Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly got wind of what happened at the Ninja Academy. When he heard that three young Sarutobi clan members and a veteran teacher had been killed on the spot, he didn't even get angry. He didn't question Chizumi's brutal actions.
Maybe, deep down, he'd already come to accept them.
He'd silently given Chizumi permission to enforce his so-called "Absolute Justice."
If the Third Hokage had really wanted to stop him, he could've mobilized the Anbu and stopped the whole thing—just like in the past.
But he didn't move. He stayed seated in his office.
Hiruzen pinched some tobacco, packed it into his pipe, lit a match, and took a slow puff. A thick cloud of smoke curled from his lips as he spoke, voice heavy:
"Send word to the Sarutobi clan. Have them send more people to collect the bodies at the Academy. And inform Izumishima Kaeya's family… let them take her remains home."
He paused, then added, "Also tell them to treat Sarutobi Sakurako's body properly. Take some of her ashes and enshrine them at the clan temple. Set up a memorial for her there."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The Anbu agent nodded and vanished.
"…Haa."
Hiruzen exhaled again, the smoke clouding half of his wrinkled, weary face.
"Tsunade… has chosen her side too."
He could understand—just barely—why the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans had taken Chizumi's side. They weren't personally close to him. No blood ties, no mentorship. It was only a matter of time before their paths diverged.
But Tsunade…
She was his student.
More than that, she was practically Konoha royalty. Her grandfather was the First Hokage. And Tsunade herself wasn't some mascot—she was a powerhouse in her own right, respected throughout the village.
So when she stood in front of everyone and voiced her support for Uchiha Chizumi, there was no ambiguity. She backed him. Publicly. Boldly.
"Hiruzen!"
The office door slammed open. Mitokado Koharu stormed in.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Koharu? Weren't you and Homura receiving the Rain delegation?"
"They don't matter anymore," she shot back. "What matters is—how could you let Uchiha Chizumi do whatever he wanted at the Academy? What if the students saw that bloodbath? The trauma alone could ruin them!"
"The Academy is supposed to nurture the next generation. Any one of those kids could become the future of Konoha! And now—"
"Koharu."
Hiruzen interrupted with a shake of his head. "This wasn't me turning a blind eye. I was the one who sent Chizumi to handle it."
Koharu froze. "What…?"
He let out a long sigh and told her everything about Sarutobi Sakurako.
Koharu's expression changed. The fire in her face cooled, and she faltered. Her mouth opened, then closed again, the words stuck in her throat.
After several long seconds, she just looked at him deeply and said, "Hiruzen… maybe you're letting grief cloud your thinking. Have you considered that someday you might regret this decision?"
"You—the Hokage—personally authorized Chizumi to carry out 'Absolute Justice' at the Academy… and let him kill three kids from your own clan."
"This could destroy your credibility. People will think your values are shifting. That you're backing Absolute Justice."
"And those who are still undecided… they'll take that as a sign to switch sides."
It felt familiar—too familiar. Especially when she said the word "regret."
He nearly said, I'm the Hokage here, but stopped himself. Koharu, unlike Danzo, wasn't arguing just to oppose him. She was worried.
"Regret… is for later," Hiruzen muttered. "The choice has been made. What now? Take it back? Swallow a regret pill and rewind time?"
Koharu fell silent.
After a while, she gave him a long look and said,
"Hiruzen… you're the Hokage. You shouldn't be doubting the Will of Fire. And you especially shouldn't let yourself lean—even a little—toward something that opposes it."
"Sakurako's death… it's affecting you more than you realize."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "I just thought Chizumi was the best one to handle it. That's all. I'm not doubting the Will of Fire, and I'm not endorsing Absolute Justice."
Koharu gave a faint nod. "Let's hope that's true."
…
"What's this 'Akatsuki' thing?" Mitarashi Anko blinked, confused after Uchiha Izumi mentioned the name. Her eyes darted toward Biwa Jūzō—who reacted even more strongly than she did.
Judging by his reaction, Anko was almost sure the group was real.
Her tone turned sharp. "Hey! You're part of this Akatsuki, aren't you? Pretending to be a Rain envoy so you could sneak into Konoha!"
Hiss— hiss—
Snakes stirred in her sleeves.
But Jūzō ignored her. His eyes locked on Izumi. And then… he smirked.
"You're talking nonsense. I'm just a Rain envoy. End of story."
"Akatsuki? Never heard of it."
He wasn't going to admit anything. Of course not.
Izumi stood tall, her voice cold. "Chizumi-senpai gave me a gift—the power to see the evil of a person's past and future. Whatever secrets you're hiding? I already know."
She spoke slowly, firmly:
"What are you really doing in Konoha? Why are you trying to get close to my teacher?"
"You—"
"And what's your connection to Uchiha Obito?"
Chizumi had told her about Obito—the man pretending to be "Madara" and now a member of Akatsuki. Seeing that Jūzō was part of the same group, it was only natural she assumed they were working together.
In her mind, anyone connected to Obito had to be bad.
So this guy… probably wasn't clean either.
At the very least, she was sure of one thing—he wasn't here as some friendly envoy.
Jūzō: "???"
Obito? Who the hell is that?
And what kind of Sharingan lets you see past and future evil?! That's not even possible!
"There's no point trying to understand what you're saying," Jūzō growled. "You're just spouting nonsense."
"Whether you understand or not doesn't matter," Izumi replied. "You're coming with me. As a member of the Police Force, I have the authority to bring in any suspected foreign spy for interrogation."
Jūzō's eyes narrowed. "And what if I refuse?"
A new voice cut in before Izumi could respond.
"You don't have the option."
Everyone turned.
A tall man with spiky white hair and a powerful aura stepped forward.
"I heard the word 'Akatsuki,'" Jiraiya said, his tone ice cold. "And I'm very interested in that group."
He stood protectively in front of Izumi and Anko, eyes locked on Jūzō.
"You can ignore them… but how about showing a little respect to me? I'm Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin."
"I've been searching for someone who joined Akatsuki—rumor is, he's a core member. I'd really rather not see you try anything stupid here in Konoha."
Jūzō's face stiffened. His hand, halfway to his blade, froze.
"…The Sannin…"
"Jiraiya."
…
"This is bad… real bad."
Not far from the scene, a bizarre-looking White Zetsu slowly merged into the trunk of a roadside tree.
"Jūzō just stumbled onto a secret he should've never heard. I need to get this intel out—now."
The information transfer was lightning-fast. Within seconds, neural signals relayed everything straight to Black Zetsu.
By the time it reached him, he was already deep inside the Land of Fire.
His yellow eyes narrowed.
"Obito. Plans have changed."
He sprinted beside the masked man, speaking quickly.
"One of Chizumi's subordinates just said your real name in front of Biwa Jūzō. If they start exchanging intel, he might learn your secret identity from her."
"And once that happens, it's only a matter of time before Konan finds out. And then… so does Nagato."
"Though honestly… them knowing who you really are might not even be the worst-case scenario."
"...Tch!"
Obito's jaw clenched behind his mask.
"Shut up! No one can know that 'Uchiha Madara' is actually Uchiha Obito."
"If they do… what kind of looks will they give me? How will they treat me then?"
"I need the name 'Madara' to control Akatsuki from the shadows."
He took a breath, steadied himself, and then said coldly:
"Jūzō has to die. Doesn't matter if he actually found anything out or not. He can't return to Akatsuki."
"And destroy the body. I don't want anyone digging into his corpse and connecting it back to me."
Zetsu gave him a side glance but didn't argue.
"Infiltrating Konoha to do it won't be easy—not unless we've got someone on the inside."
Obito's tone darkened. "We'll get our chance."
…
Back in Konoha, at the Uchiha Police Department…
Biwa Jūzō sat in the interrogation room, looking completely out of place. And yet, annoyingly comfortable.
With Jiraiya's intense gaze locked on him the whole time, there hadn't been any opportunity to make a break for it.
Damn that woman… this "simple assignment" is turning into a nightmare.
Jūzō sat with his legs propped up, arms relaxed.
His massive Executioner's Blade leaned against the wall, and his gas mask had been casually tossed aside.
"Tch. So this is what passes for an interrogation room in Konoha?"
He sneered, clearly unimpressed.
"If this were Kirigakure, the walls would be decorated with body parts. Maybe a few severed heads for intimidation. The chairs would be full of spikes. The whole room would feel like a damn meat locker."
"That's how you make someone sweat."
He shifted into a more comfortable position, lips curling into a cruel smile.
"This place? It's nicer than my living room."
Jūzō's gaze slowly scanned across Jiraiya, Izumi, and Anko.
"Doesn't matter what you ask. I'm not talking. You of all people should know—you can't just 'extract' information from one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"Sure, I know about your Yamanaka clan. They can dig into people's minds. But before that happens, all I have to do is form a single seal and blow my own head off. You'll get nothing."
"…Unless—"
He leaned forward slightly, grin widening.
"Unless that lava-wielding monster interrogates me."
"Oh yeah… if he's in the room, I might just 'accidentally' leak a little something."
"You're still talking about Chizumi-senpai."
Izumi's voice was sharp now. "So you really did come here for him, didn't you?"
Jūzō casually flicked something from his ear, then launched it with a finger flick—it stuck to the wall with a wet smack.
"He's right," Jiraiya suddenly said.
"He's one of the worst of the old Blood Mist generation. Torture doesn't work on guys like him. You could chop off all four limbs and he'd still keep his mouth shut."
He turned toward Izumi.
"We need Chizumi here."
Jiraiya didn't like Chizumi's methods.
They were too extreme. Too merciless.
Even if his goals were noble, his execution was… hard to stomach.
To Jiraiya, there were always better, more compassionate ways.
Chizumi looked at the world like it was broken beyond repair—like it needed to be purged by fire and rebuilt. And maybe, Jiraiya thought, he wasn't totally wrong.
Jiraiya also believed the shinobi world needed change.
But the person to bring that change?
It wasn't Chizumi. Not someone who believed only in "Absolute Justice."
No—the one who would change the world was still out there somewhere.
The "Child of Prophecy."
The one the Great Toad Sage had spoken of.
Still… if Chizumi could help them get information on Orochimaru or Akatsuki…
Then Jiraiya was willing to cooperate with him—at least for now.
…
Outside the Academy gates…
Three elite Uchiha police officers stood watching Chizumi walk away, having just witnessed him carry out a brutal execution—three students and a teacher. No hesitation. No mercy.
"You really don't pull any punches, do you?" one said.
"I mean… they were Academy students. A teacher. But you didn't even flinch. Just executed them like they were hardened criminals."
"Still," he added, "Tsunade-sama said something earlier that really hit me. Your 'Absolute Justice' can't stay limited to just a few people. If you ever run for Clan Head, we'll back you without question."
"Once you're in charge… you can lead the whole Uchiha clan down that path."
Chizumi stopped walking.
"Justice must be absolute," he said quietly. "Even one rat turd can poison a whole pot."
"And another thing," he added, glancing back over his shoulder.
"Don't confine justice to just the Uchiha clan."
"When you finally understand that… come find me."
From Chizumi's shoulder, Jujirō turned his cat-head and meowed, "What he means is—raise your standards, meow! Justice isn't about just the Uchiha. It's about the entire ninja world!"
"If you three can't even see that far… then even twelve-year-old Uchiha Izumi gets it better than you."
"Meow, when your heads are on straight, then you can come follow Chizumi-sama."
The three officers stood frozen—stunned that a talking cat had just schooled them—and even more stunned that they couldn't refute it.
"…Justice for the entire ninja world," one of them muttered, watching Chizumi walk away.
"That's why we want to follow him. He thinks way beyond what we can see."
Another asked, "So what now?"
The first officer slid a hand into his pocket. "Now? We enforce justice in the world. He's already accepted us—we just need to catch up."
"We may not have been the first ones to walk the path of Absolute Justice," he said, lips curling into a proud grin,
"But compared to almost everyone else, including Izumi, our vision is at least a hundred times sharper."
…
Back inside the Academy…
Iruka was still keeping a watchful eye on the students when he peeked out the door.
Once he confirmed Chizumi, Tsunade, and the Uchiha officers had all left, he turned back into the classroom.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat.
"Class dismissed! Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno—your punishment is over too."
But Naruto and Sasuke didn't look relieved.
They looked pissed.
They'd completely missed the execution. Chizumi-sensei had delivered "justice" just outside the classroom—and they hadn't seen a single second of it.
"Ugh! We missed the whole thing!"
Naruto tore at his blond hair until it stuck up like a bird's nest.
"Iruka-sensei! Seriously?! We're Chizumi-sensei's students! We totally understand justice!"
Sasuke crossed his arms, face unreadable. "Clearly this teacher's not very good. I heard he's new. Figures his teaching would be this bad."
Iruka: "???"
He was just about to knock both their heads when suddenly—
"You two don't understand justice."
The voice was soft. Clear. But firm.
Naruto and Sasuke froze.
Sakura turned, stunned, to stare at Yamanaka Ino.
Ino inhaled deeply, her face solemn. Her eyes flicked to the window—outside, several bodies still lay beneath white sheets.
"You're upset because you didn't get to participate. Not because someone died."
"You don't care about the victim at all. You never even looked at her."
"Ino…"
Sakura gaped at her.
Something about her felt… different. Off.
But they hadn't spoken much lately—rivals, after all. So Sakura never realized just how much Ino had changed.
And now, it hit her:
Ino… didn't seem into Sasuke anymore.
Otherwise, how could she say that—to his face?
"You two don't understand justice."
She'd lumped Sasuke and Naruto together. As equals.
If it were Sakura speaking, she would've just said "Naruto doesn't get it" and spared Sasuke completely.
Ino kept her gaze fixed outside.
"I didn't hear either of you say a single word about the girl who died. You ignored her entirely."
"If you don't care about the victims, then what kind of justice is that supposed to be?"
"So stop blaming Iruka-sensei. He may not believe in Absolute Justice, but he understands it a hell of a lot better than either of you."
Ino's words weren't all her own. She was echoing what her father, Yamanaka Inoichi, had been telling her every night.
Through him, she'd learned what Absolute Justice meant—maybe even more than Naruto and Sasuke had.
And that…
That was why she suddenly found Sasuke a little childish.
"…This girl," Iruka murmured from the front of the class, watching Ino's small frame.
"She's speaking her father's truth. And after everything the Yamanaka clan's been through lately… she's growing up faster than the rest."
He turned his eyes to Naruto and Sasuke.
Will of Fire… Absolute Justice…
He quietly made a decision.
Iruka gathered his materials, preparing to leave.
"I just hope Hokage-sama won't blame me. Those two boys have chosen their path, and as their teacher, I'll support them. Help them grow into shinobi worthy of Konoha—even if I don't follow Chizumi's justice myself."
"To me, Will of Fire and Absolute Justice aren't mutually exclusive. There's more overlap than people think."
…
Sakura's mind was spinning.
This is bad. Ino's gone and said something that'll totally piss off Sasuke-kun. He hasn't said a word since she called them out. He hasn't even flinched. That's gotta mean he's mad… right?
Should I hint to Ino to apologize? No—wait… if Sasuke ends up hating her, isn't that… good for me?
Ugh… but Ino's been my rival forever, and even if I hate her, we…
She was spiraling. Caught between jealousy, guilt, and indecision.
And then—
"Yamanaka Ino."
Sasuke finally spoke.
"You are Ino, right?"
Ino turned to him and gave a small nod. "Yeah."
"…I think you're right."
He looked straight at her, his usual cold expression softening just slightly.
"I guess me and the Dobe really didn't understand justice. We didn't even think about the victim."
Naruto stepped forward, all energy and honesty.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage—and the guy who's gonna spread Chizumi-sensei's justice across the whole village! Nice to meet you!"
Sasuke followed suit. "Uchiha Sasuke. Let's work together."
Ino blinked, then gave a calm nod. "Yamanaka Ino. Let's."
Sakura: "…"
She suddenly felt like a complete outsider.
It was like there was this invisible wall between her and the other three—Naruto, Sasuke, Ino.
They'd bonded. Over justice, over ideology… over something bigger than her.
Why…?
Why did Sasuke-kun change so suddenly? Why is he being so nice to Ino?!
Back when Ino was still clinging to him like I was, none of this ever happened. Now she says one deep thing, and he's apologizing to her? Complimenting her?!
What is going on?
Everyone around her felt distant. Different.
They weren't just kids chasing crushes or playing shinobi anymore.
They were choosing sides. Ideologies. Paths.
And Sakura realized…
She hadn't chosen anything.
…
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Police Department…
Chizumi walked into the interrogation room calmly.
He'd been told by a ninja cat and a talking toad that Izumi had captured Biwa Jūzō and was trying to squeeze intel out of him—but Jūzō had flat-out refused to talk unless Chizumi came personally.
So he came.
But he wasn't interested in any so-called "secrets."
Chizumi already knew more about the ninja world—and its future—than anyone.
What he wanted to know was one thing only:
Was Biwa Jūzō evil?
A criminal beyond redemption?
Someone worthy of execution under Absolute Justice?
He stopped in front of Jūzō and calmly observed the white status frame hovering above the man's head.
"You're Biwa Jūzō, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure. Known for your cruelty in the Third Great Ninja War. And yet… you're more decent than most I've encountered. At least, off the battlefield."
His voice was cold, matter-of-fact.
Jūzō looked up at him. After a moment, his mouth curled into a twisted grin.
"So you're the Lava Beast. Uchiha Chizumi," he said, eyes gleaming.
"Damn. Just standing in front of you, I can feel the pressure."
"Say, aren't you even a little curious about—"
"Let him go," Chizumi said flatly, cutting him off.
He turned slightly toward Izumi.
"There's no point in holding him."
Jūzō blinked. "Huh?!"
Jiraiya took a step forward. "Wait a minute! He's posing as a Rain envoy, but he's clearly an Akatsuki spy. Orochimaru's connected to that group—I believe he joined them. We can get information from him."
Anko added quickly, "Chizumi, he came to Konoha to approach you. Don't you want to know what Akatsuki is after?"
Just then, Jujirō—Chizumi's talking ninja cat—jumped onto Izumi's shoulder, licked his paw, and spoke up casually:
"Meow. If I'm not mistaken, this guy only recently defected from Kirigakure. If he joined Akatsuki, it couldn't have been long ago. Inside the group, he's probably a total rookie."
Jūzō: "…"
"Chizumi-sama already knows more about Akatsuki than he ever will," Jujirō continued.
"As for Orochimaru—Meow, this guy doesn't have a clue where that snake is hiding."
"So really, his only value might be that sword. We could sell it for some good ryo."
Jūzō: "…"
Damn it. How the hell does this damn cat know so much?!
~~~
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