Justice already delayed must not be delayed any longer

The next day.

Sarutobi Hiruzen changed into mourning clothes early. Today was the day his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinosuke, would be buried. As though even the heavens refused to cooperate, a fine drizzle pattered down.

"Let's go to the Konoha Public Cemetery."

After speaking those words with a heavy heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen took the lead, letting the rain fall on him.

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

A crowd of Sarutobi Clan members followed as well.

Aside from them,

there were only a handful of Sarutobi Shinosuke's friends from before his death.

The funeral of the Hokage's eldest son should really have had far more guests.

But...

Negative rumors about Sarutobi Shinosuke were spreading ever more fiercely throughout the village. Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, wanted to curb public opinion, he found it impossible to control.

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

That was practically a time-honored specialty of Konoha's unruly villagers.

Under these circumstances, it would not do to make the funeral too grand.

After all, in the eyes of many Konoha villagers, he was a "villain" who had committed evil deeds by exploiting his father's position as Konoha's Hokage. If he still received a grand funeral after his death... wouldn't that be terribly unfair to his victims?

Left with no choice,

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

Before long,

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others arrived at the Konoha Public Cemetery. The 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 brimming in her eyes.

"Yes." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded heavily.

"Mommy, why is Father lying here..." Konohamaru, only three years old, barely understood what was happening.

He could not even get his words out clearly.

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

Not far away,

several employees of the Konoha Funeral Hall whispered among themselves.

"That woman is Lord Hokage's daughter-in-law? She's really pretty... hey, Yamada, are you staring yourself silly? You'd better not get any funny ideas. She might be a ninja who could crush you with one finger."

"Yamada? What's been wrong with you these past two days? You don't even answer when we call you. Don't tell me you've really fallen for Lord Hokage's widowed daughter-in-law?"

Yamada snapped out of his daze with a shudder and hurriedly protested, "Hey, don't talk nonsense! If Lord Hokage hears you, you'll get me into serious trouble."

Suppressing his anxious thoughts, he added, "It should be about time, right? Shouldn't we lower the coffin into the grave?"

His colleagues nodded in agreement. "That's right."

However,

Just as the Funeral Home employees were about to walk over, an unexpected commotion broke out.

They could faintly hear people arguing.

"Hey! Uchiha Chisen! What are you doing here? You're not welcome here today!"

"The Konoha Military Police Force is carrying out its duties. Uninvolved parties must not obstruct us. Anyone who does will be killed without exception."

"You!!!"

"Uchiha Chisen? That sounds familiar..." One Funeral Home employee muttered, rubbing the short beard on his chin. Then he noticed something odd about Yamada beside him and asked in confusion, "Hey, Yamada, why have you gone pale?!"

"I... I'm fine..." Yamada's lips were trembling slightly.

The smile he forced out looked worse than tears. "I just got caught in the rain. Maybe... maybe I've caught a little chill..."

Impossible! Yamada screamed inwardly.

There was no way what I did four years ago had come to light!

Maybe...

Maybe this was just a coincidence.

Konoha was only so big, after all. It made perfect sense for that Plague God from the Konoha Military Police Force to show up anywhere, didn't it? I was just unlucky enough to run into him today. That made sense too, didn't it?

Besides, I covered my tracks so thoroughly back then. For four whole years, no one from the Konoha Military Police Force has come looking for trouble.

How could I possibly have been exposed?!

Elsewhere,

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others noticed the disturbance too. When he faintly heard the name "Uchiha Chisen," Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression visibly darkened.

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

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart lurched.

He feared that Sarutobi Fuyuko, suffering from the loss of her husband, might do something irrational.

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

Sarutobi Hiruzen drew a deep breath and hurried toward the commotion with two Anbu guards.

Sure enough,

he saw the person he least wanted to see these days.

Uchiha Chisen!

"Lord Hokage." The Sarutobi Clan ninjas blocking Uchiha Chisen immediately stepped aside when Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared, greeting him respectfully.

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked slowly forward and stood before Uchiha Chisen, less than two meters separating them.

"Chisen..."

With a complicated expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "You should know that after what you did, you shouldn't be here. Your presence will only upset people and cause unnecessary conflict."

"If you've come to pay your respects to Shinosuke..."

The steady drizzle made Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze difficult to discern. He paused, then continued, "You can come tomorrow. As for today... forget it."

The moment he saw Uchiha Chisen appear at Shinosuke's funeral, the anger in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart had actually eased somewhat.

At least Uchiha Chisen still remembered the bond he had once shared with his teacher.

At least he was still willing to come and see Shinosuke off on his final journey.

It seemed Uchiha Chisen had not gone so far as to disown every personal bond. It was just that his [absolute justice] was far too extreme.

Before Uchiha Chisen's "blade" had fallen on Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, Hiruzen had felt that even if Uchiha Chisen was a double-edged sword, he could still become an outstanding elite ninja of Konoha, provided Hiruzen wielded him properly.

But,

when that double-edged sword named Uchiha Chisen 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 reply caught Sarutobi Hiruzen off guard. "Third, perhaps I'll come to pay my respects to my teacher Shinosuke someday, but not today. I'm here to carry out justice."

Alarm bells suddenly rang in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart. The two Anbu guards following close behind him narrowed their eyes as well.

With those few words from Uchiha Chisen, the atmosphere instantly grew delicate.

Carry out... justice?!

What did he mean?

"Uchiha Izumi," Uchiha Chisen said then.

"Present!!!" The girl's shout almost made Sarutobi Hiruzen think Uchiha Chisen was about to openly break with Konoha.

Only then did he see Izumi step out from behind Uchiha Chisen.

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

Uchiha Chisen said, "You explain."

"Yes, Senior Chisen!"

Izumi mustered her courage, suppressed her nervousness, and addressed the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, Senior Chisen discovered a particularly heinous murder and dismemberment case. Yesterday and this morning, he investigated many suspects. Now there's only one suspect left to investigate: Yamada Binjiro of the Konoha Funeral Hall!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "A dismemberment case?"

Izumi nodded. "The victims were a mother and daughter. After dismembering their bodies, the killer threw the pieces into Konoha's sewers. Although Senior Chisen could only find some bone fragments, he was able to identify the victims from them."

"We've been following the clues and investigating the suspects one by one. Now Yamada Binjiro is the only one left."

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a long while.

He had to admit that he acknowledged Uchiha Chisen's ability to solve cases-and his confidence in that ability was absolute.

Still...

"Chisen," Sarutobi Hiruzen said gravely, "today is Shinosuke's burial. Let him enjoy this final moment of peace. If you want to arrest someone, you can wait until the funeral is over."

Uchiha Chisen said expressionlessly, "Third, justice has already been delayed for four years. Do you intend to delay it even longer?"

"Justice already delayed must not be delayed any longer." He stared straight into Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. "Or, in your eyes, Third, is the peace of a villain who fell into depravity after his death more important than the long-delayed justice owed to two innocent victims?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly caught the hostility in those eyes.

No...

Rather than saying he had caught it, it was more accurate to say that Uchiha Chisen was laying his hostility bare without the slightest attempt to conceal it!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's aged face tightened slightly, and he said firmly, "Chisen, do me this courtesy. Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it tomorrow."

Uchiha Chisen said, "If doing you a courtesy could turn back time and bring the dead back to life, Third, I'd grant you that courtesy."

Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that Uchiha Chisen's right hand was already resting on the hilt of his ninja sword.

The Anbu ninjas behind him quickly gripped their own sword hilts as well.

The already delicate atmosphere instantly became charged with the threat of violence.

"Chisen, I am the Hokage..."

Click-

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelid twitched. Uchiha Chisen's thumb had already pushed against his sword's guard, exposing an inch of snowy silver blade that looked especially glaring to Hiruzen.

He was nothing short of a vicious dog beyond the control of his Hokage!

Even Danzo wouldn't dare take such a hard line against me!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood was abysmal, his face visibly darkening. "Must you take this that far?"

Uchiha Chisen had already drawn his ninja sword.

The two Anbu guards immediately drew their swords without hesitation.

They swiftly moved to block Uchiha Chisen.

"Put them away!" But those words, spoken through Sarutobi Hiruzen's clenched teeth, made both Anbu guards freeze.

"Lord Hokage?"

"Put them away!" After Sarutobi Hiruzen repeated himself, the two Anbu guards had no choice but to sheathe their swords, though the wariness never left their eyes.

If Uchiha Chisen made any suspicious move, they would act immediately.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Uchiha Chisen a long, searching look.

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

"Senior Chisen, we..." Startled by the tense standoff, Izumi spoke timidly.

Uchiha Chisen interrupted expressionlessly. "Go in and arrest him."

"Yes, Senior!"