Uchiha Zheng's Wicked Hair!

"Shisui, if a fight had really broken out just now, what would you have done?"

"I..."

Uchiha Shisui hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "It wouldn't have."

"I wouldn't have let the Uchiha clan and Konoha go to war."

Fugaku Uchiha furrowed his brow.

He hadn't given an answer.

Nor did Fugaku press the matter.

"Qianyu, come with me to see the Lord Hokage."

Qianyu didn't refuse, simply nodding.

In the Hokage's Office, after hearing Shinnosuke Sarutobi's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned grim.

He slammed the table hard, trembling with rage.

"That fool Hiogo!"

"He's nothing but mud that won't stick to the wall! To actually do something so stupid, even killing three Anbu!"

"He deserved to die!"

Shinnosuke Sarutobi said in a low voice, "Father, no, Lord Hokage..."

"That said, we can't just let them die at the hands of the Uchiha for nothing!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, then opened them again.

"Of course not!"

"Lord Hokage, Fugaku Uchiha and Uchiha Qianyu are here."

"Let them in."

"Yes."

Fugaku pushed the door open first. "Lord Hokage, I've brought Qianyu."

Qianyu followed behind him, his expression still calm as ever.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him, his face heavy with gravity.

"Clan Head Fugaku, earlier at the Police Force, you said you'd strictly discipline Qianyu. Yet now he's killed Sarutobi Jiro and Sarutobi Hiogo one after another. Even if that father and son truly were guilty of heinous crimes, does that mean he can kill people in the village without a trial?"

"At this point, don't you owe me an explanation?"

Fugaku Uchiha was about to speak, but Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand.

"I don't want to hear any more empty words."

Fugaku's brow furrowed.

But Qianyu spoke up. "Lord Hokage, where did I go wrong?"

"You—"

Qianyu cut him off. "If today the Uchiha led a squad, brazenly trespassed into the Sarutobi clan's compound in broad daylight, and declared war, what would the Sarutobi clan do?"

"Would they just let themselves be slaughtered without resistance?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely, "I would never want any ninja or any clan in the village to fight among themselves—that is my duty as Hokage."

"Exactly. That's why I killed Sarutobi Hiogo, to prevent the Uchiha and Sarutobi clans from slaughtering each other."

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."

"That's sophistry."

"Not at all. If I hadn't struck first and killed Sarutobi Hiogo, he—already completely mad—would have only caused a greater tragedy. If the two great clans went to war, no matter who won, the ultimate loser would be Konoha."

He glanced at Shinnosuke Sarutobi. "Sarutobi Hiogo killed three Anbu, didn't he?"

Shinnosuke Sarutobi remained silent.

"Were we supposed to let him kill Uchiha clan members before we could truly fight back?"

"Lord Hokage, that's not how the world works."

"Sarutobi Hiogo was already a criminal of Konoha, utterly deranged. Killing Anbu is tantamount to rebellion in any village, and any village would eliminate him without hesitation."

"What I killed was not the Sarutobi clan head, but merely a madman and a rogue ninja."

"And I will never admit to any fault in killing a rogue ninja."

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shinnosuke Sarutobi, father and son, couldn't help but frown.

His argument, though forceful, wasn't without reason.

Sarutobi Hiogo's position as clan head had been personally stripped by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Those three Anbu had indeed been killed by his own hand.

Add to that his leading a large force to trespass into the Uchiha compound, only to be killed by Qianyu in self-defense—there was truly nothing more to say.

The most important thing was...

Sarutobi Hiogo had made a reckless move, leading dozens of Sarutobi clan shinobi in a charge toward the Uchiha compound—and practically every clan ninja in the village had seen it.

There was no way to cover it up!

"That damned fool!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but curse viciously in his heart once more.

Chapter 18: Anti-hero!

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "A rogue ninja is one who has betrayed and fled the village."

Qianyu said in a low voice, "Betraying the village makes you a rogue ninja. Must we wait until he actually escapes the village before we act? Wouldn't that be too late?"

"Lord Hokage, the moment you discovered Orochimaru conducting secret human experiments, wasn't he already a rogue ninja? Did you have to let him flee Konoha before it counted?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nearly spat blood.

Of all examples he could have picked, why did he have to pick Orochimaru?!

Wasn't that slapping his own face?!

He already knew Orochimaru was a rogue ninja, yet he let him go out of master-disciple sentiment—that was arguably the greatest stain on his life...

With Qianyu saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no comeback.

He couldn't exactly say, "Yes, you have to actually defect to be a rogue ninja, which is why I let Orochimaru go..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe, then exhaled the smoke.

"Even if you did the right thing with Hiogo, killing Jiro is still indefensible."

"Even if he deserved to die, he shouldn't have been executed publicly without a trial."

Qianyu was silent for a moment.

"Lord Hokage, so you admit that Sarutobi Hiogo is a rogue ninja."

"In that case, looking at the outcome, how could I trust that he would handle that matter impartially?"

"If I hadn't killed Sarutobi Jiro and let Sarutobi Hiogo cover for him, what then?"

"It was precisely because of the public execution that the watching shinobi and villagers applauded. That gave them a stronger sense of belonging to Konoha. Otherwise..."

"If I had let Sarutobi Hiogo and his son run rampant, the villagers would have completely lost faith in Konoha."

Shinnosuke Sarutobi couldn't help but say, "Hmph, what glib talk!"

"This isn't glib talk—it's my heartfelt words."

"If the villagers no longer believe that justice exists in this village..."

"Then this village has no hope at all."

Qianyu looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "What do you think, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Regardless, Qianyu, you've made too big a scene with this."

"Even if I can understand you, those shinobi and villagers may not."

"Here's what we'll do: step away from the Police Force for now."

"Lay low for a while, and once the dust settles, you can resume."

"Clan Head Fugaku, what do you think?"

Fugaku Uchiha frowned. "Lord Hokage, this..."

Qianyu, however, was indifferent. "I'll follow Lord Hokage's wishes."

With that, he turned to leave.

Fugaku sighed. "Very well, let's do it that way..."

He followed him out.

Shinnosuke Sarutobi watched their retreating figures, his expression extremely sour.

"Lord Hokage, are we really just letting him off like this?!"

"The clan won't let this rest..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, "Of course we won't let him off."

"But now is not the time to kill him."

"Then, what should we do?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment. "I recall that Uchiha Qianyu has no family, and hardly any friends..."

"Indeed, with a personality like his, even within the Uchiha clan, he's too extreme. Who would dare get close to him?"