Uchiha Zheng's Wicked Hair!

Sarutobi Hiogo stepped forward and delivered a vicious slap across Sarutobi Jiro's face.

Sarutobi Jiro was knocked straight to the ground, a handprint instantly swelling red on his cheek.

"Father, you—"

"You worthless brat! Don't think I don't know—you're the one who killed that man's daughter, aren't you?!"

The onlookers hadn't expected this turn of events. Shock mingled with a certain grim satisfaction in their hearts.

"Well struck, Clan Head Hiogo!"

"A little monster like that deserves to be slain for justice!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

Sarutobi Jiro clutched his face, eyes wide with terror and disbelief, as if he no longer recognized his own father.

"Father, I—I didn't mean to..."

"Didn't mean to? Then why did you kill that man's daughter?!"

"Speak!"

Sarutobi Hiogo's pressure exploded outward. Not just Sarutobi Jiro, but everyone present felt the suffocating aura bearing down on them like a mountain collapsing, a gale howling, stealing their breath.

"I—I was just training..."

"Th-that's right, I was just practicing the clan's Fire Style Ninjutsu, the Great Fireball Technique..."

"My subordinates all said that legend claims when the Great Fireball Technique is mastered to its peak, it can release flames of extreme heat, even reducing a person to ash in an instant. They also said my Great Fireball Technique had already reached perfection, and I could definitely do it too..."

The crowd seemed to understand. Their faces twisted with grief and fury, fists clenching involuntarily.

Sarutobi Hiogo's expression shifted violently. "So you used that man's daughter as a test subject for your ninjutsu?!"

"N-no! Not at all!"

"My subordinates said something seemed to be moving in the bushes—maybe a wild rabbit or deer—and told this young master... told me to try out the Great Fireball Technique's power..."

"And th-then..."

"A scream rang out. I—I only realized then that it was a person..."

"And my Great Fireball Technique wasn't as amazing as they'd boasted. It couldn't incinerate someone instantly. I could only watch as that girl was burned alive, screaming in agony, beyond all suffering. She shrieked and howled as she ran toward us. I—I'll never forget that sight..."

Hearing him confess with his own mouth, describing the horrific scene, the victim's family could no longer bear it.

"Beast! I'll kill you!"

The man who had been tending to his wife roared, eyes bloodshot, and charged at Sarutobi Jiro.

But...

Sarutobi Hiogo easily blocked him.

"...I can understand your feelings. After all, I am a father myself. However..."

"Before this matter is fully investigated, please remain calm and don't act rashly. In the name of the Sarutobi clan's leader, I swear I will handle this fairly. Please trust me, alright?"

"I—I..."

How could that father possibly calm down? But he knew he was no match for these people. Tears streaming down his face, he said bitterly, "Clan Head Hiogo, you must give us justice. Otherwise, my daughter—she died too horribly..."

"She was only eleven years old!"

Sarutobi Hiogo grasped his hand with righteous solemnity.

"Rest assured! I will see that justice is done!"

"Good... good... thank you..."

Sarutobi Hiogo turned to face his son, but his demeanor suddenly changed.

"According to what you just said..."

"You didn't know there was a person in the bushes?"

"In other words, it was an accidental injury?"

Sarutobi Jiro's face changed!

Though arrogant and reckless, he was no fool. How could he miss that his father's words were saving his life?!

Everyone around was stunned, instantly realizing that everything Sarutobi Hiogo had done was nothing but a performance...

In the end, he would still protect his own son.

Chapter 9: Wrong

Sarutobi Hiogo's words struck the victim's family like a thunderbolt from a clear sky!

"Clan Head Hiogo, you... what did you say..."

The victim's father asked, voice trembling, tears seemingly long since dried up, his expression dazed and numb...

But Sarutobi Hiogo paid him no heed, staring straight at his son.

"You didn't mean to—you thought it was a rabbit in the grass, so you wanted to test the Great Fireball Technique's power."

"So this was a mistaken killing..."

"Wasn't it?!"

Even if Sarutobi Jiro was slow, he finally caught on by now.

He nodded frantically, shrieking at the top of his lungs: "Yes... yes!"

"Father, I didn't know anything at all—this whole thing was just an accident!"

Sarutobi Hiogo nodded.

"I see..."

"So this is a tragedy born of an accident..."

"Ah, truly heartbreaking!"

He turned around and gripped the father's hands tightly, like iron clamps, leaving him completely unable to move.

"As a father myself, I feel your grief as my own!"

"Don't worry—even if it was just an accident and a mistaken killing, I will still see justice done for you!"

"I'll discipline this little beast strictly, and make sure he pays the price and understands the sin he's committed!"

"As for your daughter... the dead cannot return to life..."

"But whatever compensation you want, I will do my utmost to provide it!"

The victim's father was completely dumbfounded.

Yet the piercing pain in his hands left him utterly unable to speak...

"You... you people..."

At that moment, the old woman who had fallen to the ground crawled over desperately.

"You animals!"

"We don't want compensation—no amount of money can bring back our little granddaughter's life!"

"I... we just want this little beast to be buried with her..."

Her clothes were ragged, her eyes filled with grief and despair, as she struggled forward and clung tightly to Sarutobi Hiogo's pant leg, her graying hair a tangled mess like weeds.

Sarutobi Hiogo frowned—a flicker of killing intent flashed and vanished—then quickly regained his composure.

He sighed: "Grandmother, I deeply understand your feelings, but..."

"An eye for an eye—when will it end?"

"Besides, Jiro only killed by mistake; he didn't mean to harm your little granddaughter..."

"Rest assured, he won't miss a single bit of the punishment he deserves!"

"But you can't resort to vigilante justice just because you're angry—if everyone did that, wouldn't the world fall into chaos?"

"Don't you think so?"

The surroundings were a mess of noise and clamor.

Yet.

The old woman's wailing cry still pierced the sky.

"Just because you're ninja and we're civilians, do we have to suffer such unfair treatment?"

"Just because you're the clan head and that beast is the clan head's son, while we're powerless commoners—can he kill someone and not pay the price?"

"Is this..."

"Right?"

"Tell me—tell us..."

"Is this right?!"

She was bitter, she was desperate—her cries soared into the sky, then faded into the dust.

Heaven and earth fell silent.

All around, not a sound.

No one answered.

Only Sarutobi Jiro, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

"No!"

In the deathly stillness.