"Have you found out who is spreading the rumors about Itachi in the village?!"
Inside the Hokage's office stood Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Itachi, and an Anbu ninja.
Hiruzen stood with his hands behind his back by the window, face grim, and asked the Anbu while still turned away.
The Anbu, head lowered, answered truthfully:
"We haven't identified the exact person yet, but it seems the rumors first started within the Uchiha clan."
Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh.
He turned and walked to stand before Itachi, apologizing sincerely:
"Itachi, I'm sorry. It was my failure not to detect and stop the spread of these harmful rumors about you in time."
Just this morning, Hiruzen had advised Itachi to forget whatever he had discussed with Uchiha Chizumi and not to mention it to others.
The goal was to help conceal Itachi's so-called "future evil."
But who would've thought…
In less than half a day, rumors of Itachi's "future evil" had spread throughout the entire village.
And with people adding fuel to the fire—
It had become full-blown gossip!
Yet Itachi calmly shook his head and said:
"Hokage-sama, I don't mind. My reputation means far less to me than the peace and stability of Konoha."
Looking down at his hands, he added:
"It's not necessarily a bad thing… it gives me a chance to get used to being hated and reviled by everyone."
Hiruzen was taken aback.
This child... truly believes he's destined to destroy the Uchiha clan.
…
When Uchiha Sasuke returned alone to the Uchiha compound, he was in a daze. Faint tear streaks were still visible on his pale face.
His eyes were bloodshot and dull, completely void of their usual brightness.
The moment he entered the compound, he felt it—
Many eyes were staring at him.
It made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"That brat… he's Itachi's younger brother, right? Uchiha Sasuke?"
"He's Itachi's blood relative. Hey, what if he also plans to kill us? Leaving this kid in the clan might be a disaster."
"I heard those brothers are close. Maybe we should capture him and use him to threaten Itachi…"
"Will this kid also die by Itachi's hands? I remember that monster even killed his own parents."
Whispers reached Sasuke's ears.
Cold sweat dripped from his brow.
He no longer dared to defend his brother or argue with them.
He didn't dare linger on the street, even though this was their clan's own compound.
Sasuke quickened his pace and hurried home, head down.
…
"…Fugaku, you knew, didn't you?"
Uchiha Mikoto looked at her silent husband with a complicated expression.
Many clansmen had visited today.
Some came furious, demanding answers. Others were confused and seeking explanation.
In the end, all of them were either brushed off or sent away by Fugaku.
Having lived with him for so many years, Mikoto could tell—
Her husband was lying to them.
Even from the scattered words she overheard, Mikoto now understood what was going on.
Facing his wife's gaze, Fugaku sighed.
He finally spoke, looking at his clenched fists:
"I knew since this morning… because I went with Itachi to see Chizumi. I heard it directly from him. You know, though Chizumi may be biased against Itachi, he doesn't lie."
Mikoto froze in place, as if her strength had been drained. She stumbled slightly.
Fugaku rushed forward to support her.
"Chi… Chizumi… did he say anything more detailed about the 'future'?"
Mikoto's beautiful face had gone pale, her lips trembling as she asked:
"In that future… does Itachi even kill Sasuke?"
Fugaku shook his head.
"Only Sasuke was not mentioned."
That morning, he hadn't heard Sasuke's name among the victims of the Uchiha Massacre Chizumi described.
Suddenly, Fugaku paused—something struck him.
He added:
"Nor was Chizumi mentioned."
Just then—
They heard faint panting outside the door.
Turning their heads, they saw Sasuke clutching the doorframe, face pale, tears in his eyes as he gasped for breath.
"I..."
Sasuke bit his lip hard, drawing blood, the taste of iron in his mouth as he forced himself to speak:
"I know… too."
Fugaku was stunned.
After a moment of silence, he let out a deep sigh.
…
Slash! A sharp ninja blade instantly severed both arms of a Root ninja disguised as a Konoha civilian.
Izumi, following closely behind Uchiha Chizumi, threw two kunai.
They pinned the Root ninja's feet firmly to the ground.
The intense pain caused the ninja to tremble all over.
"Phew, the third one today..."
Izumi wiped the sweat from her brow. Since separating from Sasuke, she had been hunting down Root agents with Chizumi—those sent by Danzo to spread the rumors.
Technically, "spreading rumors" wasn't a capital offense.
But the crimes these Root agents had committed in the past were more than enough to warrant execution.
As Chizumi had put it:
"Every member of Root, aside from the newly indoctrinated war orphans, is guilty. Killing them all wouldn't wrong a single one."
Because of that, Izumi carried no guilt.
She trusted Chizumi unconditionally.
Looking at the Root ninja who had collapsed from blood loss, Izumi thought—
He probably wouldn't survive another minute.
There was no need to try saving him.
"You do it."
At Chizumi's cold command, Izumi drew her blade and, without hesitation, slit the man's throat.
—This is me carrying out Absolute Justice.
She kept reminding herself.
Yet something felt off.
She sensed a strange surge of power inside her, as if her strength had subtly increased.
That strange sensation frightened her.
She feared her true nature might be… bloodthirsty.
Feared that she was being consumed by killing.
"Senpai, my body feels..."
Izumi decided to tell Chizumi about this unusual feeling.
But before she could finish, she was—as always—cut off by him.
"That is the gift of Absolute Justice."
Uchiha Chizumi said calmly:
"Without overwhelming strength, how else can you enforce Absolute Justice in the shinobi world?"
~~~
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