At the same time
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his aching temples as darkness settled completely over the village and let out a long, heavy sigh. Yet the gloom clouding his lined face refused to lift.
He had wanted nothing more than for Sarutobi Shinnosuke to make his final journey in peace today.
Who could have predicted that Uchiha Chizumi would appear halfway through and turn everything upside down?
What Chizumi had done left Hiruzen with painfully mixed feelings.
Publicly, he ought to support Chizumi's pursuit of justice. After all, "Yamada Toshijirō" had already trampled every boundary of the Land of Fire's laws. Even if Chizumi's methods were extreme—having a subordinate kill the man on the spot—Hiruzen still felt he had not been wrong.
Privately, however, he was Shinnosuke's father. Such a jarring incident during his eldest son's funeral was a profound provocation and wound to any parent—especially when the one who killed Shinnosuke was none other than Chizumi himself.
"Hah…"
Hiruzen muttered, "But Konoha can't withstand an unplanned civil war. The pillars that can hold the village up are already dwindling… Chizumi is one of the few young people still capable of bearing that weight."
"Even if the Uchiha clan will never produce a Hokage, he could one day fill the shoes of Danzō, Homura, or Koharu."
This tug‑of‑war between duty and emotion left him unable to sort out his own feelings.
Gathering himself, he prepared to leave the Hokage Office.
Just then an Anbu operative vaulted in through the open window, dropped to one knee before him, and reported in a hurried voice: "Hokage-sama, Uchiha Chizumi killed his only living relative, 'Uchiha Oniwa,' earlier today."
Hiruzen halted.
"Uchiha Oniwa… the one suspected of torturing two Anbu teammates to death during an outside mission?"
He was no stranger to the name—Oniwa had once served in the Anbu, and it was Hiruzen who had ordered his suspension and investigation.
"Yes," the operative confirmed with a nod.
"So Chizumi killed him… which means I did not misjudge the man," Hiruzen murmured.
A thought struck him. "Was Oniwa truly Chizumi's last surviving relatives?"
"Yes."
The answer was identical, though the operative's tone wavered almost imperceptibly—proof that even a battle‑hardened Anbu was shaken by Chizumi's actions.
Hiruzen fell silent.
"'Absolute justice' that spares not even blood relatives…" He did not know how long he stayed wordless before that complicated phrase escaped his lips.
In a daze, he finally grasped what Chizumi's Absolute Justice really was.
"Hah…
"Chizumi, you are too outstanding and too devoted to justice. That is why I cannot let the hatred born of Shinnosuke's death make me see you as my enemy…"
…
"Hmph! A born‑evil Uchiha brat after all! Anyone who can kill his own flesh and blood is a heartless murder machine. The evil blood flowing in the Uchiha clan should never have existed!"
Elsewhere, Danzō had likewise received the news from his Root operatives.
"The Uchiha eyes harbor a power of unimaginable evil. That power requires an enormous emotional shock to have even a chance of awakening."
His eyes narrowed, gleaming with suspicion and danger as he interpreted Chizumi's deeds in the darkest possible light.
Uchiha Shisui sprang to mind. Shisui's eyes held what was said to be the clan's most sinister power, and because he "held a treasure inviting calamity" so great that Konoha's leadership feared it, Danzō had struck at him—seeking to seize the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Now Danzō began to suspect: had Chizumi awakened a Mangekyō akin to Shisui's? Had he gained some nightmarish power that gave chills even in rumor?
The faint pain flickering through his left ear only fueled his dread and fury. Grinding his teeth, he hissed, "Monkey—if you hadn't stopped me that day, I'd have strangled this evil Uchiha whelp in the cradle before he could endanger the village!"
His rage targeted not only Chizumi but Hiruzen as well.
Though Danzō knew the odds of another Mangekyō awakening were slim—after all, only Shisui had appeared in so many years—once the suspicion sprouted, it would not die, spreading like weeds through his heart and leaving his expression dark and restless.
"Uchiha Chizumi…
"The Sharingan…"
…
"This makes the second person I've killed today!" Izumi soaked in the bath, hair floating on the steaming water. Only the upper half of her head showed, her muttering bubbling into incoherent gurgles.
She remembered clearly the first time she killed: she had been on edge the entire night, afraid the Anbu would come for her even after she got home.
Now, though, she felt almost practiced.
No more nerves— even the discomfort of killing had long since faded.
"And yet…"
Pressing a hand to her chest, she raised her head and mumbled in confusion, "Why do I feel a little… delighted? I'm not some twisted killer—so it can't be that I enjoy the act itself, right?"
She rose, stepped out of the tub, rinsed the lingering suds from her skin—then a flash of insight struck.
"—It's recognition!"
She realized her secret joy came from discovering that other members of the Uchiha clan—aside from herself—were beginning to acknowledge Chizumi‑senpai's Absolute Justice.
And there were quite a few of them!
On her way home after parting with him, she had overheard many villagers discussing him—and it wasn't negative talk. Even if their fascination was a warped admiration born of his extreme methods, it was…
At least a good beginning.
…
"Father," Uchiha Itachi said solemnly across the dinner table, "I would like to meet with Uchiha Chizumi."
~~~
Thank you for reading! Please add this to your Library!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!