"Uchiha…"
The young-looking envoy from the Daimyō's court clearly recognized the name.
After all, the Uchiha were famous across the entire shinobi world.
He suddenly asked, "Is he alone? Or is he here on behalf of the whole Uchiha clan?"
The Konoha shinobi paused to recall, then replied, "Uchiha Chizumi's more of a lone wolf. He's always been the outsider—even among his own clan. That said, I heard he's traveling with a police trainee."
The envoy nodded with a faint smile, "If he's not representing the entire clan, then he's not worth worrying about."
"The Daimyō sent one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja to guard me—'Nauma.' I hear he used to be one of your elite jōnin here in Konoha."
Nauma, huh…
The Konoha shinobi's eyes couldn't help drifting toward a distinct-looking, scar-faced man among the envoy's group.
"Still, Envoy-sama, I'd suggest you wait here for now. I'll be back shortly."
He offered the advice again, sincerely.
…
Meanwhile, at the Hokage's Office…
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura—three of Konoha's four elders—were gathered.
The Konoha ninja who'd spoken to the envoy was there as well.
Koharu scoffed, "Tch. These young people sure are full of themselves. I made a polite remark about Hiruzen going to greet him, and now he really thinks he deserves that treatment?"
Homura replied calmly, "To be fair, he's the Daimyō's second son—Goen'in Kyusuke. He's used to throwing his weight around."
He turned to Hiruzen. "What's your move, Hiruzen?"
Hiruzen took a slow drag from his pipe, thinking it over. Then he set it down and stood up.
"I'll go. He's a messenger from the Daimyō, after all."
He spoke steadily:
"The Third Great Ninja War wasn't that long ago. The Nine-Tails attack devastated us. And just last night, we took another serious hit."
"Right now, Konoha really needs financial support from the Daimyō. If showing my face gets us more funding, it's worth it."
His noble tone nearly brought a tear to one of the shinobi in the room.
But Koharu and Homura stayed stone-faced.
They knew full well—once word spread that "the Hokage humbled himself before the Daimyō for Konoha's sake,"
Hiruzen would come out looking even better politically.
"By the way, Hiruzen…"
Koharu stopped him and said seriously,
"About what happened between Danzō and Uchiha Chizumi last night—are you really not going to deal with it properly?"
"Chizumi is completely unpredictable. Even if you have a plan, shouldn't you loop us in?"
Hiruzen paused mid-step and looked at her.
"What I'm doing is exactly to make Chizumi more manageable. If it ever comes to a fight, even if we win, Konoha will pay a huge price. Right now, all I can do is keep him stable."
Koharu pressed, "But letting him get away with things is just making him bolder! He embarrassed you in front of everyone last night. What do you think he's going to do next?"
"We respect your decision, Hiruzen—but think this through. Don't make a choice you'll regret."
That last line sounded familiar to Hiruzen.
He almost responded instinctively: "I'm the Hokage."
Instead, he simply said, "I have my reasons as Hokage."
And with that, he left the room without another word, under the gaze of Koharu and Homura.
…
Meanwhile, back on the road…
Kyusuke, the Daimyō's second son, suddenly noticed something strange: Nauma—his strongest bodyguard—was visibly tense.
He asked, "Nauma, you used to be a jōnin in Konoha, right? Have you heard of someone called 'Uchiha Chizumi'? You've been cool this whole trip, but now you're acting nervous. Is that guy really that dangerous?"
Nauma, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, answered with a serious expression, "If we're talking about the same Uchiha Chizumi I remember—yeah, he's a serious problem."
"He was a monster on the battlefield during the Third Great Ninja War. They called him the 'Lava Style Beast.' He took down more enemies than anyone could count. Back then, he was mentioned in the same breath as Shisui of the Body Flicker—a rare double bloodline genius of the Uchiha."
"From what I've heard, he believes in true justice. Hates injustice. Ever since he joined the Uchiha Police Force, he's cracked case after case."
Kyusuke raised a brow and said with amusement, "Doesn't sound like a villain to me. Sounds like a righteous guy. If that's the case, why was that shinobi so insistent I avoid him?"
Nauma took a deep breath and replied grimly,
"Because his sense of justice doesn't care about status or titles."
"Even if you're the Daimyō's son, if he thinks you've done wrong, he won't hesitate to take you down."
"Kyusuke-sama, Sarutobi Asuma came back to Konoha not long ago for his brother's funeral. He's probably still around. To be honest, I almost asked him to come too—for your protection."
Nauma wasn't exaggerating.
If Chizumi had his eyes on Kyusuke…
Even with everything Nauma had, he didn't believe he could stop the Lava Style Beast alone.
That man…
was a monster.
"Hey! Nauma! Are you suggesting Kyusuke-sama is guilty of something?"
One of Kyusuke's attendants stepped forward, visibly annoyed.
"You'd better watch what you say. You're just a bodyguard assigned by the Daimyō!"
"Hey! Are you even listening, Nauma?!"
But Nauma was ignoring every word.
His expression turned razor-sharp as he stared straight ahead.
His hand moved to his sword hilt, fingers damp with sweat.
He licked his dry lips and said heavily,
"You seem curious about the most dangerous man in all of Konoha…"
"Well, how about this for a coincidence—"
"Uchiha Chizumi…"
"Is right in front of us!"
~~~
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