Chapter 178: Save Me!
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"Jūzō Biwa! The Blood Mist Village absolutely does not tolerate traitors! It was a mistake for our ANBU squad to underestimate your companion. But if we don't return to Kirigakure in time, the Fourth will know our mission failed, and he'll send more ANBU squads."
Puch
Jūzō Biwa mercilessly slit the man's throat. His tense face held a hint of fatigue and sorrow. "The village's Blood Mist policy has completely brainwashed some people. They've become nothing more than killing tools devoid of humanity."
He slowly let out a breath, then looked at the Wood Clone. "It seems Uchiha Ikeizumi left you with many safeguards."
The Wood Clone jumped down from the tree, carefully avoiding the lava on the ground.
It stated, "You've joined the Akatsuki, but the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure is pursuing you. Rather than this being the Fourth Mizukage's order, it's more likely Uchiha Obito's plan."
Jūzō was stunned. He didn't understand. "What does this have to do with Uchiha Obito?"
The Wood Clone explained, "Your Fourth Mizukage has long been controlled by Uchiha Obito using the Mangekyō Sharingan. The reason Kirigakure became the Blood Mist Village is due to Uchiha Obito's interference, using the Fourth Mizukage to reignite the Blood Mist policy."
"This ANBU squad was likely his backup plan to hunt you. If he failed to kill you himself and you managed to escape, this ANBU backup would execute the kill mission."
Jūzō Biwa: "!!!"
The Fourth Mizukage... controlled by Uchiha Obito?
The culprit behind Kirigakure's Blood Mist policy is Uchiha Obito?
He was momentarily speechless.
Jūzō instinctively wanted to ask what evidence the clone had. But then he reconsidered. Uchiha Ikeizumi knew more about the Akatsuki than he did; he simply didn't know their exact location. In this situation, it seemed logical for him to know the Fourth Mizukage was being controlled by Uchiha Obito.
He believed it.
Jūzō Biwa tightly gripped the hilt of the Kubikiribōchō, his expression volatile, eyes filled with murderous intent.
"So the source of all the tragedies in Kirigakure is that cowardly bastard who hides his face!"
Jūzō's teeth were practically grinding.
He knew firsthand the suffering the Blood Mist policy had inflicted on Kirigakure over the years. The entire village, and even the Land of Water, smelled of blood at all times. The common people lived in unbearable misery.
The educational system that required students to kill each other to graduate, the Kekkei Genkai clans that were almost entirely slaughtered, the extremely high-pressure rule, and the policy of isolationism...
All turned the Land of Water and Kirigakure into the darkest place in the ninja world.
Jūzō Biwa chose to defect from Kirigakure precisely because he couldn't stand the Blood Mist policy. When even one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen couldn't endure it, one could see how morbid the situation was.
He stared at the blood-sprayed corpse at his feet.
"Uchiha Ikeizumi." A trace of confusion flashed in Jūzō's eyes. He let out a heavy sigh and asked, "You must know a bit about why Kirigakure is called the Bloody Mist Village, right?"
"If you were a Kirigakure ninja, if you personally witnessed Kirigakure descending into the bloody abyss step by step... what would you, who follows the nindō of 'Absolute Justice', do?"
Uchiha Ikeizumi's Wood Clone replied, "Are you asking me this question to seek affirmation?"
Jūzō was startled.
He felt as if the clone could read his mind. He hadn't said anything, yet the clone knew exactly what he was thinking.
"The original body would not make a choice as cowardly as yours," the Wood Clone said coldly. "Fleeing only shields you temporarily from Kirigakure's evil, but it doesn't make that evil disappear. And because the original body believes in 'Absolute Justice', the word 'escape' is not in the dictionary of justice."
"The original body would use every means possible to thoroughly exterminate all the evil in the Bloody Mist Village. He would use the most absolute and ruthless methods to purge the entire Kirigakure, and even the entire Land of Water."
"Considering the extremely severe and extreme situation in Kirigakure, the original body would not hesitate to employ even more absolute methods than in Konoha. Because in chaotic times, only a heavy hand can correct things."
"To correct a deviation, excessive force is necessary!"
Jūzō Biwa fell silent. As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he chose to defect from the Bloody Mist Village. In his own eyes, he possessed a courage that ordinary people lacked.
This courage prevented him from being corrupted by the Blood Mist policy and becoming a mere tool of slaughter.
But in Uchiha Ikeizumi's eyes, his courage was weakness, an escape...
Jūzō instinctively wanted to refute and defend himself.
But he found himself speechless.
"Escape..."
"Weakness..."
"Hah!"
Jūzō slowly swung the Kubikiribōchō onto his back. He looked at the Wood Clone with a complex expression and said, "Perhaps one day you should take a trip to Kirigakure. If you want to change this ninja world with your sense of justice, you should at least first thoroughly cleanse the darkest place in the ninja world with your 'Absolute Justice'."
"Kirigakure... the Land of Water..."
Jūzō paused, then continued, "The situation there is ten, even a hundred times worse than Konoha or the Land of Fire. You can never imagine the extent of human depravity. The entire Land of Water, from nobles and ninja to commoners and beggars, is 'sick,' and severely so."
He scoffed, "Uchiha Ikeizumi, if I had met you earlier. Perhaps I wouldn't have joined the Akatsuki. Though you are also extreme, I can see that your extremism is directed solely at the evil in the ninja world."
"Your philosophy of 'Absolute Justice'..."
"Holds a greater appeal for me."
...
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi learned from Ranshīn Yamanaka that Uchiha Ikeizumi had gone to the Hyūga clan.
"Homura, are you certain the Hyūga clan handled this properly?"
Hiruzen asked Homura Mitokado, frowning.
Homura sighed. "The Hyūga Main House believes they have handled it. Their solution was to make Jinsuke Hyūga retire, withdraw from the Hyūga center of power, and leave Konoha."
"Hiruzen, you know that when an eighty-year-old man leaves Konoha, who knows if he'll return alive in two or three years? After all, someone at that age could die at any time."
"So, they used this method of defusing the situation?" Hiruzen mused. "The Hyūga Main House's approach might force the Branch House to swallow their anger and prevent serious internal conflict within the Hyūga clan..."
"However, given Ikeizumi's methods, he would never endorse such a mediating approach. If he determines Jinsuke Hyūga is guilty, he will demand Jinsuke's life."
At this point, Hiruzen felt a headache coming on.
His understanding of Uchiha Ikeizumi was probably deeper than his understanding of the Will of Fire!
"If Jinsuke Hyūga had taken my warning seriously, he would probably be dozens of kilometers from Konoha by now. Ikeizumi would likely find nothing."
Homura Mitokado said expressionlessly, "If Ikeizumi pursues him outside of Konoha, Konoha might get a chance to breathe."
Hiruzen was taken aback.
...
"Kenjirō Hyūga." Uchiha Ikeizumi stated the name of Jinsuke Hyūga's second son. Under the latter's shocked, angry, and bewildered gaze, he said coldly, "You colluded with Gatō to operate a contraband drug sea route from the Land of Water to the Land of Fire, transporting hundreds of tons of illegal drugs into the Land of Fire over ten years."
"Nine years ago, you brutally murdered a Hyūga Branch House ninja who advised you not to get involved in this black market business, and then deceived the Hyūga Clan Head with the excuse that 'he was assassinated by an enemy ninja.'"
The moment he expressionlessly read out these lines of bloody text.
The face of Jinsuke Hyūga's second son, Kenjirō Hyūga, changed.
His shock and anger instantly morphed into incredulity.
Hiashi Hyūga, whose face had darkened after witnessing Jinsuke's murder, suddenly froze. He looked at Kenjirō, his expression becoming extremely grave. He questioned sternly, "Nine years ago? That Branch House member who died tragically you killed him?!"
"And you were using the Hyūga clan's name to transport contraband drugs to the Land of Fire in collaboration with the notorious merchant Gatō?"
Kenjirō Hyūga, drenched in cold sweat, vehemently denied it. "Lord Hiashi, this is merely his one-sided..."
Before he could finish, Ikeizumi's voice, listing another of his crimes, cut him off.
One crime after another caused Kenjirō Hyūga to panic.
His father had warned him that this Uchiha Ikeizumi possessed eyes that could see the 'evil' in others, and many people had already fallen victim to those eyes.
This... was actually true!
Because no one knew better than he whether the crimes Uchiha Ikeizumi listed were real or fake.
"Two months ago, you resold tons of illegal drugs to Hayata Uchiha and two others, allowing tons of illegal drugs to flow into Konoha Village."
This...
This was the last crime Ikeizumi listed against him.
Under the gaze of Neji Hyūga behind him, Uchiha Ikeizumi slowly drew the ninja sword from his waist. The silvery-white blade reflected Kenjirō Hyūga's terrified eyes and Hiashi Hyūga's hesitant expression.
Though Kenjirō Hyūga was also a Tokubetsu Jōnin.
The blood and fragmented flesh of his father on the ground clearly told him how terrifying the Uchiha ninja before him was!
He was no match for this Uchiha lunatic!
"Uchiha Ikeizumi! This... this is the Hyūga clan compound! Lord Hiashi is standing right beside me!" Kenjirō Hyūga desperately grabbed Hiashi Hyūga's sleeve, clinging to him like a lifeline.
"Are you going to act right in front of Lord Hiashi..." But just then, he suddenly noticed Hiashi raising his hand, forcibly pulling his sleeve free from Kenjirō's grasp.
Kenjirō Hyūga was bewildered.
He heard Uchiha Ikeizumi question Hiashi Hyūga, "So, are you going to shelter him, Hiashi Hyūga?"
"..." Hiashi fell silent.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous Main and Branch House clan members.
He let out a deep sigh, and the Clan Head's taut composure suddenly deflated.
Though he did not answer Uchiha Ikeizumi's question, his silence spoke louder than words.
Everyone knew what answer Hiashi Hyūga had given.
"Wait, wait! Lord Hiashi, I am part of the Main House! My father was a Main House elder! Are you going to abandon me? You can't abandon me! I handed over some of the money I earned through special means to the clan!"
"Lord Hiashi?!"
"Lord Hiashi!!"
Puch
Kenjirō's large head flew into the air. Hiashi Hyūga, who was closest, had the right side of his face sprayed crimson with blood, and blood splattered across the clothing on one side of his body.
Kenjirō Hyūga's falling head coincidentally struck Hiashi Hyūga's shoulder.
That strike shattered Hiashi Hyūga's morale completely.
......................
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