Izumi could feel the air drop around her like a cold snap. The freezing chill made her skin crawl. Her hand had already moved on instinct—her blade halfway unsheathed at her hip. Her Sharingan spun—three tomoe locked directly on Itachi.
She was completely focused. A light sheen of sweat formed on her forehead, and every muscle in her body was slightly tensed, ready to explode into motion.
But then—something happened that made her eyes go wide in disbelief.
It wasn't that Itachi made a move.
Instead… she started seeing strange floating text.
Line after line of glowing words hovered above Itachi's head like a glitch in reality.
When she squinted and read them clearly, her heart nearly stopped.
This was it. Exactly what Chizumi-senpai had mentioned before—the "evil" Uchiha Itachi would commit in the future.
And right there, in the dense mess of glowing text, was one line that shattered her: a future where Itachi would kill her mother one year from now.
That… that was the Uchiha clan massacre.
This—this had to be—
The power to see future evil.
The realization slammed into her like a truck. There was no doubt—this had to be Chizumi-senpai's Mangekyō Sharingan at work. Had he somehow implanted a piece of his power in her without her even realizing it? Was she now seeing what he could see?
That had to be it.
Nothing else made sense.
Hearing about this kind of evil and actually seeing it for yourself? Worlds apart.
Staring straight at Itachi's "future sins," Izumi felt something inside her break. There was no way she could ever forgive him now.
Even if she didn't follow Chizumi-senpai's whole "Absolute Justice" ideology… just seeing the truth about Itachi's future crimes meant their friendship was already dead.
"It's obvious you're hesitating, Izumi," Itachi said coldly. "You're uncertain. Or maybe you're just feeling guilty."
As Izumi stood frozen in shock, Itachi kept going: "You haven't said a word, but it's clear—your heart has already chosen to stand against the Leaf. I used to think you were different. Not like the rest of the Uchiha radicals. But I was wrong."
"In the end, you're still bound by the same cursed bloodline. You're no different from the rest."
Izumi: "???"
What the hell is this guy talking about?
She hadn't even spoken! She was still stuck processing his future crimes, and now somehow he was twisting it into her being "guilty"?
"This is fine too," Itachi continued, voice calm but resolved. "Because now I know for sure—I have to go through with it."
"The Uchiha clan is sick—deeply, fatally sick. Everyone's trapped by the curse of their bloodline. None of you can see past it."
"But I can. I've surpassed all of you. I'm the only one with the vision to break the curse. And from this moment on, Izumi, you and I… are enemies."
"Konoha won't be destroyed by people like you."
Izumi blinked. Then gave a flat stare.
"Can you please shut up with your edgy middle-school dropout monologue? You sound like you failed basic ninja studies."
Once again, she finally understood why Chizumi-senpai kept asking Fugaku-sama to drag this guy to therapy.
And now she had a new realization too: the Uchiha really, really need to read more books.
Please, for the love of kami—stop trying to sound profound with that brain-dead cult-leader talk. Go back to ninja school and start over!
She was getting secondhand embarrassment just listening to him.
"There are things no school can teach," Itachi replied seriously. "Only by seeing them yourself do you truly understand the crisis Konoha is in."
Izumi didn't respond.
Maybe… trying to reason with him really was pointless.
She gripped her sword tighter, eyes sharp and wary.
That's when she noticed Itachi shift his gaze—something had caught his attention. His expression twitched slightly.
Curious, Izumi followed his line of sight—
"...Sasuke-kun?!"
Standing under the streetlamp at the far end of the alley was a small figure.
It was Uchiha Sasuke.
The two brothers locked eyes in silence.
Itachi's expression was unreadable, but Sasuke looked furious and confused. And Izumi realized—Sasuke must've found out about his brother's "future crimes."
Of course he had.
At this point, all of Konoha probably knew.
"I've been looking for you!" Sasuke shouted. His voice was small, but it cut through the quiet night like a bell. He clenched his fists, trembling with fury. "Why did you do it?! Why would you hurt the Uchiha?! Why would you kill Father and Mother?! Why are you going to become that person?! You never gave me a real answer!"
Itachi didn't respond right away.
Clearly, Sasuke showing up now hadn't been part of his plan.
Since the night Sasuke collapsed from the truth, Itachi had avoided him on purpose.
But tonight… they met again anyway.
"…Perspective," Itachi said at last. "You're all trapped in the same limited view. Everything you see revolves around the clan. Around the family. Even Father. His goal was 'balance' between the Uchiha and Konoha. But that balance? Meaningless."
"The moment the Uchiha began to resist the village, everything was already over. Father can't stop what's coming. He's just papering over cracks. And when the cracks burst, the more extreme voices will drag him down."
"That's the Uchiha's destiny."
Sasuke's eyes welled up. Itachi let out a mocking sneer.
"Sasuke, do you want me to just kill you now? Spare you from having to live through the pain?"
"Heh… what a weak and naïve otouto you are."
He stepped forward—intent on hurting him more.
Then—
Shing! The sound of a blade being drawn stopped him cold.
Izumi stood in his way, sword in hand.
The night wind rustled her black hair. Her crimson Sharingan glowed with fury and defiance.
"Itachi," she said coldly. "Spare your deranged ideology. Don't dump your twisted worldview onto a kid like Sasuke."
"You're not my match," Itachi said plainly.
Izumi's tone didn't waver. "Absolute Justice never backs down—even against overwhelming power. If justice doesn't protect the innocent, who will? In a sick, broken shinobi world like this, someone has to draw the line."
Itachi frowned, just about to reply—but then his eyes caught movement.
Someone was walking up behind Sasuke.
His expression shifted. He looked at them for several seconds.
Finally, he glanced one last time at Izumi… and disappeared without another word.
Izumi blinked in surprise.
Then she turned—and saw Uchiha Mikoto standing silently behind Sasuke.
"Thank you, Izumi," Mikoto said softly, offering a pained smile.
But Izumi could see the heartbreak in her eyes.
Whatever Itachi had become… it had crushed her.
Izumi let out a quiet breath and lowered her blade. "That had to be done. That man's gone off the rails. He could turn on anyone. Sasuke-kun is innocent. Stopping him—it was my job."
Mikoto knelt and gently wiped Sasuke's tears with the back of her hand. Then she stood and took his hand in hers.
"Izumi," she asked, "can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Can you take us to see Chizumi?"
Izumi froze.
Even Sasuke, who'd just been caught sneaking out, stopped crying and looked up in shock.
…
Meanwhile — Inside the Utatane Clan Compound
The entire clan was gathered in the main hall, their eyes fixed on the body lying at the center. Utatane Ryuuji.
The stitching along his neck was harsh and obvious—proof of a rushed, stitched-up corpse.
"Koharu-sama!" a man's voice finally broke the heavy silence. "Uchiha Chizumi killed one of ours! And not just any ninja—Ryuuji was gifted. He had a future! At the very least, he would've made Special Jonin!"
Ryuuji's father stood with bloodshot eyes, barely holding himself together. "He was still a kid… he hadn't even graduated yet! Why did that Uchiha butcher have to kill him?! Even if Ryuuji made mistakes, he didn't deserve to die for them!"
His mother was on her knees beside the body, her cries muffled and choked.
Grief from both parents—raw and suffocating—filled the hall like smoke.
Koharu stood still, jaw tight. She finally let out a slow breath.
"And what exactly do you expect me to do?" she asked coldly. "Kill Chizumi? Sure. Go ahead and try. You think that's even possible?"
"I—" the father started, but he didn't get far.
"Advisor Koharu!" a sharp voice interrupted from the doorway.
Heads turned. An Anbu stood in the entrance, hood up, voice fast and breathless.
"Shimura Danzō… has been killed by Uchiha Chizumi."
The entire hall fell dead silent.
"…What?"
"...WHAT?!"
The Utatane clan erupted in shock.
Koharu's face darkened. "Danzō was inside the Anbu headquarters. That base is never left unguarded. There should've been at least seven or eight elite guards!"
"There were," the Anbu said tightly. "But Advisor Mitokado Homura was present. He ordered us not to engage. If you want someone to blame—talk to him."
The room stiffened.
Anbu was loyal to the Hokage. Koharu was a Root advisor—technically outside their command.
And right now? The message was clear: they weren't about to take orders from her.
The Anbu vanished without waiting for a reply.
The hall fell into an awkward, breathless silence again.
"…That murderer killed a top village elder like Danzō…" someone muttered at last. "Compared to that, Ryuuji's death might've been merciful."
The silence thickened. Then someone cleared their throat.
"First priority is giving Ryuuji a proper funeral."
An elderly clan member added quietly, "You're still young. You can have another child."
And with that, the message was clear:
Let it go.
Chizumi is untouchable.
Revenge would only bring more death. Let this be the end of it.
Ryuuji's parents stood speechless.
…
Elsewhere — Shimura Clan Residence
The mood in the Shimura estate was even heavier.
They hadn't even gotten Danzō's body back.
Too many secrets. Too many buried sins.
The Anbu wouldn't let them near it.
No one spoke for a long time.
Eventually, someone broke the silence.
"Danzō-sama dedicated everything to Konoha," an elder said. "He gave everything he had. He even used our clan's money to build Root from the ground up. That entire organization exists because he funded it out of pocket."
A younger member of the clan clenched his fists tightly, eyes burning with rage.
"And the damn Uchiha—those cursed demons—were always trying to destroy him. That psychopath Chizumi actually did it!"
He looked around, voice shaking. "Are we seriously going to let this go? Are we just going to let Danzō-sama die for nothing? Are we going to let Root fall into the Utatane clan's hands? Let Chizumi keep walking around like he owns the village?!"
Every Shimura ninja in the room was gritting their teeth now.
They'd been raised under Danzō's shadow. Molded by his beliefs.
Like him, they saw the Uchiha as a dangerous, evil bloodline that needed to be erased.
To them, Hiruzen was too soft. Danzō was the real Hokage.
Joining Root had been an honor. Their pride.
Everyone said the Uchiha were extreme.
But under Danzō's influence?
The Shimura clan had become just as fanatical.
"…But the Uchiha aren't a united front," one of the elders finally said. His tone was calm, eyes sharp. "Chizumi doesn't get along with his own clan. He's pissed off both the radicals and the moderates."
He narrowed his eyes.
"With Danzō gone, we can't take Chizumi head-on. But we can… push buttons."
"Use the Uchiha's internal division," someone else realized aloud. "Both the extremist faction and the so-called 'stabilizers' under Fugaku hate his guts."
"Fugaku won't make a move—Danzō used to say he was too soft."
"…What about Uchiha Setsuna?"
…
Izumi stood at the doorstep of a modest two-story house, nerves gnawing at her.
She had agreed to bring Mikoto and Sasuke to see Chizumi. But now that they were here, she couldn't help but second-guess herself.
Would Chizumi-senpai be annoyed?
But it was too late now.
Mikoto and Sasuke stood behind her in the moonlight.
Izumi took a deep breath, walked up, and rang the doorbell.
Click.
The door creaked open.
A weird, nasal voice called out, "Oh? It's you, rookie."
"Jūjirō-senpai?!"
Izumi instinctively looked down—and sure enough, it was the ninja cat Jūjirō.
Of course. He lived here. Officially a "partner," but honestly more like Chizumi-senpai's pet.
"Hm?" Jūjirō blinked and looked past Izumi. His eyes widened.
"Meow. Now this is rare—we've got two VIPs tonight."
"Sorry for dropping in like this," Mikoto said softly, offering a strained smile.
Sasuke stared curiously at Jūjirō, then looked up at his mom—still confused.
Why had she brought him here?
He remembered Chizumi clearly. The man who killed someone right in front of him.
The one who told him about his brother's "future evil."
And now, as a shadow stepped into the doorway, Sasuke flinched and instinctively hid behind his mother.
He didn't even know why.
It was just… fear. Raw, involuntary fear.
~~~
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