Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback. "The Jinchuriki… Naruto?" he muttered, surprised that the clash between Danzo and Uchiha Ikeizumi had somehow involved the young boy.
But hearing only Danzo's side of the story, Hiruzen wasn't entirely convinced. After all, Danzo had always looked at the Uchiha clan through tinted glasses.
"Ikeizumi, you…" Hiruzen's gaze shifted to the young Uchiha, only to find him still advancing toward Danzo, his Sharingan eyes burning with a cold, deadly intent.
Hiruzen's head ached. He remembered well that once Ikeizumi set his sights on someone and decided to take action, he would relentlessly pursue that person until they were completely wiped out—unless something truly unstoppable got in his way.
"Ikeizumi! Wait!" Hiruzen's voice tightened with urgency as he called out, "There must be some misunderstanding here. The village has rules—shinobi are not allowed to fight each other recklessly! You and Danzo are both Konoha ninja. How can there be infighting among Konoha's own?"
He quickly stepped between Ikeizumi and Danzo, flanked by a dozen Anbu, creating a barrier to keep the two apart.
"Ikeizumi, give me some face and let's sort this out first," Hiruzen said patiently, locking eyes with the young Uchiha.
Ikeizumi glanced at the faint red frame hovering above the Third Hokage's head and narrowed his eyes slightly. "So, Lord Hokage, are you going to use your power to protect those who obstruct justice?"
Hiruzen felt the words sting but remained calm. "Ikeizumi, this is just a misunderstanding."
The Anbu silently tightened their circle around both men.
"Using your authority to shield criminals who block justice… I'll remember this," Ikeizumi said as he deactivated his molten chakra armor. The magma flowing over his body slowly receded, and his three-tomoe Sharingan faded back to normal black eyes.
Hiruzen fell silent. He had a strange feeling that Ikeizumi wasn't joking but speaking with deadly seriousness. Still, as Hokage, he figured Ikeizumi would forget this grievance with time.
Turning his attention to Danzo, Hiruzen's gaze hardened. "Danzo! Put away your kunai! Do you want to escalate this unnecessary conflict?"
Danzo frowned. Why was Hiruzen so polite to that "evil" Uchiha but so harsh with him? The double standard made his fists clench.
He shot a dark look at Ikeizumi, then reluctantly sheathed his kunai. "Hiruzen, you want to understand what happened? The evil Uchiha tried to control the Nine-Tails. I stopped him, but lost two valuable subordinates in the process. That's all there is to it."
He gritted his teeth, bitterness dripping from his words. "If you hadn't shown up suddenly, I would've killed that brat in under a minute."
Danzo's mind raced. He'd already sacrificed one Sharingan eye using Izanagi, only for Hiruzen's arrival to ruin the technique's effectiveness. Worse, he'd revealed one of his trump cards to Ikeizumi.
Hiruzen didn't know any of this. His concern was only the loss of Danzo's two subordinates.
He turned to Ikeizumi and asked, "Why did you…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was momentarily taken aback, preparing to question Uchiha Ikeizumi, but Ikeizumi spoke first, his tone calm and indifferent. "Those who obstruct justice are my enemies and must be eradicated by absolute means."
He continued, "Root's attempt to take away the offending Uzumaki Naruto is, in my eyes, an obstruction of justice and an encouragement of evil."
"That is why I acted. If the Hokage believes this reason insufficient, he may expel me from the Military Police Force at any time."
Hiruzen fell silent. As always, even before he could ask his questions, Ikeizumi seemed to know what was on his mind and answered directly, as if speaking to the Hokage was an annoyance to him.
Choosing to ignore Ikeizumi's last remark, Hiruzen focused on the statement that Naruto had committed an offense. This put Ikeizumi's and Danzo's accounts in direct conflict.
Danzo believed Ikeizumi intended to control the Nine-Tails, while Ikeizumi seemed to think Naruto had simply caused trouble and needed to be apprehended.
"Where is Naruto?" Hiruzen asked the Anbu ninja who monitored the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Soon, the Anbu swiftly brought over a frightened Naruto.
Hiruzen crouched down and gently ruffled Naruto's golden hair, trying to soothe the child.
"Naruto, what happened just now? Why did this Military Police officer suddenly grab you?"
Hiruzen softened his tone as much as he could.
Naruto instinctively glanced at Ikeizumi but quickly lowered his head, intimidated by the cold glare.
His face pale and trembling, Naruto stammered, "Hokage Grandpa, I… I think I broke the law…"
"Today, I played a prank…"
He recounted the entire incident honestly, knowing he dared not lie in front of Ikeizumi, who genuinely might imprison him. After all, Naruto had pulled many pranks before without serious consequences.
Clearly, Ikeizumi's earlier threats to imprison Naruto for months had thoroughly frightened the boy.
Naruto's story was coherent, but Hiruzen's expression grew increasingly strange as he listened.
Danzo stood silently, stunned.
"Hiruzen," Hiruzen's gaze darkened as he looked at Danzo, "It seems all of this was just your malicious speculation. You started this entire conflict, didn't you?"
Danzo's face twisted into a scowl, fists clenched tightly, his expression darker than ever. He said nothing.
"This farce is over, Danzo!" Hiruzen's voice grew cold. "I will not allow you to view Ikeizumi—a loyal ninja of this village—with such prejudice!"
Danzo gritted his teeth. "What about the two guards I lost?"
Hiruzen asked pointedly, "Isn't this all your fault?"
Danzo's fists tightened until the sound of cracking knuckles echoed. His chest rose and fell unevenly as his expression shifted with conflicted emotions.
"Hmph!"
He turned away in anger.
Hiruzen did not try to stop him. After a deep breath, he promised Ikeizumi, "Ikeizumi, Root has indeed gone too far. They accused you without giving you a chance to explain. Rest assured, I will deal with them."
He paused, then added, "I will also compensate Naruto for the damages caused by his prank. As for imprisoning him in Konoha Prison… let's forget that. He's still a child and can learn his lesson in other ways."
Ikeizumi narrowed his eyes slightly and said something that caught Hiruzen completely off guard: "Does the Hokage also intend to obstruct justice?"
For some reason, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
Ikeizumi continued slowly, "Hokage, gentle methods cannot educate a brat whose mindset has gone astray. Only strict, absolute justice—without any tolerance—can straighten his thinking and make him a better person."
"Only then…"
"Can we truly honor the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, can we not?"