Nagato, if that day truly comes, won't you regret it?"
Nagato slowly said, "I don't care."
"Hah... Konoha! Finally!"
Jūzō Biwa felt completely exhausted from running.
He hadn't stopped for a moment over the past two days, constantly pushing his stamina and chakra to the limit.
He was terrified that the Akatsuki members would catch up to him.
Now that he had finally reached his destination, he completely relaxed, unable to maintain his Kirigakure ninja aloofness, and even had to lean against a tree, constantly gasping for breath.
After recovering slightly.
He chose not to openly walk into Konoha, fearing that there might be Akatsuki spies within the village.
He was infiltrating stealthily.
"At this point, I can only turn to that guy. I just don't know if he'll take me in. After all, I'm not a Konoha ninja. If he doesn't take me in, then I'll probably have to wander the Ninja World, constantly evading the Akatsuki's pursuit."
Jūzō Biwa muttered.
Inside Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just been snubbed by his clan members, received news from a rushing ANBU ninja that made his scalp tingle—the Konoha Military Police Force and the Konoha ANBU were clashing! The two sides were facing off on a village street!
"What exactly happened?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't even returned to his house yet. The ANBU ninja's report and his current reaction were witnessed by the other Sarutobi clan members.
But in this emergency, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't care less.
He asked with a grim face, "Why are the ANBU clashing with the Military Police Force?"
The ANBU was the only card Hiruzen Sarutobi held that gave him any real confidence.
It was precisely because of this card that Hiruzen Sarutobi had the confidence to face Ikeizumi Uchiha even slightly.
If something happened to the ANBU, he, the Hokage, would be completely hollowed out!
After all, half of Konoha's other ninja clans no longer supported him, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In this situation...
What would happen without the ANBU?!
The ANBU ninja kneeling on one knee before Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment before speaking: "...It's because the Military Police Force believes that the ANBU is harboring many murderers. They believe that some of the people ANBU ninja have killed were not killed for the sake of the village, nor were they all deservedly wicked criminals. They plan to conduct a thorough investigation of all ANBU ninja."
"They demanded that all ANBU ninja undergo memory examination at the Yamanaka Clan. But the memories of us ANBU ninja contain too many secrets; we absolutely cannot allow the Military Police Force ninja to interfere recklessly. Thus... the clash occurred."
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows were deeply furrowed.
If this were before, the Military Police Force would never do such a thing.
The Konoha Military Police Force led by Fugaku Uchiha had tried their best to avoid the ANBU ninja like the plague.
But the ANBU led by Ikeizumi Uchiha...
This is too overbearing, too reckless!
Allowing the Military Police Force ninja to run rampant in the village in this manner would cause massive chaos!
Ikeizumi is completely unfit to lead the Military Police Force; he is unfit to be a leader; he is only suited to be a sharp knife!
One thought after another flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
He knew he absolutely had to go in person.
"Wait... is Ikeizumi present?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly thought of something and immediately asked.
The ANBU ninja replied: "Ikeizumi Uchiha appears to be on his way."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gasped.
...
.............
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