[Absolute Justice] made no distinction between public and private interests (please keep reading!!!)

A few minutes later, only Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha ninja who had reported the Gekko Clan case to him earlier, and Uzumaki Naruto, whom Uchiha Chisen had left behind, remained in the office.

Uchiha Chisen and Izumi had already left the Military Police Force Building.

Fugaku and Naruto stared at each other.

Looking at the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's slightly grubby young face, Fugaku saw traces of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

While Minato was still alive, relations between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha had actually been relatively cordial.

Unfortunately...

A complicated look flashed through Fugaku's eyes as he recalled the questions he had asked Uchiha Chisen before he left the office. "Chisen, if you insist on putting Uzumaki Naruto in Konoha Prison, are you prepared for the backlash?"

"Word of what you did today will probably spread throughout Konoha in less than half a day. Everyone will know you brought Uzumaki Naruto into the Uchiha Compound."

"And..."

"Are you prepared to keep our restless clansmen in line?!"

If the clan's Hawks learned that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was now inside the Uchiha Compound...

Their little schemes would probably spring to life in an instant.

Fugaku could not guarantee that nothing drastic would happen.

He remembered Uchiha Chisen giving only a concise reply. "[Absolute Justice] makes no distinction between public and private interests."

Fugaku more or less understood what Chisen meant.

-If any extremist clansmen tried to use the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's power to commit crimes that trampled on justice, Chisen would show no mercy on account of their shared blood.

He would treat them just as he had the Root Ninja.

He would kill his own clansmen without hesitation!

"Absolute justice..." Fugaku took a deep breath, gazing at Naruto as he murmured to himself, "It really is absolute."

Even more clearly, Fugaku remembered the shocking piece of information Chisen had revealed just as he stepped through the door.

-Shimura Danzō had Sharingan from the Uchiha Clan transplanted into his body, and... he had more than one.

-He could also use "Izanagi"!

That unbelievable revelation sent a chill through Fugaku's entire body.

Indeed.

Uchiha Chisen had neither a responsibility nor an obligation to keep Danzo's secrets.

He had exposed Danzo's trump cards outright.

"Naturally Evil Uchiha Brat!!!" Even after returning to the Root Base, Danzo could barely contain his fury. He clenched his aging teeth so hard they nearly cracked.

One brief clash had cost Root two elite operatives.

It had cost him a Three-Tomoe Sharingan and an ear.

Originally, the bandages around Danzo's head had concealed his transplanted Sharingan. Now, the bandages wrapped around his head covered the wound at his ear, which sent bone-deep pain shooting through him from time to time.

And...

What he found even harder to accept was that the power of "Izanagi" had very likely been exposed to his opponent!

Even Danzo, as he was now, would struggle to bear the consequences if his hunting of kekkei genkai came to light.

"Damn it! It's all because Monkey suddenly showed up. If he hadn't interfered halfway through, I would have killed that evil Uchiha brat and nipped the risk of exposure in the bud!"

The more Danzo thought about it, the more agitated he became.

Until a voice suddenly rang out. "But if I hadn't arrived in time, you would probably still have me in the dark, unaware that you had Sharingan transplanted into your body!"

Danzo's pupils contracted.

He recognized Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice.

When he looked toward the voice, he indeed saw Sarutobi Hiruzen arriving uninvited.

Moreover, the two Anbu squads Sarutobi Hiruzen had brought had silently subdued several Root Ninja, leaving them no chance to alert Danzo.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Danzo's first reaction to Sarutobi Hiruzen's words was to deny everything.

His face darkened as he said snidely, "I only moved to this new Root Base a few months ago, and you still managed to find it... Hiruzen, you certainly are well informed!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood with his hands behind his back. "I am Konoha's Hokage. Isn't it only natural for the Hokage to know everything that happens in the village?"

"Danzo, Chisen has already told me your secret. You claim you don't know what I'm talking about, so will you let me see what you're hiding beneath those bandages?"

He fixed Danzo with a piercing stare.

Danzo's expression visibly grew uglier by the moment.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said gravely, "We've been comrades for many years. You may be able to fool others with that expression, but not me. Now give me an explanation that will make me reconsider removing you from your post!"

"You want to remove me?" Disbelief filled Danzo's face. "How much have I done for Konoha over the years? You're going to dismiss me over these so-called Sharingan?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was unreadable. "That is why I'm giving you a chance. You must give me an explanation that satisfies everyone."

Danzo suddenly grasped his meaning and sneered. "What you really want is an explanation that satisfies 'you,' isn't it?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not take the bait.

He simply continued to stare at Danzo in silence.

"Uchiha Chisen... took the Jinchuriki away?" Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, two members of the Konoha High Council, soon received this unbelievable news as well.

Calling it intelligence was a stretch. In truth, the news had already spread through more than half of Konoha.

However, most villagers knew only the rumors that Uzumaki Naruto was something like a "Demon Fox Incarnation."

They had little understanding of what a "Tailed Beast Jinchuriki" was.

"And... Hiruzen was there too?" Utatane Koharu found it utterly incomprehensible. "How could he let someone from the Uchiha Clan take the Jinchuriki away? And to the Uchiha Compound, at that!"

Unable to sit still, Utatane Koharu rose and paced back and forth. "No! We must get the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki out of there! We absolutely cannot let him remain in the Uchiha Compound!"

"Otherwise..."

Recalling the Nine-Tails' Rampage several years earlier, Utatane Koharu could not help shuddering.

As she frowned in thought, she noticed that Mitokado Homura beside her had remained silent. She glared at him in dissatisfaction. "Would you say something?"

Mitokado Homura said gravely, "Do you think it will be that easy to bring back someone Uchiha Chisen has arrested? He is an Uchiha who gives even Hiruzen a headache."

Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth. "Then are we supposed to sit back and watch another Nine-Tails' Rampage happen?"

"There's no need for us to clash directly with Uchiha Chisen."

Mitokado Homura said quietly, "We only need to put pressure on Fugaku. After all, Fugaku is the Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, while Uchiha Chisen is merely one of its members."

"I believe Hiruzen thinks the same way. There are plenty of ways to retrieve the Jinchuriki while sidestepping the so-called [Absolute Justice] Uchiha Chisen keeps going on about."

"Our village of Konoha has always placed balance and order first. It has never been a village of absolute justice."

Hearing this, Utatane Koharu gradually calmed down.

"Then we'll see what Hiruzen does."