Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't tell if Akainu was mocking him.
He instinctively felt that investigating the social circle of a mere seven-year-old victim in this heinous case was pointless.
A seven-year-old's social circle would primarily consist of peers his own age.
What could they possibly know?
What could they even do?
After waiting for some time, the group saw a pack of ninja cats rushing back. This time, they handed the collected list of suspects to Akainu Uchiha.
A thoroughly exhausted Kuromaru panted, his cat tongue lolling out, "Lord I-Akainu, we've identified three suspects this time."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, for some reason, had a bad feeling. He interjected, "Akainu, could this old man take a look?"
Akainu Uchiha glanced at the information on the suspects list.
He casually handed the list to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took it and looked closely. The writing on the list was crooked and messy, clearly not written by a human.
However, he could just about make out what it meant.
And it was precisely because he understood the contents that Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils visibly constricted. A look of unconcealed disbelief appeared on his old face, and he gasped sharply.
Just as everyone was wondering, Hiruzen Sarutobi directly stated, "Akainu, is there some mistake? This old man remembers all three suspects on the list; they're all Ninja Academy students!"
"How could such a malicious murder be related to Ninja Academy students? They're just children!"
Everyone finally understood why Hokage-sama had that expression.
No one could imagine a case involving a few children.
"Children in the ninja world can be on the battlefield at four years old. Why do you think Ninja Academy students wouldn't commit such heinous crimes?" Akainu Uchiha coldly challenged, "Why? Because of your Third Hokage's Will of Fire?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
"Suspect number one, Shoya Hyuga, a branch family member of the Hyuga clan. Had a verbal conflict with the victim in the Ninja Academy and their relationship was not good."
"Suspect number two, Kyotaro Murayama, from a civilian family. Was once friends with the victim, but drifted apart over trivial matters. Even attending the same Ninja Academy, their relationship remained strained."
"Suspect number three, Ryuji Koharu, a member of the Koharu clan. The victim's 'senior' at the Ninja Academy, who ostensibly looked out for the victim, but actually engaged in subtle bullying."
Hiruzen Sarutobi read out the names of the three absurd suspects on the list.
He let out a heavy sigh, helpless, "Akainu, the minor conflicts between these three children and the murdered child aren't even enough for them to have a fistfight... how could it escalate into a massacre?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was more inclined to investigate suspects connected to the parents of the family of four.
Just bring all the suspects here and let Akainu look at them...
Wouldn't they know who the murderer was then?
However, every time he thought about this ability to see "past and future evil," Hiruzen Sarutobi found it incredibly unfathomable. He thought that no one could possibly have secrets from Akainu.
But he noticed that Akainu Uchiha wasn't speaking, merely quietly watching him, the Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly flinched, quickly shifting his gaze to avoid meeting Akainu's eyes.
Akainu's eyes, after all, made Hiruzen Sarutobi extremely wary.
To make his evasive movement less obvious, Hiruzen Sarutobi smoothly looked at Naruto, trying to maintain a normal expression, and asked with a smile, "Naruto feels the same way, right?"
"Grandpa Hokage... maybe it's better to just bring all three suspects here?" Naruto said weakly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
He suddenly realized that in the eyes of a child like Naruto, these three suspects didn't have a "child halo."
After all, adults like him, upon seeing the three suspects on the list, would instinctively believe they couldn't commit such an act.
But Naruto, being a child himself, probably didn't have this psychological barrier.
Naruto would probably only be shocked that three children, close to his age, were suspects in a mass murder!
"...Cough!"
With no other choice, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only continue to subtly signal the ANBU ninja to bring the three Ninja Academy students on the list.
---
### Inside the Hyuga Clan Compound.
When an ANBU ninja hastily arrived, Hiashi Hyuga, the current head of the Hyuga clan, was immediately alarmed.
However, it was a little too late. The ANBU ninja took no greetings, directly using "Hokage-sama's orders" as a pretext to forcibly take away a branch family member named Shoya Hyuga.
"Shoya Hyuga?"
Upon hearing the news, Hiashi Hyuga, whose face always looked like everyone owed him a few million Ryo, couldn't help but frown. "If I'm not mistaken, he's a branch family member, isn't he? Why would Hokage-sama have an ANBU ninja take him?"
A Hyuga clan ninja asked, "Lord Hiashi, should we stop that ANBU ninja and get Shoya Hyuga back? After all, he does possess a Byakugan."
When it was revealed that Danzo Shimura had secretly researched Kekkei Genkai, the ninja clans within Konoha had all become extremely jumpy.
What if Hokage-sama also became interested in Kekkei Genkai?
"No need." Hiashi Hyuga shook his head and said, "That child was branded with the Caged Bird Seal long ago. Moreover, Hokage-sama is not someone who would harm a comrade of the village."
"After all, Danzo Shimura was just an isolated case."
---
### Inside the Hokage Building.
A Koharu clan ninja rushed in anxiously and found Koharu Utatane, saying with great urgency, "Lady Koharu, why did the ANBU ninja take my son?!"
Koharu Utatane recognized this clan member. He was a relatively capable ninja from the Koharu clan, also a Special Jonin.
But his words made Koharu Utatane frown deeply.
"ANBU took your son?" Koharu Utatane couldn't make sense of it and asked, "Did the ANBU ninja say anything?"
—"He said it was Hokage-sama's order!"
Hokage-sama...
Hiruzen?!
Koharu Utatane looked suspicious. Wasn't Hiruzen with Akainu Uchiha right now?
Koharu Utatane suddenly felt a sense of unease.
She frowned tightly and asked again, "Did the ANBU ninja who took your son leave in the direction of the Uchiha compound?"
The other man paused, pondered for a moment, then hastily replied, "I think he did leave in that direction!"
Koharu Utatane grew even more perplexed.
Hiruzen...
What exactly is he doing?!
---
The ANBU ninja's efficiency was indeed swift. Akainu Uchiha didn't have to wait long before the three terrified kids were brought in.
This was their first time being forcibly taken away by the ANBU.
They had already imagined many scenes of brutal interrogation in their minds.
Then they realized they had been brought to the Uchiha clan compound, where they not only saw many Uchiha Military Police Force ninja but also many masked ANBU ninja!
Even...
They saw Hokage-sama!
"There's no need to be afraid." Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a benevolent expression to the three children, like a harmless old grandfather. He comforted the frightened children, "We've only brought you here to ask a few questions about a special case. Once we're done, you can go home."
After comforting them, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Akainu Uchiha. Just as he was about to say something...
He suddenly realized that Akainu was staring intensely at one of them!
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Akainu's incredibly cold gaze was like looking at a dead person!
This made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sink.
Hiruzen Sarutobi followed Akainu Uchiha's gaze and also looked at that person.
It was suspect number three on the list; he was a member of the Koharu clan. He remembered the name...
—Ryuji Koharu!
It wasn't just Hiruzen Sarutobi who noticed Akainu Uchiha's gaze. Kuromaru and Izumi also noticed; Fugaku, whose presence was very subtle, also noticed from behind; even Naruto sensed the atmosphere was off. He looked at Grandpa Hokage, then at Akainu Uchiha... and following the gaze of these adults, he looked at the very anxious "Ryuji Koharu."
"Akainu..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his mouth go dry, and his voice became hoarse without him realizing it. "Are you... are you sure you didn't see 'wrong'? He... he's still just a child!"
The ANBU ninja behind him also couldn't help but direct their intensely scrutinizing gazes at the Koharu clan brat.
"Third Hokage, [Absolute Justice] cannot be questioned."
Akainu Uchiha said coldly.
In Akainu Uchiha's vision, a very conspicuous crimson red box floated above "Ryuji Koharu's" head.
Inside, individual red characters detailed his crimes.
"Meow, as expected, entirely reasonable." The calmest people present, besides Akainu Uchiha, were probably Kuromaru.
Izumi took a deep breath. She tried to calm herself down and then quietly asked Kuromaru, who seemed to have grown accustomed to such things, "Kuromaru-senpai, are there many villains this young?"
"Quite a few, meow," Kuromaru said. "Isn't Itachi Uchiha, who's been hiding for days, one such beast?"
Izumi was momentarily speechless.
That's right!
Itachi Uchiha... he was only two years older than this kid, yet in just one year, he would wipe out the Uchiha clan! One caused the brutal murder of a family of four, and the other might cause the deaths of hundreds, even thousands, in a clan massacre.
Izumi felt a little lost and helpless.
Was the ninja world truly twisted and pathological? If the ninja world wasn't sick, why were so many young people falling into darkness?
She was a bit confused.
Naruto heard all of Kuromaru and Izumi's whispers.
His eyes wide, he pointed at the terrified "Ryuji Koharu" and couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "He killed the family of four? This person, he's the murderer we're looking for?"
Ryuji Koharu, already terrified and with trembling legs, instantly froze in horror at the sudden accusation, his composure crumbling.
He cried out anxiously, "What are you talking about, 'murderer' or 'family of four,' or 'last night'... I don't understand any of it! Why did you bring me here?! I didn't do anything bad last night! I was at home all last night! Oh, and my clan members can vouch for me, I was at home!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. From the other party's frantic expression and words, he had already heard the "answer" he least wanted to hear.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent, recalling Akainu Uchiha's repeated statements like "the ninja world is already pathological."
Could it be that the ninja world truly was sick?!
The Third Great Ninja War had ended long ago, and even the Nine-Tails' attack was years in the past. Logically, everything should be getting better; the animosity in people's hearts shouldn't be as great as during wartime or times of disaster.
Yet, within Konoha Village, which he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, managed, such a peculiar murderer had appeared!
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi desperately hoped that it was indeed the ninja world that was sick, and not that Konoha's [Will of Fire] was incapable of nurturing a Ninja Academy student into an excellent ninja who loved the village and its comrades.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's worried gaze fell upon Naruto.
Naruto, experiencing the "evil of the ninja world" for the first time in a true sense, had encountered such a heinous incident that even he, the Hokage, was shocked. How would a psychologically impacted Naruto view the [Will of Fire] versus [Absolute Justice]?
Or rather...
What choice would Naruto ultimately make?
---
Fugaku looked at Akainu Uchiha's back, then at the child named "Ryuji Koharu" in front. In that moment, he suddenly thought of his eldest son, Itachi Uchiha.
Itachi must have also had his "evil deeds" seen through by Akainu that day, right?
The only difference was that Itachi's was a future evil, while this child's was a past evil.
Oh, right... another difference was their capacity.
Itachi, upon learning he would become a villain in the future, was calm and readily accepted his future self.
As for Ryuji Koharu, his capacity was less than one percent of Itachi's.
A pity.
Such an exceptional child like Itachi had chosen a path entirely different from his, the Uchiha clan head. Itachi wanted to save Konoha, while he wanted to save the Uchiha clan.
---
"You... what are you looking at me for?!"
Ryuji Koharu, guilt-ridden and flustered, couldn't help but take two steps back. He felt that everyone present was staring at him, even the two peers who had been brought along seemed to be looking at him.
The gaze of so many eyes caused him unprecedented panic. The intense anxiety in his heart made his heart pound frantically, and cold sweat had inexplicably made his entire skin clammy.
'It's impossible for me to be discovered! My luck was so good last night, all the traces should have been destroyed!'
'Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could they have found out?!'
A profusely sweating Ryuji Koharu screamed in his heart.
But the more he did so, the more it proved his guilt.
"Ryuji Koharu." He suddenly heard someone say his name. When he looked up in terror, he saw it was a young man in a Military Police Force uniform speaking.
The other's voice was so cold it almost suffocated him: "Due to fear of being surpassed in the Ninja Academy by a junior he frequently 'looked out for,' his jealousy twisted pathologically, leading him to kill the other's family of four."
Izumi nearby was deeply shaken. A Ninja Academy student, just because of so-called jealousy, committed such a heinous act.
This was clearly a psychopath!
Kuromaru mumbled to himself, "He's almost as crazy as that psycho Itachi Uchiha... no, I feel like Itachi Uchiha is still a bit crazier, meow."
Naruto's azure eyes were wide open. He completely couldn't understand: Why?
Just killing someone out of jealousy? He also felt jealous of people better than him in the Ninja Academy, but he never had any thoughts of killing anyone!
At most, he just thought those guys were a bit arrogant and annoying.
Naruto was utterly dumbfounded.
The way he looked at Ryuji Koharu was like looking at a monster, not a rational human being.
"Jealousy... just jealousy..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on. Why were the children in the village, one after another, so extreme?
This was just a child attending the Ninja Academy!
And even a member of a Konoha ninja clan; the Koharu clan was not a small ninja clan. The crucial point was that this child's life started with a significant advantage.
His daily life must have been one of comfort, with everything provided...
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't understand where the problem lay.
Was it a problem with the Ninja Academy's educational policy?
Or was it a problem with their family education?
Or was there a serious problem with Konoha's entire environment?
It couldn't possibly be that he, the Hokage, was the problem, could it?
---
Ryuji Koharu really felt like he was suffocating!
'How did he know!!!'—An incredulous cry echoed in his mind once again.
He not only knew what he had done last night but even knew that he had done it on an impulse due to jealousy!
Was that guy a mind reader?!!!
Who was he?!!!
"You... what are you talking about?! What killing, what family of four, what 'last night'... I don't understand any of it! You... eh? Eh eh eh? What are you doing?!"
Just as Ryuji Koharu held onto a shred of hope, thinking the other party had no crucial evidence and planning to play dumb to get away with it...
He was shocked to see the Military Police Force ninja who had been speaking slowly drawing his ninja blade with one hand!
He could truly feel a bone-chilling cold spread through every inch of his skin.
As if invisible ice needles were pricking his flesh.
Fear instantly enveloped his entire body.
His pupils uncontrollably constricted violently.
"Naruto Uzumaki," Akainu Uchiha said, "This is the evil of the ninja world. It's so illogical; you'll never guess what kind of motive gives rise to such depravity. Allowing such evil to run rampant in the ninja world will only lead to more and more innocent people being harmed by it."
Naruto vaguely snapped back to reality.
"Do you remember the state of that family of four's bodies? Do you remember the fatal injuries that killed them?" These two questions from Akainu Uchiha made Naruto instinctively recall the images he had conjured in his mind.
"I-I remember..."
Akainu Uchiha continued, "The reason [Absolute Justice] exists is because there is too much evil in the ninja world that needs to be purged. Do you think Ryuji Koharu should pay with his life, Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto bit his lower lip. The images of the corpses flashing like a kaleidoscope in his mind filled him with an unbidden surge of anger.
Why should a family of four be killed just because of jealousy?
Why should four lives be taken for such a reason?
When these two introspective questions surfaced in his mind, Naruto instinctively uttered one word: "He should!"
"Open your eyes wide and watch carefully."
The blade in Akainu Uchiha's hand reflected the sunlight.
"This is [Absolute Justice]'s mercilessness towards evil. Only truly absolute justice can thoroughly purge evil."
Hiruzen Sarutobi also suddenly reacted. Ryuji Koharu was, after all, from the Koharu clan, and he was still a Ninja Academy student. If such extreme measures were used...
He couldn't even imagine what kind of person this would "corrupt" Naruto into becoming!
"Wait! Ike—"
Unfortunately.
It was too late.
---