Evening.
When he heard the sound coming from outside the door, Uchiha Fugaku's expression immediately tightened. As the approaching footsteps drew near, he spoke coldly without turning his head: "Why are you coming back so late again today?!"
Uchiha Sasuke froze for a moment. His father had never asked him such a question before.
Why did Father seem a little… different today?
The thought arose in Sasuke's mind, but he soon dismissed it as overthinking.
Pushing aside the stray thought, Sasuke was just about to answer when Uchiha Fugaku's cold tone cut him off: "Were you out following Uchiha Keizumi again, doing that so-called enforcement of justice?"
Uchiha Fugaku's tone made Sasuke frown slightly.
But he still answered honestly: "Yes, I was with that dead-last Naruto on the way home from school…"
"Enough!"
Uchiha Fugaku turned around, his eyes locking onto Sasuke with a sternness unlike any before. His words came out with unprecedented severity: "Starting today, you no longer need to attend the Ninja Academy. I will personally instruct you in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and shinobi theory. Until you become an Uchiha ninja worthy of my recognition, you are not to take a single step outside this house."
"That's my decision!"
These words from Uchiha Fugaku made Sasuke's eyes widen in disbelief.
In the past, Sasuke would have been delighted.
Because he would have thought that Father's willingness to personally teach him meant he was finally acknowledging him—placing him on the same level of care and importance as his elder brother.
But now, Sasuke's thoughts ran deeper.
If he was not allowed to take a single step outside the house, then how was he supposed to carry out Absolute Justice? How was he supposed to follow Keizumi-sensei and become stronger?
"Father…"
Sasuke's hands clenched tightly into fists. Summoning his courage, he stiffened his face and said, "Please allow me to refuse!"
Uchiha Fugaku's expression froze at his son's reply.
He had never expected this timid, frail younger son of his to reject his command with such firmness.
The reason Fugaku had decided to personally train Sasuke was because, earlier that day before Uchiha Itachi's gravestone, he had come to a realization.
—No matter how weak Sasuke was, no matter how far his talent fell short of Itachi's, he was still his own son! And he was also the one most likely within the entire Uchiha clan to carry on both his and Itachi's will.
He could not allow Sasuke to continue being brainwashed by Keizumi's Absolute Justice!
He would pour both his own measure and Itachi's into Sasuke alone.
Only in that way could the Uchiha clan preserve its last trace of future—
And not be completely swallowed by Absolute Justice!
However…
Fugaku had not expected that he would fail at the very first step.
Uchiha Sasuke—he was even more disappointing than Fugaku had imagined!
Fugaku's face darkened completely.
He thought he could remain calm, yet his slightly quickened breathing and the visibly heaving rise and fall of his chest betrayed that the fury building within him had already reached its limit.
Sasuke failed to notice the change in his father's expression.
Clenching his teeth, bowing his head, he said in a low voice, "Father, I've already decided to walk the path I've chosen for myself. Only by doing so can I live up to your expectations. And only the power of Absolute Justice can let me surpass—"
Before he could finish speaking, Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened, a flicker of blank shock flashing in their depths.
His feet left the ground involuntarily.
Sasuke hurriedly stretched out his hands, gripping Uchiha Fugaku's palm with all his strength, trying desperately to pry open the hand that was clamped tightly around his neck.
But it was completely useless!
The intense suffocation was already turning Sasuke's face bluish from lack of air.
Even more shocking to him was that his father's eyes had turned crimson—
Not the familiar three-tomoe Sharingan, but a strange pattern he had never seen before!
Uchiha Fugaku stared down at the younger son struggling in his grasp.
"You don't even understand what it truly means to live up to my expectations! Sasuke, you've disappointed me greatly!"
Just as those words left Fugaku's mouth—
A startled cry came from the other side: "Sasuke? Fugaku! What are you doing? Are you trying to kill Sasuke?! Put him down right now! He's going to suffocate!"
The anxious voice of Uchiha Mikoto, along with her hurried footsteps, made Uchiha Fugaku slowly draw in a deep breath.
With a flick of his hand, he tossed the half-fainted Sasuke straight into the wall. The impact made Sasuke's small face twist in pain.
Mikoto finally rushed over, stepping in between Fugaku and Sasuke.
Just as she was about to speak, Fugaku cut her off first.
"There's no need to prepare dinner for me tonight," Fugaku said coldly. "And another thing—Sasuke, you have no right to choose. What I say is what will be. Only I, as your father, can train you to reach the level closest to Itachi."
"Your house confinement takes effect immediately. If you break it—even though you are my son—I will punish you in the harshest way possible, short of killing you."
"This…"
"That was also a trial Itachi once endured."
As she watched Uchiha Fugaku turn and leave, Uchiha Mikoto stood frozen, staring blankly at her husband's back.
She felt as though Fugaku had become a stranger once again—
Even more extreme than before.
If this continued…
Something terrible would happen.
...
After finishing dinner at home, Uchiha Mikoto did not eat together with Uchiha Sasuke.
Instead, using the excuse of going out to throw away the trash, she somehow found herself standing before the Konohagakure Police Force headquarters.
Uchiha Mikoto did not know why she had come here, until she raised her head and looked at the building before her—only then did she come back to her senses in a daze.
That's right…
It was because she did not want Sasuke to be hurt again by Fugaku's extreme and controlling nature.
In her eyes, Fugaku's current state had already become extremely abnormal.
In the eyes of Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi seemed irreplaceable—yet at the same time indispensable to the village.
Thus, he wanted to cultivate Sasuke into a second Uchiha shinobi infinitely close to Itachi, yet not Itachi.
A Sasuke in such a state was the one who best fit this father's expectations.
However…
Would that still be Sasuke?
Such behavior was tantamount to erasing the humanity that belonged to Sasuke alone, forcibly imposing another person's nature upon him.
When that time came, Sasuke would become nothing more than a puppet.
Uchiha Mikoto did not know why, but a voice within her heart called out, urging her to stop her husband no matter what.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the Konohagakure Police Force building.
Even though it was already evening, the headquarters remained rather lively, as several petty thieves had been arrested and brought in.
Since Uchiha Fugaku's resignation, many Uchiha shinobi had become particularly enthusiastic when enforcing justice throughout the village.
Of course, they had also grown far more ruthless in the eyes of the law.
Behaviors that once might have been overlooked were now met without hesitation—the offenders would be brought back immediately.
"Mikoto-sama?"
A puzzled voice caught Uchiha Mikoto's attention.
When she turned her head, she saw Uchiha Izumi, the young Uchiha woman who followed beside Keizumi.
Holding a file in her arms, Izumi walked over curiously and asked, "What brings you here?"
Uchiha Mikoto pressed her lips together.
After steeling herself, she said, "I hope the Police Force can help me restrain some of my husband's extreme behavior. Because under his actions, my child has already been harmed. Sasuke was nearly strangled by Fugaku tonight."
Izumi: "!!!"
Uchiha Izumi never imagined that not long after Keizumi-senpai had assumed the position of Chief Captain of the Police Force, [Absolute Justice] would soon clash head-on with the former Chief Captain himself.
Moreover—
The one who came to file the report was actually his wife!
This alone was enough to show that this former clan head and former captain had not only lost the hearts of his clansmen but had also failed as a father and husband within his own household.
Realizing the gravity of the matter, Izumi's face turned serious.
"In that case, let me take you directly to meet Chief Captain Keizumi!"
"…Alright."
Uchiha Mikoto knew that from the moment she arrived here, there was no turning back.
'I'm sorry, Fugaku. I'm doing this for Sasuke—and for the sake of our family, which is already beginning to fall apart.'
She whispered this silently in her heart.
…
Sasuke sat alone on a chair, his small face puffed up in sullen anger, staring gloomily at the now-cold dinner laid out on the table.
He could not understand why his father was so stubborn.
After coming into contact with [Absolute Justice] for many days and gradually understanding what justice truly was, Sasuke's thoughts had already shifted from the simple idea of "gaining power through justice" to "striving to improve himself in order to uphold justice—and not allowing himself to always be left behind."
Perhaps…
One day, even if he discovered that carrying out justice could not grant him power, he would still, without hesitation, devote himself to the cause of justice.
Sasuke couldn't help but reach up and touch his neck, still shaken.
Because at that moment earlier, Sasuke couldn't even tell whether his father had truly intended to kill him—or merely wanted to teach him a lesson.
Perhaps…
It had just been a lesson, right? After all, he was his father's own son. Surely he wouldn't truly harbor the intent to kill his own child?