Chapter 22: This Road Is Blocked, Whoever Comes Dies

Chapter 22: This Road Is Blocked, Whoever Comes Dies

Inside the Root base.

Danzo grimly watched Hiruzen Sarutobi and the ANBU ninja disappear from sight.

Only when they were completely out of view did Danzo's emotions explode.

"Bastard!!!"

All the research data on Wood Style and Sharingan had been blackmailed by that bastard "Monkey."

Even… Danzo had no choice but to hand over the remaining two Three-Tomoe Sharingan that he hadn't yet been able to transplant.

These Sharingan were all meticulously acquired by him, secretly, during the Third Great Ninja War while leading Root.

Now, not only had Uchiha Ikeizumi wasted one Sharingan.

But that bastard "Monkey" had also blackmailed two Sharingan out of him!

This was the explanation the "Monkey" wanted to be satisfied.

Furthermore.

Before leaving, Hiruzen Sarutobi had given Danzo a warning, practically a threat:

—"Danzo, don't let me find out about similar incidents happening again. The first time, I tolerated you because you did contribute a lot to Konoha. Next time, I won't have such patience. If there's a next time, you can step down from your position as Root leader."

Recalling Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo's fists clenched.

"This is Root, built by my own blood and sweat. How dare he threaten my position in Root!!!"

He gritted his teeth, enunciating each word.

"Bastard Monkey! And that naturally evil Uchiha brat!!!"

Just then.

A Root intelligence operative rushed back to the Root base and immediately reported the new information to Danzo.

"Lord Danzo, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, has been taken by Uchiha Ikeizumi to the Police Force building! It's said that this happened with the Third Hokage's tacit approval."

Danzo: "???"

....

Inside the Uchiha clan compound.

"Uchiha Ikeizumi took that demon fox brat to the Police Force building?"

An Uchiha ninja's eyes suddenly lit up, a hint of eagerness in his gaze. He said, "This is a golden opportunity that comes once in a thousand years! They say that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox from back then is sealed inside this brat; he's the Jinchuriki!"

"If we can control the Jinchuriki's power, which of those old geezers in the village's high command would dare to challenge our Uchiha clan?"

He excitedly continued, "I never thought that Uchiha Ikeizumi, who usually seems so out of place, so unsociable, and even often conflicts with his own clan members…"

"But at a crucial moment, he's quite reliable after all!"

The high probability of Naruto Uzumaki being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—this matter seemed like a "secret" only known to Konoha's high command.

But no one was foolish. Rumors constantly circulated in the village that this brat was a demon fox incarnation, a bringer of disaster.

Most rumors weren't groundless.

With a little thought, it was obvious that he had an undeniable connection to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

At this moment, another Uchiha ninja beside him frowned and sneered, "I hear Naruto Uzumaki is in Lord Fugaku's office. Do you think, with Lord Fugaku's personality… Heh, would he let us use the Jinchuriki to intimidate the village's higher-ups?"

"That's 'Gankō Fugaku' who prioritizes the greater good!"

Another Uchiha ninja gritted his teeth, "Hmph! Lord Fugaku is simply indecisive! But if we just gather a group of clan members and put a little pressure on him, can he really refuse?"

"If we had the power of the demon fox, our coup d'état plan could be implemented ahead of schedule."

"We can ask Elder Setsuna to come forward!"

"…"

This group of Uchiha ninja gathered together numbered over twenty.

All of them were part of the hawkish faction within the Uchiha clan.

They centered around "Uchiha Setsuna," a hawkish elder of the Uchiha clan who had been imprisoned for many years by the Second Hokage for attempting a coup, and had only recently been released.

However, this relatively younger group of hawkish Uchiha ninja reacted too slowly.

The few hawkish Uchiha elders, led by "Uchiha Setsuna."

Were already heading straight for the Police Force building!

Yet…

....

"Uchiha Ikeizumi, what is the meaning of this?!" Uchiha Setsuna, similar in age to Hiruzen Sarutobi, leaned on a cane, glaring at Uchiha Ikeizumi who stood blocking the middle of the street.

"Sen… Senior Ikeizumi, what are you doing…" Izumi, following behind Uchiha Ikeizumi, also stared wide-eyed at Ikeizumi.

What she saw.

Uchiha Ikeizumi had directly drawn the ninja blade from Izumi's waist and stood quietly, blade in hand, in the middle of the Uchiha compound street.

The atmosphere instantly became tense and hostile.

The guards accompanying the hawkish elders also stepped forward, confronting Uchiha Ikeizumi, who had appeared suddenly.

Uchiha Ikeizumi did not address Uchiha Setsuna's question. He simply said to Izumi, who was beside him with a calm expression, "Newbie, if 'evil' and 'evil' clash, that conflict might lead to both suffering heavy losses, or even annihilating each other."

"However, such a conflict would affect many who should not be involved. In your opinion, should [Absolute Justice] stand by and do nothing in such a situation, or should it intervene?"

Izumi was taken aback.

She pondered deeply, twirling her hair around her finger, and tentatively said, "Senior, this question is too profound… But I think [Absolute Justice] shouldn't be so merciless."

Her courage gradually swelled: "If… if it were up to me, I would choose to intervene!"

Eh, wait a minute…

Senior Ikeizumi wouldn't ask her this question for no reason.

Coupled with Senior Ikeizumi's current actions.

Hiss!

Could it be that in Senior's eyes, these elderly Uchiha clan elders currently before them were also "evil" presences?

Then the other "evil"…

Which side was it? Was it Lord Fugaku? Or Lord Hokage?

Izumi swallowed hard.

"Newbie, you only answered half right." Uchiha Ikeizumi slowly said, "[Absolute Justice] knows no sentimentality; it inherently requires utterly merciless methods to be carried out to the end. The reason to stop such things from happening is that [Absolute Justice] does not tolerate any 'evil' parading openly before its eyes."

"Even if you know that allowing 'evil' to clash with 'evil' would only benefit [Justice] with no downsides. But… allowing 'evil' to run rampant before your eyes is already a betrayal of [Absolute Justice]."

"Newbie, never harbor the thought of tolerating one 'evil' to let it harm another 'evil' to the point of mutual destruction. If there's even the slightest mishap, causing them not to achieve mutual destruction…"

"Such an approach will only allow one of the 'evils' to swell in power to a degree that even [Absolute Justice] cannot suppress it."

The Uchiha hawks' coup plan, to Uchiha Ikeizumi, wasn't "evil," because it was merely a plan.

But their reckless, justice-trampling, twisted, and pathological actions during the coup…

Were "evil" in Uchiha Ikeizumi's eyes.

The reason he knew so clearly was entirely due to the red and white intertwined boxes before his eyes.

"Evil" was displayed vividly within them.

Subsequently.

Uchiha Ikeizumi finally addressed Uchiha Setsuna, whose expression was shifting erratically between grim and furious.

But the words he uttered ignited Uchiha Setsuna's rage.

"This road is blocked."

"Whoever comes, dies."

....

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