Chapter 228: Drawing Swords in Front of the Hokage!
Meanwhile, on a street in Konoha.
"Senior Kakashi, you finally arrived."
When Kakashi rushed over, an ANBU ninja quickly greeted him and explained the situation.
Kakashi's drooping dead-fish eyes held a look of helplessness.
He glanced at the ANBU ninja gathered nearby, then looked at the Military Police Force ninja clustered directly opposite them.
Kakashi suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Who would have thought that the Military Police Force and Konoha ANBU would clash in this manner? More importantly, Kakashi found that standing on either side felt wrong.
As a Konoha ANBU ninja, Kakashi should, by all rights, side with the ANBU.
He should confront the Military Police Force ninja alongside his comrades.
But the problem was...
Kakashi actually quite approved of all the righteous acts the Military Police Force had recently performed in the village. In this morally distorted Ninja World, it seemed only this kind of extreme Absolute Justice could correct the twisted morals and worldviews of many people.
More importantly, Kakashi had a certain understanding of Ikeizumi Uchiha's strength.
He was also certain that if such a conflict occurred, Ikeizumi Uchiha would definitely intervene.
And that would be a major problem!
After thinking for a moment, Kakashi asked, "Was the operation to thoroughly investigate all ANBU ninja memories a decision made unilaterally by a few Military Police ninja, or was it an order issued by Ikeizumi Uchiha?"
The ANBU ninja standing before him shook his head indignantly: "We're not sure. We only know that these guys are like a pack of rabid ninja-dogs, relentlessly hounding us."
Kakashi sighed inwardly.
He glanced around and noticed that more ANBU and Military Police ninja were rushing toward the area.
The number of ninja gathered on the street was steadily increasing.
There were dozens of them in total, all elite Konoha ninja.
Just as Kakashi was about to speak again, his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly, his gaze focusing on one direction.
"Uchiha..."
"Ikeizumi."
Kakashi realized the situation had escalated.
It wouldn't be resolved easily.
"Lord Ikeizumi has arrived!" On the other side, following a shout from a Military Police Force ninja, the eyes of all Military Police Force ninja and ANBU ninja fell upon Ikeizumi Uchiha.
At this moment.
Many ANBU ninja, who had been stubbornly confronting the Military Police Force, felt an involuntary twitch of unnaturalness beneath their masks.
Evidently.
They were all too aware of the power Ikeizumi Uchiha possessed.
"The Hokage-sama is here too!"
It wasn't until a sudden cry of surprise from an ANBU ninja rang out.
Only then did all the ANBU ninja instantly find their true backbone.
Sure enough.
They saw Konoha's Third Hokage, flanked by two ANBU escorts, rushing toward the scene.
"Why are so many people gathered..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't even arrived yet but could already see the crowd from a distance. On one side was the Konoha ANBU, and on the other was the Military Police Force. The two sides were separated by barely two meters.
The intense "gunpowder smell" was palpable even from a hundred meters away.
It was as if a single spark was all that was needed to ignite the powder keg before them.
And if that happened... it would be an armed clash between Konoha's ANBU and the Military Police Force!
The scope of the entanglement would be massive, potentially dragging the entire village into a huge internal conflict.
At that point, even he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would be unable to mediate the conflict.
After all, the ANBU ninja were clashing with the Military Police Force precisely out of loyalty to him, the Hokage.
If he, the Hokage, mediated the conflict without siding with the ANBU, how could he account for it to the ANBU ninja loyal to him?
But being overly biased towards the ANBU would provoke dissatisfaction from the Military Police Force, potentially escalating the conflict even further.
Just thinking about it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's scalp tingled.
A few years ago, this wouldn't have been a problem.
At that time, Ikeizumi Uchiha was not yet fully established, and the Konoha ANBU alone was enough to suppress the entire Military Police Force.
Let alone a mere clash; even if the Military Police Force staged a coup, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have the power to put it down.
But things were different now.
The times had changed.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared in the narrow two-meter gap separating the two sides, he placed his hands behind his back, assuming the posture of the Hokage, and spoke to Ikeizumi Uchiha before him with a grave, aged expression: "Ikeizumi, let's end this farce together. There should be no conflict between two different departments of the village. You and I should work together to resolve the subtle misunderstanding between them."
Ikeizumi Uchiha looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was short, slightly tilted his head, and seemed reluctant to meet his eyes.
Ikeizumi Uchiha said with an unperturbed expression: "When the ANBU ninja agree to undergo the Yamanaka Clan's memory examination, the farce will naturally end, and the Military Police Force ninja will not trouble the innocent individuals within the ANBU."
The cold tone made Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow twitch, and the hearts of many ANBU ninja immediately tightened.
Kakashi, standing in the crowd, sighed.
It seemed his prediction was correct. With Ikeizumi Uchiha present, the situation wouldn't be resolved so simply.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice: "Ikeizumi, the Konoha ANBU is a secret organization, holding many of the village's classified secrets. If these secrets are leaked, it would be a huge blow to the village's security!"
"Furthermore, this also touches upon 'personal privacy.' No one is willing to have their privacy exposed, especially when they have committed no wrongdoing."
Ikeizumi Uchiha said calmly: "Then if I directly select specific individuals, and only ask them to undergo the memory examination, and everyone else doesn't need to, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"Third Hokage, how many of the individuals I select do you think are innocent? How many are guilty? How many of those individuals' privacies are truly worth protecting by you, the Hokage?"
After these words fell, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils constricted.
Perhaps it was his old age, but he hadn't immediately recalled that Ikeizumi Uchiha's eyes could see through the evil of others!
Ikeizumi Uchiha indulging his subordinates and allowing them to confront the Konoha ANBU meant that there were indeed wicked criminals within the ANBU harboring sins.
And Ikeizumi hadn't immediately pointed out the criminals in the ANBU but had instead allowed the Military Police Force to confront the ANBU first...
Was he intentionally training the courage of the Military Police Force ninja?
Allowing them to have the bravery to raise the sharp blade of Absolute Justice against Konoha's authority?
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who suddenly grasped the situation, looked slightly ashen.
To Ikeizumi Uchiha, this confrontation might just be a tempering of the Military Police Force ninja's resolve and character.
But to him, the Hokage, it was a severe blow to his Hokage authority.
Could he really allow Ikeizumi Uchiha to publicly expose the compromised individuals within the ANBU?
If so, he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would completely lose favor within the entire ANBU.
"Hiss—"
Hiruzen Sarutobi gasped inwardly.
His political instincts told him—Ikeizumi Uchiha was using this incident to achieve four different goals.
First was to temper the Military Police Force, second was to apprehend criminals, third was to weaken the Hokage's influence, and fourth was to weaken the power base around the Hokage!
Ikeizumi, in his position as Commander of the Military Police Force.
Had finally pointed the executioner's blade of Absolute Justice at him, Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Meanwhile.
The Ninja Academy.
"Little Jiraiya, with the special variable of [Absolute Justice], the matter of teaching the Child of Prophecy can't be delayed any further."
Shima-sama, on Jiraiya's shoulder, spoke earnestly.
"While Naruto Uzumaki is still young, before his worldview is completely molded by Absolute Justice... what you need to do is to pass on all of your beliefs to him, to make him the savior of the Ninja World, to have him rescue the Ninja World from its impending crisis."
Fukasaku-sama also echoed: "Under normal circumstances, we would definitely wait until the Child of Prophecy was older and an appropriate opportunity arose before teaching him."
"But the situation waits for no one. Even if Ikeizumi Uchiha has no intention of vying with us for the Child of Prophecy, his extreme ideology is still influencing the Child of Prophecy."
"A person who only believes in Absolute Justice cannot save the Ninja World. Such an extreme ideology could even harm the entire Ninja World."
"He can only bring about change for the Ninja World after being taught by you."
Fukasaku-sama paused, continuing: "Little Jiraiya, we know you are under immense pressure. You might even clash ideologically with that woman named Tsunade by doing this."
"But..."
"Those who truly consider the Ninja World's well-being are never understood. The heroes of the Ninja World don't all have to be as openly righteous and glamorous as Ikeizumi Uchiha."
"A ninja under immense pressure and in ragged clothes, after training the Child of Prophecy, can still be a hero honored throughout the Ninja World."
The words of the two Toad Sages of Mount Myōboku.
Reverberated in Jiraiya's ears.
The last trace of hesitation on Jiraiya's face instantly vanished.
"I understand."
He spoke: "I will go and approach Minato's child."
"Neji Hyūga, hasn't the Hyūga Clan settled down yet?"
It was lunchtime at the Ninja Academy.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji naturally wouldn't stay obediently in the classroom. They had come to the academy's practice field.
Naruto, clumsily throwing a kunai at a target, asked curiously, "I remember you said a while ago that the Hyūga Branch Family was trying to select a new Main Branch bloodline? So many days have passed; there must be a result by now, right?"
Neji, holding a wooden kunai, emotionlessly threw it at the target, hitting the bullseye directly.
He answered Naruto's question: "No. An emotion called Greed has spread through the Hyūga Branch Family. Many people want to become that new Main Branch bloodline. The competition is becoming increasingly fierce."
"Before, clan meetings to discuss this were held only every two or three days. Recently, they've been held almost daily. Those few Branch Family elders even want to hold two clan meetings a day."
Sasuke, standing nearby, also hit the center of the target.
Sasuke spoke: "Your Hyūga Clan situation doesn't look good. If this continues, problems are bound to arise, right? I'm quite familiar with this kind of intra-clan conflict."
"I have a premonition that if your Hyūga Clan keeps going like this, verbal conflicts are likely to turn into bloody conflicts. People who are greedy for power are rarely honest."
Neji Hyūga nodded with a grave expression.
He agreed with Sasuke's assessment.
This was precisely why he had been feeling down lately.
Imprisoning all the deeply sinful Hyūga Main Branch members in the Konoha Prison didn't seem to have brought about fundamental changes in the Hyūga Clan.
"Ah ha ha ha! The issues you little ones discuss are truly profound! Are kids these days all so precocious? I wonder if you can let me join in the discussion?"
A sudden, shameless burst of laughter startled the three kids present.
When they turned to look, they saw a peculiar, lewd-looking man shuffling toward them in a pair of wooden clogs.
"That guy..."
Neji Hyūga was momentarily stunned, then immediately whispered: "It's Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin!"
Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, "You know him?"
Neji said, "He followed me at night."
Upon hearing this, both Sasuke and Naruto instantly looked at Jiraiya with suspicion.
The enthusiastic smile on Jiraiya's face immediately froze awkwardly.
Damn it.
He had forgotten about that.
When he was confirming whether Neji Hyūga was the Child of Prophecy, he had indeed secretly followed Neji. And due to an interlude at the time, he had been forced to reveal himself and meet Neji.
He hadn't expected the other party's suspicion and caution towards him to continue to this day.
"Ikeizumi, is there no room for compromise?" Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and said expressionlessly: "I can also conduct an internal investigation within the ANBU. If anyone is truly problematic, I will naturally not shield them."
Ikeizumi Uchiha countered with a single sentence: "Coming from you, whose two sons are criminals, that statement holds no credibility."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face immediately stiffened.
Ikeizumi Uchiha continued: "I will only say a few names. Those whose names I speak can choose to do nothing, or they can come forward and surrender. The choice is yours."
When this was said, Kakashi's heart immediately thumped.
He frantically tried to recall if he had committed any wrongdoing in the past.
Finding nothing in his memory.
He quietly let out a breath of relief.
'Ikeizumi Uchiha is issuing his final ultimatum!'—this thought flashed through Kakashi's mind.
The other party's tone seemed calm, without any fluctuation, but anyone could feel the killing atmosphere permeating the air.
The ANBU ninja, feeling this atmosphere, involuntarily tensed their muscles.
And the Military Police Force ninja eagerly placed their hands on the hilts of their ninja blades.
This was the first time the Military Police Force ninja had assumed such a posture in front of the Konoha Hokage.
Before, they would never have dared.
The scales of "confidence" between the two sides had already begun to tip.
...
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