Chapter 172: A rule is just a rule
"Why do I feel like my luck has gotten worse since I came to the Leaf?"
Suigetsu's older brother, Mangetsu, was squatting in a small tavern in the Leaf Village.
Yes, he was back, and he had even retrieved the Executioner's Blade he had dropped. Because Juzo Biwa was afraid that if he left the Leaf Village and Uchiha Ikeizumi, he would run into Uchiha Obito and the others again.
He alone would be no match for the three of them.
Juzo Biwa exhaled a mouthful of alcohol and picked up his cup again, drinking gloomily. He then looked at the commotion that had long since died down in the distance.
Juzo Biwa muttered to himself, "How on earth do these civilians in the Leaf survive in such a 'harsh' environment?"
Juzo Biwa had a clear view of the collision between the two Susanoo just now. He had never seen such a terrifying jutsu. At the time, Juzo Biwa even felt that the Leaf Village would be destroyed by the aftermath of the battle between those two giant "monsters."
He had even prepared to run away and take shelter. But he didn't expect the other "giant monster" to be so weak. The battle ended with a single slash.
"Speaking of which…" Juzo Biwa stared at the sake in his cup and murmured, "I didn't seem to thank Uchiha Ikeizumi. That Lava Style monster saved my life tonight after all."
Just then.
In the reflection of the alcohol, Juzo Biwa suddenly saw a blurry figure appear behind him. His pupils shrank, and he immediately grabbed the nearby Executioner's Blade.
As long as the figure behind him made any move, he would unhesitatingly slash his Executioner's Blade backward.
"It's me."
A very familiar voice made Juzo Biwa's movements freeze. Before he could turn around, the man behind him had already sat down in the seat next to him.
Juzo Biwa was covered in cold sweat.
"Hah, a misunderstanding." He immediately let go of the Executioner's Blade, signaling that he had no ill intentions. He knew that for him, a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, showing such a reaction in front of Uchiha Ikeizumi was very cowardly. But he also knew that being an enemy of this man was no different from committing suicide.
His life was still useful. He couldn't die in the Leaf Village.
Uchiha Ikeizumi asked, "How long do you plan to stay in the Leaf?"
Juzo Biwa looked at him and replied, "I'll leave the Leaf as soon as those three stop guarding outside. When that happens, I won't go back to the Akatsuki. I'll find another organization to be my home."
"No."
Uchiha Ikeizumi said, "You need to return to the Village Hidden in the Rain, return to the Akatsuki, and tell Konan the secret you know."
Juzo Biwa's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, hey, isn't that a little too much to ask? I obviously can't beat those three!"
Juzo Biwa's face was filled with a look of rejection.
"I will go with you." Uchiha Ikeizumi's sudden words made Juzo Biwa's rejection disappear by half.
He was stunned for a moment. "You…"
"Are you going after the Akatsuki?"
Juzo Biwa vaguely remembered that Uchiha Ikeizumi's ninja way was something called [Absolute Justice]. In this man's eyes, the Akatsuki, who incited wars between small nations, was probably one of the targets that his [Absolute Justice] needed to eliminate, right?
As expected.
Uchiha Ikeizumi's next words confirmed Juzo Biwa's guess. "Within the Akatsuki, there are many sources of evil that have been targeted by Absolute Justice. Uchiha Obito, Orochimaru… these people all need to be judged by justice."
"The existence of the Akatsuki brings these evil people together, so I don't need to look for them all over the ninja world. It is also the responsibility and obligation of Absolute Justice to clear them all out."
Juzo Biwa took a deep breath. "You are probably the only person in the entire ninja world who would dare to say such a thing."
Recalling Uchiha Ikeizumi's strange dōjutsu, Juzo Biwa added, "Maybe you can really do it."
He knew that if he agreed to Uchiha Ikeizumi, it would be a betrayal of the Akatsuki. But he also knew that he had no other choice.
"I'll leave the Leaf tomorrow morning."
Just as Juzo Biwa said this, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "This is your main body, right?"
"A Wood Clone."
Uchiha Ikeizumi said honestly.
Juzo Biwa: "…"
What?
He had thought that Uchiha Ikeizumi would be his personal bodyguard, but he never expected that the other person would just use him as a "tool key" to find the Akatsuki's base in the Village Hidden in the Rain!
If he only sent a Wood Clone to go to the Village Hidden in the Rain with him, wouldn't the Wood Clone's only purpose be a tracker?
Juzo Biwa's face was stiff. "What if we run into Uchiha Obito who still hasn't given up? Why aren't you going with me?"
"I still have some unfinished business in the Leaf." The Wood Clone said. "My main body needs to eliminate the evil I see before me one by one, and also needs to first create the prototype of the Absolute Justice team in the Land of Fire. This can be considered the first attempt at Absolute Justice."
With that, Uchiha Ikeizumi's Wood Clone stopped talking and looked at Juzo Biwa calmly.
Even without saying a word, even as just a Wood Clone, it made Juzo Biwa break out in a cold sweat.
The pressure he felt was like facing that genin named Might Duy.
"Cough! Fine, we'll leave tomorrow morning."
Juzo Biwa couldn't stand the pressure anymore. He could only believe that Uchiha Ikeizumi had some kind of trump card hidden in this Wood Clone that could protect him, Juzo Biwa. After all, with this guy's Absolute Justice, he couldn't possibly let an innocent person die, right?
The next day.
Morning.
The news of Uchiha Itachi's death at the hands of Uchiha Ikeizumi spread throughout the village.
Especially within the Uchiha clan compound, it caused a huge uproar.
"That prodigal beast, Uchiha Itachi, is finally dead!"
Sasuke, who was a little dazed and was about to go to the ninja academy, suddenly heard a member of the police force excitedly saying to his companion next to him.
"This guy hid in the Leaf for a long time and didn't dare to show his face. I didn't expect him to still be caught by Uchiha Ikeizumi, who killed him right away."
"If Uchiha Ikeizumi had killed someone else, I might have some complaints, but if he killed Uchiha Itachi, I have to cheer for him!"
"After all, that beast wanted to annihilate the clan!"
That companion was also a member of the police force. He clicked his tongue. "The commotion last night must have been caused by the two of them, right? That prodigal beast, Uchiha Itachi, is indeed a genius of the Uchiha clan. Unfortunately, compared to Uchiha Ikeizumi, who is on par with Shisui, he's still far behind."
"Fugaku has always avoided talking about his son. It's obvious that he wanted to protect Uchiha Itachi. Now, all he can protect is a corpse."
"Actually, there's not even a corpse left." - This sentence flashed through Sasuke's mind as he walked by.
Uchiha Itachi's death seemed to have become a backdrop for Absolute Justice. His death seemed to make many ninja in the clan more supportive of Ikeizumi-sensei's Absolute Justice.
The ninja in the clan also didn't respect his father. They even called his father by his first name and refused to add the title of "clan head" after it.
This was probably because his father had protected his brother.
"Justice should not be influenced by family. Even if it's a blood relative, as long as they touch the taboo of justice and fall into the abyss of evil, they should be cut off without hesitation."
Sasuke's young face tried to convince himself seriously.
At the same time.
At the Hyūga clan.
Neji hadn't slept at all the night before, so he looked a little tired and listless. He quickly finished his breakfast and was about to go to the ninja academy when he suddenly noticed several branch family ninja of the Hyūga clan walking past him with a mix of expressions.
Neji could see the indignant looks on their faces.
Neji was very familiar with this expression because he himself would show this kind of emotion from time to time.
He took a deep breath, immediately followed them, and stopped a few of the branch family ninja. He looked up and asked them.
"What happened?!"
The branch family ninja of the Hyūga clan stopped. They sized up Neji and immediately recognized him.
"You're the child of Hizashi-sama…"
A branch family ninja was about to say something but was pulled back by the person next to him. He could only force a small smile. "It's nothing. It's not something you should be involved in at your age."
Neji had a bad feeling. He gritted his teeth and said his guess directly. "Did a clan member die? If it was a natural death, you wouldn't be hiding it from me. So, did a branch family member die because of the Caged Bird?"
Silence…
Gave Neji his answer.
"Why? For what reason?" He quietly clenched his fists and bit his lower lip. He asked repeatedly, "Is it because the main family needs another scapegoat?"
"Sigh."
A branch family ninja ignored the others' attempts to stop him and sighed. He said to Neji with a gloomy expression, "An elder from the branch family, without the main family's knowledge, tried to break the Caged Bird. But for some reason, maybe he was unlucky, the main family found out."
"Regardless of whether his attempt was successful or just a fantasy, his actions did violate the Hyūga family rules and touched the greatest taboo of the Hyūga clan."
"The main family elders activated the Caged Bird seal on him. And since that branch family elder was also old, he couldn't withstand the pain of the Caged Bird seal, which led to a physical illness that killed him."
He added, "This happened at four in the morning last night."
The branch family ninja half-squatted and ruffled Neji's hair. "Don't be sad. Just get used to it. This is our destiny. The caged bird can never fly out. As long as we don't violate the Hyūga family rules, we won't end up the same way."
Neji stumbled backward a few steps in a daze.
"If the rules are like this, does that make them right?" He looked up again and asked the few branch family ninja in front of him.
A branch family ninja replied, "A rule, when it's been around for a long time and everyone is used to it, becomes right. Because no one in the branch family can break the rule. The Caged Bird is our bondage. No one in the main family will change the rule. They are the beneficiaries. Over time, a rule is just a rule."
After a few words, everyone present, including Hyūga Neji, fell silent.
"A rule is just a rule," "When it's been around for a long time, it becomes right," "No one can break the rule," "This is our destiny"… One sentence after another echoed in Neji's mind.
He was still in a daze when he reached the ninja academy and his classroom. He couldn't help but rub the bandage on his forehead. The Caged Bird seal was hidden underneath the bandage.
Bang!
Suddenly, Neji felt that he had accidentally bumped into someone. He heard a surprised cry, and the person fell to the ground.
Neji, who had come back to his senses, frowned and looked down. He saw a boy with an odd bowl cut and thick eyebrows holding his knee, hissing in pain.
"Hey, Neji, don't mind that guy." A ninja academy classmate patted Neji's shoulder. "This guy can't even learn the most basic chakra flow in his meridians. Even the teacher says he might not even be able to use any ninjutsu. He has no talent to be a ninja at all."
"And he insists on saying he wants to be a ninja. Tsk, how can a dead last like him become a ninja? In this world, how can there be a ninja who can't even use ninjutsu? He's not in our world, Neji. You don't need to pay attention to him."
Neji slapped the hand off his shoulder. He glanced coldly at the person who had spoken. "Your posture is very similar to the kind of person I despise the most. High and mighty, as if you can casually take someone's life or use a life as a scapegoat."
As the ninja academy classmate froze, Neji was about to step over Rock Lee, but he hesitated the moment he lifted his foot and put it back down.
Neji helped Rock Lee up. "I'm sorry for bumping into you." After saying this, he walked past him and went to his seat.
Justice should be like this.
Neji thought to himself.
(End of Chapter)
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