"Hokage-sama, what should we do now?" one of the ANBU asked in a low voice, glancing at Uchiha Keizumi's retreating back.
The warm, kindly smile on Hiruzen's face stiffened and faded. In a solemn tone, he replied, "Follow him. We absolutely cannot let Naruto walk down the same extreme and twisted path as Keizumi."
He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped.
Turning to Fugaku—who was standing awkwardly to the side, clearly caught in a difficult position—he said, "Fugaku, thank you for today. Your sincerity and magnanimity—this old man can clearly see them. With a leader like you, the Uchiha clan will never fall into the tragic future Keizumi once predicted."
The Hokage's words finally allowed Fugaku to breathe a sigh of relief.
At the very least…
Hokage-sama had acknowledged his actions.
And Fugaku took those words from Hiruzen as a promise. That thought stirred a quiet excitement within him. He felt that his efforts were being properly recognized.
Maybe the village could start to trust the Uchiha clan, even if just a little.
And perhaps… today's misunderstanding had finally been cleared up.
…
Outside the morgue, Uchiha Keizumi found a shinobi from the Konoha Police Force and requested the case file for the four-member family of victims. He then handed the file to Izumi.
"Rookie. You're in charge of the investigation," Keizumi said flatly.
Izumi immediately understood—this was a test.
After all, a senior like him wasn't going to treat her like a mere tagalong forever. Clearly, he wanted her to become someone capable of acting independently.
She hurried to accept it. "Yes, senpai!"
But the moment she looked down at the file, she froze.
Where should she even begin?!
Hmm…
Wait!
Hadn't she just analyzed the likely background of the killer in front of Keizumi a moment ago? She must still be tense from the earlier confrontational atmosphere, and her nerves hadn't yet settled.
Izumi couldn't help glancing at the boy beside her—Uzumaki Naruto, his face full of curiosity.
If she wasn't mistaken, he was probably one of Keizumi-senpai's [Absolute Justice] followers too, right?
Even if Naruto didn't yet understand what Absolute Justice really meant…
At the very least, Keizumi believed he had the potential.
"You take a look too," Izumi said, handing the file slightly toward him.
"…Eh?"
Naruto, who had been sneakily peeking over her shoulder, lit up with surprise and joy. "I really can?!"
"Mm."
As Izumi nodded, she pointed to the couple among the four family members and said to Naruto, "We need to identify people who had a conflict with this family. Most likely, such a person would be someone they knew—a relative, a friend, a neighbor."
"Those two children probably didn't have any connections to the killer, so we should focus on the acquaintances of the husband and wife. That's where we'll find the most likely suspects."
She then turned to Tachibana Jirō. "Tachibana Jirō-senpai, could you have your ninja cats help with the investigation?"
"No problem, nya!" Tachibana Jirō readily agreed.
Who knew what method it used, but in no time, over twenty ninja cats of all shapes and colors had gathered in front of the Konoha Police Department building, all whispering and chattering among themselves.
A whole group of talking ninja cats left Naruto wide-eyed in astonishment.
"Kid," Tachibana Jirō declared proudly, "my cats, kittens, and grandkittens are the elite of the ninja cat world! Even the youngest one among them has been following Keizumi-sama for a year or two. They're all your future senpais!"
Tachibana Jirō added, "Also, from now on, you need to address me like Uchiha Izumi does—call me Tachibana Jirō-senpai!"
With that—
Tachibana Jirō leapt down and strutted over to the assembled ninja cats, brimming with pride, and began assigning them various missions.
Before long, the twenty-some ninja cats scattered and disappeared in different directions.
"That's… it?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion.
Izumi gave a small smile. "You have to trust in Tachibana Jirō-senpai. His ninja cats are really impressive. More often than not, when Keizumi-senpai and I manage to uncover a case early, it's because his ninja cats have already been gathering intel all over Konoha."
"Hmm…"
Izumi thought for a moment, then gave an analogy: "You could think of these ninja cats as Keizumi-senpai's personal ANBU!"
The ANBU group that had just emerged behind them: "…"
Hey, hey, hey! Comparing Konoha's elite ANBU to a bunch of ninja cats—girl, don't you think that's a bit much?
"It really is convenient to have that group of ninja cats," said Hiruzen, hands clasped behind his back as he stood beside Uchiha Keizumi. However, his posture tilted slightly outward, keeping his eyes constantly turned away to avoid direct contact with Keizumi's gaze.
Hiruzen continued, "Keizumi, if you were willing to join the ANBU, just with these ninja cats alone, you could easily become Commander of the entire force."
Uchiha Keizumi, watching the silhouette of a calico ninja cat vanish into the distance, replied, "Being in that kind of place would only make me sick."
Hiruzen: "…"
Looks like he'd embarrassed himself again. Every time he tried to make conversation, all he got in return was Keizumi's scorn.
Yet that only further proved the extremity of [Absolute Justice].
If even the Hokage had no place in Keizumi's [Absolute Justice], there was no way he would let Naruto be tainted by it.
Otherwise...
Hiruzen dared not imagine what Naruto, wielding the power of the Nine-Tails, might do once he embraced [Absolute Justice]. Especially when the Tailed Beast's power was so notoriously difficult to control. If that time came, Naruto could become an even more dangerous and unstable element than Keizumi himself!
…
At that same moment—
Koharu, her face dark and clouded, returned to the Hokage's office in the administration building.
Homura, who had been waiting for some time, frowned when he saw she was alone. "Where is Uzumaki Naruto? And why didn't Hiruzen come back with you?"
Noticing that Koharu's face had darkened even further—
Homura immediately realized something wasn't right.
"Did something go wrong?"
Koharu took a deep breath and recounted everything that had happened. The more she said, the deeper the crease on Homura's brow became.
"Uchiha Keizumi… So he even has that kind of persuasive power? With just a few words, he got the jinchūriki to take a keen interest in his [Absolute Justice]… To the point where he showed strong resistance to your attempt to forcefully remove him—almost to the verge of losing control over the Nine-Tails' power."
Homura's expression grew even more grave. The way things had developed had already gone far beyond what any of them had anticipated.
"However…"
Homura muttered thoughtfully, "With Hiruzen present at the scene, he should be able to prevent Uzumaki Naruto from falling under any deeper influence."
Koharu's face remained dark. "Let's hope so."
"Otherwise…"
Her eyes flickered with unease. "If the Nine-Tails ends up in the hands of the Uchiha clan, I can't say for certain that the disaster from back then—the chaos that nearly reduced Konoha to rubble—won't happen again."
Homura said, "Uchiha Keizumi probably wouldn't allow something like that. After all, he's committed to his brand of [Absolute Justice]."
"That's not something we can count on," Koharu snapped. "There are always people who believe they can control the immense power of a Tailed Beast. But by the time they lose control, it's already too late."
…
As time passed, by late afternoon—
Over twenty ninja cats had already returned to the Police Force Headquarters, one after another, bringing back the intelligence they had gathered.
Izumi recorded all the information and carefully organized it.
Then she handed a compiled list to Uchiha Keizumi.
"Keizumi-senpai, I believe the most likely suspects are these five people. Each of them had personal conflicts with the husband or wife from the four-person victim household, and all five are shinobi. They definitely have the ability to silently and efficiently eliminate a family of four in a short amount of time."
Izumi had been about to suggest that they bring them in for interrogation—surely they could extract something useful through questioning.
But then she remembered Keizumi-senpai's unique ability.
They might be able to skip the interrogation phase entirely.
"Let my ANBU bring them in," said Hiruzen, suddenly interjecting. Izumi blinked in surprise. For a brief moment, her opinion of the Hokage shifted ever so slightly.
Hiruzen spoke earnestly, "While this technically falls under the jurisdiction of the Police Force, I am still the Hokage of Konoha. When something this brutal happens in our village, I must personally step in and ensure we arrest the murderer as quickly as possible."
He turned to Naruto with a gentle smile.
"Even just carrying the Will of Fire in your heart is enough to carry out justice in Konoha. Only when the Will of Fire and justice are united can one become a truly outstanding shinobi."
Whatever sliver of respect Izumi had just gained for Hiruzen instantly evaporated.
She finally understood—this Hokage was only trying to guard against Keizumi-senpai passing down [Absolute Justice] to Uzumaki Naruto.
—So the Hokage really is the enemy of [Absolute Justice]!
That bold thought flashed across Izumi's mind.
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