"It's just that I am already advanced in years. I truly no longer have the strength to continue accompanying you…" Genji revealed a weary expression and gave a bitter smile. No matter how powerful a shinobi might be, they would ultimately face the day when old age arrived. Having been active during the Warring States era, Genji was now already in the twilight of his life.
After being repeatedly frightened, personally witnessing the Mizukage's death, and constantly having to think about how to deal with Keizumi, he had endured tremendous strain. On top of that, he had been caught in the rain during the ordeal, so it was likely he would inevitably fall seriously ill afterward.
Genji had long grown accustomed to life and death. However, the heavily weakened Kirigakure still could not do without him. After losing the Mizukage and the Three-Tails, the village still had to implement Keizumi's [Absolute Justice], and life in the Land of Water would only become more difficult in the future. Genji was actually somewhat worried that Mei might not be able to hold the situation together.
"The crimes of Kirigakure and the Land of Water are not connected to you. Just do as you wish," Keizumi said calmly. Just as Genji was about to take his leave, Uchiha Izumi, who was holding Tachibana Jirō, and Biwa Jūzō, whose expression was complicated, walked over one after the other.
"Keizumi-sama, Slug Sage-sama." Izumi curiously glanced at Genji's departing figure. It was quite rare for a senior who could withdraw safely after standing before Keizumi. "Is it really alright to leave the affairs of the Land of Water to the Kirigakure shinobi?"
"Tsk…" Biwa Jūzō suddenly felt inexplicably irritated. Although he was no longer a Kirigakure shinobi, Izumi's words were a bit too hurtful. What did she mean by leaving the affairs of the Land of Water to Kirigakure shinobi? Were Kirigakure and the Land of Water not one and the same?!
Of course, he did not dare to say this aloud in front of Keizumi. In the shinobi world, there were quite a few powerful shinobi who had conquered an entire country by relying solely on their own strength. In the past, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had also once achieved similar glorious feats.
However, those so-called countries were merely small nations such as the Land of Tea or the Land of Rice Fields. They were completely incomparable to a major nation like the Land of Water. The last person who attempted to oppose one of the Five Great Nations by relying solely on his own strength was the Third Raikage, who was ultimately surrounded and killed by Iwagakure shinobi.
However, the Third Raikage had merely been surrounded and killed by Iwagakure shinobi while covering his comrades' retreat. How could that compare to Keizumi, who had all but single-handedly charged into Kirigakure, slain the Fourth Mizukage—a perfect jinchūriki—and at the same time beaten Kirigakure, the village known as the "Bloody Mist," into such submission that it was willing to humble itself completely?
If Keizumi had not only wanted to carry out [Absolute Justice] in the Land of Water, he could have fully represented Konoha and ordered Kirigakure to submit. For the sake of Kirigakure's survival, Jūzō even suspected that Genji and Mei would have knelt at Keizumi's feet without the slightest hesitation.
"What is it that you want to say, Biwa Jūzō?" Glancing at Jūzō, Keizumi took the initiative to ask, "About this country's future."
As for the future of the shinobi world, Keizumi already had his own plans. But the Land of Water was, after all, the first great nation outside the Land of Fire to carry out [Absolute Justice], so appropriately referring to the ideas of local "people of conscience and courage" was not a bad thing.
Although placing the title of "people of conscience and courage" on Biwa Jūzō felt rather strange, in the Land of Water, where humanoid creatures were everywhere, someone like Biwa Jūzō already counted as fairly decent. Keizumi could not expect everyone to be as unwavering as he was.
"The Land of Water... its future?!" Izumi's eyes widened involuntarily. She had long since believed that Keizumi would change the shinobi world in the future, but for him to start deciding the future of a country so soon—and a major nation like the Land of Water at that—still left Izumi feeling incredulous.
Unfortunately, the person Keizumi had asked was Jūzō. That made Izumi feel deeply regretful, but at the same time, she was also unusually eager to hear what sort of answer Jūzō would give.
"...The future... I've never thought about it. That kind of thing probably isn't for a rogue ninja like me to decide," Jūzō said at last after a long silence, his tone somewhat dry. "But I think... if we just kill all those damned bastards, that should do it, right?"
"Too naive! Even if you kill everyone in the Land of Water... idiot, you're about to strangle me!" Tachibana Jirō, who was being held in Izumi's arms, suddenly spoke up. Struggling free from Izumi's embrace, he sprang onto her shoulder, his plump body nearly knocking Izumi over as well. "If you don't eradicate the evil soil that gave birth to those sinners, sooner or later new sinners will continue to be born. I'm right, aren't I, Keizumi-sama!"
Standing on Izumi's shoulder, Tachibana Jirō proudly lifted his head. Actually, he wanted even more to stand on Keizumi's shoulder, but jumping over there at a time like this would have seemed somewhat lacking in composure.
It was one of the earliest ninja cats to follow Keizumi; it absolutely could not let a junior like Izumi look down on it!
"Do you understand now?" Keizumi gave a slight nod in affirmation, then looked toward Biwa Jūzō again. Mei's volunteering had given him some inspiration. If he could persuade a "local" to cooperate with him, the path of carrying out [Absolute Justice] might become much smoother.
It was not that Keizumi had begun to grow lax. Rather, the evil within the shinobi world had already reached the point where it was almost impossible to reverse. As long as an action could add even a single brick or tile to the cause of justice, Keizumi did not mind trying it.
"…I understand!" Jūzō unconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of the Kubikiribōchō. When it came to eradicating the soil that bred evil, the only thing he could think of was cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots to prevent future trouble. "I'll kill every single person who might commit evil!"
An undisguised killing intent surged out from Jūzō, startling Izumi, who instinctively took half a step back.
In terms of strength, Izumi was already far from what she once had been. However, compared with a Kirigakure jōnin like Biwa Jūzō, who had crawled out from piles of corpses, she was clearly still far too inexperienced.
"…That doesn't need to be so extreme." Even Keizumi could not help pausing for a moment. With the killing intent Jūzō was displaying right now, if he were really sent to act, he might turn into a red-named indiscriminate killer in minutes. "You only need to cut off the chain of evil… Izumi will identify who should be killed, you will carry it out, and Tachibana Jirō will assist you. Start with a town as a pilot…"
"Yes! Senpai! Please leave it to me!" Izumi was extremely excited. It was rare for Keizumi not to call her a rookie. No matter what, she had to handle this matter well for him!
"That line should be mine!" Tachibana Jirō angrily smacked Izumi's head with his paw. However, his chubby paw made the gesture look more like he was acting cute than hitting someone. "Please leave it to me, Keizumi-sama!"
"It's the same either way!" Izumi giggled as she rubbed the cat's head. Although he was a respectable senior ninja cat, Tachibana Jirō's personality made it very difficult for anyone to stay serious around him.
"…Understood." Jūzō nodded. He also wanted to see what the future Land of Water would become.