"So it's him, huh? The guy who abandoned his teammates just to complete a mission. How can a ninja like that even exist?"
"How could Konoha produce soone so cold-blooded? And he still has the nerve to stay in the village?"
"A person like that shouldn't even be alive. He abandoned his comrades without a second thought. Why doesn't that heartless bastard just die already?"
"Oh, isn't he that Uchiha brat who failed the Chūnin Exams before? Figures. The entire Uchiha Clan is full of cold-eyed monsters anyway."
Wave after wave of malicious whispers poured into Zoro's ears, forming an overwhelming tide of public condemnation that seed intent on swallowing him whole.
At a glance, it looked as though the entirety of Konoha had already cast him aside.
Abandoned?
No.
If anything, it should be him abandoning Konoha.
A cold light flickered deep within Zoro's eyes.
He had already decided that from this point onward, Konoha's affairs had nothing to do with him anymore.
Whatever happened to the village in the future—whether it prospered or fell into ruin—was no longer his concern.
By silently allowing Danzō's sche to spread unchecked, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly trying to deal with him the sa way they had dealt with Konoha's White Fang in the past.
Crush him beneath endless false accusations.
Drown him beneath the hatred and condemnation of the villagers.
Drive him toward despair until he finally broke beneath the pressure and chose death for himself.
Unfortunately for them—
Zoro was not Sakumo Hatake.
He was not a man whose spirit could be shattered by the opinions of weaklings.
Faced with the endless accusations around him, Zoro's expression remained calm. If anything, there was even a faint trace of ridicule in his eyes.
The fact that Hiruzen and Danzō had resorted to such thods already proved one thing clearly enough—
At present, they had no direct way to suppress him.
Unable to control him through force, they could only resort to manipulating public opinion, turning him into a monster in the eyes of Konoha's civilians.
Since that was what they wanted—
Then he would gladly play the part.
Under the wary and disgusted gazes surrounding him, Zoro slowly walked toward the villager who had insulted the Uchiha Clan earlier.
"You were insulting the Uchiha Clan just now."
His voice was calm, but carried an icy chill that made the air feel colder.
"Do I have the right to arrest you for slandering my clan?"
The villager's face imdiately changed.
Panic flashed through his eyes as he hurriedly turned and ran.
While stumbling away, he frantically waved his arms and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone, look! That cold-blooded Uchiha brat wants to attack an innocent civilian!"
"A mber of a great clan is abusing ordinary people! Co judge for yourselves!"
The man's face was filled with confidence, as though he had already cornered Zoro completely.
The loud commotion quickly attracted the attention of nearby civilians.
Strangely enough, despite the disturbance growing larger and larger, not a single ANBU shinobi appeared to interfere.
Even the Uchiha mbers responsible for the Konoha Police Force failed to show themselves.
Before long, crowds of civilians began gathering from every direction, surrounding both Zoro and the fleeing villager almost as though they had been prepared in advance.
"Why does the Uchiha Clan think they can abuse ordinary villagers just because they're a great clan?"
"Oh, it's that cold-blooded brat? Then that explains everything."
The endless noise buzzed around Zoro like flies, gradually grinding away at his patience.
"You people…"
His voice suddenly turned ice-cold.
"Shut the hell up already!!"
The furious shout exploded outward with a trace of overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
In an instant, the entire crowd froze.
Many civilians instinctively wanted to argue back.
Why can't we speak?
What right does he have to silence us?
Yet no matter how hard they tried, not a single word could leave their mouths.
It felt as though an invisible hand had seized their throats, locking their bodies in place.
Like a blade pressed tightly against their necks—
The mont they opened their mouths, they felt as though blood would spill onto the ground.
Only after the surroundings finally fell silent did Zoro continue walking forward.
Step by step, he approached the villager whose face had already gone deathly pale.
The arrogance and confidence from earlier had vanished completely.
As the direct target of Zoro's killing intent, the pressure he felt was far greater than everyone else's.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
Cold sweat poured down his back, soaking his clothes within seconds.
"I-I…"
Originally, he still wanted to threaten Zoro while reminding him that shinobi were forbidden from attacking civilians.
But before he could finish—
Slap!!
A loud, crisp smack echoed through the silent street.
The villager's words were instantly cut off.
The surrounding civilians felt their hearts tighten in fear.
They wanted to run.
But when they tried to move, they realized their legs no longer obeyed them.
They could only stand there helplessly, unable to move even an inch.
Slap!!
Another slap rang out.
This ti, Zoro controlled his strength more carefully, yet the villager was still sent flying several ters away.
His face swelled almost instantly, bloated like a pig's head.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth while several shattered teeth scattered across the ground.
"Now tell ."
Zoro slowly walked over once again, his gaze calm and indifferent.
"Who told you to do this?"
Ninja weren't allowed to attack civilians?
What a joke.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already pushed things this far, yet they still expected him to keep following Konoha's rules?
If this man were not an ordinary civilian with no power whatsoever, he would already be lying here as a corpse.
The villager stared at Zoro in absolute terror, but he still clenched his teeth and refused to speak.
Seeing that, Zoro slowly raised his hand again.
The villager's pupils contracted violently.
Ignoring the burning pain on his swollen face, he hurriedly shouted in panic.
"You… it was—"
Before he could finish speaking—
Several Root shinobi who had been hiding in the shadows instantly appeared around Zoro.
Their blades were unsheathed in unison, pointed directly at him as they spoke in cold, cautious voices.
"Uchiha Zoro, you have violated Konoha law. We are placing you under arrest in accordance with village regulations. Do you acknowledge your cris?"
"Do not resist, or your punishnt will beco even more severe."
Looking at the Root shinobi surrounding him from every direction, a mocking smile slowly appeared on Zoro's face.
"Since when did Konoha's law enforcent beco the responsibility of trash like you?"
His gaze was filled with naked ridicule.
"The Uchiha Clan hasn't been wiped out yet, has it?"
The surrounding Root shinobi stiffened slightly.
"You are an Uchiha yourself. Who's to say the Konoha Police Force would enforce the law fairly where you're concerned?"
One of the Root shinobi imdiately spoke out.
After all, Zoro striking a civilian was an undeniable fact.
That alone was enough to classify as a cri.
"Sorry about that."
Zoro casually took out a Konoha Police Force enforcent badge.
"I just so happen to be a squad captain in the Konoha Police Force."
"What I was doing earlier was carrying out an arrest."
"Publicly slandering one of Konoha's great clans should already be enough reason for to act, shouldn't it?"
The mont they saw the badge in Zoro's hand, the expressions beneath the Root masks visibly changed.
None of them had expected soone as young as Zoro to already hold the rank of squad captain within the Konoha Police Force.
Realizing the situation no longer matched the intelligence they had received—or the plan they had prepared—the Root shinobi began hesitating.
Not one of them dared to make the first move.
Because they understood sothing very clearly—
Even if Zoro fought with only one hand, crushing them would still be effortless.
Within Root, the reputation of this man was already terrifying beyond asure.
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