Would Even the Hokage Obstruct Justice?

"The Jinchuriki... Naruto?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen froze. He had never expected the clash between Danzo and Uchiha Chisen to involve Naruto.

But he did not particularly believe Danzo's one-sided account.

After all, Danzo had always viewed the Uchiha Clan through a lens of prejudice.

"Chisen, you..." As Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Chisen, he suddenly noticed that Chisen was still advancing toward Danzo, the murderous intent in his Sharingan undiminished.

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a headache coming on. He remembered that once Uchiha Chisen set his sights on someone and attacked, he would almost always refuse to let go.

Not until he had completely "eliminated" the enemy in his sights.

Only a truly insurmountable obstacle would make him stop.

"Chisen! Wait!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart tightened, and he immediately shouted, "There must be some misunderstanding here! The village has rules, too. Shinobi aren't allowed to take private fights too far! You and Danzo are both Konoha shinobi. How can Konoha shinobi turn on each other?"

He had no choice but to lead a dozen or so Anbu Ninja between Uchiha Chisen and Danzo.

That way, he kept the two apart.

"Chisen, do me a favor and let us establish what happened first," Sarutobi Hiruzen said patiently, looking Uchiha Chisen in the eye.

Uchiha Chisen glanced at the red box floating above the Third Hokage's head and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Then, Lord Hokage, do you intend to use your authority as Hokage to protect a criminal who obstructs Justice Execution?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen found Chisen's words rather harsh, but his expression remained unchanged as he patiently replied, "Chisen, this is only a misunderstanding."

The dozen or so Anbu Ninja had already positioned themselves to loosely surround Uchiha Chisen and Danzo separately.

"The Hokage abuses his authority to shield those who obstruct justice. I'll remember this." Uchiha Chisen deactivated his Lava Release Chakra Warrior Body, and the magma flowing over him slowly receded.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan also reverted to ordinary black eyes.

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."

He had a strange feeling that Uchiha Chisen was not joking, but was utterly serious.

But... he was Konoha's Hokage. How could Chisen possibly hold this against him?

At most, Chisen would simply forget about it with time.

Sarutobi Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back and glared at Danzo. "Danzo! Put away your kunai! Do you want to escalate this unnecessary conflict further?"

Danzo: "???"

Why was Monkey so polite to that inherently evil Uchiha, yet so forceful with him?

Such blatant double standards...

Made Danzo clench his fists.

After giving Uchiha Chisen a long, sinister look, Danzo put away his kunai and said coldly, his expression ugly, "Sarutobi, you want to establish what happened? This evil Uchiha tried to control the Nine-Tails. I stopped him and sacrificed two capable subordinates in the process. It's that simple."

Then Danzo could not help gritting his teeth in anger. "If you hadn't suddenly appeared, I would have needed only one minute to kill this evil Uchiha brat!"

Damn it, I'd already been forced to expend a Sharingan.

Then Monkey suddenly appeared, rendering my one-minute Izanagi completely useless.

He even...

Exposed one of my trump cards to Uchiha Chisen!

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know what Danzo was thinking. His attention was focused solely on Danzo's mention of two dead subordinates.

"Chisen, why did you..."

Just as he was about to question Uchiha Chisen, Chisen unexpectedly spoke in an indifferent tone. "Anyone who obstructs justice is my enemy and must be purged by absolute means!"

"Root attempted to take away Uzumaki Naruto, who had committed an offense. In my eyes, their obstruction of justice only encouraged the spread of 'evil.'"

"That is why I acted. If you find that reason insufficient, Lord Hokage, you may expel me from the Konoha Military Police Force at any time."

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent.

It was just like before. Before he could even ask his question, Chisen already knew what he wanted to ask and gave him a direct answer in advance.

That feeling...

It was as though speaking to him, the Hokage, made Chisen extremely impatient.

He chose to ignore Uchiha Chisen's final remark.

Instead, he focused on the statement that Naruto had committed an offense.

That meant Chisen's account conflicted with Danzo's.

Danzo believed Chisen had deliberately tried to control the Nine-Tails.

Chisen, on the other hand, seemed to have no such intention. He had simply thought Naruto had caused trouble and wanted to arrest him.

"Where is Naruto?" After a moment's thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked the Anbu Ninja.

Soon.

The Anbu Ninja responsible for monitoring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki hurriedly brought the terrified Naruto over.

Sarutobi Hiruzen crouched down and rubbed Naruto's blond hair, trying to soothe the boy.

"Naruto, what happened just now? Why did this officer from the Konoha Military Police Force suddenly try to arrest you?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did his best to keep his voice gentle.

Naruto instinctively glanced at Uchiha Chisen, only to hurriedly lower his head in fright at that cold gaze.

His little face pale, Naruto trembled as he said, "Grandpa Hokage, I... I think I broke the law..."

"Today, I played a prank..."

He recounted everything that had happened, from beginning to end.

In front of Uchiha Chisen, Naruto did not dare tell a single lie, because the man really would throw him in prison! Yet he had played so many pranks before without anything happening!

Clearly.

Uchiha Chisen's earlier threat to arrest Naruto and lock him up for several months had thoroughly frightened the boy.

Naruto's account was reasonably coherent, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's aged face grew increasingly strange as he listened.

Danzo stood rooted to the spot in stunned disbelief.

"...Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a pointed look. "So... all of this really was nothing more than your malicious speculation! You were the one who started this entire conflict, weren't you?"

Danzo looked worse than if he had eaten shit.

He clenched his fists, his face dark.

He said nothing.

"This farce is over, Danzo!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said, his expression turning slightly cold. "I will never allow you to view a shinobi as loyal to the village as Chisen through such a prejudiced lens!"

Danzo gritted his teeth. "Then what about my two dead guards?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen demanded, "Wasn't all of this your fault?"

Danzo clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. His chest heaved, and his expression shifted darkly.

"Hmph!!!"

He turned and stormed away in anger.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not try to stop him. After inwardly breathing a sigh of relief, he promised Uchiha Chisen, "Chisen, Root did indeed go too far. They accused you without giving you a chance to explain. Rest assured, I will deal with them later."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused.

He cleared his throat softly and said, "I will pay for the damage Naruto's prank caused. As for putting him in Konoha Prison... let us drop that. He's still a child. There are other ways to teach him a lesson."

Uchiha Chisen narrowed his eyes slightly.

Then he said something Sarutobi Hiruzen had never expected. "Will you obstruct Justice Execution as well, Lord Hokage?"

For some reason.

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt the atmosphere grow heavy.

Uchiha Chisen said slowly, "Lord Hokage, gentle methods cannot educate a brat whose thinking has become this warped. Only by relying on absolute justice, treating every offense strictly, and showing no leniency can we set his thinking straight and make him turn over a new leaf."

"Only then..."

"Can we honor the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice. Isn't that right?"