To Obstruct Justice, Even the Hokage Must Be Killed

"Seisui... Mother..." Gekko Hayate stared blankly at his younger brother, whose limp body lay in his arms, devoid of any sign of life.

His brother's death, and the words his brother had spoken before dying, left his mind in a muddle, temporarily robbing him of the ability to think.

He raised his head blankly and met the gaze of Uchiha Chisen, who was sheathing his sword.

At some point, two streams of grief-stricken tears had already rolled down his cheeks.

"Your mother's body has probably been taken away by the other members of the Konoha Military Police Force. Next, they'll invite ninjas from the Yamanaka Clan to conduct a joint investigation."

Uchiha Chisen said expressionlessly, "If you want to see your mother, wait until the joint investigation is over. It will probably take a day or two."

Mother...

She was killed...

Uchiha Chisen's words turned Gekko Seisui's mockery before his death into reality, plunging Gekko Hayate into even deeper grief. It felt as though invisible blades were piercing his heart.

Two years ago, his father had died at Uchiha Chisen's hands.

Two years later, his mother had died at the hands of his own younger brother. And now his younger brother was dead too, killed by Uchiha Chisen.

Of the direct bloodline of the Gekko Clan that belonged to his branch, only Gekko Hayate remained!

Gekko Hayate was already somewhat lost.

He did not even know whether he should seek revenge against Uchiha Chisen.

That Uchiha was like a demon. He had killed Father and killed his younger brother...

Yet he had been carrying out "justice."

It could even be said that Uchiha Chisen had avenged his mother!

And it had been the unforgivable crime of matricide!

"Senior Chisen, he looks like he's in a lot of pain. Mentally, he seems... like he's on the verge of breaking down." Izumi quietly spoke up, concern on the young girl's face. "He'll be all right, won't he?"

Uchiha Chisen turned and left, saying slowly, "Let him have some peace."

"Oh." Izumi hurriedly followed.

The news that Uchiha Chisen had killed two Gekko Clan chunin, led his subordinates into the Gekko Clan compound, and killed Gekko Seisui—the second son of the former clan head—quickly set Konoha ablaze.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen, smoking a pipe, heard the news,

he was so shocked that he began coughing violently.

After finally recovering, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately took a sip of water. Once he had suppressed his turbulent thoughts, he asked the Anbu Ninja reporting the news in a low voice, "What exactly happened?"

Just as the Anbu Ninja was about to speak, there came a knock at the door.

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly seemed to guess something.

He said, "Come in!"

Sure enough... Uchiha Chisen, who had killed three ninjas, strode openly into the Hokage's office as though nothing had happened, with a cautious little follower behind him.

"The criminal, 'Gekko Seisui,' resisted arrest." Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could even question him, Uchiha Chisen directly stated, "Anyone who dares resist arrest is no longer merely a criminal. They must be struck down with force and executed on the spot to deter other evildoers."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly. This was not the first time Uchiha Chisen had met him without first addressing him as Lord Hokage.

Nor was it the first time he had spoken to him in such a cold, blunt tone.

It was as though, in the eyes of this child, the dignified Third Hokage was also a criminal.

That instinctively made Sarutobi Hiruzen uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he was emotionally steady. The darkness left his face, and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Chisen. "A criminal?"

"Uchiha Izumi," Uchiha Chisen said.

"Yes, Senior!!!"

Izumi took a deep breath. Having already prepared herself on the way here, she stepped forward and reported to the Hokage on behalf of her senior. "Lord Hokage, Senior Chisen and I were, this morning..."

The girl's account was very logical, and her words were concise.

After she explained everything from beginning to end,

Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

"Gekko Seisui..." Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled heavily. "I even held that child when he was young. But I never expected him to be... so extreme and jealous. Because of such terrifying jealousy, he even turned on his own closest family..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen believed it.

Though he could not quite grasp some of Uchiha Chisen's ways of doing things, there was one thing he could be certain of—when it came to matters of "justice" and "evil," Uchiha Chisen had never made a wrong judgment.

This child...

He was like a born adjudicator. His accuracy in judging the truth of a case had reached one hundred percent!

Back then, Sarutobi Hiruzen had also suspected that Uchiha Chisen might have used "carrying out justice" as an excuse to kill for pleasure.

But after dozens of investigations revealed nothing unusual,

Sarutobi Hiruzen realized that someone could actually possess such a talent.

The Uchiha truly produced talents in abundance!

But...

"Chisen!" Sarutobi Hiruzen rapped the desk, his expression stern. "A man who murdered his mother resisted arrest, and you killed him with force. I can let that slide. But why did you kill two innocent members of the Gekko Clan?"

"Those two young men were twenty-one and twenty-six. They merely stood in your way, and you killed them? Is harming innocent people like this still justice?!"

Izumi keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the Hokage's office was not quite right.

Uchiha Chisen met Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze and said, "I warned them in advance. But since they insisted on obstructing law enforcement, that meant they had already made their choice."

"Unfortunately, they chose to stand on the side of evil. They obstructed justice and indulged evil, so they were no longer innocent."

He paused before continuing, "Whether the one standing in my way is a Gekko Clan ninja or Lord Hokage himself... I will use Absolute Justice to purge every obstacle!"

"I will show no mercy!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared deeply at Uchiha Chisen. At last, he sighed and asked, "Chisen, how long have these confrontational conversations between us, born from our conflicting beliefs, been going on?"

Uchiha Chisen said, "Five years."

"Five years..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen rose to his feet. With his hands behind his back, he took a few steps. After stopping, he asked again, "Chisen, you should be able to sense that some things are happening in the village that no one wants to see, right? Though there are no longer any large-scale conflicts in the Shinobi World, the waters within Konoha have remained difficult to calm."

"As an Uchiha, you should be especially sensitive to such matters. Then may I ask you this? In your eyes, does justice stand with the majority of the village? Or with the minority?"

"If one day, due to the circumstances of your position, you were forced to do something that went against justice, would you do it?"

At the side, Izumi could already feel that the atmosphere in the office had become so heavy that the air around them seemed about to freeze solid.

"Justice stands with the kind people."

Uchiha Chisen gave his third answer and continued, "My position is justice. I will never betray my position, nor will I go against the justice in my heart."

Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed thoughtful. "Kind people..."

A faint smile appeared on his face. "Chisen, although your answer differs somewhat from Itachi's, it makes me increasingly feel that you and that child Itachi truly are the same kind of people. You both love the village dearly."

"Lord Hokage, it is wrong to insult people." Uchiha Chisen frowned and corrected him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "???"