Faced with Sarutobi Hiruzen's teeth-gritting challenge, Uchiha Chizumi answered in a flat voice, clean and curt: "Don't get too full of yourself, Third."
The anger that was about to erupt on Hiruzen's face froze. What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean Chizumi had never taken him seriously from the start—that Hiruzen only imagined he was being singled out?
Just as Hiruzen was reeling, a sudden quarrel broke out behind him, making him jolt.
"What are you doing? What is the Police Force trying to do? I'm Anbu! I serve directly under the Hokage—I've done meritorious service for Konoha. You have no right to drag me off to the Police Force!"
One of the Anbu whose name Chizumi had called saw several Police Force shinobi advancing on him. He immediately backed up a few steps, hand on his sword hilt, the blade already half drawn—making it clear he would not cooperate and would resist arrest.
Hiruzen muttered that this was bad, and in the next instant a fierce clash of steel exploded behind him. He spun around just in time to see two Police Force shinobi draw their blades and slash at the Anbu. If the Anbu hadn't reacted in a flash and drawn to block, he would have been cut down on the spot.
"STOP!!!" Hiruzen barked, but the Police Force shinobi ignored the Hokage's order. The two sides were instantly brawling. Two against one, the Anbu was quickly forced onto the back foot.
Seeing the crisis, other Anbu tried to rush in to help, but a line of Police Force shinobi stepped forward to bar their way.
"Hey, hey, hey—don't tell me you plan to help a suspect who's using force to resist arrest? Aiding a criminal, in the eyes of [Absolute Justice], is colluding with evil. That makes you part of the crime!"
A Police Force jōnin stared down an Anbu in front of him. His three-tomoe Sharingan was already open, his gaze full of wary menace.
The Police Force's hard line made the other Anbu hesitate. Without the Hokage's order, they didn't know whether to launch an all-out fight against the Police Force.
Hiruzen's face had gone as dark as it could get.
"Third, what are you trying to do?" As Hiruzen forced himself to turn back toward the embattled Anbu, an icy voice made his heart clench. A premonition hit him—if he moved to "rescue" his Anbu, Uchiha Chizumi would strike at him without hesitation.
No—Chizumi had probably wanted to move on the Hokage for a long time, but never had a good opening. The Hokage was always surrounded by Anbu protection. If a battle between the Police Force and Anbu erupted, the Anbu would be tied down elsewhere. Then, when Hiruzen faced Chizumi himself…it would be one-on-one.
To be honest, if he were twenty or thirty years younger, Hiruzen wouldn't have flinched at the thought of facing Chizumi alone. But he was old now; he might not be a match for the young man. And Chizumi truly did kill "evildoers," no matter who they were. The Land of Fire's daimyō… Shimura Danzō… were two good examples.
The bind was indescribable, and Hiruzen was torn. If he forcibly shielded the Anbu, his authority would plummet in the eyes of Konoha's civilians. Many would stop trusting or recognizing him as Hokage; he would be Hokage in name only, and even his decrees might go unheeded. But if he stood by, he would lose the Anbu's loyalty.
He hesitated—just for a moment. It was already too late; there was no time to choose.
Squelch—
With the sound of steel tearing flesh, the Anbu who had tried to resist arrest screamed. Surrounded by Police Force blades, he finally went down—one arm severed at the shoulder, a deep slash across his abdomen, blood spraying as his intestines nearly spilled out.
In the next instant, two blood-stained blades were at his neck. The Police Force had shown a measure of restraint; otherwise his head would already have been off.
The other Anbu whose names Chizumi had called were cowed by the sight—and chilled by Hiruzen's inaction. They opened their mouths as if to speak, fingers twitching as if to move, but said nothing and didn't dare.
In the end they let the Police Force wrench their hands behind their backs and strip them of every tool, a kunai pressed to each spine—any sudden move and it would be driven in.
"…It's over." Kakashi, watching in the crowd, didn't intervene. He didn't take the Police Force's side, nor the Anbu's; he stood like an indifferent onlooker. He sighed to himself, so quietly only he could hear: "After today, there probably won't be many in Anbu who stay loyal to the Hokage. He couldn't even protect his own."
Kakashi himself didn't know whether some of the named Anbu were evildoers or not. If you call them evildoers…well, during Anbu missions, harsher methods can lead to collateral damage, which is sometimes unavoidable.
But if you call them clean…then when collateral damage happens and you neither make amends nor seek remedies, and the victim's life is ruined or ends because of it—that isn't right from an ordinary person's point of view.
And beyond that gray area, there were others whose deeds Kakashi was certain left them no chance to live: not collateral, but malice—minds cracking during missions, deliberate evil acts, and covering their tracks afterward.
Kakashi watched as seven or eight Anbu were led away. Among them, one Anbu stopped when he reached Hiruzen. Even when the Police Force pushed him from behind, he didn't move. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, you really do know how to keep the village's 'balance.' You really do know how to treat the village's merit. No wonder your son and daughter-in-law died in the name of [Absolute Justice], no wonder you've been steadily sidelined to this point."
The Anbu wore a mask, so Hiruzen couldn't see his face—but he could imagine how ugly, how disappointed that face must be.
"If the Police Force sentences me to death, please don't attend my funeral, Hokage-sama. I'm afraid I'd tear the lid off my coffin and climb out."
"If I'm not sentenced to death, then strike my name off the Anbu rolls. I'd rather be a Konoha genin than an Anbu, much less a member of the Hokage's secret unit."
That last line was the blade to the heart. Hiruzen felt himself go dazed. He tried to speak and keep the man, but the Anbu had already gone. The others being taken away gave the Third one last, deeply disappointed look. Only the gravely wounded Anbu lay unconscious.
Hiruzen couldn't help glancing at the Anbu who remained. They stood frozen, most of their gazes settling on him. He felt it—disappointment. In that moment…he lost the trust and loyalty of the vast majority of Anbu. All because of a few seconds of hesitation.
…
News that the Anbu had confronted the Police Force and been completely routed spread through Konoha at once. It spread so fast because, of course, someone was fanning the flames.
At Yakiniku, Akimichi Chōza said to Nara Shikaku, "Shikaku, if the Hokage so much as looks into it, he'll find it was the Nara who carried that news across the village. Aren't you afraid of provoking his displeasure?"
Shikaku shook his head. "Chōza, things aren't what they were. A week ago I wouldn't have done this. The Hokage still had a lot of clout—doing this would've been playing with fire."
"But today—especially today, when the Hokage couldn't protect his Anbu—I have to do it. Even if it offends him, the Nara no longer care."
"Why?" Chōza asked, puzzled.
"Chōza, haven't you seen the lay of the land?" Shikaku's tone turned grave. "Plenty of people are fed up with the Third's rule. In that situation, every faction will make a move. Move early, you get more of the fruit; move late, you'll be lucky to scrape the leftovers."
Chōza's pupils tightened. He understood: many no longer wanted the Third on that seat—and everyone wanted to seize more benefit for their clan while they could.
"You're not afraid of the Hokage striking back? He's still the Hokage of Konoha. He still has some roots here. Even if most of them have been hacked away, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse."
"True," Shikaku nodded, then added, "Few in the village could withstand a counterattack from the Hokage, us Nara included. However…with Chizumi holding the line in Konoha, the Hokage's counterattack won't get past him. What the Nara did today is, in fact, for Chizumi's [Absolute Justice]. Only by pruning away more of the Hokage's influence—by taking him off that seat altogether—can Chizumi's [Absolute Justice] spread throughout the village."
Chōza sucked in a cold breath. This was…half of Konoha staging a hunt for the Third. And the Third probably thought it was only Chizumi coming after him.
"Shikaku, did Chizumi sign off on this?" Chōza frowned.
"I spoke to him early," Shikaku said. "He told me—so long as we don't cross the line of justice and don't drag innocent civilians into it—the Ino-Shika-Chō can act freely. If pressure comes from the Hokage's side, Chizumi will step out front and take it for us."
Chōza exhaled and leaned back in his chair. "If that's how it is, then the Akimichi can only move with the Nara. By the way, what about Inoichi? Have you spoken to him?"
Shikaku smiled. "Inoichi moved even earlier than I did."
…
"Hokage-sama, these are our resignation letters."
In the Hokage's office, three Anbu from the Yamanaka clan set three envelopes on Hiruzen's desk. They had deliberately left the office door open so that shinobi in the hallway could hear every word.
Hiruzen, slumped in his chair, blinked himself back to awareness. He stared at the three letters, then looked up at the three Yamanaka who had already taken off their Anbu masks.
"Why?" he asked, his voice hoarse and tired.
One of them said, "We three are not up to Anbu work. The intensity of Anbu missions is far beyond our ability. And we don't wish to finish missions only to have blades pointed at us in our own village—and be called 'criminals.'"
By then Hiruzen's eyelids were twitching, his breathing a little quick.
"…Did Inoichi tell you to say this to me?" he asked, enunciating each word.
"This has nothing to do with Clan Head or the Yamanaka clan," the man replied. "It's our own decision."
Hiruzen felt his heart go cold.