"Just letting Danzo run wild, using him like your personal fixer, knowing full well he's committed atrocities and still doing nothing—sometimes even backing him up—that alone makes you complicit in the very evil plaguing the shinobi world."
With every eye in the Anbu locked on them, and Hiruzen visibly rattled, Uchiha Chizumi didn't hold back.
Every word was like a dagger—sharp, direct, and aimed squarely at the Third Hokage.
"So tell me, Third Hokage—how do you still have the audacity to claim you're not one of the bad guys? Just because you wear the title of Hokage, you think that gives you a pass no one else gets?"
Hiruzen's lips twitched. For once, he had no ready answer.
Because deep down, he knew Chizumi was right. He'd used Danzo like a shadow weapon. Root was always the village's dark underside. Light and dark together—that was the foundation of Konoha's strength.
And yeah—some of the worst things Danzo had done? Hiruzen hadn't just turned a blind eye; he'd enabled it.
Everyone in the village kind of knew. They just didn't say it out loud. They let the Hokage save face.
But not Chizumi. Not him.
And when Hiruzen saw Naruto's stunned expression, his heart clenched hard.
He coughed, straightened up, put on a composed look, and calmly countered:
"Danzo's Root and my Hokage office are two separate systems. Technically, we don't even have a strict superior-subordinate relationship."
"He acts on his own all the time—keeps things from me until the damage is done, then leaves me to clean up the mess. As Hokage, keeping Konoha stable is my top priority."
"So yeah, sometimes I've had no choice but to cover for his actions. If I took him down, Root would fall into chaos, and that would bleed into the whole village. Innocent people would get caught in the crossfire. And that's something I refuse to let happen."
He sighed, as if the weight of that helplessness was crushing him.
And honestly, some of it was true—Danzo had gone off-script more than once.
Still, this explanation wasn't really for Chizumi. It was aimed at Naruto.
Because Hiruzen absolutely couldn't let Naruto misunderstand him.
"Oh… I see," Naruto said uncertainly, scratching his head.
He didn't fully get what Grandpa Hokage was saying. The scary guy's version of things made more sense—at least, it was easier to understand.
Still… Grandpa Hokage was probably just saying he wasn't a bad guy, right?
Being at the center of so much attention made Naruto feel a bit weird… but also kinda cool.
He turned eagerly, waiting to hear what Chizumi would say next—
Only to see him turn around, ignoring Hiruzen, Fugaku, and everyone else. Talking to them any longer? Waste of time.
Instead, Chizumi silently covered the corpses with the white sheets he'd pulled back earlier.
Then, without looking back, he said to Naruto:
"If you want to see what real justice looks like, come with me."
And with that, he walked toward the morgue exit, not even pausing for the Anbu still blocking the way.
Izumi, Jujiro, and a black ninja cat followed him.
Hiruzen gave a quiet signal, and the Anbu silently stepped aside.
Naruto looked around, then quickly chased after Chizumi—like a little duckling.
"...Sigh." Hiruzen couldn't help but exhale.
Maybe if he'd gotten there ten minutes earlier, he could've pulled Naruto out of this 'justice' rabbit hole.
But it was too late. Chizumi's "absolute justice" had already taken root in Naruto's heart. Especially after all those things from the past were brought up.
Now Naruto was starting to push back—even against him.
All Hiruzen could do now was hope that Naruto's sense of justice never became absolute.
Because justice, in itself, was fine.
But absolute justice?
That's where things go off the rails.
Konoha already had one person like that—and it was more than enough.
If there was another, especially one with the power of the Nine-Tails…
Yeah, Hiruzen might have to retire.
And by Chizumi's standards, he probably already qualified as a villain.
He didn't think Chizumi would kill him—but he couldn't say he wasn't nervous either.
Which is exactly why…
Every time he met with Chizumi, he brought a whole squad of Anbu with him.
"Hokage-sama, what now?" one of the Anbu asked, glancing at Chizumi's fading silhouette.
The forced smile dropped from Hiruzen's face.
"We follow. We can't let Naruto walk too far down Chizumi's path."
They hadn't gone far before Hiruzen turned to Fugaku.
"Fugaku, thank you. I can see your sincerity—and your strength. With you leading the Uchiha, I don't believe your clan will ever fall into the tragic fate Chizumi keeps predicting."
Fugaku finally exhaled.
At least the Hokage was recognizing his efforts.
It felt like a real promise.
Maybe, finally, the village was beginning to trust the Uchiha again.
Maybe today's mess was cleared up.
Outside the morgue, Chizumi found a police ninja and asked for the full case file on the murdered family. Then he handed it to Izumi.
"You handle the investigation," he said.
Izumi's eyes widened.
She knew this was a test.
Chizumi wasn't going to keep her in the rookie role forever. He was giving her a shot to stand on her own.
"Yes, senpai!"
But the moment she opened the file, she froze—where the hell should she start?
Wait—she'd already analyzed what kind of person the killer likely was, hadn't she? The tension earlier had just rattled her.
She looked over at Naruto, who was watching with open curiosity.
Yeah, he's definitely going to be one of them—a believer in "absolute justice."
Even if he didn't get it yet.
Chizumi clearly saw potential in him.
"You can read it too," she offered.
"Me?! Really?!" Naruto lit up.
"Yep." Izumi nodded and pointed at the photo of the parents.
"We're looking for someone who had a conflict with this couple—probably relatives, friends, neighbors. Someone familiar."
"The kids' acquaintances probably don't matter, so we focus on the adults' social circles."
She turned to Jujiro.
"Jujiro‑senpai, can your ninja cats help gather intel?"
"Of course—meow!" Jujiro grinned.
Somehow, twenty-plus ninja cats of all colors showed up within minutes, whispering and planning outside HQ.
Naruto was speechless.
"Kid," Jujiro declared proudly, "these are the best info‑gathering cats in the entire ninja world. Even the youngest of them has been working under Chizumi-sama for at least a year. They're your senpais!"
"Also, from now on—call me 'Jujiro‑senpai,' got it?"
Then he strutted off, issued orders to the cats, and they scattered.
"That's it?" Naruto asked.
Izumi smiled. "Trust me, Jujiro‑senpai's cats are amazing. Half the time we find leads, it's because they're already out there pulling info from across the village."
"You could think of them as Chizumi‑senpai's personal Anbu."
Behind them, the actual Anbu looked like they'd just swallowed a lemon. Did she really just say that?
Hiruzen, standing beside Chizumi with his hands behind his back—yet angled to avoid direct eye contact—said, "Chizumi, if you ever joined Anbu, with those cats, you'd make squad commander in no time."
Chizumi, watching a calico disappear down the street, replied flatly:
"Places like that make me sick."
Hiruzen: "…Right."
Shut down again.
More proof of how extreme absolute justice was.
If even the Hokage couldn't tolerate it, he sure as hell couldn't let Naruto follow that path.
Especially not with the Nine‑Tails inside him.
The risk? Off the charts.
…
By the time afternoon rolled around, the ninja cats started coming back to the police HQ, each delivering the intel they'd gathered.
Izumi documented everything, organizing the info carefully, then handed a clean summary to Chizumi.
"Senpai, I've narrowed it down to five suspects. Each of them had issues with the parents in the murdered family, and they're all ninja. Every one of them has the skill to kill four people silently and quickly."
She was just about to suggest bringing them in for interrogation—
—but then remembered: Chizumi doesn't need interrogations. He has that ability.
Before she could say anything else, Hiruzen unexpectedly cut in:
"Let my Anbu bring them in."
Izumi blinked. That was… unexpected. She actually gained a tiny bit of respect for the Hokage in that moment.
"Technically, this should fall under the police force," Hiruzen said seriously, "but as Hokage, I have to step in on something this severe. We need to lock this killer up, fast."
He turned to Naruto, smiling warmly.
"Naruto, even just carrying the Will of Fire in your heart can push you to pursue justice. When the Will of Fire and true justice align, that's when you become a great shinobi."
That little bit of respect Izumi had?
Gone in an instant.
Now she got it—this was just Hiruzen trying to keep Naruto from being influenced by Chizumi's "Absolute Justice."
So that's it.
The Hokage is straight-up an enemy of absolute justice.
That thought flashed through Izumi's mind.
Following his command, five Anbu peeled away and, within twenty minutes, returned with the five ninja Izumi had identified.
Just then, Izumi felt a tug at her sleeve.
She looked down—Naruto.
"Hey… what if they didn't do it?" he whispered nervously. "What if they lie or something?"
Izumi shook her head, unsure.
But she offered a confident smile anyway:
"Don't worry. Senpai has the power to see both past and future evil. If the killer's in front of him, he'll know immediately."
She paused, then added:
"It's because he believes in Absolute Justice. That's what gives him that power."
Naruto turned to Chizumi, stunned.
So this scary guy… can actually do that?
But what exactly is "absolute" justice? And how's it different from regular justice?
That question sat quietly in Naruto's mind.
Just as Izumi was about to ask Chizumi something, he cut in coldly:
"None of them are the killer."
"...!!!"
Izumi froze.
Crap. She totally failed the test.
"None of them?!" Naruto blurted out.
Even Hiruzen looked thrown.
From his point of view, Izumi's method of identifying suspects made sense. He would've done the same. That's why he gave the order so quickly.
But Chizumi said no.
"Then… should we bring in the ones with weaker connections too?" Hiruzen offered.
"No need." Chizumi shut that down immediately. His tone was flat.
"Jujiro—look into the seven-year-old victim's social circle. I want a list of anyone who had a conflict with him. Doesn't matter how old they are."
"Yes, Chizumi-sama!" Jujiro said, and immediately set off himself.
"Seven years old… that's the boy my age," Naruto thought, remembering the body—and how it still gave him the chills.
As Naruto hesitated, Hiruzen asked what Naruto couldn't put into words:
"Chizumi, a kid that young… most people with a grudge against him would be other kids, right?"
"What's the point in investigating children?"
It wasn't a challenge—just genuine confusion.
He knew Chizumi was far more experienced in this kind of thing.
Chizumi didn't explain in detail.
He just said one line:
"You seriously lack imagination when it comes to the evil in the shinobi world. You have no idea how twisted and sick it really is."
~~~
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