Chapter 112: Naruto's Nine-Tails Power Explodes
Sasuke's mind involuntarily flashed with the image of the strange red chakra that was wrapped around Naruto earlier.
A complicated expression flashed across his pale face, but what followed was a strong sense of anticipation—if a deadlast could gain such power from the gift of absolute justice, then what about me?
"What exactly happened in Iruka's class? Where is Iruka?" The ninja academy teacher continued to question Sasuke.
Sasuke responded with a hoarse voice, "He was put under genjutsu. I was the only one in the entire class who was awake besides the dead...Naruto Uzumaki."
Just as the ninja academy teacher was about to ask something else, he suddenly caught a glimpse of outsiders entering the ninja academy.
He turned his head to get a closer look and saw that they were ninja from the Uchiha Police Force.
Wait!
That guy seems to be...
Uchiha Ikeizumi!!!
Not only were the few ninja academy teachers shocked, but the other ninja academy teachers also hurriedly took a few steps back.
The name, the shadow. Although Uchiha Ikeizumi's reputation had indeed been corrected a little recently, the fear that had been there for years could not be eliminated overnight.
They also saw a ninja cat running over quickly and pressing a cat's paw on Naruto Uzumaki's neck.
"Meow, Lord Ikeizumi, the Naruto brat is still alive. There is still a bit of very violent and strange chakra leaking from his body. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."
After a preliminary check, Kijiro spoke with a professional tone: "He should have been put under genjutsu, and it was a Sharingan genjutsu. This genjutsu should not be harmful to his body, it just makes him fall unconscious."
"It looks a bit like the Tailed Beast inside him lost control, and then a passing Uchiha put him under genjutsu, meow."
Uchiha Ikeizumi walked over and picked Naruto up.
Just like picking up a sleeping golden-haired little fox.
"He...the deadlast, didn't lose control, ugh!" Sasuke's dry, hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
He looked up and stared directly at Uchiha Ikeizumi: "Ikeizumi-sensei, the deadlast...he helped me stop, ugh, he stopped Uchiha Itachi. Because Uchiha Itachi broke into the ninja academy. He wanted to use his Sharingan to make me kill someone... He said that as long as I killed someone with my own hands, then [Absolute Justice] would abandon me..."
Izumi instantly put her hand on her ninja sword. She stared at the handprint on Sasuke's neck.
Connecting this to what Sasuke just said, she had already guessed a lot.
Izumi gritted her teeth and said, "Uchiha Itachi is terminally ill!"
Sasuke continued, "At a critical moment...the deadlast, who had fallen unconscious from the genjutsu, suddenly woke up. He had a lot of red chakra on him. He helped me chase Uchiha Itachi away."
Sasuke didn't exaggerate or belittle Naruto.
Even though he felt a little bit of jealousy toward Naruto's power, what Sasuke felt more in his heart was a sense of inexplicable gratitude.
If it weren't for Naruto's sudden intervention, he might have really been controlled by Uchiha Itachi and killed an innocent person.
At that time...
[Absolute Justice] would have abandoned him.
"What a monster, meow!" Kijiro was so angry that his claws came out. He couldn't help but curse, "Treating his own brother this way, does he have a brain? I should have risked my cat life to kill that guy back then! And that Uchiha Shisui, if it weren't for him protecting that monster, he wouldn't have lived until now, meow!"
"Meow! I wish I could use that Impure World Reincarnation jutsu to reincarnate Uchiha Shisui and let him see what kind of despicable things the monster he protected is doing to people outside!"
Of course, Kijiro didn't know how to use the Impure World Reincarnation. The reason he knew about this jutsu was from Lord Ikeizumi.
"Don't worry..." Uchiha Ikeizumi glanced at the uneasy and fearful Sasuke. He said, "Even if you were controlled by him to kill an innocent person, [Absolute Justice] would not abandon you, because it was not your intention to kill. You were forced to become a tool. The one who truly killed was him, not you."
"If [Absolute Justice] were to abandon a person who is seeking justice because of something like this, then who would be willing to uphold justice? Don't be influenced by that monster's extreme ideology. A person who is already very extreme will view everything in an extreme way."
Sasuke was stunned.
For some reason, Sasuke wasn't angry at all when Kijiro and Uchiha Ikeizumi called his brother a "monster."
Although he felt that the word was a bit inappropriate.
But he also felt that it was somehow a bit fitting.
And,
what Uchiha Ikeizumi said did make Sasuke feel a lot more at ease.
Konoha, Hokage Tower.
"Itachi...what is this?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been exhausted by all kinds of worries these past few days, was now looking at Uchiha Itachi, who was kneeling on the ground, with a look of astonishment.
Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and said, "I have come to apologize to you, Lord Hokage. I accidentally let the jinchuriki lose control today, but...it doesn't seem to have been a complete loss of control..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "!!!"
It's bad enough that one Uchiha Ikeizumi and one Naruto Uzumaki are giving me headaches, but now you, Uchiha Itachi, are starting too?
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. He tried to calm down a little and asked with a frown, "Itachi, what exactly happened?"
Uchiha Itachi did not hide anything and told Hiruzen Sarutobi the cause, process, and result of the incident.
This made Hiruzen Sarutobi's scolding get stuck in his throat.
After all...
Everything Itachi did was indeed for Konoha. What he did to his brother was also to make his own brother live a life of peace and dedication to Konoha.
This selfless spirit left Hiruzen Sarutobi with no fault to find.
If he had to nitpick... Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Itachi's actions were a bit too extreme. Will a seven-year-old child not develop some strange psychological trauma after going through something like this?!
In that case, the sudden "loss of control" of Naruto was indeed an accident.
"A 'loss of control' with rationality..." Hiruzen Sarutobi clasped his hands behind his back and frowned in thought: "It sounds like... he has initially mastered the power of the Tailed Beast inside him. He can only be rational when he is in control of this power. Otherwise, a new Nine-Tails' attack would have already happened."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well what this meant—Naruto was moving toward becoming a true Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
"It's a little too early..."
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan, he thought that at the very least, Naruto should graduate from the ninja academy before he could gradually guide him to control the power of the Tailed Beast inside him.
But he didn't expect that under Itachi's stimulation, Naruto would do this ahead of time, and he would also be exposed to the power of the Nine-Tails ahead of time.
Speaking of which,
"Itachi, weren't you stimulating Sasuke? Why was Naruto also affected?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly thought of a question that puzzled him.
Uchiha Itachi was also stunned and speculated: "Maybe it's the bond between Sasuke and him. After all, they both believe in absolute justice."
"A bond..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe.
He suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Why did he have to form a bond with a ninja from the Uchiha clan?
If he could…
he would rather Naruto have a bond with a junior from the Sarutobi clan.
"Lord Hokage." Suddenly, Uchiha Itachi spoke up, interrupting Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts. He said, "The Uchiha clan is becoming a bit uncontrollable under the influence of Uchiha Ikeizumi, and Uchiha Setsuna has also become more radical than before. Many of the moderate Uchiha have, in recent times, either chosen to join the radical faction or have become quite interested in [Absolute Justice]."
Hearing Itachi's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrowed. This was one of the things that had been worrying him for some time.
If the Uchiha clan really wanted to cause trouble and even launch a coup d'état that they thought no one knew about, but was actually already known to everyone... then Konoha would fall into internal strife.
The other ninja villages would most likely take advantage of the situation.
Although the Third Great Ninja War had not been over for long, it didn't mean that those ambitious guys, who had internal conflicts that were difficult to resolve, wouldn't want to start a Fourth Great Ninja War.
"Lord Hokage, I will handle all of this."
Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and said slowly, "You don't have to worry that the Uchiha clan will pose a threat to Konoha in the future."
These two sentences made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart skip a beat.
"Itachi..." He remembered the rumors circulating in the village about Uchiha Itachi's night of annihilation a year later.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and said with a serious expression, "Itachi, some things don't have to be so decisive. The people who can truly affect Konoha are only a small number of people."
He did have the idea of purging some of the restless Uchiha.
But it was only some, not the annihilation of the entire Uchiha clan.
Itachi's approach was a bit too extreme.
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't really accept it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat, his face grim, and reiterated: "Itachi, sometimes there's no need to go to such an extreme. The Uchiha clan is, after all, still useful to Konoha."
"...I understand, Lord Hokage." Uchiha Itachi replied, a strange look hidden in his eyes.
He stood up.
And turned to leave.
'I'm sorry, Lord Hokage... I should have known that you, who love the village so much, would not allow me to do such a thing. But, if I don't do some things, it might be too late. The Uchiha have already become a serious threat to Konoha...'
Uchiha Itachi, who had walked out the door, murmured in his heart.
Although Lord Hokage couldn't understand some of his ideas.
Why should he expect others to understand him?
"The path I have chosen for Konoha, for the Uchiha, and for Sasuke... is the most correct path."
Uchiha Itachi, who was muttering to himself, suddenly looked up.
He saw a ninja with a lot of facial hair passing by him, and the other person seemed to have noticed him as well. The other person's surprised gaze lingered on his face for half a second.
If he remembered correctly...
The other person was Lord Hokage's second son.
Asuma Sarutobi!
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was staring at the empty office door, frowned and puffed on his pipe. Just as he was thinking about how to deal with the Uchiha clan to make them a little more stable,
an unexpected person appeared in front of him.
"...Asuma?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. He asked in confusion, "Didn't you go to the capital of the Land of Fire a while ago?"
Asuma walked in, closed the door, and leaned against the wall, saying, "Old man. I told the Daimyo about it."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's movements paused, but he didn't scold Asuma. He just asked two questions: "What was the Daimyo's reaction? Did he say anything?"
"He was very angry." Asuma said: "The Daimyo wants the person who killed his son to pay the price."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "If I were to act against Ikeizumi because of this, Konoha would fall into chaos. If the Daimyo sent you to urge me to act, I can only pretend not to hear it. Asuma, you must not underestimate Ikeizumi. He is absolutely capable of plunging Konoha into an unprecedented state of chaos, a destruction no less than that of the night of the Nine-Tails' attack."
How could Hiruzen Sarutobi have not considered killing Uchiha Ikeizumi?
As the Hokage, he had thought of all kinds of bold ideas, and had even considered what would happen if he suddenly committed suicide.
It was because he had thought about it and had run the simulations... that Hiruzen Sarutobi was absolutely unwilling to get into a conflict with Uchiha Ikeizumi within Konoha.
The cost of a conflict was too great for Konoha to bear.
It was like how the First Hokage, even with a serious disagreement with Uchiha Madara, only agreed to fight him in the Valley of the End, not inside Konoha village.
Asuma, who heard this answer from Hiruzen Sarutobi, had a look of disappointment flash in his eyes, which he quickly hid.
He took out a cigarette, bit the mouthpiece, but did not light it.
"Old man, you misunderstood. The Daimyo did not ask you to kill Uchiha Ikeizumi yourself. He probably also knows your difficulties. He won't force you, and he doesn't have the right to force the Hokage."
Asuma put one hand in his pocket and said expressionlessly, "I'm just here to give you some advice."
"Since Uchiha Ikeizumi is causing trouble in Konoha and giving you a headache, and making you helpless... why don't you unleash this terrifying tiger and have him perform missions outside the village?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned.
Asuma continued calmly, "He is a ninja of the Uchiha Police Force, but he is also a ninja of Konoha. A ninja of Konoha must accept the ninja missions given to him by the Hokage, right?"
"I know you kept this tiger inside Konoha village before to deter some people. Now your goal has been achieved, and those people have been deterred, right?"
"Or rather..."
Asuma's eyes narrowed: "Those people are almost all dead at Uchiha Ikeizumi's hands, aren't they, old man?!"
"Since your goal has been achieved, why don't you let him out? Uchiha Ikeizumi executing justice outside Konoha village and within the Land of Fire has nothing to do with you, the Hokage."
"At that time, you won't have to worry about him, because the ones who should be worried are those nobles, those officials, and the Daimyo."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's tight frown did not relax.
"Asuma, what do you want to do?" Hiruzen Sarutobi just asked one simple, crucial question.
Asuma replied, "The Daimyo wants to kill Uchiha Ikeizumi and make him understand that he doesn't have the power to kill him. He wants Uchiha Ikeizumi to offend many people within the Land of Fire, preferably to the point of becoming an enemy of the entire country. At that point, someone will eventually be able to kill him."
Asuma took out a document from his pocket. He threw it toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, who caught it with one hand.
Opening it, he found that it was in the handwriting of the Land of Fire Daimyo.
"Old man, the Daimyo didn't ask you to deal with Uchiha Ikeizumi yourself. He just wants you to let him out and let him properly execute his [Absolute Justice] in the Land of Fire."
"And the Daimyo has also decided to increase Konoha's budget by thirty percent next year. A request like this... you should be able to agree to it, right?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a few seconds.
"A very naive plan. It requires too many coincidences to achieve the goal. It's completely just an unrealistic fantasy of the Daimyo. Even if I let Ikeizumi temporarily leave Konoha, the Daimyo will most likely not be able to achieve his goal."
Hiruzen Sarutobi paused and asked with a serious tone, "But, is this matter really that simple, Asuma?"
Asuma retorted, "Old man, don't you trust me? Although... I sometimes don't like what you do, have I ever lied to you before?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath.
"...Alright." Perhaps out of trust for his second son, or perhaps out of a sense of guilt for the rebellious Asuma.
He trusted Asuma.
....
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