Chapter 113: I'm Going to Accompany Kou
Jiraiya's reckless defense acted like a spark in a powder keg. The surrounding crowd erupted. Furious whispers escalated into outright shouting, with the residents of District One leading the charge, their faces flushed with righteous indignation as they roared for justice.
Hiruzen Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose, a massive headache pulsing at his temples. "Jiraiya, shut your mouth. Listen to the Fourth Hokage."
Hiruzen genuinely wanted to crack his student's skull open to see what kind of rocks were rattling around inside. Completely oblivious to the volatile mood of the mob, Jiraiya was only pouring oil on the fire. The older shinobi gestured sharply, signaling for the idiot to step back.
Jiraiya ignored the command. He planted his feet firmly in the dirt, standing like a stubborn shield directly in front of Kou. His jaw was set, his posture screaming that he fully intended to protect the boy to the bitter end.
Hiruzen ground his teeth together. Every single time this foolish disciple of his landed in hot water, Uchiha Kou was somehow at the center of it. Was this kid his fated nemesis? Was Kou sent by the heavens purely to ruin Jiraiya's life? If Hiruzen had known things would spiral to this point, he never would have agreed to place Kou on his student's team—even if it meant taking another brutal beating from Stelle.
Up on the platform, Stelle simply raised a single hand and pressed her palm downward. The chaotic plaza instantly fell into a suffocating silence.
"Regarding the accusation that this shinobi murdered a fellow villager," Stelle announced, her voice perfectly calm and carrying across the square. "If true, he has grossly violated the Konoha Ninja Code. He will face the absolute strictest of investigations and the harshest of punishments."
She let her gaze sweep over the angry faces. "However, before any execution of justice, a complete inquiry must take place. The methods and circumstances of a shinobi are rarely as simple as they appear to the untrained eye. I give you my word as Hokage: I will never shield a guilty criminal, but I will also never condemn an innocent soul. Now, disperse."
At her dismissive wave, two masked Anbu operatives flanked Kou, gripping his arms to escort him away.
Stelle's prestige within the Hidden Leaf was practically untouchable. Her relentless series of aggressive reforms had lined the villagers' pockets and drastically improved their daily lives. Because she had personally given her word, the restless crowd swallowed their lingering grievances. They began to shuffle away, choosing to obediently await the final verdict.
That is, until a single, sharp voice pierced the quiet.
"He clearly murdered that person in cold blood! We all saw it with our own eyes!" a young girl shouted, her tone dripping with resentment and an unwillingness to back down. "Could our own eyes be lying? Once you lock him away behind closed doors, are you just going to sweep this under the rug?"
'Oh, aren't you a brave little thing,' Stelle mused inwardly, her eyes narrowing a fraction. As an embedded spy, this girl certainly knew how to exploit a momentary opening to incite a riot.
To Stelle, this was as ridiculous as a pathetic Foundation Establishment cultivator accusing a mighty Soul Transformation master of petty theft. She had zero tolerance for this kind of blatant disrespect. If this little spy pushed her buttons any further, Stelle was fully prepared to go completely scorched-earth—she would slaughter the family dog and dig up the yard just to slice the earthworms in half.
Prompted by the girl's venomous accusation, the dispersing villagers froze. They turned their heads, casting doubtful, sidelong glances back at their Hokage.
Hiruzen's stomach dropped. This was bad. If this insubordination was allowed to fester, Stelle's sterling reputation would take a massive hit. What was wrong with her today? Did she wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Where was her usual ruthless, razor-sharp political maneuvering?
Growing increasingly anxious, Hiruzen stepped forward, fully prepared to bypass protocol and order the Anbu to suppress the agitators.
Before he could issue the command, a commanding voice rang out from the edge of the plaza.
"Hokage-sama, please wait!"
Uchiha Kagami strode through the parting crowd, a squad of stern-faced Military Police Force officers trailing closely behind him. He moved with brisk, purposeful steps. As he passed by Kou, Kagami abruptly halted.
Without a single word of warning, Kagami pivoted and drove a devastating punch directly into Kou's gut.
Nobody anticipated the brutal strike. Not the crowd, not Hiruzen, and certainly not Kou.
The sheer kinetic force lifted Kou off his feet, sending him flying backward to crash violently against the hard cobblestones. Kou's eyes bulged in shock. A second later, his chest he heave, and he coughed up a thick splatter of crimson blood onto the dirt.
Before the boy could even attempt to push himself up, two Police Force officers were already on him, pressing the cold steel of their drawn blades flush against his throat.
Kou's face drained of all color. His dark eyes dimmed with a heartbreaking layer of betrayal. 'Does Kagami-sama not believe me either?' his expression seemed to scream.
Seeing his friend brutalized, Jiraiya let out a furious shout and lunged forward. He barely made it half a step before Hiruzen clamped an iron grip onto his shoulder, pinning the young shinobi firmly in place.
Ignoring the drama behind him, Kagami stepped up to the platform and bowed respectfully to Stelle. "Regarding the incident of Konoha shinobi Kou accidentally causing the death of a civilian during an active mission, this jurisdiction falls entirely under the purview of the Military Police Force."
He kept his tone loud enough for the entire square to hear. "It was my personal oversight that allowed this trivial matter to escalate and trouble Hokage-sama. Now, acting in my capacity as a Hokage Advisor, I formally request your authorization to remand Kou to the Guard Force Prison. We will subject him to our most rigorous interrogation protocols, treating him exactly as we would a foreign spy."
Kagami lowered his head further. "I will assume full and absolute responsibility for this investigation. Any and all findings will be reported directly to you, Hokage-sama."
It was a masterclass in political theater. The moment Kagami arrived, he employed extreme criminal-apprehension tactics—beating the suspect until he spat blood and restraining him with lethal force—before publicly shouldering the entire burden of the fallout.
He was effectively broadcasting to the mob that whatever the final verdict turned out to be, it was solely his doing. By acting as the ultimate shield, any future public dissatisfaction would be directed entirely at Uchiha Kagami, leaving the Hokage's reputation completely unblemished.
Standing off to the side, both Hiruzen and Danzo exhaled quiet sighs of relief, immensely satisfied with Kagami's flawless intervention.
Given the current administrative structure, Hiruzen managed the village's finances while Danzo oversaw shinobi assignments and training. Neither of them possessed the proper authority to step in and seize a criminal suspect in front of a civilian mob. Kagami, however, was the head of law enforcement. The moment he opened his mouth, the jurisdictional crisis evaporated.
"Very well, Kagami. I leave this matter in your capable hands," Stelle replied, her expression a mask of solemn authority.
"I only ask that Hokage-sama forgives my initial lack of efficiency," Kagami replied smoothly. He turned on his heel and gave a sharp hand signal.
The Police Force hauled Kou up by his arms and dragged him away. The officers simultaneously corralled the loudest of the complaining villagers, escorting them off the premises for questioning. Realizing the bloody spectacle was over, the remaining onlookers quickly lost interest and scattered.
At long last, a peaceful quiet returned to the courtyard beneath the Hokage Building.
"Sarutobi-sensei, Kou wouldn't do something like this! He stopped acting like a cold-blooded killer a long time ago, and you know it! Why did you just stand there and let Kagami-sama drag him off?"
Jiraiya thrashed against his teacher's grip, desperate to sprint after the police squad and physically snatch his friend back. Unfortunately, Hiruzen had both of the boy's arms locked firmly behind his back in an inescapable hold.
"Jiraiya, cease this foolishness at once," Hiruzen scolded, his voice tight. "Given the sheer volatility of that mob, Kagami taking custody was the absolute best-case scenario. You know Kou's true identity. Why would Kagami ever go out of his way to make things difficult for his own clansman? The only way Kou suffers in that prison is if his old Root habits flared up and he actually started slaughtering civilians for sport."
"That is impossible!" Jiraiya roared back, absolute conviction burning in his eyes.
Hiruzen finally released his restraining hold, letting the boy stumble forward. "If you are so certain of his innocence, then what exactly are you panicking over?"
Jiraiya froze, rubbing his sore shoulders. His fierce expression crumbled into something far more vulnerable. "I... I just don't want him to be sad."
It sounded childish, but Jiraiya knew the truth. Kou cared about his fragile reputation more than anything else in the world.
Perhaps in the very beginning, molded by the darkness of Root, Kou had made some terrible mistakes. But ever since he truly integrated into the light of Konoha, the boy had completely transformed. Beneath that icy, emotionless exterior, Jiraiya knew Kou possessed a remarkably soft and kind heart.
Jiraiya remembered his own past mistakes—how he had deeply misunderstood Kou, how his reckless actions had even resulted in Kou's arm being ruined. Yet, Kou had never harbored an ounce of hatred toward him. Despite Jiraiya's thick-skinned, relentless pestering, Kou had slowly, cautiously opened his heart, allowing them to become genuine friends.
Kou maintained their bond with agonizing care. Jiraiya recalled how Kou had hesitated for weeks before finally giving him a simple gift. Jiraiya had secretly noticed Kou purchasing that protective wrist guard long before he actually worked up the courage to hand it over.
Kou always lingered cautiously on the periphery of their team, carefully altering his own behavior piece by piece, utterly terrified of being discarded or disliked. His quiet sincerity was so potent that even the fiercely arrogant Orochimaru treated him with a rare, unspoken gentleness.
How could someone so inherently good ever revert to butchering innocent villagers? Jiraiya's chest tightened. He couldn't even begin to fathom the crushing despair Kou must have felt lying in the dirt, coughing up blood while the entire village looked at him like a monster.
"Sarutobi-sensei," Jiraiya pleaded, his voice cracking slightly. "Can I please go to the Guard Force Prison? I just want to sit by his cell and accompany him tonight."
Hiruzen's expression hardened into stone. "Absolutely not. Tonight, Kagami will be executing a highly classified, razor-precise investigation. Every single person involved—the civilian witnesses, the Anbu on duty, and Kou himself—will be ruthlessly interrogated. You barging in there to hold his hand will only obstruct justice and cause unnecessary trouble."
Jiraiya opened his mouth to argue, but Hiruzen sharply raised his voice, cutting him off.
"Do not let your emotional attachments cloud your tactical judgment! With Kagami's exceptional capabilities, we will have a definitive verdict by tomorrow morning. You can wait for him at the entrance of the Police Force compound at dawn. I am certain Kou will be deeply moved to see you waiting for him."
Jiraiya clenched his fists. As much as he hated it, he knew his sensei was right. After agonizing over it for a long, suffocating minute, the young shinobi forcibly swallowed his anxiety, bowed stiffly, and walked away into the fading light.
A short distance away, Stelle stood with her arms crossed, projecting an aura of solemn, Hokage-level contemplation.
In reality, she was entirely zoned out, silently listening to Black Zetsu's ecstatic mental report as a massive wave of harvested mood values—courtesy of Jiraiya's delicious angst—flooded into her system.
Hiruzen approached her, his brow furrowed in deep concern. "Stelle, what exactly happened to you today? You acted like a completely different person out there. Your handling of that mob was an unmitigated disaster. We are incredibly fortunate that Kagami arrived to salvage the situation, otherwise I would have been forced to mobilize your own Anbu against your orders just to prevent a riot."
'Wait a minute, let me cook up a decent excuse,' Stelle thought rapidly. Finding her mental library completely devoid of logical explanations, she decided to just wing it.
She sighed, rubbing her temples dramatically. "I'm just exhausted, Hiruzen. My head was spinning, and my performance slipped. Besides, why do you think the Hokage has assistants and Advisors in the first place? Isn't it precisely to step in and handle the tedious grunt work during times like this?"
Recalling the massive mountains of paperwork required for the recent expansion of the Second New District, Hiruzen found himself slightly convinced by her complaint.
Danzo, stepping out from the shadows, didn't buy a single word of it.
"Yesterday, three new recruits submitted their applications to join the Anbu, and our esteemed Hokage insisted on conducting their physical reviews personally," Danzo remarked, his single visible eye narrowing in judgment. "Rumor has it that all three possess exceptionally striking appearances. One of them, a recruit named Kurenai Yuhi, is said to be particularly beautiful. I suspect our Hokage has spent far too much time ogling pretty faces, and it has severely clouded her judgment."
"Ah, that actually makes perfect sense!" Hiruzen muttered, nodding in sudden understanding.
In his mind, the logic was flawless. If he, as a healthy man, thoroughly enjoyed admiring beautiful women, then it was perfectly natural and entirely reasonable for Stelle to enjoy admiring exceptionally attractive people.
Regardless of her eccentricities, as long as he and the other Advisors were here to watch over the village's infrastructure, a minor slip-up wasn't a big deal. Hiruzen decided to let the matter drop; he really didn't have the energy to dig any deeper into the Hokage's bizarre personal hobbies.
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