Chapter 224: The Wind of Absolute Justice Sweeps Through Konoha
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been intently watching the situation at the Uchiha Clan compound.
Fortunately, the two Susanoo were large enough for him to clearly see the distant situation from the Hokage Office.
When he witnessed the colossal crimson Susanoo cleanly cleave the dark purple Susanoo into dissipation, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but take a deep breath.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt a faint hint of sulfur and a dry heat in that breath.
"Fugaku... has fallen."
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly uttered those words. He could easily guess Fugaku's fate.
After all, both parties had used the legendary Sharingan dōjutsu of Susanoo that basically guaranteed a fight to the death.
Now that the commotion had stopped, it only meant one side was killed, and the deceased was highly likely to be Fugaku Uchiha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that after tonight, the Uchiha Clan's political stance, internal situation, and prevailing ideology would be completely rewritten.
There was now no one left within the entire Uchiha Clan capable of challenging Ikeizumi.
[Absolute Justice] would permeate the entire Uchiha Clan!
The efforts of Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and even Uchiha Setsuna, had all simply paved the way for Absolute Justice.
And he, the Hokage, had failed to prevent any of it from happening.
Or perhaps...
He simply didn't have time!
Ikeizumi Uchiha's strength once again exceeded Hiruzen Sarutobi's expectations. He had never imagined that Fugaku would be defeated so quickly, so cleanly, and so utterly without resistance.
"Hah! Come in."
As Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice faded, two ANBU ninja instantaneously appeared before him with a 'shh' sound.
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with a grave, aged expression: "Infiltrate the Uchiha Clan compound in secret. See if you can find Fugaku's eyes. Knowing Fugaku, a man who possessed such power would never allow that power to be buried with him. He would certainly leave that power for... the village."
He had originally intended to say "the Uchiha Clan," but to admit that aloud might seem slightly less than honorable.
Hiruzen Sarutobi cared about his reputation, so he substituted "for the Uchiha Clan" with "for the village."
The dead cannot argue.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The ANBU ninja responded in unison.
On the other side.
A familiar line of text suddenly flashed before Ikeizumi Uchiha's eyes.
After successfully executing this act of justice, Fugaku Uchiha, in his final moments, had "gifted" him something unexpected.
The Fusion of Mangekyō Sharingan Power!
At this moment.
Ikeizumi Uchiha clearly felt two warm currents swirling in his eyes. The Mangekyō Sharingan power from Fugaku Uchiha was constantly being devoured and assimilated by him, causing him to instinctively close his eyes.
He stood still, as if frozen on the spot, for a full ten seconds.
When Ikeizumi Uchiha slowly opened his eyes, the pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan had subtly undergone a bizarre change.
The dual patterns seemed to be two different Mangekyō Sharingan designs overlapping and merging to form a single, new pattern.
It was also at this moment that Ikeizumi Uchiha's dōjutsu power began to increase continuously, causing a slight throbbing pain in his eyes.
However, this throbbing only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing.
He had fully adapted to these brand-new eyes.
"Hmph..."
Ikeizumi Uchiha sensed the changes within himself and muttered, "Blood relations this faint... yet they can still be fused? That's quite unexpected."
As members of the Uchiha Clan, there must certainly be some blood relation.
But who would have thought that such a tenuous blood relation would come with such a massive "gift."
After Ikeizumi Uchiha deactivated his Susanoo, a Shadow Clone that had split off at some point rushed towards him. The clone extended a hand, and lying in its palm were two eyes the Sharingan Fugaku Uchiha had gouged out before his death.
"Hmph... Too late again."
Tsunade looked at the somewhat gruesome scene of the Uchiha Clan compound ahead, and at the "empty" state inside. She raised an eyebrow and muttered, "That guy Ikeizumi seems to care about ordinary civilians, after all. He must have evacuated everyone beforehand."
She then saw a figure emerge from the Uchiha Clan compound it was Ikeizumi Uchiha!
Tsunade walked up to him.
"Ikeizumi, who did you have an inner-clan fight with this time?" She asked bluntly and without preamble.
"Fugaku Uchiha."
Ikeizumi Uchiha's reply made Tsunade's eyelid twitch.
Tsunade asked curiously, "What happened to him?"
Ikeizumi Uchiha briefly explained the situation as he walked.
Tsunade sighed upon hearing it: "Uchiha ninja haven't been this extreme for just a day or two. The way your clan awakens the Sharingan dictates that most of you aren't quite 'normal' your periods of normalcy are just you struggling to suppress the extremism in your hearts."
"Ahem, I wasn't talking about you," Tsunade quickly realized her slip of the tongue.
"You're not wrong."
Ikeizumi Uchiha admitted frankly: "Only a soil of extreme evil can breed the extreme nature of Absolute Justice."
Then.
Ikeizumi Uchiha suddenly said, "A Military Police Force ninja was severely wounded by Fugaku Uchiha's dōjutsu. The Medical-nin at the Konoha Hospital will likely find it difficult to treat him. Don't worry, it's only mental trauma; there's no visible blood."
Tsunade nodded, understanding.
"I'll go there now."
In the distance.
The evacuated Uchiha clan members had all gathered here. There were not only Uchiha civilians but also many Military Police Force ninja.
Izumi Uchiha was among them.
"It's over..."
A flicker of complexity crossed Ikeizumi's delicate face. She could see that Senior Ikeizumi had won, and Fugaku Uchiha had lost. That meant Fugaku Uchiha had been laid to rest.
She couldn't help but look forward, her gaze landing on Mikoto Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.
Would Senior Ikeizumi killing Fugaku Uchiha cause Mikoto Uchiha to resent him?
Would it cause Sasuke Uchiha's belief in Absolute Justice to waver?
But this was inevitable. Fugaku Uchiha had crossed the line of justice, and justice had to sanction him. They couldn't give him special treatment just because he had a wife and son, could they?
If they did...
That wouldn't be justice.
"Mother..." Sasuke truly looked up at his mother's profile. He could clearly see that Mikoto Uchiha was no longer able to control the tears in her eyes, which were steadily dripping down.
A sudden, empty feeling also made Sasuke realize something sharply at this moment.
"Father..."
Sasuke turned his head, staring blankly at the night sky in the distance. He couldn't describe his current feelings.
And then, Sasuke suddenly recalled some rumors about Teacher Ikeizumi.
He had heard that...
When one of Teacher Ikeizumi's close blood relatives committed an evil act, Teacher Ikeizumi personally executed them.
Was Teacher Ikeizumi's state of mind at that time exactly the same as mine now...?
Sasuke suddenly felt his vision blurring.
His nose also felt a little raw.
Just then, he suddenly felt a soft, warm hand gently stroking his head.
Looking up.
He saw his mother's face. She had already wiped away her tears and was forcing a fragile smile: "Sasuke, don't be confused. You absolutely must not ignore the wrongdoings of a person simply because they have a good relationship with you. That is wrong. The first thing an excellent ninja must do is distinguish right from wrong."
Sasuke could hear the slight catch in his mother's voice.
It was less that his mother was comforting him, Sasuke Uchiha.
And more that she was comforting herself.
"...Yes."
Sasuke nodded heavily.
Ikeizumi Uchiha, who took all of this in, let out a soft sigh in her heart.
Scenes like this often played out among different people after almost every execution of justice.
But, as Mikoto Uchiha said.
Right and wrong cannot be ignored!
Family ties cannot interfere with justice!
Lady Mikoto was indeed a good mother; she was suppressing her grief to teach her second son by example. Yet, she couldn't understand why Itachi Uchiha, the eldest son, hadn't inherited a single one of her virtues.
Ikeizumi didn't understand.
Just then, Ikeizumi was suddenly startled, as a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight.
"Senior Ikeizumi!"
Mikoto Uchiha also noticed Ikeizumi Uchiha at this moment.
When she saw only Ikeizumi Uchiha walking towards her, she knew her inner guess had been confirmed.
"Fugaku... he..."
Mikoto Uchiha asked with a slight tremor in her voice: "Did he leave anything behind? Or... did he say any final words?"
Ikeizumi Uchiha stood before her and handed the two Mangekyō Sharingan in his hand to Mikoto Uchiha.
He spoke: "He left these for Sasuke."
Mikoto Uchiha was stunned.
The two Mangekyō Sharingan had been thoroughly wiped clean; all traces of blood were gone. These were Fugaku Uchiha's eyes, the only "remains" he had left behind.
Ikeizumi Uchiha continued: "In the final moment of his life, he only said he wanted to give this pair of eyes to Sasuke. But he is still a child, a child with an immature mind. Possessing this power... is highly likely to cause disaster."
"As for when he is qualified to own and use these eyes, that is your choice as his mother."
Mikoto Uchiha stiffly accepted the pair of Mangekyō.
"...I understand."
She whispered.
The next day.
Morning.
News of the execution of the former Uchiha Clan Head, Fugaku Uchiha, by [Absolute Justice] instantly ignited the entire Konoha village! To many, he was absolutely one of the village's biggest figures!
And the Uchiha Clan, as a ninja clan, had long been at the center of the village's public opinion storms. Any minor development was enough to cause heated discussions among Konoha villagers.
Not to mention the death of a former Clan Head who had been forced to step down!
"Could this be some malicious political struggle? Did that Uchiha plague-god find a random excuse after taking power to eliminate rivals and seize the opportunity to get rid of Fugaku Uchiha?"
The cynical Konoha populace was never absent.
Often, strange conspiracy theories would begin circulating privately without the need for deliberate instigation.
"That's very possible! Otherwise, why the coincidence? And Fugaku Uchiha was the former Clan Head, after all. Even if he committed a crime, was there no chance for leniency? They would only be this ruthless when eliminating dissenters!"
"I heard that Fugaku Uchiha's wife was involved, too. Tsk-tsk, what a ruthless woman! The Uchiha Clan truly is a bunch of lunatics, and the women are no exception."
"It's that Ikeizumi Uchiha using 'justice' to eliminate rivals! He must have done this before; I bet a lot of Uchiha clan members have died at his hands, right?"
"..."
However, the Military Police Force was no longer the Military Police Force of the past.
Before, when sensational rumors and conspiracy theories circulated in the village, the Military Police Force ninja were mostly apathetic.
Because Fugaku Uchiha, as the former Commander, simply didn't care about these malicious rumors and conspiracy theories.
But now, things were different.
As two cynical Konoha villagers were discussing with great enthusiasm, even adding fuel to the fire with rumors.
"Hey!"
A voice suppressing irritation sounded behind them: "What are you two talking about? Can I join in?"
The two Konoha villagers turned back in confusion.
They were instantly scared out of their wits.
"Poli..."
"The Military Police Force!!!"
A Military Police Chūnin was seen expressionlessly resting his hand on his ninja blade, which was already half-drawn, and spoke with an indifferent tone: "Spreading rumors in the village and causing an extremely negative impact through malicious gossip do you truly think the Military Police Force will turn a blind eye?"
The two Konoha villagers' faces stiffened.
"But... but you never cared before..." one of them said, looking crestfallen, his voice trembling.
"We care now! Because the Military Police Force is no longer under the command of that weak criminal, Fugaku Uchiha! The Military Police Force now fully adheres to Lord Ikeizumi's Absolute Justice!"
"You rabble-rousers, don't think you can continue slandering others behind their backs and get away with it!"
"Lord Ikeizumi has said that a tragedy similar to Sakumo Hatake's will not be allowed to happen a second time!"
The Military Police Chūnin said coldly.
"...That kind of thing won't happen again?"
Not far away.
Kakashi Hatake, who had witnessed the entire scene, had a complex look in his eyes.
"With Ikeizumi's extreme methods, perhaps... he truly can curb this unhealthy trend of slander in the village."
Kakashi's mind was conflicted.
The Konoha Higher-Ups he served did nothing to stop the immense pressure of public opinion his father endured. In fact... they may have even encouraged it.
Yet, it was Ikeizumi Uchiha, a man completely unrelated to him, who mentioned his father's fate in front of the Military Police Force ninja.
And ordered his subordinates to stop this unhealthy trend.
A doubt began to grow in Kakashi's heart.
Who... is truly acting for the good of the village?
(End of Chapter)
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