Chapter 230: The Third Hokage Loses Loyalty! A Chilling Heart
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's accusation, which seemed to be gritted through his teeth.
Ikeizumi Uchiha replied in a simple, flat, and direct tone: "Don't think too highly of yourself, Third Hokage."
The anger that was about to show on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face suddenly froze.
What does that sentence mean? Could it be that... Ikeizumi Uchiha had never taken him seriously from the beginning? That he only thought the opponent was deliberately targeting him because he was trapped in his own delusion?
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat bewildered, a sudden sound of an argument erupted behind him, causing his entire body to shudder.
"What are you doing?! What does your Military Police Force intend to do?! I am an ANBU ninja! I am a direct subordinate of the Hokage-sama, and I have rendered service to Konoha! You have no right to arrest me and take me to the Military Police Force!"
A named ANBU ninja, seeing several Military Police Force ninja approaching him.
He immediately backed away a few steps and placed his hand on the hilt of his ninja blade, the blade already half-drawn.
He assumed a posture of violent resistance.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi mentally exclaimed, "This is bad," an intense metallic clash suddenly erupted behind him.
When he hastily turned his head to look, he saw two Military Police Force ninja had already drawn their blades and slashed towards the ANBU ninja!
If the ANBU ninja hadn't reacted quickly and immediately drawn his blade to parry, he would have likely been severely wounded!
"Stop!!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted sharply, but the Military Police Force ninja completely ignored his command as the Hokage.
The two sides instantly engaged in battle.
In a two-on-one situation, the ANBU ninja quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Seeing the urgency of the situation.
Just as other ANBU ninja tried to rush up and help, a group of Military Police Force ninja immediately stepped forward to block them.
"Hey, hey, hey! You wouldn't want to help a criminal who used force to resist arrest, would you? Helping a criminal, in the eyes of [Absolute Justice], is colluding with evil and being a part of the wickedness!"
A Military Police Force Jōnin stared intently at an ANBU ninja before him.
He had already activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his eyes filled with a dangerous, vigilant intent as he looked at the ANBU ninja.
The intense actions of the Military Police Force made the other ANBU ninja hesitant to act rashly.
Without an order from the Hokage-sama, they didn't know whether they should engage in an all-out war with the Military Police Force.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi, witnessing this scene...
His face had turned utterly dark.
"Third Hokage, what do you intend to do?" However, just as Hiruzen Sarutobi forced himself to turn around to rescue the ANBU ninja, an extremely cold voice made his heart tighten instantly.
He had a premonition.
—If he assisted the ANBU subordinate in "resisting arrest," Ikeizumi Uchiha would not hesitate to attack him!
No!
The opponent most likely had wanted to strike at him, the Hokage, for a long time, but had never had a good opportunity. Because he, the Hokage, was always protected by a large number of ANBU ninja.
And once his actions as the Hokage triggered a full-scale battle between the Military Police Force and the ANBU ninja.
Then the ANBU ninja would be held up by the other Military Police Force ninja.
So, when he faced Ikeizumi Uchiha...
It would become a one-on-one situation!
To be honest.
If he were twenty or thirty years younger, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt he wouldn't be intimidated facing Ikeizumi Uchiha alone.
But he was old now, and he really might not be a match for this young man.
And the opponent was truly willing to kill when dealing with "criminals."
He wouldn't care about the "criminal's" identity.
The Fire Daimyō...
Danzo Shimura...
Were two excellent examples!
The indescribable emotions and predicament left Hiruzen Sarutobi in a difficult position.
Forcibly protecting the ANBU ninja would greatly diminish his authority as Hokage in the eyes of the Konoha civilians. Many people would even distrust and disapprove of him as the Hokage. In that case, his position as Hokage would become nominal, a mere empty title.
Then, when he issued decrees, probably very few people would cooperate with him.
If he stood idly by in front of so many ANBU ninja, what he would lose was the loyalty of the ANBU ninja.
He only hesitated for a moment.
And it was already too late... there was no time for him to make a choice.
Puchi—
As the sound of a blade tearing through flesh and blood rang out, the ANBU ninja who attempted a violent resistance cried out in pain. Under the Military Police Force ninja's siege, he finally succumbed.
One arm was completely severed at the root, and his abdomen was also slashed. Blood sprayed wildly, and his intestines were nearly exposed through the gaping wound in his abdomen.
The next moment, two bloodied ninja blades were already pressed against his neck.
The Military Police Force ninja were still somewhat restrained, otherwise, his head would have been separated from his body!
The other few ANBU ninja whose names Ikeizumi Uchiha had called out were utterly shocked by this scene.
They were also left with a sense of utter desolation by Hiruzen Sarutobi's inaction.
They opened their mouths, seemingly wanting to speak but unable to utter a sound; their fingertips twitched, seemingly wanting to act but daring not to move.
In the end, they could only allow the Military Police Force ninja to forcefully restrain their hands behind their backs, all their ninja tools disarmed.
A kunai was pressed against their backs. If they made any sudden moves, the kunai would be ruthlessly plunged into their bodies.
"...It's over." Kakashi, in the crowd, did not stop the conflict either.
He stood neither with the Military Police Force nor with the ANBU ninja, like an indifferent bystander.
Kakashi sighed slightly in his heart, muttering in a voice only he could hear: "After today, I'm afraid very few people in the entire ANBU will remain loyal to the Hokage-sama. After all, he couldn't even protect his own subordinates."
Kakashi wasn't even sure if some of the named ANBU ninja were truly criminals or just normal people.
To call them criminals...
During the execution of ANBU missions, some unintended casualties are unavoidable when using intense methods.
But to call them normal people...
When unintended injuries occurred during a mission, they did not make amends but instead turned around and left. They also did not seek ways to remedy their mistake afterward, indirectly leading to the subsequent miserable lives or direct loss of life for the victims.
From the perspective of ordinary people.
This also seemed wrong.
Of course... besides a few of the ANBU ninja who Kakashi found difficult to distinguish. Kakashi could definitively conclude that the others, based on their actions, would not survive.
Because those were not mere unintended injuries; those were purely wicked acts committed due to a shift in mentality during a mission, which they even tried to cover up afterward. Their conduct was extremely vile.
At this moment.
Kakashi witnessed no less than seven or eight ANBU ninja being escorted away by the Military Police Force ninja.
Among them.
One ANBU ninja suddenly stopped when he reached Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even when the Military Police Force ninja behind him shoved him, he did not step forward. Instead, he gritted his teeth, turned, and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hokage-sama, you truly are excellent at maintaining the village's balance. You are also truly excellent at how you treat the village's benefactors. No wonder your son and daughter-in-law successively died due to Absolute Justice. No wonder you have gradually been sidelined to this extent today."
The ANBU ninja was wearing a mask, so Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't see his expression.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi could guess that the other person's expression must be extremely grim and deeply disappointed.
"Hokage-sama, if I am sentenced to death by the Military Police Force. Please, as a great figure, do not attend my funeral to pay respects. Otherwise, I fear I will rise from my coffin."
"If I am not sentenced to death, then please directly strike my name from the ANBU ninja roster. I would rather go and be a Konoha Genin than be an ANBU ninja, let alone a member of the Hokage's direct secret unit."
This last sentence was the true verbal attack.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of disorientation wash over him.
He tried to open his mouth to call him back, but the ANBU ninja was already gone.
The other few ANBU ninja being escorted away also looked at him, the Third Hokage, with immense disappointment before leaving.
Only the severely wounded ANBU ninja had passed out.
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but look at the other ANBU ninja behind him.
These ANBU ninja who hadn't been arrested stood motionless.
Their gazes were, more or less, focused on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed the emotion of "Disappointment."
At this moment...
He had lost the trust and loyalty of the vast majority of the ANBU ninja.
All because of his few seconds of hesitation!
The news of the complete defeat in the confrontation between the ANBU ninja and the Military Police Force quickly spread throughout Konoha. The news spread so rapidly because someone was fueling it from behind.
"Shikaku, if the Hokage-sama investigates just a little, he will surely find out that the Nara Clan is behind the spreading of this news throughout Konoha."
Inside the Konoha BBQ restaurant, Chōza Akimichi said to Shikaku Nara: "Aren't you afraid of incurring the Hokage-sama's displeasure?"
Shikaku Nara shook his head and said, "Chōza, the situation is completely different now. A week ago, I certainly would not have done this. Because the Hokage-sama still had a lot of influence in the village, doing so would be like playing with fire."
"But today, a week later, especially on a day when the Hokage-sama was unable to protect his ANBU subordinates... I have to do this. Even if it offends the Hokage, the Nara Clan no longer cares."
Chōza Akimichi asked with some confusion: "Why?"
Shikaku Nara said seriously: "Chōza, haven't you seen the situation in the village clearly yet? Many people are already weary and dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's rule."
"In this situation, every faction in the village will make a move. Those who act early will get a larger share of the fruit, and those who act late will only get to lick the leftovers."
Chōza Akimichi's pupils slightly contracted. He roughly understood.
—Many people no longer wanted the Third Hokage to sit in that position. Furthermore, everyone wanted to seize the opportunity to extract more benefits for their own ninja clan from the Third Hokage.
"Aren't you afraid of the Hokage's counterattack? He is still the Hokage of Konoha, and he still has some foundation in Konoha. Even if most of that foundation has been destroyed, a starving camel... is still bigger than a horse, right?"
Chōza Akimichi hesitated.
"Indeed."
Shikaku Nara nodded, but his tone quickly changed, and he slowly said: "Very few people in the village can withstand the Hokage-sama's counterattack, including our Nara Clan."
"However..."
"Konoha is currently being overseen by Ikeizumi. The Hokage-sama's counterattack will not pass Ikeizumi's scrutiny. The Nara Clan's actions today are actually for Ikeizumi's Absolute Justice."
"Only by clipping more of the Hokage-sama's influence in the village, or even forcing the Hokage-sama out of that position, can Ikeizumi's Absolute Justice spread throughout the entire village."
Chōza Akimichi gasped.
This...
This was practically a siege of the Third Hokage by half of Konoha!
And the Third Hokage probably still thought this was merely an "offensive" from Ikeizumi Uchiha.
"Shikaku, do your actions... have Ikeizumi's approval?"
Chōza Akimichi frowned.
Shikaku Nara said: "I already spoke with Ikeizumi earlier. He said—as long as we do not violate the bottom line of justice, and do not affect ordinary innocent people, he will allow our Ino-Shika-Chō families to play freely. If the Hokage-sama puts pressure on us, Ikeizumi will step forward to support us."
Chōza Akimichi exhaled a mouthful of stale air, leaning back against the chair.
He said: "Since you've put it that way, the Akimichi Clan can only follow the Nara Clan. By the way, how is Inoichi doing? Have you talked to him?"
Shikaku Nara smiled: "Inoichi acted even earlier than I did."
"Hokage-sama, these are our three letters of resignation."
Inside the Hokage's Office.
Three ANBU ninja from the Yamanaka Clan placed three resignation letters on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.
Before entering, the three of them intentionally did not close the door to the office, so that their voices were even heard by some Konoha ninja in the hallway outside.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in his office chair, snapped out of his daze.
He stared at the three letters on the desk, then looked up at the three Yamanaka Clan ninja before him, who had removed their ANBU masks.
"Why?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, his voice rough and tired.
One of the Yamanaka Clan ninja said: "The three of us are incapable of performing the duties of the ANBU. The intensity of ANBU missions has far exceeded our capabilities. We also do not wish to be confronted with ninja blades by our own people in our own village after completing a mission, and be called 'criminals' by them."
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyelids were twitching, and his breathing became slightly rapid.
"...Did Inoichi instruct you to tell me this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned, syllable by syllable.
The Yamanaka Clan ninja said: "It has nothing to do with Inoichi Yamanaka, and nothing to do with the Yamanaka Clan. This was a decision we three made ourselves."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart had begun to freeze.
.......
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