Uchiha Tonan stared at the corpse on the ground and the mournfully crying old woman with a painful look. His fists were clenched, and his eyes were full of guilt as he gritted his teeth, “I know, but I can’t get through the hurdle in my heart. After all, it’s a matter of someone’s life. She was young with a great future waiting for her. Moreover, she did not just support herself, but also the elderly at home, which was already a burden for her. Even though life was hard, she faced it positively.”
“Such a diligent, kind, and beautiful girl met with a poisonous hand. However, her murderer is only being sent to the Guardian Residence where he will be imprisoned for a few years. After that, he can come out safe and sound, and continue to get away with impunity. Is this fair? Is this justice? She is dead, but how can you make this old woman survive? Can the grief in her heart be healed? Think from the perspective of the dead, and also from the perspective of the elderly. If you were in this situation, could you swallow this grief?”
When everyone heard Tonan’s words, they placed themselves in the old woman’s shoes and anger surged in their hearts, secretly gritting their teeth. The more miserable the victim was, the angrier the people would be toward the perpetrator. Tonan was provoking anger towards sin in these people’s hearts.
And Chigo’s approach was to prevent everyone from venting their anger. The saying ‘one cannot afford to incur public wrath’ has its merit. The old woman saw that Chigo was saving the murderer who was responsible for her granddaughter’s death. And she couldn’t accept this in her heart. She almost couldn’t breathe and directly fell to the ground.
The residents supported her and persuaded her to not think about this…
“My condolences, dead people cannot be resurrected.”
“You have to take care of your health!”
The old woman took a deep breath to calm down her emotions. She then asked Chigo with tears in her eyes, “Master Chigo, why did you give him those medicines? He killed my granddaughter, but why aren’t you killing him?”
The old woman was so agitated that her body was trembling. Hearing her questions, the surrounding residents also chimed in, “Yes, Abbot, even if you kill him, the Guardian Residence will not say anything.”
“I knew we should’ve killed him at the foot of the mountain.”
Chigo took a deep breath and put his palms together, bowing to the old woman, “Benefactor, restrain your grief, I know your heart is full of hatred now. But killing this man will not revive your granddaughter. And that person is indeed not guilty of death punishment. All we can do is escort him to the Guardian Residence. Benefactor, let go of hatred. Only then, you will not live in misery.”
The old woman laughed maniacally. She pointed at Chigo and shouted hoarsely, “What scripture do you read? What Buddha do you worship? I donate money every year, and light incense every month. Why didn’t Buddha bless my granddaughter? Now that she is dead, why are you still protecting the criminal? It’s you! It’s you who gave him those medicines! You are an accomplice! I will bite you to death!”
The old woman pounced on Chigo and opened her mouth ferociously like a mad person. “Stop!” Chiriku, who was standing beside Chigo, pushed the old woman away. The old woman fell to the ground. The surrounding residents couldn’t bear to look at this. They stepped forward to support her. The old woman slumped on the ground. Her eyes were filled with hopelessness and she looked lifeless.
After a few breaths, she looked up to heaven and shouted, “God! Is there no one to uphold justice…” As if this had drawn the last of her energy, with her eyes wide open, she twitched a few times and stopped breathing.
Chiriku hastily stepped forward and placed his finger below her nose. He then turned back and said with an ugly look, “Abbot, she is dead.”
Chigo stumbled when he heard this. His eyes were full of doubts, and he muttered, “Did I do something wrong… Did I make a mistake…”
He knew that everything he had done was according to the rules. He had no intention of protecting the criminals, but why did it end like this? At this moment, he was completely confused and desperately wanted to find someone to enlighten him.
Subconsciously, he turned his head and shouted, “Tonan… where is Tonan?”
“Ah!” A terrified scream came from the back of the Fire Temple. A group of Fire Temple monks retreated, gradually forming an arc, and Tonan walked out from the depths with a chakra tanto in one hand and Tomaru’s head in the other. He was expressionless, and he raised his head high and coldly said, “I’m sorry, I was late in upholding justice.”
The head in Tonan’s hand was still dripping with blood. The path he had walked was also dyed red with blood. There was a terrified look frozen on the Tomaru’s face, and his eyes were wide open. Chigo was stunned for a moment, and he asked in disbelief, “Tonan! Why did you kill him?”
Tonan replied indifferently, “Master Chigo, I think this person deserved to die. Now that I’ve killed him, will you kill me?”
Chigo hastily replied, “You are confused now!”
Tonan sneered and threw the head in his hand. It made a beautiful mid-air turn and fell to the ground, rolling all the way to Chigo’s feet. It was facing upward, showing wide open eyes, a look of horror fixed on the dead face.
“I’m not muddle-headed. Master Chigo, you don’t need to care about the rules. I’m a Leaf ninja. As long as I don’t betray the village, anything I do has to be handled by the Hokage-sama. Even if you send me to the Guardian Residence, who will dare to judge me?”
Chigo looked at the head near his feet and gasped for a breath. He seemed to have aged instantly. He raised his head, and slowly raised his palm towards Tonan. Instantly, a pure white Thousand-Armed Kannon formed behind Chigo. He shouted, “I can only arrest you and send you to Konoha and let Hokage-sama deal with you.”
Tonan snorted, “Master, I forgot to tell you something, I’m Hokage-sensei’s disciple. Do you think he will punish me for a commoner’s death? I’m also a member of the Uchiha clan. Even if sensei wants to punish me, the clan will not agree. As long as I don’t hurt anyone in the village, I can only be judged by the rules of the clan. And according to them, killing a commoner is no different from killing a dog. Your so-called rules are worth nothing in front of power.”
Tonan closed and opened his eyes, revealing a scarlet Sharingan, continuing in a distant tone, “Master, I don’t know the Fire Temple rules. You gave the medicine, you protected the criminal, and that woman was angered to death by you. Today, I’ve finally seen through it. Not only can you not distinguish between right and wrong, but you also don’t feel guilt. It’s a shame I respected you so much. What eminent monk? You are nothing but a sanctimonious person!”
After speaking, Tonan raised the chakra tanto and ferociously stabbed it in his ribs. Blood splattered. Everyone in the square was stunned. Even Chigo was startled and involuntarily relaxed his stance.
Tonan’s face was covered in a cold sweat, blue veins popped out on his forehead, and his face twitched as if he was enduring great pain. He howled, “The source of the medicine was me. I owe this blade to that girl, so I paid it back. Master Chigo, what will you do in return?”
