In Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind, the word justice had become almost inseparable from Uchiha Chizumi.
So when he heard Naruto speak so emotionally and passionately, he immediately realized—he was too late.
He also understood what Chizumi had been trying to do with Naruto all along.
Hiruzen couldn't quite put his feelings into words. Shock, frustration, regret—it was all there. But one thing he knew for sure:
He couldn't let Naruto embrace the idea of justice.
Especially not Chizumi's version of absolute justice.
He forced a stiff smile onto his old face and gently spoke to Naruto:
"Naruto, tracking down criminals is the Police Force's job. That's their duty. They'll handle the investigation and find the truth."
"You're still young—just a kid. You've only been in the academy for two months. This kind of adult matter isn't something you should be getting involved in yet. Wait until you're older."
"But—" Naruto started to protest.
Before he could finish, a high-pitched, oddly sharp voice cut in:
"Oh, now a seven-year-old is suddenly just a kid, meow?"
Hiruzen frowned and turned to look—then blinked in surprise. The speaker was a ninja cat.
An orange-furred ninja cat...
One of Chizumi's, apparently.
Hiruzen got a bad feeling in his gut.
"Meow, Chizumi-sama was thrown onto the battlefield during the war when he was four. Why didn't anyone say he was too young back then?"
The cat, Jujiro, wore a scornful expression as he mocked him.
"Naruto's already seven—three years older than Itachi was when he started. Just because he wants to follow Chizumi-sama and carry out justice, now he's too young?"
"Even a ninja cat like me can see what you're all thinking. You humans sure are good at twisting logic, meow!"
Hiruzen: "…"
He couldn't believe he'd just been roasted by a cat.
But as the Third Hokage, arguing with a cat would be beyond humiliating.
Worse yet, he had no idea how to respond. What was he supposed to do—blurt out that Naruto was a jinchūriki?
Absolutely not.
That was a secret Naruto still couldn't know. He was too young.
Chizumi finally spoke, calm and steady:
"Naruto, follow your own heart and make your choice. Don't worry—if it's different from what I hoped for, I won't harm you. But if it is what I expected, then no one will be able to take you away."
Koharu's eyes widened. Her fists clenched as she said through gritted teeth, "Uchiha Chizumi, do you even understand what you're doing right now?!"
It was her first time standing face-to-face with Chizumi—and her first time realizing just how brazen he really was. He didn't give a damn about the village leadership.
Now she understood why Hiruzen always looked so exhausted dealing with him.
And why Danzō had wanted him dead.
Sure, the Uchiha had plenty of troublemakers…
But to say something like that in front of the Anbu, in front of the Hokage, and in front of her, a high-ranking advisor?
Chizumi was in a league of his own.
She was already tempted to order the Anbu and what remained of Root to take him down on the spot.
"Chizumi, you—" Koharu started, wanting to say he had no right to pressure Naruto into choosing.
But Hiruzen interrupted her:
"Naruto, I know your dream is to be acknowledged by the village—to become Hokage one day. That's why you need to make the right choices. If you make the wrong ones, no one in the village will ever see you as Hokage material."
"As for Chizumi," Hiruzen continued, "even though he's done a lot for the village, his methods are too extreme—too absolute. He's never been truly accepted by the people."
"Naruto, his path runs completely opposite to your dream."
Hiruzen didn't hold back anymore. He criticized Chizumi directly, right in front of Naruto.
Izumi immediately furrowed her brows.
She angrily scribbled Hiruzen's name into her notebook, so hard the pen nearly tore through the page.
"But…" Naruto's voice trembled.
Under Hiruzen's watch, his eyes turned red and glassy. A tear slipped down his cheek.
"Gramps…"
Naruto rubbed his eyes, his head hanging low. He choked out, "You never actually thought I could earn the village's acknowledgment, did you?"
Hiruzen froze in place.
"Everyone calls me the demon fox. When they see me, they act like their day's been ruined. That's all because of that guy—Shimura Danzō, right?"
Hiruzen's pupils dilated.
"You knew about it, and you knew he was behind it. But you still protected him, Gramps."
"You didn't let the village know the truth. You just let everyone believe I'm the demon fox even more."
"Why can't you just tell them—that the Nine-Tails was sealed inside me without me ever knowing it?"
The room fell completely silent.
Even Koharu stared at Naruto in disbelief.
How did Naruto know the Nine-Tails was inside him?
Who told him?
Chizumi?
"That night… when the Nine-Tails attacked the village… none of that had anything to do with me. So why does everyone hate me? Why does everyone isolate me?"
"Why couldn't you just explain? Why let all those rumors grow and grow?"
"Gramps…"
"I just don't understand."
Tears rolled down his cheeks. He was only seven. His words didn't come out perfect, but his emotions were painfully clear.
He wasn't mad at Hiruzen—not exactly. He knew the Hokage cared about him.
He just felt hurt. Lost. Confused.
"I'm sorry, Gramps…"
"I just… want to do something right. I can't go back with you yet. Not until I find the one who killed that family. Not until I help give them justice. Then… then I'll go back with you."
Naruto had made his decision.
And he said it loud and clear.
Hiruzen looked at him—so young, so overwhelmed—and couldn't bring himself to say anything.
Naruto must have learned all this from Chizumi.
And honestly, Hiruzen should be angry—especially at Chizumi.
Didn't he realize how much damage this truth could do to Naruto?
Of course he did.
But he told him anyway. Was it just to push him toward "Absolute Justice"?
Maybe.
Yet as Hiruzen watched Naruto quietly wipe his tears, he felt his anger slipping away.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something that would win back Naruto's trust—
"Uzumaki Naruto! That's enough!"
Koharu's voice was cold and commanding.
"You don't have the right to choose. This is a Police Force matter, and you don't belong in it. Even if Chizumi is pressuring you, it means nothing. Right, Fugaku?"
"…Yes."
Fugaku took a breath and said:
"Naruto, you probably don't know me. I'm Uchiha Fugaku, Chief of the Police Force. You want to be involved in one of our cases? You need my permission."
"And my answer is no. You and Chizumi need to stop this nonsense. You're a student. Focus on school."
Naruto stood there, frozen.
Koharu finally relaxed a bit. At least Fugaku was still on the village's side.
She gave a subtle nod to a Root operative nearby.
Since Danzō's death, Koharu had temporarily taken over command. With most of Root wiped out by Chizumi, she had to pull reinforcements from her own clan to keep it running.
The Root ninja moved quickly, stepping forward to seize Naruto.
Startled, Naruto stepped back, baring his teeth instinctively.
A strange surge of anger and aggression filled him—so sudden, even he didn't understand it.
And then—
A hand shot out, grabbing the Root agent's wrist.
Koharu was ready to snap again—but stopped. So did Fugaku.
Chizumi didn't react to the hand at all.
Instead, he stared at Naruto's back.
And narrowed his eyes.
The hair on the back of Naruto's head was… rising.
There was no wind.
Chizumi squinted. Something was off.
"Gramps?" Naruto asked, still crying, looking up in surprise.
"Hiruzen?!" Koharu gasped.
"Hokage-sama?" Fugaku blinked in shock.
The hand grabbing the Root agent—it was Hiruzen's.
With everyone watching, Hiruzen stayed quiet.
Then he let go, crouched down, and reached toward Naruto.
Naruto hesitated—but didn't flinch.
Hiruzen gently patted his head.
He smiled softly.
"Naruto… I'll put aside my duties for today and help you bring justice to that family."
"Gramps…" Naruto felt the strange, hostile feeling inside him slowly dissolve.
"Hiruzen, what are you doing?!" Koharu shouted.
But Hiruzen cut her off:
"If Naruto wants to be acknowledged this way, then that's a good thing. Koharu, drop it for today. Take your Root agents and go."
"???"
Koharu was stunned.
As she watched Hiruzen turn away, she noticed something strange—he looked like he'd just breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he mouthed something to her silently.
Her eyes widened as she read his lips:
"Naruto almost lost control."
She drew in a sharp breath.
She looked at Naruto—now calm and quiet again—and then at Chizumi, her mind racing.
If the Nine-Tails almost broke loose… that meant Naruto's emotions had hit the limit.
But how? He was sad earlier, sure—but he hadn't lost control.
So why did trying to forcibly remove him push him to the edge?
What exactly had Chizumi told Naruto?
Was this idea of "Absolute Justice" really that powerful?
They hadn't even been together for half a day… and Naruto was already this committed?
Koharu didn't get it.
Honestly, neither did Hiruzen.
He even briefly wondered—was Naruto under a genjutsu?
Had Chizumi used his Mangekyō Sharingan?
But he immediately dismissed the idea.
Chizumi never played tricks. If he used genjutsu, he'd probably tell you.
Faced with the real possibility of Naruto losing control, Hiruzen had no choice but to back down.
And deep down, he knew—this wasn't just a compromise with Naruto.
It was a compromise with Chizumi.
Fugaku: "…"
He didn't know what to say anymore.
Just minutes ago, he'd stood firmly with the Hokage, hoping to show that the Uchiha had no ties to Chizumi.
He even made an example of his own clansman…
But in the end, the Hokage was the first to back down.
Koharu had left.
And now he was just standing there—awkward and alone.
Good thing no other Police Force officers were around. His authority might've shattered then and there.
He looked over at Chizumi—
But Chizumi hadn't even acknowledged him.
"Uh…" Naruto said, wiping his eyes, clearly unaware of everything going on around him.
He looked at Chizumi with hope.
"Gramps says I can stay! And he's gonna help us bring justice!"
Chizumi stared coldly.
"If you truly believe in justice… you should be ashamed of this."
Naruto blinked, stunned.
Chizumi said calmly,
"Evil only compromises when it fears a power it can't control. That's why it's pretending to be just—masking itself in 'justice' to get close to you."
"Flip the situation, and you'll see—if justice had no power, evil wouldn't even bother pretending. It would stomp on justice openly."
Hiruzen: "???"
He wasn't named, but he felt the target.
Naruto stood quietly, processing.
Then he looked up, shocked:
"Gramps… are you… bad???"
Naruto had a way of hitting nerves.
Hiruzen's blood pressure skyrocketed.
He had just bent over backwards to comfort this boy—and in two lines, Chizumi flipped it all upside down.
"Naruto, you misunderstood. Chizumi wasn't talking about me," Hiruzen said, forcing a smile. "I'm the Hokage—I carry the Will of Fire. How could I possibly be the bad guy?"
"He didn't misunderstand," Chizumi cut in coldly.
And every word Hiruzen wanted to say—died in his throat.
~~~
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