"Uchiha Chisen..." Uchiha Setsuna, his old face grim, gritted out each word: "He's been brainwashed by the Senju's Will of Fire, just like that Uchiha Itachi!"
"He isn't loyal to the Uchiha Clan; he's loyal to Konoha, loyal to the Senju Clan! He's a traitor to the Uchiha!"
To extreme hawk elders like Uchiha Setsuna, clansmen who didn't support the coup plan were cowardly weaklings.
And the Uchihas who openly sided with the Hokage were clansmen brainwashed by the Will of Fire, practically beyond saving.
As for Uchiha Chisen...
Uchiha Setsuna maliciously speculated that he was a combination of both types, perhaps even surpassing them.
Because that bastard Uchiha Chisen had just shown him killing intent, and it was absolutely not fake.
He genuinely wanted to kill him!
"Elder Setsuna," a hawk-like Uchiha next to him said, "Uchiha Chisen is very likely to become the biggest obstacle in our plan, just like Uchiha Itachi."
"That guy might not have been on the same page as us from the very beginning. His stance has never been with the Uchiha."
Uchiha Setsuna snorted coldly.
He was clearly plotting something.
...
Meanwhile.
After leaving the Root base, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't return to the Hokage building but went to the Konoha prison, where he waited silently.
He didn't have to wait long before a member of the Konoha Military Police Force arrived.
The police force member was bringing the troublemaking Uzumaki Naruto to the Konoha prison—this was Fugaku's order.
"Hokage... Lord?"
Upon seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Anbu ninjas by his side, the police force member inevitably became nervous.
After all, he was a Uchiha clan ninja, and the kid he was holding was rumored to be the Nine-Tails' vessel.
"It's alright."
Sarutobi Hiruzen signaled for him to calm down. He wasn't aggressive, smiling as he said, "I've always trusted the Uchiha Clan and believe you won't do anything out of line. From the current situation, Fugaku has made the right choice. You're also on Fugaku's side, aren't you?"
The police force member lowered his head and said, "Patriarch Fugaku did indeed order me to transfer Uzumaki Naruto to the Konoha prison promptly and prevent some clansmen from coming into contact with him."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
He continued, "Leave this child Naruto to me."
However, the police force member hesitated, "If you take Naruto, what about Uchiha Chisen..."
Uchiha Chisen was someone even Patriarch Fugaku couldn't control.
He was still a bit wary of Uchiha Chisen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "There's no conflict. Chisen's goal is to teach Naruto a lesson by sending him to Konoha prison. Aren't you sending Naruto here now?"
"As Konoha's Hokage, I have the authority to pardon Naruto using Hokage privileges and take him out of Konoha prison. Even if Chisen is displeased, he'll only come to me, not you."
"...Yes, Hokage-sama." The police force member thought for a moment and released Naruto.
"Hokage Grandpa!!!"
"Wuwuwu..."
Having been on edge all day and now finally "rescued," Naruto practically lunged towards Sarutobi Hiruzen with a crying voice.
Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Naruto's small head, his tone deepening as he instructed the Anbu ninjas behind him, "Keep a close eye on Root recently. I suspect Danzō won't give up. That guy isn't one to swallow an insult, especially when the person who made him lose face is a genius ninja of the Uchiha Clan."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
...
In the blink of an eye, it was evening.
Uchiha Chisen, who had inadvertently stirred up the situation in Konoha, strolled through the village with Izumi as if nothing had happened.
It was as if the shifting political landscape had nothing to do with him.
Uchiha Chisen's composure made the already anxious Izumi feel a bit calmer.
"Newcomer, report."
"Yes! Senior Chisen!" Izumi said spiritedly, "Including Uzumaki Naruto, today... we apprehended nine 'evil' individuals. Among them, three disturbed Konoha's order, two were involved in theft, two were involved in brawls, and..."
At this point, Izumi's tone became a bit cautious. She continued, "And two were involved in obstructing law enforcement. Out of the nine 'evil' individuals, seven were arrested and imprisoned, and two were executed on the spot."
The two 'evil' individuals Izumi mentioned who were executed on the spot for obstructing law enforcement...
Were the two Root ninjas who died at Uchiha Chisen's hands.
Uchiha Chisen glanced at her, "You missed a lot."
"Huh?"
Izumi blinked, confused. She didn't think she had missed anything!
She had even recorded everything that happened today in her little notebook.
But…
Faced with Senior Chisen's gaze, Izumi suddenly felt a bit uncertain. The words "Did I miss anything?" were something she absolutely didn't have the courage to say.
"Did I... did I miss anything?"
Izumi asked weakly.
"Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and that Uchiha Setsuna, as well as..." Uchiha Chisen, as if the King of Hell were taking roll call, calmly named one person after another.
He said with a cold expression, "These people stood on the opposite side of Justice today, but because our Justice was not strong enough, they are still able to escape punishment."
"These 'evils' that need to be purged..."
"You've missed them all."
Izumi listened, trembling. Senior Chisen had named almost all the high-ranking officials in the village!
He hadn't even spared some of the elders from the Uchiha Clan.
If all the names Senior Chisen mentioned were to be "purged"...
Wouldn't this kind of action be equivalent to...
Rebellion?!
"Add these people to the list too," Uchiha Chisen said calmly.
"O-okay, Senior." Izumi could only take out her small notebook and write down what Senior Chisen had just said.
However, she noticed her fingertips trembling as she wrote. Especially after writing down the name of the Hokage, "Sarutobi Hiruzen," she felt like she couldn't turn back now.
If this little notebook were discovered by those Anbu ninjas...
Hiss!
She felt like she'd spend the rest of her life in Konoha's prison.
As Izumi walked with Uchiha Chisen and recorded some things, her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a small figure at the street corner ahead, entering her line of sight.
Izumi's clear, watery eyes widened slightly.
She watched as the small figure that suddenly turned the corner bumped right into Senior Chisen.
Bang!
Without surprise, the other party fell onto their rear, and the things they were carrying scattered everywhere.
"Oof—"
Izumi heard the child's pained cry.
"Sasuke, you need to watch where you're going." She then heard a gentle voice from further ahead, speaking in an apologetic tone: "I'm so sorry, this child is too reckless, causing you trouble."
"Huh? Are you..."
"Chisen?"
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