"When he was in Konoha, you wanted him gone. Now that he's no longer in Konoha, you want him back instead!"
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with undisguised disappointment in her eyes.
At first, Tsunade had assumed the old man had called her here for something else. She had even considered that it might have to do with Jiraiya going to the Ninja Academy. What she hadn't expected was that Hiruzen wanted her to call Uchiha Chizumi back.
"You know the Hokage election is only a few days away. The jōnin vote is extremely important."
"No matter what, Chizumi is still a Konoha jōnin. When it comes to the Hokage election, he should at least have the right to voice his opinion."
Even under Tsunade's stare, Hiruzen didn't seem the least bit guilty. Compared to the possibility of Uchiha Chizumi becoming the Mizukage of Kirigakure, this was the only move he had left.
"I'm not important enough to make him come back."
"You should know better than I do—once Chizumi sets his mind on doing something, no one can stop him."
"And besides, isn't this a good thing?"
"Weren't you always worried that the ideals of Absolute Justice would cause endless chaos in the Land of Fire?"
"This time, with everything Chizumi is doing in the Land of Water, isn't this the perfect chance for you to see whether Absolute Justice is truly a good thing or a bad one?"
Looking at Hiruzen, Tsunade rejected his suggestion without mercy.
The truth was, she wanted to see it too. She wanted to see whether what Uchiha Chizumi was doing in the Land of Water would really make it better. And if it did, that would only prove that her choice had been the right one.
"But what if Chizumi becomes the Mizukage?"
Hiruzen sighed. No matter what, Uchiha Chizumi was still Konoha's strength. How could he be allowed to remain outside the village?
As for whether the Land of Water would become better, Hiruzen actually already had his answer deep down. If he didn't, why would he be so afraid that Chizumi might never come back?
What Hiruzen feared was precisely that the Land of Water would flourish more and more under Absolute Justice—so much so that Uchiha Chizumi would never look back, and would instead use the Land of Water as the center from which to spread his Absolute Justice.
"So you know too, don't you? That Absolute Justice really would make the shinobi world a better place."
Tsunade looked at Hiruzen thoughtfully. She was beginning to understand his concerns now, but even so, she still had no intention of sending Uchiha Chizumi any message.
In fact, in Tsunade's eyes, if Chizumi's Absolute Justice could truly take root in the Land of Water and make even one part of the shinobi world better first, she could accept that—even if that place wasn't the Land of Fire.
"The ninja of the Lightning, Wind, and Earth Countries are already gathering at the borders."
"The Land of Earth has even started declaring war on Chizumi in the name of the entire village!"
"All of that is on my shoulders. I'm the one dealing with the messes he's causing!"
Hiruzen stared at Tsunade. No matter what, he wanted Uchiha Chizumi back in Konoha. And it wasn't just because he was worried Chizumi might become the Mizukage of the Land of Water—Konoha also needed him.
Yes, in Hiruzen's eyes, Konoha needed Uchiha Chizumi.
The three great nations were continuously reinforcing their borders. Even if war didn't seem likely to break out immediately, once the signs of war had already appeared, it was only natural for Konoha to recall its main fighting strength.
And more than that, if Uchiha Chizumi were in Konoha, then with his record alone, he would be enough to deter the three great nations of Earth, Wind, and Lightning.
"Then use your own name to call Chizumi back!"
Tsunade stopped looking at Hiruzen. After throwing out those words, she turned and slammed the door behind her as she left.
And only after Tsunade had stormed out did Koharu Utatane emerge from the other side of the Hokage's office.
"Maybe we should look at it from another angle—just directly forbid those Uchiha from leaving Konoha."
Koharu offered her suggestion. Since Uchiha Chizumi wanted to establish a Police Force in the Land of Water, he naturally needed manpower. As long as the Uchiha clan wasn't allowed to leave Konoha, that should force Chizumi to come back.
"Prevent Konoha's ninja from leaving the village…"
Hiruzen repeated the idea, clearly considering it.
At this moment, Uchiha Chizumi had no idea that one of his plans had stirred up so much trouble back in Konoha. He had just finished purging the last city in the Land of Water and had only just returned to Kirigakure.
"It's finally over!"
"If this had gone on any longer, even I wouldn't have been able to stand it!"
Standing on Uchiha Chizumi's shoulder and looking at Kirigakure ahead of them, Kitsujiro couldn't help sighing.
Following Chizumi all this way, he had helped kill quite a few people too. Frankly speaking, there were just too many evildoers in the shinobi world—so many that, for the first time, Kitsujiro had actually grown sick of killing.
"But the results are obvious too!"
"Only in the first few cities were people scared when they saw Lord Chizumi. In every city after that, the civilians were practically competing to report evildoers to him."
"After Lord Chizumi has made one full sweep through the Land of Water, his name is probably even more deeply rooted in people's hearts than the daimyo's!"
Biwa Jūzō looked at Uchiha Chizumi and Kitsujiro, his eyes full of unmistakable respect. After settling Kirigakure's affairs together with Uchiha Izumi, he had brought a batch of ninja along and followed behind Chizumi and Kitsujiro to help handle the aftermath.
To outsiders, Uchiha Chizumi might look like nothing but a butcher—but Jūzō and Izumi could see that every city in the Land of Water was genuinely moving in a better direction.
Everyone now knew that a great ninja lord who carried out justice had come to the Land of Water. Even if only for the sake of their own lives, merchants and nobles alike were beginning to restrain themselves.
After all, death had happened right in front of them. If they committed too much evil, they would really die.
"What I don't understand is why the number of merchants in the Land of Water is actually starting to increase."
Mei Terumi appeared in front of them at some point.
If Uchiha Chizumi had spent this period constantly killing people, then Mei had spent it constantly dealing with official business.
Not just Kirigakure's business, either, but also the affairs of every city Chizumi had already purged.
At first, Mei had assumed that after Chizumi made one full round like this, it would take at least ten years for the Land of Water to recover its vitality.
But the reality was the exact opposite.
As Absolute Justice began taking root in the Land of Water, more and more foreign merchants were arriving instead. Merchants from the smaller countries were even rushing in one after another.
And the civilians' lives not only hadn't gotten worse—because so many nobles had died, the numb expressions on the faces of the common people were beginning to disappear. In their place, there was even the faintest trace of hope for the future.
Thank you for reading!