Chapter 154: Third Hokage: "Old Man, how could I possibly be evil?"

Inside the Investigation Corps Headquarters.

Uchiha Fugaku stood firm before Uchiha Iizumi, his face grim, voice raised in a sharp accusation that instantly drew the attention of the entire Hyūga Main Family — a group of defeated, head-bowed shinobi, their spirits crushed.

"What do you think this is about? Obviously, it’s the arrest of guilty offenders."

Uchiha Iizumi met Fugaku’s glare with cold calm. His tone was flat, detached. "The Hyūga Main Family—thirty-four members. The harshest punishment? Twenty years in prison. The lightest? A few months."

"Oh, right." Iizumi paused, then added, as Fugaku’s expression flickered in shock, "There are also two corpses. If you’ve got time, you might want to send someone to clean them up."

At that moment, Tachibana Jiro, trailing behind Iizumi, chimed in with a feline smirk. "Meow. One person’s enough. The two bodies? Just heads left."

Uchiha Fugaku: "..."

What in the world was going on?

Fugaku was utterly stunned.

Hyūga Mei, the elder clan patriarch leaning on his cane, his face shadowed with grim seriousness, watched the exchange with a flicker of thought. He could clearly see it—the rift between Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Iizumi.

Of course.

It was said that Iizumi had already killed Uchiha Itachi—the very man destined to destroy the entire Uchiha Clan.

Under such circumstances, how could Fugaku possibly show kindness to the man who murdered his son?

The only reason he hadn’t outright attacked was because Itachi had been in the wrong. After all, wiping out an entire clan was too far beyond moral boundaries to ignore.

Hyūga Mei suddenly tapped his cane on the ground, drawing Fugaku’s attention.

Logically, the Hyūga should have stayed far from Uchiha affairs—avoiding any appearance of bias. But now wasn’t the time for pride. He couldn’t afford to spend twenty years in Leaf Village Prison.

He was already ancient. Would he even survive that long? What if he died in that filthy cell?

As the former clan head, now an elder of the Main Family—his legacy would be ruined if he died in prison.

Realizing silence was no longer an option, Hyūga Mei cleared his throat.

"Ahem… Fugaku Clan Head…"

Before he could finish, Tachibana Jiro cut in with a sneer from his cat-like eyes. "Meow. This is Absolute Justice. And it’s the Third Hokage’s will."

He turned directly to Fugaku, unflinching. "Uchiha Fugaku, are you really willing to stand against Iizumi’s Absolute Justice… and also defy the Fire Nation’s Will?"

Both Fugaku and Hyūga Mei froze.

Damn it!

That damn Ninja Cat again!

Hyūga Mei seethed, his dark eyes narrowing at Tachibana Jiro. But the cat, emboldened by its master, stared right back with utter disregard for rank.

"...The Third Hokage’s will." Fugaku felt the weight of the words press down on him. He’d come here to prevent misunderstanding—worried the Hokage might suspect the Uchiha Clan.

But now he realized—this wasn’t just Iizumi’s crusade.

The Hokage himself wanted to crush the Hyūga Main Family. And he was using Iizumi’s merciless methods to do it.

Fugaku stood paralyzed—caught between two impossible choices.

"Clan Head Fugaku," a calm, indifferent voice broke through. A member of the Investigation Corps stepped forward. "Please make way. We still need to record the details of these criminals."

"If you’re truly idle, perhaps you could go through some old, unsolved cases. The Uchiha’s Justice may be late, but it’s never forgotten."

The speaker was a senior elite from the Investigation Corps. When he turned to address Uchiha Iizumi, his tone shifted entirely—filled with reverence.

"Iizumi-sama, rest assured. We’ll record every detail. No one’s sentence will be misrecorded!"

His face shone with genuine awe. And from his constant use of "Justice," it was clear he had become a devoted follower of Absolute Justice.

Such men were growing more common in the Uchiha Clan—especially after Iizumi had unveiled the legendary Susanoo and slain Uchiha Itachi.

Hyūga Mei: ...

Seeing this, he understood—Fugaku’s authority within the Uchiha Clan might no longer outweigh Iizumi’s.

He glanced at Hyūga Hiashi, silent and retreating, cornered into submission. Then at Fugaku, silent under harsh words, unable to respond.

He had no hope left.

...

Night fell.

Hundreds of Hyūga Branch members gathered together—children as young as three or four were present.

Whether out of spite or a last gesture of respect, even a few remaining Main Family members were invited.

Among them: Hyūga Hinata, just seven years old, her face etched with worry. Tears still glistened in the corners of her eyes. She kept her head down, clutching her younger sister, Hyūga Hanabi, too afraid to look up at anyone.

She had learned from a Main Family elder that her father had been taken by the Investigation Corps. That within a single afternoon, the entire clan had collapsed.

Hinata was lost. She couldn’t understand why everything had changed so fast.

"Miss Hinata," a Main Family elder whispered, exhaustion in his voice, "no matter what they say, don’t respond. Don’t speak first. If anyone speaks ill of your father, don’t defend him. Times have changed. For the next ten years, he won’t be able to protect you. I’m just one man—I can’t fight all of them."

This elder was the sole surviving elite of the Main Family. He’d never been anyone special—low visibility, no close ties, never even used the Cage of Birds Seal on the Branch.

And yet, by sheer accident, he’d become the last pillar of the Main Family.

Before leaving, Hiashi had entrusted him with protecting Hinata and Hanabi.

The weight was crushing.

"Yes..." Hinata whispered, nodding slowly. Then, with a small, confused voice: "Will I still be a Main Family member... and Hanabi too?"

"I don’t know," the elder replied, his face grim.

At that moment, a small figure approached—silent, unobtrusive—then sat beside Hinata.

The elder froze. Recognition flashed across his face.

"Hyūga Neji…"

Everyone knew Neji was the one who had dragged Uchiha Iizumi into this disaster. To the Main Family, he was the root of their downfall.

Neji’s expression was heavy. He spoke slowly.

"I didn’t realize… some of the Branch members are just like the Main Family. I thought they wanted equality between the Branch and the Main. But now I see—what they truly care about isn’t fairness. It’s who gets to be the head of the Hyūga Clan."

"Some of them aren’t angry at their fate. They don’t hate being imprisoned. They don’t resent the cage."

"They hate that they’re not Main Family. That they can’t enslave others. That they can’t lock people in cages."

Neji exhaled slowly. At his age, that was all he could grasp.

Otherwise, he couldn’t explain why things had turned out this way.

"Neji," the elder said coldly, "this is your choice. You should feel regret."

"I don’t regret it." Neji shook his head.

He turned to face the elder, whose eyes widened in shock.

"This isn’t about loyalty to the Branch. It just proves that evil lies deep within the Hyūga Clan—untouched, un-purged. The Main Family is tainted. And part of the Branch… is slipping toward darkness."

He forced himself to see through Iizumi’s lens—the extreme standard of Absolute Justice.

And then, with quiet finality, he spoke:

"More people need to die."

The words hung in the air.

Neji’s confusion vanished. He finally understood.

His stance wasn’t with the Branch.

Because siding with them would make him favor their cause—distorting the balance.

And that was not Justice.

That was not Absolute Justice.

...

Leaf Village Prison.

Hyūga Hiashi never thought he’d wear prison garb. He rubbed the coarse, filthy fabric, then looked around at the damp, dim cell.

The faint scent of mold clung to the air. He sighed.

This prison couldn’t hold him—Zetsu knew that.

He could escape in at least ten ways.

But the cost? He couldn’t bear it.

Memories of his fellow clan members’ final words echoed in his mind.

—“Hiashi, you’re the clan head. Why did you keep hesitating? Your silence didn’t earn mercy—it only made the Uchiha boy more ruthless. He wiped us all out!”

—“Hiashi, we could’ve used the Branch’s lives as leverage. Why didn’t you order it?”

—“I’m going to be imprisoned for nineteen years! By then, I’ll be fifty or sixty!”

—“Hiashi… as clan head, don’t you have a duty to protect your people? Why did we ever choose you?”

—“Heh… after this, your daughters won’t even need the Caged Bird Seal. You’re thinking of letting them live free, aren’t you?”

“Hmph…”

A wave of shame washed over Hiashi. He had failed.

He had let them down.

Every bitter word, every accusation—none of it could be denied.

He had no right to respond.

He sat cross-legged on the cold floor, lost in silence.

...

“Jiraiya!”

That night, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still working late, was interrupted by a furious figure storming into his office.

Tsunade Konoha burst through the door, eyes blazing.

“How could you let Iizumi go this far? You want to crush the Hyūga Main Family—but not like this! Not by using his Absolute Justice!”

She took a deep breath, voice heavy with warning.

“Once you start relying on that kind of extremism, you’ll be shaped by it. You know what that Justice did to Leaf Village. I don’t understand why you and the Fire Lord are doing this.”

After her outburst, she calmed slightly—though her glare remained sharp.

Hiruzen tapped his fingers on the desk. Weariness shadowed his eyes.

“Right now, aside from Iizumi… who else can we use?”

“Besides… even if I tried to stop him, could I? Today, I stop him. Tomorrow? The day after? One day, I’ll be too late. So why not let him go?”

Tsunade’s brow furrowed. “Jiraiya, you must understand the difference between using him and depending on him.”

“Don’t forget,” she added, “Iizumi has never shown you respect. He may see you as no different from Danzō… or even Itachi. He hasn’t acted—only because you’re always surrounded by Anbu.”

Hiruzen fell silent.

She was right.

He knew Iizumi was watching him.

But still—him, the Hokage? How could he possibly be evil?

“You’re overthinking it,” Hiruzen said.

...

Meanwhile, the Hyūga Clan Council convened.

Just as Neji had suspected—within half a day, the Branch had splintered into multiple factions.

Some led by respected elders. Others by strong, capable upper-level shinobi.

They argued openly, fiercely.

Neji sat on a mat, watching as the ugliness of their faces emerged—faces he recognized all too well. They looked just like the arrogant Main Family shinobi he’d despised.

He felt deep disappointment.

Slowly, he stood—rising in a room full of kneeling people. His movement drew every eye.

A Branch elder, still flushed from a heated argument, forced a smile. “Neji, you’re the hero today. You—”

He never finished.

Neji’s icy gaze cut him off.

“You don’t want Justice. You want power.”

“Justice is watching you.”

“Beware.”

Without a word, he walked out—his face a mask of sorrow.

The stunned silence of the Branch members followed him.

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end