Talk?
Hearing Lexon's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment before responding, "How do you want to talk?"
"Don't obstruct any of my actions in Konoha," Lexon said.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that the word "talk" on the surface actually meant "making demands after a successful threat," he was still shocked by Lexon's demand.
"Impossible!" Sarutobi Hiruzen replied firmly.
He had already identified Lexon in his heart as the culprit who controlled the Nine-Tails' rampage seven years ago. And now, he was the guy who had stolen the Nine-Tails from Konoha's Jinchuriki. How could he possibly let such a person move freely in Konoha?
As long as Lexon stayed in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart would not be at ease.
"Well... I know you're biased against me right now..." Lexon maintained his Susanoo and Tailed Beast Bomb, while his main body sat casually on a nearby rock, speaking to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
'Biased?'
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the Tailed Beast Bomb, that extreme concentration of chakra.
'If you throw that Tailed Beast Bomb into the residential district, who knows how many people will die...'
"First off... I wasn't the one who controlled the Nine-Tails seven years ago," Lexon said slowly.
He had no intention of taking the fall for Uchiha Obito.
"If not you, who else could it be! Uchiha Lexon!" Sarutobi Hiruzen retorted.
"It was a guy in the 'Akatsuki' organization named 'Uchiha Madara'." Since Obito was using a dead man's name, Lexon naturally threw out his fake name.
"Uchiha Madara?" Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "What kind of joke is that? Uchiha Madara has been dead for a long time!"
"Who knows..." Lexon spread his hands. "You can ask Itachi. His helper yesterday during the Uchiha clan massacre was 'Uchiha Madara'."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's frown deepened, but in his heart, he was starting to believe Lexon's words.
After all, his claim was easy to verify. He just had to ask Itachi and then assign Itachi to investigate.
It wasn't a difficult problem to solve.
Sarutobi Hiruzen still trusted Itachi greatly.
"I will try to verify your words. But how do you explain your Nine-Tails chakra," Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"You should know that the Nine-Tails in Naruto's body is only incomplete, right." Lexon propped his chin on his hand, speaking lazily. "One part is in Naruto's body, and the other part is in mine."
The first part of his statement was true; the last part was pure nonsense.
The Nine-Tails in Naruto's body was indeed incomplete, but the other half was in the body of the deceased Minato Namikaze, not Lexon's.
But... this wasn't the first time Lexon had used an information gap to deceive someone.
Neither his expression nor his tone showed any sign of lying.
And... [Pure Heart].
'Is that so...'
Sarutobi Hiruzen mused.
Although he felt he shouldn't believe him so easily, he felt that what he said made a lot of sense.
"That matter will also be investigated... But even so, I can't let you move freely in the village..." Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone softened slightly.
"Just dispel your Tailed Beast Bomb first, and then..."
Lexon's armed Tailed Beast Bomb was truly too terrifying, so he wanted Lexon to get rid of it before they said anything more.
But before he could finish, he was cut off by Lexon's cold voice.
"Did you misunderstand something... Sarutobi Hiruzen." Lexon's sinister, blood-red eyes cast a chilling gaze on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"If you want to verify something, go investigate it yourself... Just because I'm telling you this doesn't mean I'm backing down. So don't think you can make demands of me."
He sat on the rock, crossing his legs, his calm face turned toward all the ninja present.
"Right now, the choice you need to make... is to agree to my demand... or continue..."
"Don't blame me for not warning you. If we continue, I will choose the worst possible combat method for you."
As his voice fell, the moonlit scene became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was stiff as he thought.
The other ninja watched Lexon vigilantly, cold sweat beading on their foreheads. They made no sound, afraid of interrupting the Hokage's thoughts and judgment.
Lexon's attitude was clear: continue fighting or agree to his demand.
'Should I agree?'
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind raced.
'If I don't agree, I can't stop him by myself...'
'If he uses the Tailed Beast Bomb on other parts of the village, even if I can block one or two, what good will it do... For someone who has mastered Tailed Beast chakra... a Tailed Beast Bomb is a move he can use at will... It doesn't consume much chakra...'
'If just one or two Tailed Beast Bombs hit the village, most of the villagers and buildings will be destroyed...'
'I can't!'
'The village cannot be destroyed on my watch!'
"I agree..." As Sarutobi Hiruzen made this decision and spoke the words, his already aged face seemed to grow even older.
"Mn." Lexon nodded, a slight smile appearing.
That Sarutobi Hiruzen would compromise was within Lexon's expectations; it wasn't too surprising.
After all, from Sarutobi Hiruzen's perspective, his behavior in Konoha so far had been acceptable, and the intense battle just now hadn't caused any casualties. The conflict had not escalated to its deepest point.
More importantly, his own strength was absurdly high. Even if Konoha paid a heavy price to fight to the bitter end, they would find it difficult to keep him here.
And Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know that he had a powerful fighter, Might Guy, who could open the Eight Gates to the "Gate of Death" and kick a Tailed Beast Bomb around like a ball.
So Sarutobi Hiruzen compromised and accepted Lexon's demand.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was constrained by the village, but Lexon was not. He was all alone. Comparing the two, a fight was definitely not worth the cost.
"Then let's leave it at that for today..." Lexon dispelled the Tailed Beast Bomb, deactivated the Nine-Tails' shell and the Susanoo, and his eyes returned to normal. He spoke flatly.
He wasn't worried about Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others suddenly attacking.
After all, if he agreed one second and went back on his word the next, his authority as Hokage would plummet.
Besides, if a surprise attack succeeded, fine. But if it failed...
...the situation would return to the worst-case scenario from before.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was not that unwise.
"I want you to join the Anbu," Sarutobi Hiruzen said. "I won't give you missions. I just expect you to act under an Anbu identity, and try not to expose your Uchiha identity."
'I'm a rogue ninja now... I do need an identity in Konoha. An Anbu with an unspecified identity is a good identity.'
'Then I'll agree...'
After weighing the pros and cons, Lexon nodded. "Okay."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]