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Uchiha Chizumi's blade struck so fast that Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't stop it. He'd barely shouted "Wait—!" when blood sprayed through the air in front of him.
Arterial blood shot far and high—some even splattered across Hiruzen's face.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as a small head rolled across the ground, its frozen expression twisted in horror.
[Ding! You've slain a "Red Name" criminal! Chakra slightly increased. Loot drop: ×5 Clone Jutsu XP Scrolls!]
The body collapsed sideways, landing with its severed neck pointed straight at Naruto.
A wave of warm blood soaked Naruto's feet, and the sudden sensation made him stumble back in shock.
He stared wide-eyed at the headless corpse.
He hadn't meant for this to happen. All he did was mutter a single word—"Deserved"—out of moral shock. And that terrifying man actually killed someone.
Like, really killed them.
Naruto's pupils trembled. Sure, he'd seen bodies before. He'd even seen Chizumi kill Root operatives.
But this was different.
This time, it felt like the murder was triggered by him—by that one word. If he hadn't said it, would Chizumi still have executed that man so brutally?
A storm of thoughts rushed through Naruto's mind, leaving him uneasy.
Then—
"What are you afraid of, Naruto Uzumaki?"
The cold voice caught him completely off guard.
His vision darkened. He looked up—and saw Chizumi standing right in front of him.
He hadn't even noticed him walk over.
As Naruto scrambled to say something—
"Are you afraid of evil? Or afraid of justice? Or... do you believe justice shouldn't be carried out this way?"
Naruto swallowed hard. The pressure felt worse than being called to the blackboard by Iruka-sensei. His palms were sweating.
He didn't even know why he was so nervous.
"I-I just didn't think your idea of absolute justice would be... this absolute…" he muttered, voice trembling.
Chizumi stared coldly at the reincarnation of Asura's chakra.
"If you have a better answer than 'a life for a life'—one that gives meaning to the death of innocent people—then say it now."
Naruto opened his mouth…
...but no words came out.
All he could see were the four corpses from that slaughtered family. Their final moments had to be filled with fear and pain. One moment, they were just a happy household—next thing, they were butchered.
And their killer had the nerve to lie about it even as he died—like he felt no guilt at all.
He wasn't afraid because he regretted what he'd done—he was afraid because he got caught.
Was there really a better option than execution?
Naruto thought hard—and came up with only two options:
1. Forgive him.
2. Kill him.
"We didn't feel their pain. We didn't experience their despair," Chizumi said again, like he could read Naruto's mind. "So we have no right to forgive their killer.
"Forgiving evil is something absolute justice will never do. Because that would mean compromising with evil."
"Naruto Uzumaki—get rid of the word forgive in your heart."
Chizumi's piercing gaze made it impossible for Naruto to ignore him.
"Justice has the right to fight for victims—but never to forgive their killers. Remember that for the rest of your life. Burn it into your mind."
"The moment you forgive evil in place of the victim—you become evil yourself. Because then, you're just helping evil thrive."
Each word hit Naruto's heart like a hammer.
Even Hiruzen and Fugaku frowned. The logic was so black-and-white it bordered on dangerous. But… it was hard to argue with.
And for a seven-year-old? It was just simple enough to understand.
If you forgive the villain… then you are the villain.
Naruto's eyes went wide, guilt flooding in.
Because… he had thought about forgiving the killer.
Did that make him just as bad?
The shame and guilt made him commit every one of Chizumi's words to memory. Even Grandpa Hokage didn't speak up—so it must've been true, right?
His mind raced, and then he stood up straight.
"I—I get it now!"
Hiruzen:
Oh no… this is bad. Naruto, no—you're not supposed to 'get it'!
Just as Hiruzen opened his mouth to speak—
"Remember what you just said, Naruto Uzumaki," Chizumi said. "Never forgive evil. Never become the kind of person that disgusts even yourself."
"I—I won't! I swear! I may not be good at school stuff—but don't look down on me when it comes to this!"
There was a seriousness in Naruto's smudged little face that wasn't there before.
And it revealed a glimpse of the man he would one day become.
"Uhm…"
This time, Naruto didn't retreat. He looked Chizumi in the eyes, blue irises filled with purpose, and spoke his truth:
"I don't really know why, but maybe I just don't want the village to turn into something I don't recognize. Maybe I want to protect it. Maybe I don't want evil from the ninja world creeping into Konoha."
"I don't want to see another kid like Utatane Ryūji here. I don't want more innocent people to be—"
"—hurt," Uchiha Izumi softly added.
"Right!"
"So I don't want to pull pranks anymore just to get attention. That just causes trouble. And if I cause trouble… doesn't that make me part of the problem too?"
He bowed low.
"Please—teach me real justice. I want to be accepted by the village through justice. I want to make sure Konoha doesn't have any more evil like that."
"I told Grandpa Hokage I wanted to be Hokage someday. But pranks only make people mad. Maybe justice is how I'll really earn their trust. And I'm not just saying this because I want the Hokage title!"
"So please—teach me! I can pay tuition or do chores or whatever it takes!"
"Even if it means suffering a lot, I'm okay with it!"
Naruto, just seven years old, shouted as loud as he could.
He went hoarse before he even finished.
"Meow~ this kid's got guts," Jūjirō the ninja cat said, nudging Izumi. "Way faster than you were back then. Took you days to accept Chizumi-sama's absolute justice."
Izumi's pale cheeks flushed red.
Jūjirō scratched his chin, mumbling, "Maybe the younger they are, the easier it is to get them to understand… If that's true, then maybe we could—"
He glanced nervously at Hiruzen and decided to shut up.
Hiruzen didn't know what the cat was thinking. But he could clearly see what Naruto was feeling:
The desperate desire for recognition.
The rage at injustice.
The shame of forgiveness.
The guilt over childish pranks.
The awe he felt for Chizumi's justice.
All those emotions boiled over and poured out in that moment.
Naruto had fallen fully into Chizumi's world of justice.
And if Hiruzen tried to talk him out of it now? He'd only provoke backlash.
Worse, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto—already unstable—might spiral out of control.
So he said nothing.
Not one word.
All because he showed up ten minutes too late.
Is Chizumi's justice really that seductive?
It's extreme. Unrealistic. Any sane person could see that.
So why… why does it work?
Hiruzen didn't know.
Behind him, Fugaku looked troubled.
So the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had fallen under Chizumi's ideology after all.
Would this make the Hokage suspicious of the Uchiha again?
…Hopefully not. After all, the Hokage had recently acknowledged Fugaku's good intentions.
Chizumi, meanwhile, stared at Naruto's deep bow.
The entire compound was silent—eerily so.
Only the faint drip of blood from the headless corpse could be heard.
"Once you finish sweeping the streets each day," Chizumi said, "come find me."
"!!!"
Naruto's worried little face lit up with joy. He snapped upright, bowed again—this time even deeper.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Will do his very best!"
He beamed.
Just then, Koharu Utatane stormed back into the Uchiha compound—again—this time with another group of Root ninjas.
Her blatant disregard for Uchiha territory made many glare at her. A few even reached for their swords.
Fugaku quickly stepped forward and blocked them.
"Koharu-sama, may I ask why you've returned to the Uchiha compound?"
"I have business," she replied coldly.
Then turned straight to Hiruzen.
"I heard your Anbu brought one of my clan's children here. What exactly are you doing? Where is he?"
Yeah, she'd been uneasy ever since she learned a clan member had been taken by Anbu.
And she was also curious about what Chizumi was doing with Naruto.
Hiruzen said nothing.
That silence only made Koharu more anxious. Before she could say another word—she caught sight of blood.
And then—a body. Headless.
Her chest tightened.
She looked at Chizumi. His sword was still out. Blood still clung to it.
He killed someone?!
That corpse—it had to be his doing.
Of course. Typical Uchiha. Even this one preaching "absolute justice" is clearly a violent lunatic who murders people in public.
Wait—
That body's size… something felt off.
Koharu's pupils shrank. A horrific thought formed.
"Hiruzen… that corpse…"
"Koharu," Hiruzen said with a sigh, "Your clansman made a mistake. The boy—Utatane Ryūji—committed a crime no child should. His jealousy warped his heart, and… there was no turning back."
He couldn't say Chizumi was wrong—not in front of Naruto.
Not after Naruto had embraced this version of justice.
If he said Chizumi had gone too far, it would basically mean telling Naruto: You chose wrong.
And with Naruto on the edge—his Nine-Tails chakra barely stable—Hiruzen knew he had to play along.
At least…
For today.
Koharu stood frozen.
…
Meanwhile — Outside the Village
Sarutobi Asuma had no idea that Uchiha Chizumi had just stirred up another storm in Konoha.
He'd spent an entire day and night traveling nonstop, crossing miles without a break, until he finally reached the Land of Fire's capital.
As one of the elite Twelve Guardian Ninja, Asuma was highly respected—his status allowed him direct access to the Daimyō.
"Ah, Asuma," the Fire Daimyō said, dressed in his usual lavish attire. He sighed deeply. "I heard about your brother. I'm terribly sorry for your loss. If you're not feeling up to anything right now, I can grant you a two-week leave. You really didn't have to rush all the way back here."
He paused, then casually added—
"Oh, by the way—did you run into Kyōsuke on your way here? The boy actually volunteered to be a messenger this time. I even asked Nanbu to keep him safe. Hopefully, he didn't cause any trouble along the way…"
The Daimyō chuckled dryly, then sighed again.
"You know how he is. That child has been a handful since the day he was born. Never gave me a moment of peace."
Asuma didn't reply.
The Daimyō's rambling made it painfully clear—he hadn't heard the news yet.
And he should've.
Under normal circumstances, word would've reached him hours ago. In today's world, there were long-distance communication scrolls, signal transmissions, messenger hawks—information moved fast.
If the Daimyō hadn't heard anything, there could only be one reason:
The old man deliberately held it back.
Hiruzen probably wanted to "balance the politics." Asuma hated that kind of thing.
It was exactly that political nonsense that made him stay away from Konoha most of the time.
Sorry, old man. I get why you did it—but I don't agree.
Uchiha Chizumi has become a real threat. You should never have let someone like him stay in the village.
As that thought crossed his mind, Asuma took a breath and interrupted:
"Daimyō-sama… I'm afraid I must offer my condolences."
The Daimyō blinked.
The weight in Asuma's voice made something twist in his gut.
"…What do you mean by that, Asuma?"
His tone sharpened. "Don't tell me—did something happen to Kyōsuke?!"
Asuma looked him straight in the eye.
"Kyōsuke-sama is dead. He died in Konoha."
Silence fell over the room.
Then Asuma added, voice like a blade:
"He didn't die of illness. It wasn't an accident. He was killed—by a Konoha ninja named Uchiha Chizumi."
"…What?"
"And—Nauma is dead too. Of all the retainers, only one made it out alive. But he's mentally broken—completely unresponsive. That's probably why the message never reached you."
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