Jujirō's blunt remarks made Biwa Jūzō's expression twist in all sorts of ways—though with that weird blood-red war paint covering the lower half of his face, it was hard to tell what he was really feeling.
"Ninja cat... You're saying Chizumi knows a ton about Akatsuki? Does that include intel on Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya never thought he'd be interrogating a talking cat, but here he was.
He was desperate. He needed to know where Orochimaru was.
Bringing the traitor back to Konoha…
Finding the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad had spoken of…
Those were the only things left driving Jiraiya.
"Even if Chizumi-sama knows, it's not your business," Jujirō replied with a sideways glare. "He has no duty to share it with you. And besides—weren't you Orochimaru's best friend? Let's say you actually found him one day. Be honest—could you kill him?"
Jiraiya froze.
Then came Chizumi's voice, low and calm:
"You never intended to kill Orochimaru, did you?"
He glanced at Jiraiya, gaze emotionless.
"You're not mad at him because of the crimes he committed. You're mad because he betrayed Konoha. Betrayed the Will of Fire. That's the part you can't accept, isn't it?"
"And that—right there—is why you and I are on completely different paths."
"I'm also looking for Orochimaru. But I'm looking for him so I can kill him. To bring justice to the innocent people he's hurt. So their souls can rest in peace."
Chizumi turned, ready to leave.
Jiraiya was still processing when Biwa Jūzō suddenly blurted out:
"Uchiha Chizumi! Even if you know some of Akatsuki's secrets, I bet you don't know why I came to find you, do you? Aren't you even a little curious?"
He sounded... frantic.
In all his years, Biwa Jūzō had never met a ninja who cared so little about intel.
He was baffled.
"You're dying to talk? Fine—say it." Chizumi said flatly. "But if you're gonna be cryptic about it, I don't have time for your games."
"…"
God, this guy's impossible, Jūzō thought.
Good thing he's not in Akatsuki.
If they ever assigned this guy as his partner, Jūzō would've died from stress.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Intel requires an even trade. I'll tell you why I'm here—but you have to tell me what I want to know."
He stood up, his cocky posture gone.
"I want to know about Uchiha Madara."
Now dead serious, he locked eyes with Chizumi. They were about the same height. "What do you know about the 'Uchiha Madara' in Akatsuki?"
Jiraiya: "!!!"
Izumi: "!!!"
The name hit like a bomb. Even Anko's face twitched—Jiraiya and Izumi were straight-up floored.
"Akatsuki… and Madara?" Jiraiya muttered, taking a sharp breath.
This was way more terrifying than anything about Orochimaru.
"That guy… He's still alive?!"
To Jiraiya, Madara was an old history—practically a bedtime story.
Didn't he die in the Valley of the End, taken out by the First Hokage?
If he somehow survived… how old would he be now?
Jiraiya couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.
It felt like there was some twisted conspiracy swirling around them—a thick fog of lies and half-truths. And the worst part? He had no intel on it. He was completely in the dark.
"Uchiha Madara…"
"Our ancestor…" Izumi murmured, before snapping out of it. "No way. The Madara Jūzō's talking about can't be the real one. More likely it's Obito—posing as him."
Amid the tension, Biwa Jūzō kept staring, waiting for a response.
Chizumi's tone didn't change:
"Jūzō, you're just a killer. You were never cut out for spy work."
Jūzō blinked.
"The second you asked me that question, you gave away your mission. Someone in Akatsuki sent you here to probe me for intel on Madara."
"That's your purpose. That's their agenda."
He paused. "Let me guess—who's so curious about Madara?"
"Not Nagato. That guy couldn't care less whether Madara is real or not."
Jūzō's mind blanked.
Nagato...?
Meanwhile, Jiraiya's eyes went wide with shock.
"Yahiko… He should be long dead. Turned into a puppet," Chizumi continued.
"Konan… yeah, it's probably her. She's the one who cares. But I doubt you even know her real name. Her codename in Akatsuki... what was it?"
"White? Angel?"
"That sound familiar?"
Jūzō was staring like he'd seen a ghost.
This guy was casually rattling off Akatsuki's top-level secrets like he was talking about the weather.
It was like... Chizumi was the real puppet master behind Akatsuki.
Stuff Jūzō didn't even know—Chizumi was speaking fluently, without hesitation.
"Nagato… Yahiko… Konan…"
"Only Yahiko's dead? Nagato and Konan are still alive?"
Jiraiya was whispering their names, visibly shaken.
His three former students… were they really part of Akatsuki? And not just members—leaders?
Otherwise, how the hell could they boss around one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
A terrifying thought crept into Jiraiya's mind.
What if they founded Akatsuki themselves?
Chizumi only named three people. And those three were his students.
There was only one explanation:
They were the ones at the top.
Jiraiya felt like his brain was spiraling out of control.
In just a few minutes, he'd learned more than he had in years of tracking Akatsuki.
…
Ninja Academy
Members of the Sarutobi clan and the family of Izumishima Kaeya had already rushed in, collecting the corpses in silence.
Hyuga Neji stood at a distance, watching as the bodies were carried away.
He had seen everything that happened.
And now, the ideology of Absolute Justice was burned deeper into his mind.
His heart told him—back when Uchiha Chizumi was about to leave the Academy—he should've run after him.
He should've spoken up, told him how much he admired that justice.
Told him he wanted to believe in it too.
But…
Neji clenched his fists, trembling.
What held him back wasn't logic—it was fear. And shame.
Fear of Chizumi's overwhelming strength.
Fear of those ruthless methods that even he found terrifying.
And shame—shame that came from the caged bird seal carved into his forehead.
He was afraid… that Chizumi would reject him.
That someone like him, marked and bound by a clan he couldn't escape, would never be allowed to believe in that kind of justice.
Who would've thought the so-called top genius of the Ninja Academy… could be this torn up inside?
"...Damn you, Main House...!!"
Neji hated this weakness in himself.
But he didn't know what else to do.
All that pent-up frustration had nowhere to go—except to lash out, quietly, at the Hyuga Main Family.
And that's when a voice suddenly called from behind:
"You're that weird Hyuga kid Dobe was talking about, right? The one who's way too obsessed with justice?"
Neji turned, frowning.
It was Uchiha Sasuke, hands in his pockets, staring him down.
Neji recognized him immediately.
He'd seen Sasuke outside the Hyuga compound.
He knew he was the younger son of the Uchiha clan head.
And he also knew Sasuke had once killed a Hyuga clan member.
Even after just getting roasted by Yamanaka Ino earlier, Sasuke still wore that classic Uchiha cold look.
"If you really admire Chizumi-sensei's justice… even worship it," Sasuke said, "then stop hesitating."
"People who hesitate and overthink everything… they're not fit to carry out justice."
Neji's eyes widened slightly. Could this guy read his mind?
Or… had his hesitation been that obvious to everyone?
Sasuke looked him over, then said,
"I know people call you the top prodigy in the Academy right now.
I've heard you're only a second-year, but you're already on par with graduating sixth-years."
"There was a time when I saw you as someone I needed to surpass."
He smirked.
"But now?
Surpassing someone who's so emotionally tangled doesn't mean much.
To be honest… I already surpassed you."
"I'm not tangled. And I'm not hesitating," Neji snapped, eyes narrowing.
Even if this guy came out of nowhere, criticizing him like that—who wouldn't get pissed?
Especially Neji, who never saw himself as inferior to the Main House.
He took a breath and spoke again, tone lower but steady:
"What are you really trying to say? Spit it out."
Sasuke smirked.
"What I'm saying is—"
"You don't understand justice. Not even a little."
"You think you're drawn to it. But what you're really drawn to… is power."
"In your eyes, justice is just another word for strength. And that's all you care about—getting stronger."
"A guy like you, even if you mustered up the courage to say it to Chizumi-sensei—he'd never accept you."
"To him, someone like you isn't qualified to believe in justice."
Neji was stunned.
"Why not?!"
Sasuke, clearly recycling Ino's speech from earlier but adding his own edge, said:
"Because real justice means caring about victims.
It means protecting the kind-hearted.
It means punishing evil.
And it means standing by what's morally right."
"Hyuga Neji, which one of those have you done?"
"You don't want justice. You want power. That makes you nothing more than a puppet—and eventually, that power you crave will drag you straight into darkness."
Without waiting for a reply, Sasuke turned and walked away, slow and dramatic—deliberately playing up the Uchiha mystique.
"..."
Neji just stood there, frozen.
…
Around the Corner…
"So? So? How'd it go?"
As soon as Sasuke rounded the hallway, Naruto popped up with an eager grin.
Sasuke's cold, 'cool guy' persona almost broke.
He let out a sharp little exhale and frowned.
"Dobe… why'd you make me do something so dumb?"
Naruto just smiled, totally earnest.
"Because he reminds me of how we used to be—interested in justice, but not really understanding it."
"Someone needs to tell him what justice really means—just like Ino did for us."
"And when he gets it, he can be one of us!"
Naruto grinned and slapped Sasuke's shoulder.
"Besides, we're doing it to help Chizumi-sensei, right? Bringing rookies into his movement for justice!"
"How is that boring?"
"I think he's got real potential. He's strong too.
He might just become the fourth person in the Academy to walk the path of justice!"
Sasuke brushed Naruto's hand off with a scowl.
"Next time, you do it."
Naruto muttered under his breath, "If I could remember all that dramatic speech stuff, I would've done it myself…"
Behind them, Ino: "…"
She sighed.
These two were so immature.
Chizumi-sama never asked them to start recruiting at school.
They just… decided to do it.
Was this really okay?
Just then, Ino paused—she felt something strange.
She glanced toward a hallway corner—
—and saw a flash of pink hair quickly pull back out of sight.
Ino blinked.
"…Sakura?"
…
Hokage's Office
"PFFFFT—!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nearly spat his tea all over Koharu's face.
A newly arrived Anbu had just finished giving his report.
"A Rain envoy got arrested by the Konoha Police Force?!"
Hiruzen was in total disbelief.
He'd figured that after Uchiha Chizumi executed another round of his so-called justice today, things might settle down a bit.
He needed time to process everything that had happened.
But apparently, the universe had other plans—he hadn't even warmed his seat before another crisis landed on his desk.
"Which Rain envoy?!" Koharu, barely dodging the tea spray, frowned.
"Wasn't Homura assigned to entertain those envoys? There's no way Chizumi arrested someone in front of him, right?"
Even as she said it, Koharu froze—realizing just how ridiculous that sounded.
Because with Chizumi? Yeah. He absolutely would.
The guy had killed a member of the Mitokado clan right in front of Homura once. Arresting someone in front of him? Child's play.
"No," the Anbu said, shaking his head.
"The one who was captured wasn't an envoy from Rain. It was Biwa Jūzō—former elite of the Mist, now defected to the Rain Village."
"And it wasn't Chizumi who grabbed him—it was his subordinate. The girl named Uchiha Izumi."
"Her?!" Koharu's face twisted.
She definitely remembered that brat. The one who publicly mocked her—without the slightest hint of fear.
That girl had left a lasting impression.
A very negative one.
Koharu narrowed her eyes.
"You were one of the Anbu tailing Jūzō, weren't you? If you saw the whole thing happen—why didn't you stop that little Uchiha upstart?"
"Because… Jiraiya-sama was there," the ANBU replied honestly.
"And after Izumi and Mitarashi Anko said they were taking Jūzō to the police department for questioning, Jiraiya appeared. He seemed… very interested in helping capture him."
Koharu's mind stalled.
First Tsunade gets involved because of that girl at the Academy… and now this?
She'd already given up on Tsunade—how could you trust someone who spent their life gambling?
It made sense Tsunade got swept up in Chizumi's so-called justice.
But now even Jiraiya?
What was going on with the Legendary Sannin?
Every time one of them returned to the village, a disaster followed.
"…Jūzō's been arrested…" Hiruzen muttered, frowning deeply.
"This could turn into a serious diplomatic incident. If he were just a rogue Mist ninja, fine.
But he's a Rain envoy now. If something happens to him, we're going to have a hell of a time explaining it to Rain."
"But wait…"
Hiruzen's eyes lit up like he'd just solved a riddle.
"If Chizumi's subordinate attacked him—but didn't kill him—that might mean… we're still in the clear."
Koharu blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
Hiruzen folded his hands and explained,
"With how Chizumi and his people operate—if they really thought Jūzō was evil to the core—they'd have executed him on the spot. No hesitation."
"If Jūzō were truly beyond redemption, by the time we heard about it, he'd either be dead—or already escaped."
"But he was captured alive."
"That means—for now—Chizumi and his subordinates don't consider him guilty enough to be killed. Yet."
Koharu's mouth twitched.
"…That's… disturbingly reasonable."
"But still," she added, "we can't keep a Rain envoy locked up in the police station. That looks terrible. If the Rain Village leadership finds out, we're going to have to do a lot of damage control."
"Agreed." Hiruzen nodded.
He turned to the Anbu agent.
"Contact Fugaku. Tell him, as Chief of the Police Force, he is to order Jūzō's immediate release."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
…
Konoha Police Force – Interrogation Room
Uchiha Chizumi sat calmly, expression unreadable.
In stark contrast, both Jiraiya and Biwa Jūzō looked like they'd been hit by a truck.
"Akatsuki…"
Jiraiya sucked in a sharp breath, completely ignoring the others in the room.
He locked eyes with Chizumi.
"Chizumi—was Akatsuki founded by Yahiko and the others?"
Chizumi gave him a quick glance.
That was all Jiraiya needed.
That look said everything—yes.
Another chill ran down Jiraiya's spine.
He didn't care how cold or indifferent Chizumi acted toward him anymore.
He pressed again—softer this time, more desperate:
"Then… why? Why would they do it? I've been tracking Akatsuki for years. All I've seen is a violent, mercenary group that manipulates wars between nations for profit."
"That doesn't sound like them. That's not the kind of people I trained…"
"What made you think you ever truly understood them?" Chizumi finally replied, tone cool as ice.
"And what made you think—just because they were once your students—they'd follow the future you imagined for them?"
"Drop the self-righteous act, Jiraiya. This twisted shinobi world doesn't just create twisted ideologies. It creates monsters. You can't even imagine how deep it goes."
"Your three innocent disciples? The moment the kindest one died, the other two were broken. And even if no one had twisted them, this sick world would've warped them eventually."
Jiraiya's breath caught.
Biwa Jūzō suddenly cut in, "Chizumi, the way you're talking… you sound like you understand them better than I do. Are you actually the real mastermind behind Akatsuki?"
Chizumi ignored him completely.
He was still focused on Jiraiya.
"Do you want to know what your two surviving students really think now?"
"YES."
Jiraiya answered without a second's hesitation.
Biwa Jūzō: "…"
Seriously? No one's even pretending to listen to me anymore?!
But truth be told…
Even Jūzō was dying to know what Akatsuki's top brass was thinking.
He didn't know their true goal either. He was just a new recruit, after all.
Chizumi spoke calmly, without a hint of hesitation:
"That student of yours, Nagato—he believes the shinobi world is fundamentally broken."
"He thinks peace is a lie. He believes that people will never understand each other."
Jiraiya froze.
That…
That was the exact opposite of Yahiko's dream.
"Nagato's trying to build a weapon—something that could wipe out an entire country."
"He wants the world to feel pain. He thinks if people are scared enough of suffering, they'll stop going to war."
"And as for Konan… She doesn't have a strong will of her own."
"She followed Yahiko because he had vision.
Now she follows Nagato for the same reason."
Chizumi gave the smallest smirk—cold and condescending.
Jiraiya noticed.
It wasn't a smirk of amusement.
It was one of contempt.
"Jiraiya," Chizumi said bluntly.
"Did you even teach them basic education when you trained them?"
"Because I'm really struggling to understand how someone that functionally illiterate could come up with such a warped plan for world peace."
"He and Uchiha Itachi might as well be a matching set—deluded idealists."
Jiraiya didn't even know what "matching set" Chizumi was referencing—but he did understand the ridicule in his tone.
And the worst part?
He had no comeback.
Because…
No, he didn't teach them anything academic.
It was wartime.
Back then, the Rain Village was falling apart.
All he focused on was helping them survive.
There was no time for anything else.
But now?
Now Jiraiya regretted it deeply.
Maybe I should've taught them more…
No—not Yahiko.
He had a good head on his shoulders.
But Nagato?
Konan?
They definitely needed more than ninjutsu and survival tactics.
Too late now.
Biwa Jūzō sat there stiffly, his face twitching.
"…Yeah, I definitely heard something I wasn't supposed to."
At this point, he was genuinely worried.
Once he got back to the Rain Village—assuming he survived—he had a feeling that certain someone might just kill him to keep him quiet.
Of course, that would depend on whether she even found out what happened here in Konoha.
And then—
"You're the root of all this evil, aren't you?! Meow!"
Jujirō jabbed a clawed paw right at Jiraiya, not holding back even a little.
"Those three people Chizumi-sama just talked about… they're not just your ex-students, are they? Don't tell me they're the so-called 'Child of Prophecy' the big toad sent you to find?"
Jiraiya froze.
"That's who the prophecy was talking about? That's the savior of the shinobi world?" Jujirō snorted.
"You found the Child of Prophecy… and trained him to become the kind of man who wants to plunge the entire world into pain?"
"Meow—how do you know the next 'Child of Prophecy' you find won't go just as bad? Actually—what if you're the reason they turned out this way?"
"What if they're messed up because you raised them wrong?!"
Jiraiya flinched hard.
"You're the one who should be doing some serious self-reflection here! You put all your hope into that weird old toad's 'prophecy' and look what happened!"
Jujirō kept going, absolutely tearing into him:
"You let yourself get played by some ancient frog who lives in a cave. You'd be better off putting your faith in us ninja cats! At least we care about the world getting back on track!"
"At least we do something about it. We help Chizumi-sama behind the scenes. We use our own strength to fix this broken world!"
"Not like that lazy toad—and definitely not like you, Jiraiya—just dumping the entire fate of the shinobi world onto some vague idea of a 'Chosen One.'"
Jujirō wasn't holding back at all.
He went full scorched earth on both Jiraiya and the Great Toad Sage.
Jiraiya opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
He felt his face burn.
And for the first time in a long time, he was completely, utterly speechless.
~~~
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