Justice Delayed Must Not Be Delayed Further

The next day.

Sarutobi Hiruzen changed into mourning clothes early in the morning. Today was the day his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinosuke, would be buried. Perhaps the heavens were in a foul mood, for a fine drizzle was steadily falling.

"Let's go. To Konoha Public Cemetery."

After speaking heavily, Sarutobi Hiruzen took the lead, letting the rain fall over him.

Behind him followed Sarutobi Shinosuke's wife, Sarutobi Fuyuko, and their son, Sarutobi Konohamaru.

A number of Sarutobi Clan members followed closely behind as well.

Apart from them,

there were only a few of Sarutobi Shinosuke's friends from when he was alive.

The Hokage's eldest son's funeral should have invited many more people.

But...

Negative rumors concerning Sarutobi Shinosuke had been growing increasingly widespread throughout the village. Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, had intended to suppress public opinion, he found that it was completely beyond his control.

The more the rumors were suppressed, the more the villagers believed they were true.

That was practically a traditional skill of Konoha's troublesome villagers.

Under such circumstances, it was inappropriate to make the funeral too grand.

After all, in the eyes of many Konoha villagers, if an "evil person" who had committed every sort of wrongdoing by relying on his father being Konoha's Hokage were given a lavish funeral after his death... wouldn't that be far too unfair to his victims?

Helplessly,

taking the village's negative public opinion into account, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only keep everything as simple as possible and invite only a few of Shinosuke's old friends.

Before long,

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others arrived at Konoha Public Cemetery. Konoha Funeral Hall had already transported Sarutobi Shinosuke's coffin there.

"Lord Hokage, may I see him one more time?"

Sarutobi Fuyuko held Konohamaru's little hand, tears filling her eyes.

"Mm." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded heavily.

"Mom, why is Father lying here..." Three-year-old Konohamaru was still too young to understand.

He could barely even speak clearly.

Sarutobi Fuyuko could no longer hold back the tears welling in her eyes. Crying, she said, "Konohamaru, your father is asleep. It's just that this time, he'll be asleep for a very, very long time. When you grow up, you'll understand why he has to sleep for so long."

Not far away,

several Konoha Funeral Hall workers were whispering among themselves.

"So that woman is Lord Hokage's daughter-in-law? She's really beautiful... Hey, Yamada, did you get so mesmerized that you forgot to blink? I'd advise you not to entertain any improper thoughts. She might be a ninja—she could crush you to death with one finger."

"Yamada? What's been wrong with you these past two days? You don't answer when we call you. Don't tell me you've really taken a fancy to the Hokage's widowed daughter-in-law?"

Yamada jolted out of his daze and hurriedly retorted, "Don't talk nonsense! If Lord Hokage hears that, you'll get me into serious trouble."

Suppressing his unsettled thoughts, he added, "It should be about time. Isn't it time to bury the coffin?"

His companions nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

However,

just as the funeral hall workers were about to head over, an unexpected commotion suddenly broke out.

They vaguely heard people arguing.

—"Hey! Uchiha Chisen! What are you doing here? You aren't welcome here today!"

—"The Konoha Military Police Force is carrying out its duties. Unrelated personnel are forbidden from obstructing us. Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy."

—"You!!!"

"Uchiha Chisen? That sounds familiar..." One funeral hall worker stroked the short beard on his chin and muttered. Then he noticed that "Yamada" beside him was acting strangely, and asked in confusion, "Hey, Yamada, why has your face gone pale?!"

"N-Nothing..." Yamada's lips were trembling slightly.

The smile he forced out looked worse than crying. "I just got caught in the rain. Maybe... maybe I caught a bit of a cold..."

The words impossible were roaring wildly through Yamada's mind.

There was absolutely no way what he had done four years ago had been exposed!

Maybe...

Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Konoha was only so big. It was perfectly reasonable for that plague god from the Konoha Military Police Force to show up anywhere, wasn't it? His luck was just a little bad today, and running into him was perfectly reasonable too, right?

Besides, he had handled everything so cleanly back then. For four straight years, no one from the Konoha Military Police Force had come looking for trouble with him.

How could it possibly have been exposed?!

Meanwhile,

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others also noticed the disturbance. When he vaguely heard the name "Uchiha Chisen," the expression on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face visibly darkened.

When he saw his daughter-in-law, who had been kneeling beside the coffin, suddenly stand without saying a word...

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.

He feared that Sarutobi Fuyuko, having suffered the pain of losing her husband, would do something irrational.

He said, "I'll go take a look. Fuyuko, stay here and accompany Shinosuke through this final journey."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and swiftly headed toward the source of the commotion with two Anbu guards.

Sure enough,

he saw the person he had least wanted to see during this period.

—Uchiha Chisen!

"Lord Hokage." The Sarutobi Clan ninjas who had blocked Uchiha Chisen immediately stepped aside upon seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen and respectfully greeted him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly walked forward and stopped before Uchiha Chisen, with less than two meters between them.

"Chisen..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with a complicated expression. "You should understand that after doing something like that, you should not be here. Your presence will only provoke many people and cause unnecessary conflict."

"If you came to mourn Shinosuke..."

The pouring drizzle obscured Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. He paused before continuing, "You can come tomorrow. As for today... just leave it be."

The moment he saw Uchiha Chisen appear at Shinosuke's funeral, some of Sarutobi Hiruzen's anger had actually subsided.

At the very least, Uchiha Chisen still remembered the bond between master and disciple.

At the very least, he was still willing to come and see Shinosuke off one last time.

It seemed Uchiha Chisen had not become so extreme that he would disown everyone close to him. It was simply that his [Absolute Justice] was far too extreme.

Back when Uchiha Chisen's "blade" had not yet fallen upon Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sarutobi Hiruzen had thought that although Uchiha Chisen was a double-edged sword, as long as he wielded him well, Uchiha Chisen would become an exceptionally outstanding elite ninja of Konoha.

But,

when Uchiha Chisen's double-edged sword wounded Sarutobi Hiruzen,

he suddenly felt that Uchiha Chisen's [Absolute Justice] was so extreme that it made him deeply uncomfortable.

However,

Uchiha Chisen's response caught Sarutobi Hiruzen by surprise. "Third Hokage, perhaps one day I will come to mourn Teacher Shinosuke, but not today. I came here to carry out justice."

Alarm bells abruptly rang in Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind, and the two Anbu guards following behind him narrowed their eyes as well.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became subtle because of Uchiha Chisen's words.

Carry out... justice?!

What did that mean?

"Uchiha Izumi," Uchiha Chisen called.

"Here!!!" The girl's loud shout nearly made Sarutobi Hiruzen think Uchiha Chisen was about to break completely with Konoha.

Only when he saw Izumi emerge from behind Uchiha Chisen did he realize otherwise.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face darkened slightly. He could not understand why this Uchiha girl had suddenly shouted like that.

Uchiha Chisen said, "You explain."

"Yes! Senior Chisen!"

Izumi gathered her courage, suppressed the nervousness in her heart, and took the initiative to speak to the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, Senior Chisen uncovered an extremely heinous murder and dismemberment case. Yesterday and this morning, Senior had already investigated many suspects. Now, only the final suspect remains uninvestigated—Yamada Binjiro of Konoha Funeral Hall!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "A dismemberment case?"

Izumi nodded. "The victims were a mother and daughter. The culprit dismembered their bodies and threw the pieces into Konoha's sewers. Although Senior Chisen could only find some fragments of their bones, he identified the victims through those bone fragments."

"We have been continuously investigating suspects according to the clues. Now, only Yamada Binjiro remains."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a long while.

He had to admit that he recognized Uchiha Chisen's ability to solve cases—he recognized it completely.

However...

"Chisen." Sarutobi Hiruzen said gravely, "Today is the day Shinosuke is being buried. Let him enjoy his final peace. If you want to arrest someone, you can wait until the funeral is over."

Uchiha Chisen said expressionlessly, "Third Hokage, justice has already been delayed for four years. Do you want to delay it further?"

"Justice delayed must not be delayed further." His eyes stared straight into Sarutobi Hiruzen's. "Or, in the Third Hokage's eyes, is an evil person's peace after death, after he has fallen into the abyss, more important than the long-overdue justice owed to two innocent victims?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly caught the hostility in those eyes.

No...

Rather than saying he had caught it, it would be more accurate to say that Uchiha Chisen was openly and undisguisedly displaying naked hostility!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face tightened slightly as he said firmly, "Chisen, give this old man some face. Whatever it is, wait until tomorrow."

Uchiha Chisen replied, "If the Third Hokage's face can turn back time and bring the dead back to life, then I will give you that face."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had already seen Uchiha Chisen's right hand settle on the hilt of his Ninja Sword.

The Anbu Ninja behind him swiftly gripped their own sword hilts as well.

The already delicate atmosphere instantly became taut with drawn blades.

"Chisen, this old man is the Hokage..."

Click—

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelid twitched, because Uchiha Chisen's thumb had pushed open the Ninja Sword's guard. The inch of snow-silver blade revealed beneath it was especially glaring in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

This was simply a vicious dog beyond the Hokage's control!

Even Danzo would not dare be so forceful with him, Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was in an extremely foul mood, his face visibly darkening. "Must you take this so far?"

Uchiha Chisen had already drawn his Ninja Sword.

The two Anbu guards immediately drew their own blades without hesitation.

They swiftly stepped in front of Uchiha Chisen.

"Put them away!" Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen's gritted command made the two Anbu guards freeze.

"Lord Hokage?"

"Put them away!" Sarutobi Hiruzen repeated. The two Anbu guards had no choice but to sheathe their swords, though the vigilance in their eyes did not fade.

The moment Uchiha Chisen made any unusual move, they would strike immediately.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Uchiha Chisen a deep look.

In the end, he turned and left without another word.

"Senior Chisen, we..." Izumi, shaken by the tense, drawn-blade atmosphere, timidly spoke up.

Uchiha Chisen cut her off expressionlessly. "Go in and arrest him."

"Yes, Senior!"