Uchiha Izumi carried both the criminal's and the victim's corpses back by herself.
All along the way, countless people shot her strange looks, making her so embarrassed that she kept her head down the entire time.
Fortunately, no one mistook her for the murderer—perhaps the Uchiha Police Force uniform she wore warded off suspicion and trouble.
After mustering her courage and finally hurrying back to the Uchiha Police headquarters …
And after finally seeing Chizumi-senpai again …
The taut string of Izumi's nerves relaxed a little at last.
But—
She soon noticed that the eyes of many senpai officers in the Uchiha Police Force were now fixed squarely on her.
Being stared at like some rare animal—Izumi had experienced that feeling once before, and it inevitably made her tense again.
"Leave the bodies here—they'll take care of them. Now come with me to see the Clan Head."
Chizumi-senpai's cold voice drifted into Izumi's ears, yet it unexpectedly soothed her, giving her a sense of security.
Much of her inexplicable anxiety melted away.
It felt as though she finally had a pillar to lean on.
"Yes, senpai!"
Izumi answered in haste.
Without looking back, Uchiha Chizumi strode into the main building and asked the long‑haired girl behind him, "As a member of the Uchiha Police Force, what should you do if a civilian suspect resists arrest during an operation?"
Is he …
… testing my theoretical knowledge?
Izumi regained some confidence.
To join the Police Force, she had spent a solid month memorizing every word of the conduct manual.
She had, after all, passed the written exam—
—in fact, with a perfect score.
She remembered clearly: When a civilian resists arrest, the officer should apply force appropriate to the situation.
In short: gentle restraint if resistance is mild; limited violence if resistance is excessive—at worst knocking the suspect flat.
After all, the suspect is an ordinary person,
not a dangerous shinobi.
"First try to restrain them using gentle means—" Izumi began reciting the textbook answer.
Halfway through, she froze.
She recalled how Chizumi-senpai had dealt with the short man who tried to bolt earlier that day—completely unlike the manual.
Swallowing her words, she changed tack timidly:
"Maybe … use somewhat harsher methods?"
Just then Chizumi halted; they had reached Uchiha Fugaku's office.
Chizumi said coolly, "Rookie, I hope you gave that answer because you meant it, not to flatter me. Remember: Absolute Justice comes from absolute enforcement. The degree of force changes with the times.
"These days the ninja world is more riddled with evil than ever. In chaotic times we must strike hard—even against small evils, we show no mercy."
So …
… I said the right thing.
Though it wasn't the handbook's "standard" answer.
Still …
Izumi felt Chizumi-senpai's view was extreme. In her mind, the era of chaos had ended long ago: the Third Great Ninja War was history, and the Nine‑Tails incident several years past.
Yes, there were still minor skirmishes, but hardly a time of turmoil—right?
At least within the Uchiha clan, everyone was thriving; life kept getting better.
Maybe Chizumi-senpai was simply too pessimistic!
Of course, she would never dare voice that thought.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocks broke her reverie. When Fugaku's steady "Enter" sounded inside, Chizumi led the slightly nervous girl through the door.
"Chizumi? And … Uchiha Izumi?" Fugaku looked momentarily surprised.
"You explain," Chizumi said off‑handedly, dropping into a chair, crossing his legs, and idly rubbing the armrest that was nearly polished smooth.
"Ah?"
Only when Fugaku's gaze fell on her did Izumi realize Chizumi had been talking to her.
The clan head seemed accustomed to Chizumi's lack of formal greeting—perhaps they had some history?
A fleeting thought, and Izumi hurried to report: "Fugaku-sama, today Chizumi-senpai and I …"
So—
She recounted the day's events in detail.
Fugaku's brows knitted tighter and tighter, his expression almost identical to the Third Hokage's earlier.
"Chizumi, you're going too far," Fugaku sighed. His face grew solemn.
"It's precisely actions like this that make the village wary of the Uchiha. I know you're pursuing justice—your own vision of it—but justice sometimes requires timing and moderation.
"You must realize the village has been growing ever more distant from us. We've already been forced to relocate to the outskirts; we have no further room to retreat. We have to take steps to salvage a bit of our reputation.
"But if you keep this up …"
Looking at the young jōnin before him, Fugaku felt a headache coming on.
Chizumi was undeniably talented—early three‑tomoe Sharingan, an unusual Lava Release, the clan's only shinobi with two kekkei genkais.
Perhaps one day he might awaken the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan, becoming another pillar of the clan.
Yet …
This outstanding Uchiha's ideals clashed completely with his own—no, with the entire clan.
Whether it was the hawks pushing for rebellion or the doves seeking negotiation, neither side saw eye‑to‑eye with Chizumi.
For Chizumi's justice stood not with the Uchiha, but with the principles and justice in his own heart.
He was a faction of one—hence his isolation.
Chizumi raised his eyes to the famous "Wicked Eye" Fugaku.
"So you want me to hold back—make compromises while enforcing justice—to ease tensions with the village, is that it?"
"There's no need to put it so bluntly," Fugaku said, but tacitly agreed.
"My way won't change. Rather than lecturing me, keep a tighter leash on that beastly son of yours. Have him see a therapist—I think it's necessary."
With that, Chizumi rose to leave.
Fugaku's face stiffened.
To disparage a man's child in front of him—
—even Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help a flash of anger.
But …
It wasn't the first time. For reasons unknown, Chizumi simply loathed Itachi.
He had even attacked the boy once; if Shisui hadn't intervened, Itachi might have been badly hurt.
Fugaku watched Chizumi's departing back with a dark expression.
Izumi, completely bewildered, glanced left and right.
She could feel the tension in the room, sense Fugaku's suppressed fury, and even noticed his fist quietly clenched.
She still had no idea why Chizumi-senpai disliked the Clan Head's son so much.
Eh?
Wait a second—
The clan head's sons are … Itachi and Sasuke, aren't they?
Izumi's mind blanked.
Looks like she'd chosen a truly formidable examiner.
Her future looked … uncertain!