Konoha Year 57, one year before the Night of the Clan Massacre.
Inside the Konoha Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Fugaku held a roster in his hands. His face stern, his gaze swept across the gathered young generation of the Uchiha clan.
These children, aged between 12 and 16, were the future of the Uchiha.
In a deep voice, Fugaku said:
"Next… Uchiha Izumi."
"Ah? Here!!!"
A twelve-year-old Uchiha girl hurriedly raised her hand and answered.
Fugaku fixed his eyes on the girl and asked:
"Do you have the resolve to take the Uchiha Police Force recruitment assessment?"
Uchiha Izumi answered solemnly:
"I am fully prepared!"
Fugaku nodded.
"The assessment period is one month. During this month, a full member of the Police Force will act as your examiner and oversee your recruitment evaluation."
"If he believes your performance passes the assessment, you will officially join the Uchiha Police Force and become an enforcer of Konoha."
Fugaku pointed to a wooden board behind him, where a list of names was written.
Many of those names had been circled.
Fugaku continued:
"You may choose your own examiner, but only from those whose names have not been circled."
Izumi raised her head, looking at the dense list of names.
— Uchiha Shun, Uchiha Tsukimu, Uchiha Chizumi, Uchiha Ishin…
She realized she didn't know a single one of them!
"Um… then, this Chizumi-senpai?" Izumi asked weakly.She chose this senior purely because his name was similar to hers.
Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Chizumi— only one character different.
Fugaku froze.
"Chizumi…" A complicated look flickered in his eyes as he asked, hinting:
"Are you sure? Once you choose, you cannot change."
Izumi didn't catch the hint from the clan head — she thought he was urging her to hurry.
"I'm sure."
She hurriedly hammered down her decision.
Fugaku thought for a moment, then reminded her:
"Uchiha Chizumi is an elite of the Police Force. His assessment requirements for you will likely be harsher than anyone else's. Remember, do not defy his orders — if you want to live."
Izumi froze.
She swallowed hard.
The clan head hadn't warned the others like this. Did this mean she'd made a bad choice?
Panic started to rise in the girl's heart.
…
Izumi walked out of the Police Force headquarters, still in a daze.
In her hands was an "assessment commission letter." All she had to do was deliver this letter to Chizumi-senpai, and then for the next month, she would undergo the Police Force's hellish assessment.
"If only Itachi-kun were here… I could ask him what kind of person this Chizumi-senpai is."
She muttered quietly.
She thought about asking other clan members for information, but then remembered — she wasn't familiar with anyone in the Uchiha clan.
Because Izumi was the only "outlier" in the Uchiha. She couldn't get along with her peers at all.
Her mother was an Uchiha, but her father had been a civilian shinobi. Before age five, Izumi used her father's surname.
Until the Nine-Tails Night. Her father died protecting her, and her mother brought her back to the Uchiha, changing her surname to her mother's.
"Calm down, calm down… As long as I'm polite, even if Chizumi-senpai is strict, it shouldn't get too bad."
Izumi decided to first buy a meeting gift.
However—
Before she could act, a startled cry came from not far away:
"The Police Force ninja are back!"
Izumi turned her head.
She saw a group of Uchiha Police Force members marching together — all of them wearing shinobi combat gear, laden with ninja tools, exuding overwhelming presence and authority.
There was no time to buy a gift now. If Chizumi-senpai was among them, and she didn't greet him right away, she might leave a bad first impression.
Izumi hurried over at a light jog, gathering her courage to ask:
"Excuse me, which one of you is Uchiha Chizumi-senpai?"
She nervously presented her commission letter."I'm a trainee accepted for the Police Force recruitment assessment. My name is Uchiha Izumi."
The Uchiha Police Force ninja stopped in their tracks.
Pairs of astonished eyes focused on her.
As if they were staring at a rare summoned beast.
Among them… a female Uchiha Police Force member walked up to Izumi, a strange look on her face, and asked:
"You chose Uchiha Chizumi as your examiner?"
"Mhm." Izumi nodded.
"…Take care of yourself." The female Uchiha patted Izumi's shoulder, her tone sympathetic.
"He's not here. If you're looking for him, try your luck in the messiest streets of the village — he's probably there."
"Good luck. Sometimes, just surviving is a kind of luck."
Izumi: "???"
Her little face went pale from fright.
She quickly asked:
"Senpai, is Chizumi-senpai very strict with newcomers?"
The female Uchiha shook her head."That's not the issue. This guy… how should I put it… He's kind of not a team player. Even Lord Fugaku finds it hard to order him around. Here's a tip: you'd better write a will first. Trust me, it'll come in handy soon."
Izumi: "…"
She noticed all these Police Force veterans now looked at her with a hint of pity.
…
Meanwhile—
In Konoha's infamous "Bathhouses, Casinos, and Pleasure Houses" district, a young man in Police Force attire arrived.
The moment he stepped into the street, the very air seemed to fall silent.
Three seconds later, a panicked uproar exploded.
"Crap! That Uchiha Plague God is here again! Last time he came, he threw more than fifty people straight into Konoha Prison! Quick, tell the boss, close the casino doors!"
"He's back again? Already? Has it even been a month?"
"Hey! Uchiha Chizumi! You bastard, don't push it! We're running legal businesses — Konoha doesn't ban gambling, doesn't ban brothels, and even the banned drugs are only a few! Why are you always targeting us?"
"Shhh— Do you have a death wish? If you provoke this Uchiha Plague God, you'll rot in a Konoha prison cell for the rest of your life!"
"D-don't look at me, I'm just passing by!"
"…"
Uchiha Chizumi casually rested one hand on the hilt of the ninja sword at his waist, his gaze lightly sweeping around, searching for prey that his eyes could "see."
Suddenly—
His eyes stopped.
"Found a little rat."
In his vision, a small-statured man kept his head down, cautiously hiding in the crowd by the street. At a glance, he seemed unremarkable.
But in Uchiha Chizumi's eyes…
The small man shone like a firefly in the night, impossible to ignore.
Because he could clearly see a crimson box floating above the man's head, filled with lines of blood-red text:
[Akiyama Jirō — Two days ago, after losing at gambling, he drank to vent his frustration. Drunk, he violently assaulted his own four-year-old child, beating him to death. Sin level: Red Name!]
This…
…was Uchiha Chizumi's golden cheat in this life.
Expressionless, Uchiha Chizumi walked toward the man. A group of passersby scattered in terror, terrified this Police Force "Plague God" might choose them next.
Just as the man was about to slip away with the crowd—
Uchiha Chizumi spoke:
"Akiyama Jirō, where do you think you're going?"
He looked down at the small man, his gaze calm — as if staring at someone already condemned.
At that moment—
"F-finally found you!"
A girl's breathless voice suddenly called out from behind Uchiha Chizumi:
"Excuse me, are you Uchiha Chizumi-senpai?"
…