Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't tell if Chizumi was being sarcastic.
Instinctively, he felt that looking into the social circle of a seven-year-old murder victim was pointless.
What could a kid that age know? Who could they even hang out with besides other kids?
What could they possibly know?
What could they even do?
While they waited, a group of ninja cats came rushing back. This time, they handed Uchiha Chizumi a newly compiled list of suspects.
Panting and out of breath, Jujirō stuck out his tongue and gasped,
"C-Chizumi-sama, we've narrowed it down to three suspects—"
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly had a bad feeling and cut in, "Chizumi, may I take a look at the list?"
Chizumi gave a quick glance at the suspect info, then handed the paper over without a word.
Hiruzen looked closely—the handwriting was slanted and wild, clearly not written by a human.
But he could still barely make out the meaning.
And what he read made his eyes visibly narrow. His face twisted in shock, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
Everyone nearby noticed his expression.
Then Hiruzen said out loud, "Chizumi… is this some kind of mistake? I recognize all three names on this list—they're students at the Ninja Academy!"
"How could students be involved in something this horrific? They're just kids!"
Now the others started to understand why the Hokage looked so shaken.
It was hard for anyone to believe that children might be tied to a family massacre.
Chizumi replied coldly, "Kids in the ninja world go to war at four years old. Why do you assume Academy students couldn't commit murder?"
"Because of your so-called 'Will of Fire,' Third Hokage?"
Hiruzen was speechless.
Suspect 1: Hyūga Shōya – A branch member of the Hyūga clan. Had a verbal conflict with the victim in school. Their relationship was known to be bad.
Suspect 2: Murayama Kyōtarō – From a civilian family. Used to be friends with the victim, but they had a falling out. Even though they still attended the same school, things stayed tense.
Suspect 3: Utatane Ryūji – Member of the Utatane clan. A senpai who pretended to care about the victim, but in reality was subtly bullying him.
Hiruzen exhaled hard after listing off the names.
"Chizumi, these are just small arguments. Not even enough to start a fight. How could this possibly lead to an entire family being wiped out?"
He was still more inclined to investigate suspects related to the victim's parents.
As far as he was concerned, if they brought all suspects in and let Chizumi look at them, it would become clear who the killer was.
But every time he thought about Chizumi's ability to see "past and future evil," he couldn't make sense of it.
To Chizumi, it was like no one had any secrets at all.
Yet Chizumi didn't say a word—he just stared silently at the Hokage.
That silence made Hiruzen uneasy, and he quickly averted his gaze to avoid direct eye contact.
Those eyes of Chizumi's always made him feel on edge.
Trying not to make it too obvious, Hiruzen turned to Naruto instead and forced a smile.
"You think so too, Naruto?"
But Naruto replied in a quiet voice,
"Grandpa Hokage… maybe we should just bring all three of them here anyway?"
Hiruzen froze again.
He realized something: to Naruto, these suspects didn't have the "they're just kids" filter that adults instinctively apply.
To an adult, it was almost impossible to imagine a child committing such a crime.
But Naruto—who was a child—didn't have that bias. He was just shocked that kids his age could be suspects in something like this.
"…Ahem."
With no better option, Hiruzen reluctantly gave the signal to the Anbu.
They were to bring all three Academy students to the Hyūga compound.
…
At the Hyūga Compound
When the Anbu arrived, Hyūga Hiashi was immediately alerted—but by then, it was already too late.
The masked ninja didn't even explain; they just took Hyūga Shōya, a branch family boy, saying only, "By order of the Hokage."
"Shōya?" Hiashi frowned, as if the world owed him a fortune. "If I remember right, he's one of our branch members. Why would the Hokage want him?"
One of his subordinates asked,
"Should we stop them, Hiashi-sama? Shōya does have the Byakugan, after all."
Ever since Danzo's experiments on bloodline limits were exposed, all the clans in the village had grown paranoid.
What if the Hokage was secretly interested in bloodlines too?
"No need," Hiashi said, shaking his head.
"He's already got the Caged Bird Seal. And besides, the Hokage wouldn't hurt his own comrades."
"Danzo was an exception."
…
At the Hokage Building
A flustered Utatane clan member rushed up to Koharu.
"Koharu-sama! Why did the Anbu take my son?!"
She recognized him—one of their better shinobi, a special jōnin. But his words made her frown.
"The Anbu took your son? Did they say why?"
"They said it was an order from the Hokage!"
The Hokage—Hiruzen?
Koharu's expression darkened.
Wasn't Hiruzen with Chizumi right now?
She felt a sudden wave of unease.
"Did the Anbu head toward the Uchiha district?" she asked.
The man paused, thinking, then nodded.
"Yeah… I think they did."
Her suspicions only deepened.
What the hell is Hiruzen doing?
…
Uchiha District
The Anbu worked fast. In no time, three terrified kids were escorted in.
It was their first time being taken by Anbu.
They'd imagined torture, dark cells, pain.
Instead, they were brought to the Uchiha district—surrounded by Uchiha police and masked Anbu.
Even the Hokage was there.
"Don't be afraid," Hiruzen said, smiling gently. He looked like a kind old man as he reassured them.
"This is just about a special case. We're going to ask a few questions, and then you'll be free to go home."
He turned toward Chizumi to say something—but froze.
Chizumi was staring at one of them.
With a cold, emotionless stare.
A stare like he was already looking at a dead person.
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.
He followed Chizumi's gaze.
It was Ryūji—the third suspect.
Others noticed too: Jujirō, Izumi, Fugaku in the back, even Naruto.
Everyone slowly turned toward the boy, whose body language screamed guilt and panic.
Hiruzen licked his dry lips. His voice came out hoarse.
"Chizumi… are you absolutely sure? He's just a kid…"
Even the Anbu began glaring at Ryūji, their gazes like daggers.
"Third Hokage," Chizumi replied quietly. "Absolute Justice doesn't make mistakes."
In Chizumi's sight, a glowing red box floated above Ryūji's head, filled with crimson words detailing his crimes.
"Meow. Just as expected," Jujirō said coolly.
Izumi took a deep breath and whispered to him,
"Jujirō-senpai… are there really that many kids like this?"
"Plenty," Jujirō replied. "Uchiha Itachi's one of them. Been hiding out for days now, that freak."
Izumi fell silent.
Itachi was only two years older than Ryūji—and a year from now, he'd slaughter his entire clan.
Was the ninja world really this sick?
Naruto heard the whispers.
His eyes went wide, and he pointed straight at Ryūji.
"H-He killed that whole family?! He's the killer?!"
Ryūji looked like he might collapse.
"M-Murderer?! What are you even talking about?! I didn't do anything last night! I stayed home the whole time! My family can prove it!"
Hiruzen exhaled slowly.
From Ryūji's panicked voice and body language… he already knew the truth.
He remembered Chizumi saying it over and over again—
"This world is sick."
Maybe he was right.
The war was over. Even the Nine-Tails attack had passed. Things should have gotten better.
But now, in his own village, there was a child who had become a murderer.
And Naruto had to witness it.
What would this teach him about justice? About the Will of Fire?
Fugaku looked at Chizumi, then at Ryūji.
His mind drifted to his son, Itachi.
Chizumi had seen evil in both: future evil in Itachi… past evil in Ryūji.
But there was one big difference—Itachi had accepted his fate.
Ryūji? Not even one percent of Itachi's strength.
What a waste.
Such a gifted kid, walking a completely opposite path from Fugaku himself.
Itachi had wanted to save Konoha.
Fugaku wanted to save the Uchiha.
Ryūji backed up. Everyone was staring at him—even the other kids.
The pressure made him sweat buckets, his body slick and cold.
No way they figured it out. I destroyed all the evidence! There's no way!
But the fear on his face only made his guilt clearer.
Then someone spoke his name:
"Utatane Ryūji."
A police officer stepped forward, sword at his side. His voice was ice-cold:
"You were scared your kouhai was going to surpass you, so out of jealousy, you murdered his entire family of four."
Izumi was stunned.
A student killed an entire family… just because of jealousy?
Was he mentally unwell?
Jujirō muttered, "Almost as deranged as Itachi. Actually… no, I think Itachi might be worse. Meow."
Naruto stood frozen, his blue eyes wide.
Jealousy?
He'd felt jealous of stronger kids too… but murder?
He'd never even thought about killing someone.
He stared at Ryūji like he was some kind of monster.
"Just because of jealousy…" he whispered.
Hiruzen rubbed his temples.
Why were the kids in this village so extreme?
Ryūji wasn't a nobody—he was from a noble clan, had everything handed to him in life.
So what went wrong?
The Academy's teaching? Their families? The environment?
It couldn't be him, right? The Hokage?
Ryūji felt like he couldn't breathe.
How does he know?!
How does he know it was last night?! And that I killed them out of jealousy?!
Can he read minds?!
What even is this guy?!
"You—you're insane! What murder?! What four people?! I don't know what you're talking about! You—what are you doing?!"
As Ryūji panicked, thinking he could still fake his way out… the police officer calmly drew his sword.
Ryūji felt the chill in his bones. His whole body trembled.
Then Chizumi spoke:
"Uzumaki Naruto… this is what evil in the ninja world looks like. It's irrational, unpredictable. You'll never understand what twisted motives create it."
"If we let it run free, more and more innocent people will be hurt."
Naruto slowly returned to his senses.
Chizumi asked:
"Do you remember the way that family died? Do you remember their fatal injuries?"
Naruto nodded, face pale. "Y-Yeah…"
Chizumi continued,
"That's why Absolute Justice exists. There's too much evil in this world that needs to be purged."
"What do you think, Naruto? Should Ryūji pay with his life?"
Naruto bit his lip.
The image of that dead family burned in his mind—and rage boiled to the surface.
Why should four people die just because one person got jealous?
He didn't hesitate.
"…He should."
"Then keep your eyes open."
Sunlight flashed off Chizumi's blade.
"This is Absolute Justice. It doesn't forgive.
Only absolute justice can wipe out true evil."
Hiruzen finally realized what was happening.
Ryūji was still a student—a child. If Chizumi went through with this…
What kind of person would Naruto become after seeing that?
"Wait! Chi—"
Too late.
~~~
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