"Damn it! It's all that monkey's fault for showing up out of nowhere! If not for his interference, I'd have already killed that evil Uchiha brat and crushed the risk before it even surfaced!"
The more Danzo thought about it, the more agitated he became.
Until—
A sudden voice rang out: "But if this old man hadn't shown up when he did, I'd still be in the dark about your Sharingan implants, wouldn't I?"
Danzō's pupils contracted.
He instantly recognized the voice—Sarutobi Hiruzen.
And sure enough, when he turned in the direction of the voice, he saw that Hiruzen had invited himself in.
The two ANBU squads accompanying him had already silently subdued several Root operatives—so swiftly that they hadn't had time to alert Danzō.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Danzō said coldly, instinctively denying it.
With a gloomy expression, he added with veiled sarcasm, "I only moved Root's base here a few months ago, and yet you managed to find it so quickly... Hiruzen, your intelligence network is truly impressive."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
"I am the Hokage of Konohagakure," he said calmly. "Is it not only natural that I know everything happening within the village?"
"Danzō, Keizumi has already revealed your secret to me. You say you don't know what I'm talking about—then can you show me what you're hiding beneath those bandages?"
His sharp gaze bore into Danzō.
It was clear to the naked eye that Danzō's expression was growing uglier by the second.
Hiruzen's tone deepened.
"You and I have been comrades-in-arms for many years. You may be able to fool others with your expression, but not me. So now—give me a reason not to strip you of your position."
"You want to strip me of my position?!"
Danzō looked utterly incredulous.
"After all I've done for Konoha over the years? Just because of these so-called Sharingan, you want to remove me?!"
Hiruzen's gaze was somber.
"That's why I'm giving you a chance. You need to give me an explanation that everyone can accept."
Danzō suddenly seemed to understand.
He sneered.
"So in the end, it's really just about giving you an explanation that satisfies you, isn't it?"
Hiruzen didn't rise to the bait.
He simply continued staring at Danzō in silence.
…
"Uchiha Keizumi… took the Jinchūriki?!"
Two of Konoha's high-ranking elders, Koharu and Homura, had quickly caught wind of the astonishing report.
Calling it 'intel' might've been too generous—by now, the entire village was buzzing with the news.
That said, most civilians only heard rumors about Uzumaki Naruto being some sort of 'fox spirit incarnation'.
Very few actually understood what a 'Tailed Beast Jinchūriki' really meant.
"And… Hiruzen was there too?"
Koharu found this hard to believe.
"How could he just let a member of the Uchiha clan take the Jinchūriki? And into Uchiha territory, no less?!"
She could no longer sit still. Rising to her feet, she began pacing back and forth.
"No! We must get the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki out of there! He absolutely cannot be allowed to stay in Uchiha territory!"
"Otherwise…"
The memory of the Nine-Tails' rampage all those years ago sent a chill down Koharu's spine.
Just as she furrowed her brow in thought, she noticed Homura had remained silent the entire time. She shot him a glare, clearly dissatisfied.
"Well? Say something!"
Homura finally spoke, his voice low.
"Do you really think it'll be that easy to retrieve someone once Uchiha Keizumi gets involved? That's an Uchiha who even Hiruzen finds difficult to deal with."
Koharu gritted her teeth.
"So what—do we just sit and watch the Nine-Tails incident repeat itself?"
"There's no need to confront Uchiha Keizumi directly."
Homura's voice was slow and deliberate.
"We only need to apply pressure to Fugaku. After all, he's the Commander of the Police Force. Keizumi is just one of its officers."
"I believe Hiruzen is thinking along the same lines. If we want to bring the Jinchūriki back, there are plenty of ways to bypass Keizumi and his constant preaching about so-called 'Absolute Justice'."
"Konoha has always stood for balance and order. We were never about absolute justice."
Upon hearing this, Koharu gradually calmed down.
"Then… we'll see what Hiruzen chooses to do."
...
Inside the Root base.
Danzō's face was dark with fury as he stared at the retreating figures of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the accompanying ANBU.
Only when they had completely disappeared from view—
Did Danzō's emotions finally explode.
"Bastard—!!!"
All the research data related to Wood Release and the Sharingan had just been extorted from him by that damned monkey.
Worse still… Danzō had even been forced to hand over two unused three-tomoe Sharingan that he hadn't yet implanted into himself.
Every single one of those eyes had been painstakingly collected by Root during the Third Great Ninja War, acquired in secret through cautious, covert means.
And now?
Not only had Uchiha Keizumi wasted one of those Sharingan—
He'd just been extorted out of two more by that damned monkey!
That… was what Hiruzen had demanded in exchange for a 'satisfactory explanation'.
And to make matters worse—
Just before leaving, Sarutobi Hiruzen had left him with a warning. Or rather, a threat:
"Danzō, don't let me find out something like this has happened again. The first time, I tolerated it—because you've indeed done much for Konohagakure. But next time… I won't be so patient. If this happens again, you might as well step down from your position as head of Root."
Recalling Hiruzen's words, Danzō clenched his fists tightly.
"That's my Root! Built up with my blood and sweat! Who does that monkey think he is to threaten my authority?!"
He gritted his teeth, spitting each word with venom: "Damned monkey! And that inherently evil little Uchiha bastard!"
Just then—
A Root intelligence operative rushed into the base, breathless, and immediately delivered a new report.
"Danzō-sama, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, has been taken to the Police Force Headquarters by Uchiha Keizumi! According to reports, this was done with the tacit approval of the Third Hokage!"
Danzō: "???"
…
At the Uchiha compound—
"Uchiha Keizumi took that demon fox brat to the Police Force Headquarters?!"
An Uchiha shinobi's eyes lit up with excitement. He leaned forward, eagerness in his voice: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! That kid's supposed to have the Nine-Tails sealed inside him—he's the jinchūriki!"
"If we can seize control of the jinchūriki's power, then those decrepit old geezers at the top of the village—who would still dare to talk down to the Uchiha clan?"
He exclaimed, thrilled: "Who would've thought Keizumi—he's always seemed so aloof, constantly clashing with his own kin—would actually come through at a time like this!"
The fact that Uzumaki Naruto was probably the Nine-Tails jinchūriki seemed like a 'secret' known only to the village's top brass.
But no one in the village was truly stupid. Rumors had long circulated that the boy was the fox's reincarnation—a walking disaster.
And rumors rarely arise without cause.
It only took a little connecting of the dots to realize his undeniable connection to the Nine-Tails.
At that moment, another Uchiha shinobi nearby frowned and scoffed: "I heard Uzumaki Naruto is currently in Fugaku-sama's office. Do you really think, knowing Fugaku's personality… he'd let us use the jinchūriki to intimidate the village leadership?"
"That's the so-called 'all-for-the-greater-good' Fugaku, after all."
Yet another Uchiha shinobi bit out bitterly: "Hmph! Clan Head Fugaku is always so indecisive! But if we rally enough of our people and apply some pressure, could he really say no?"
"If we had the power of the Nine-Tails, we could launch the coup far sooner than planned."
"We could call in Elder Setsuna!"
"…"
There were over twenty Uchiha shinobi gathered there—
All of them belonged to the Hawk Faction within the Uchiha clan.
At the heart of this faction stood Uchiha Setsuna—an elder who had once attempted a coup, for which he was imprisoned by the Second Hokage for many years, only recently released.
Yet despite their zeal, these younger Hawk-aligned Uchiha had reacted too slowly.
For at this moment—
Uchiha Setsuna and several of the older Hawk elders had already set out directly for the Police Force Headquarters!
But…
…
"Uchiha Keizumi, what is the meaning of this?!"
Uchiha Setsuna—roughly the same age as Sarutobi Hiruzen—stood leaning on a cane, his eyes fixed intently on Keizumi, who was blocking the center of the street.
"Kei… Keizumi-senpai, what are you—"
Izumi, who was following behind Uchiha Keizumi, stared at him in shock.
All she saw was—
Keizumi calmly drawing the ninja blade from Izumi's waist and standing with it, alone in the middle of the main street of the Uchiha compound.
The atmosphere instantly turned tense—like a taut bowstring ready to snap.
The guards accompanying the hawkish elders stepped forward in unison, forming a standoff against the suddenly appearing Uchiha Keizumi.
Keizumi didn't respond to Setsuna's demand.
Instead, his expression remained calm as he turned to Izumi and said: "Rookie. When evil clashes with evil—sometimes the result is mutual destruction, even total annihilation."
"But conflict like that will inevitably affect many who should never have been involved in the first place. So tell me—should Absolute Justice simply stand by and watch? Or should it intervene?"
Izumi was stunned.
She furrowed her brow, wrapping a lock of her hair around her fingertip, thinking hard. Then she answered cautiously: "Senpai… that's such a deep question… But I think Absolute Justice shouldn't be that coldhearted."
Her voice grew firmer.
"If… If it were up to me, I'd choose to stop it!"
Wait a minute…
Keizumi-senpai wouldn't ask that question for no reason.
Especially not when he's acting like this.
Could it be that, in Keizumi-senpai's eyes, these elderly Uchiha elders before them… are evil?
Then what about the other evil?
Could it be Fugaku-sama? Or the Hokage?
Izumi swallowed nervously.