"Seisui… Mother…"
Gekko Hayate stared blankly at his younger brother, now limp in his arms and showing no sign of life.
The shock of his brother's death—and of the final words that brother had spoken—left Hayate's mind reeling, unable to think.
In a daze he looked up and met the eyes of Uchiha Chizumi, who was sliding his sword back into its sheath.
Two tracks of grief‑stricken tears had already rolled down Hayate's cheeks.
"Your mother's body has probably been taken away by the other police officers," Chizumi said flatly. "Next the police will call in members of the Yamanaka clan for a joint investigation.
"If you wish to see your mother, wait until the investigation is over—it will take a day or two."
Mother…
Murdered…
Those words turned Gekko Seisui's dying taunt into fact and stabbed at Hayate's heart like invisible blades.
Two years ago his father had died—killed by Uchiha Chizumi.
Two years later his mother was dead—killed by Hayate's own younger brother. And now that brother was dead as well—again by Chizumi's hand.
Within the entire Gekko clan, of his direct bloodline only Gekko Hayate himself was left.
Hayate felt completely at a loss.
He did not even know whether he ought to seek revenge on Chizumi.
This Uchiha, like a demon, had slain his father and his brother…
Yet the man was "upholding justice."
One could even say Chizumi had avenged Hayate's mother.
And matricide—was an unforgivable crime.
"Chizumi‑senpai, he looks to be in terrible pain; mentally, he seems on the verge of collapse," Izumi whispered, worry on the young girl's face. "Will he be all right?"
Uchiha Chizumi turned and walked away. "Leave him be."
"Oh." Izumi hurried after him.
…
News that Uchiha Chizumi had killed two Gekko clan chūnin, led subordinates into the clan compound, and slain the former clan head's second son, Gekko Seisui, spread through Konoha like wildfire.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi, pipe in mouth, heard the report, he was so shocked he choked and coughed violently.
After finally regaining his composure, he took a drink of water, steadied his emotions, and asked the Anbu messenger in a low voice, "What exactly was the cause?"
Just as the Anbu began to speak, a knock sounded at the door.
Hiruzen suddenly guessed who it must be.
"Come in!"
Sure enough, Uchiha Chizumi—killer of three shinobi—walked boldly into the Hokage's office as if nothing had happened, a cautious young attendant following behind.
"The reason: the criminal Gekko Seisui resisted arrest," Chizumi said before Hiruzen could ask. "Anyone who dares resist arrest is no mere criminal. A decisive strike—execution on the spot—is required to deter other wrongdoers."
Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly. More than once Chizumi had appeared before him without first addressing him as "Hokage‑sama," and more than once had spoken to him in this cold, blunt tone, as though the Third Hokage himself were just another offender in the boy's eyes.
It instinctively unsettled Hiruzen.
Still, he calmed himself, the sternness on his face easing. He looked at Chizumi and asked, "The criminal?"
"Uchiha Izumi," Chizumi answered.
"Yes, senpai!"
Izumi drew a deep breath—she had steeled herself on the way—and stepped forward to report: "Hokage‑sama, this morning Senpai and I…"
Her account was clear and concise. By the time she finished, Hiruzen's brow was deeply furrowed.
"Gekko Seisui…" he exhaled heavily. "I once held that child in my arms. Never imagined he would… become so pathologically jealous, so twisted that he would harm his own family…"
Hiruzen believed it. Although Chizumi's methods often baffled him, he was certain of one thing: when it came to judging "justice" and "evil," Chizumi never erred.
The boy was like a born judge; his accuracy in uncovering the truth of a case was virtually one hundred percent. Years ago Hiruzen had suspected Chizumi of using "justice" as an excuse for killing, but dozens of investigations had revealed nothing amiss.
So there really were people with such a talent.
The Uchiha clan truly produced remarkable individuals.
Even so—
"Chizumi!" Hiruzen rapped the desk, face stern. "A matricide who resists arrest—you kill him by force; I won't fault you. But why did you kill two innocent members of the Gekko clan?
"They were young: one twenty‑one, one twenty‑six. They merely stood in your way and you killed them. Is slaughtering the innocent still justice?!"
Izumi sensed the tension in the office grow dangerously thick.
Chizumi met Hiruzen's gaze. "I warned them in advance. Once they insisted on obstructing law enforcement, they had already made their choice.
"Unfortunately, they chose to stand on the side of 'evil.' By blocking justice and indulging crime, they ceased to be innocent."
He paused, then continued, "Whether those in my path are Gekko shinobi—or you yourself, Hokage‑sama—I will, in absolute justice, sweep away every obstacle.
"No mercy!"
Hiruzen stared long and hard at Chizumi, then sighed. "Chizumi, how long have these confrontations—your ideals clashing with mine—been going on?"
"Five years," Chizumi replied.
"Five years…"
Hiruzen rose, hands clasped behind his back. After pacing a few steps he asked again, "You must sense, as everyone does, the things happening in the village that no one wishes to see. The shinobi world may be free of large‑scale war, yet within Konoha the waters are never still.
"As an Uchiha, you are surely sensitive to this unrest. So let me ask: in your eyes, does justice stand with the majority of the village, or with a minority?
"And if one day, because of your position, you are compelled to do something that violates justice—will you do it?"
Beside them, Izumi felt the air grow so heavy it might solidify.
"Justice stands with the kind‑hearted people," Chizumi answered, giving a third option. "My stance is justice. I will never betray it, nor violate the justice in my heart."
"Kind‑hearted people…" Hiruzen murmured, then smiled slightly. "Chizumi, your answer differs a bit from Itachi's, yet it only convinces me more: you and that boy truly are the same sort of person. You both love this village deeply."
"Hokage‑sama, insulting people is wrong," Chizumi frowned, correcting him.
Hiruzen: "???"
~~~
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