Chapter 229: Konoha Villagers' Hokage Conspiracy Theories
Under the tense atmosphere, many ANBU ninja fixed their gaze upon Hiruzen Sarutobi's not-so-tall back.
They had all witnessed the Hokage-sama's indecisive, weak, and hesitant attitude when facing Ikeizumi Uchiha.
But this did not mean they didn't hope Hiruzen Sarutobi would stand up for them.
The opponent was clearly targeting the Konoha ANBU; could the Hokage-sama really continue to be indecisive?
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally sensed their stares.
"Yamada Kei-yuno." And at this moment, Ikeizumi Uchiha began to call out names one by one, his voice as calm and unperturbed as ever, yet enough to make the hearts of those named tighten instantly: "Inoue Yūto, Inuzuka Takeya—"
And Hiruzen Sarutobi, upon hearing those names, couldn't help but gasp inwardly.
These were all elite ANBU ninja, and they were all people Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted most.
These people had also executed many missions assigned by Hiruzen Sarutobi, completing them perfectly, and were all benefactors of Konoha.
The most crucial point was that Hiruzen Sarutobi actually knew the conduct of these individuals. They would selectively become cold-blooded when executing missions. And once ANBU ninja became cold-blooded, it was highly likely to cause unnecessary casualties beyond the scope of the mission.
Regarding this, the former Hiruzen Sarutobi had turned a blind eye, as long as they completed the missions he assigned perfectly.
As long as it didn't jeopardize the safety of the village.
And in the past, no one would pursue the mistakes committed by these individuals.
This caused Hiruzen Sarutobi to almost forget this fact.
Until now.
At the moment the "crisis" arrived.
He finally remembered.
"It seems no one intends to surrender." Seeing no one step forward, Ikeizumi Uchiha coldly commanded: "Military Police Force, heed my orders—take down all the ANBU ninja whose names I called! Bring them to the Military Police Force interrogation room, then notify the Yamanaka Clan ninja to come and search these individuals' memories."
"Yes! Lord Ikeizumi!"
Ikeizumi Uchiha's uncompromising stance immediately invigorated many Military Police Force ninja.
How many years had it been since their Uchiha Clan had been this forceful?
They couldn't even remember.
Especially after Fugaku Uchiha took power, the entire Uchiha Clan, under the constant pressure from the village, kept retreating and bowing its head, almost being trained into a dog by Konoha.
Now—
They could finally hold their heads high!
When they saw the Military Police Force ninja pressing forward, Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and immediately said: "Ikeizumi! I believe their actions were not wrong in any way! And the Military Police Force has no authority to arrest members of the Konoha ANBU! The ANBU is a secret elite unit directly under the Hokage and is not under the jurisdiction of the Military Police Force. During missions, they are also exempt from legal restrictions!"
"This farce should end!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately decided to protect the ANBU, because this was the foundation upon which he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could still hold the position of Hokage.
With the Sarutobi Clan's attitude towards him gradually chilling, the ANBU was the only blade he held.
As for the Root?
The Root, controlled by Koharu Utatane, was so useless that Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't even bear to look at it; he had selectively ignored the Root.
The confrontation between the ANBU ninja and the Military Police Force, combined with the presence of Ikeizumi Uchiha and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the two prominent figures in the village.
Naturally attracted many brave Konoha villagers to gather and watch.
And both Ikeizumi Uchiha and Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke clearly enough that the onlookers heard their exchange.
This caused the gathered Konoha villagers to start whispering. "Why can ANBU ninja be exempt from the Military Police Force's jurisdiction and legal restrictions? Why are ordinary ninja like us managed by the Military Police Force? Is that fair? Aren't we all ninja? Aren't we all Konoha villagers? Why are these masked ANBU ninja so special?"
A Konoha Genin grumbled discontentedly.
Clearly, he was quite dissatisfied with the ANBU ninja.
After all, some of the ANBU ninja's behavior within the village was indeed domineering and unreasonable at times.
If they said they would take you away for investigation, they would take you away, without giving you a chance to explain. At least the Uchiha ninja of the Military Police Force could cite legal statutes, leaving you speechless.
"Didn't the Hokage-sama say that the ANBU is his secret unit? They must enjoy special Hokage privileges. In that case, of course, they're superior!"
A Konoha Chūnin, eager to stir up trouble, echoed the sentiment.
If one looked closely, one could see the Nara Clan crest embroidered on his clothes.
"If their conscience is clear, why can't they let the Yamanaka Clan check their memories?" The Nara Clan Chūnin smiled and continued: "They must have broken the law and now feel guilty."
He didn't lower his voice when he spoke, and his words naturally reached the ears of Hiruzen Sarutobi and many ANBU ninja.
"That guy—" An ANBU ninja frowned and looked at the Nara Clan Chūnin: "It's the Nara Clan—"
In the eyes of the ANBU ninja, the Ino-Shika-Chō clans had virtually become the running dogs of [Absolute Justice].
Furthermore...
There were actually Ino-Shika-Chō ninja still in the ANBU today.
This caused the ANBU ninja to instinctively shift his gaze to his colleagues from the Ino-Shika-Chō families.
He found that those colleagues were standing on the very edge of the crowd, seemingly adopting an indifferent attitude.
"Hah—" the ANBU ninja muttered softly: "Even after joining the ANBU, they still choose to stand against the Hokage-sama? It was the biggest mistake for the Hokage-sama to groom them."
But what the ANBU ninja didn't expect was that the surrounding Konoha civilians seemed to be swayed by the words of that Nara Clan Chūnin.
"Oh, right!" A civilian exclaimed in sudden realization: "These masked ninja have the Hokage-sama protecting them. Even if they really did something wrong, they can still walk away unharmed. No wonder so many people want to be ninja. So ninja have this kind of privilege."
"Hey, hey, don't talk nonsense! Ordinary ninja like us don't have this kind of privilege! They are Konoha ANBU ninja, the elite among ninja, so they naturally have privileges."
"How can the Hokage-sama be like that—as the Hokage, shouldn't he be impartial, especially when one side is clearly in the wrong?"
"Shhh, the Hokage-sama is right there. Are you trying to die, speaking ill of the Hokage-sama here?"
"What's the big deal? We even used to call Ikeizumi Uchiha a plague god, and he didn't do anything to us. Is the Hokage-sama going to do something to us?"
"Hard to say."
As the whispers of the villagers reached Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears, the wrinkles on his aged face twitched.
It's bad.
If these villagers continued to talk, his reputation as the Third Hokage would plummet.
"Lord Ikeizumi! Why don't you state the crimes of the ANBU ninja you named, so that everyone in the village can hear what unspeakable evil they have committed! Please let everyone see the true face of these ANBU ninja who refuse to surrender!"
The sudden loud shout from the Nara Clan Chūnin even caused many Military Police Force ninja to look at him sideways.
"That guy—"
A Military Police Force Jōnin raised an eyebrow: "Truly a Nara. That one shout—it put the Third Hokage directly on the hot seat. Was this instructed by Shikaku Nara, or was he spontaneously cooperating with Lord Ikeizumi?"
Another Military Police Force ninja said: "Most likely spontaneous cooperation. Given Shikaku Nara's personality, he would only help secretly, not openly challenge the Hokage with a clan member."
Ikeizumi Uchiha gave the shouting Nara Clan ninja a glance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi silently thought, This is not good.
"Yamada Kei-yuno, ANBU ninja." But it was too late to stop it, and impossible to stop it. Ikeizumi Uchiha's cold voice had already begun to slowly resonate.
"Ten years ago, while executing a certain ANBU mission, he was seen by an onlooker. To prevent the mission from being leaked, he used Genjutsu to hypnotize the witness. However, he didn't realize the witness was just an ordinary person, and the Genjutsu caused the witness to suffer a complete mental breakdown. His life became unmanageable thereafter, and he was constantly discriminated against. He only lived for three more years before committing suicide."
"The witness's wife had passed away earlier, and he had two children. After losing their mother and father in succession, one of the children followed his father in death, and the other became severely autistic for several years and starved to death at home."
As Ikeizumi Uchiha's voice continued, the surroundings seemed to quiet down, leaving only faint breathing sounds.
"Inoue Yūto, ANBU ninja. Seven years ago—"
Ikeizumi Uchiha didn't stop. He stated, word by word, the evil acts committed by every ANBU ninja he had named.
And the series of consequences caused by their evil acts.
"Why does that sound so familiar?" A Konoha civilian in the crowd murmured in shock: "It sounds so much like my neighbor. He had two children, and he suffered a mental breakdown and committed suicide early, and his two children also died—"
Many people realized that they actually knew the victims of the consequences caused by the ANBU ninja's evil acts! The events had even happened right next to them!
Some were their neighbors, some were their friends.
Some were even their relatives.
And without exception—the consequences of these evil acts had not caused much public outcry in Konoha at the time. It seemed that as soon as they happened, they were suppressed by an invisible force.
So who suppressed them? And who wielded such an invisible force?
The Konoha civilians, who were highly susceptible to "conspiracy theories," immediately had an answer pop into their minds.
—The Hokage-sama!!!
Since the ANBU was the Hokage-sama's secret unit, the person capable of quelling public opinion for the ANBU and constantly cleaning up the ANBU's messes could only be the Hokage-sama!
Even if it wasn't the Hokage-sama, it must be the Hokage-sama's right-hand man, or another Konoha Elder!
That makes sense. How could such a major figure be as "pure and innocent" as they appeared on the surface?
The Konoha civilians, suddenly realizing the logical consistency of their "conspiracy theory."
Immediately felt a mix of dissatisfaction, anger, and gossip in their hearts.
The dissatisfaction and anger were purely because the Hokage-sama had almost openly displayed the act of "shielding" criminals. Why should he shield these ANBU ninja? While they, the ordinary people who diligently worked to build Konoha, were managed so harshly?
The gossip was because they hoped more internal details would be revealed to complete the logic of their self-made "conspiracy theory."
The whispers had become extremely cluttered.
The noise was so loud it was nearly drowning out Ikeizumi Uchiha's voice.
Sweat was already dripping from Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead.
He found that many Konoha civilians had started directing the focus of public opinion toward him, the Third Hokage of Konoha. They began to attribute all the blame.
To him, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Was I wrong?
Hiruzen Sarutobi inwardly wanted to defend himself. But he found that all defenses seemed pale and powerless.
Suddenly!
Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled to find a hand on his shoulder. When he turned his head, he saw the owner of that hand was a Military Police Force Uchiha ninja.
No!
I am the Hokage!
Does he have no respect for hierarchy?
Immediately after, the force from the hand caused Hiruzen Sarutobi to stumble backward, making him involuntarily step aside.
Following that was the voice of the Military Police Force ninja: "Hokage-sama, please do not block Lord Ikeizumi's path. Unless the Hokage-sama is determined to shield these criminals. So, does the Hokage-sama wish to stand against justice?"
"..." After realizing what happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face flushed slightly, his teeth nearly grinding to pieces from the sheer rage.
He was good-tempered, but that didn't mean he had no temper.
Ikeizumi Uchiha's attitude was one thing, but how dare one of Ikeizumi Uchiha's subordinates show such disrespect towards him!
However—
Under the watchful eyes of the many villagers, Hiruzen Sarutobi found himself unable to lash out, because he was simply in the wrong.
Or rather, in the value system of these ordinary people.
His "reason," Hiruzen Sarutobi's "reason," was not the "reason" in the eyes of the Konoha civilians.
The Military Police Force's "reason" was the "reason" they acknowledged.
If he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dared to continue to obstruct at this moment, he could resign as the Konoha Hokage on the spot. Because the people's support had completely dissipated, and no one would respect him anymore.
This left Hiruzen Sarutobi rooted to the spot.
Subsequently.
He locked his gaze tightly onto Ikeizumi Uchiha, no longer caring how strange or dangerous the other party's eyes were.
"Ikeizumi..."
As one Military Police Force ninja after another swaggered past him and walked toward the ANBU ninja behind, Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and said: "What a performance! This was a long-planned strategy, specifically aimed at me, wasn't it?"
.......
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