Uchiha Chiquan turned around and saw a girl with long, straight black hair standing behind him, her face filled with hesitation.
"Senior Chiquan, I… I…"
Quan suddenly froze. The steady gaze from Uchiha Chiquan made her tense up without realizing it.
It was strange—she could muster courage to speak when facing other seniors, even the clan head Fugaku himself.But in front of this "Uchiha Chiquan," she was so nervous she didn't even know what to say.
"Speak."
Uchiha Chiquan's voice cut the air.
Quan jolted, quickly introducing herself."My name is Uchiha Quan! I participated in this year's Police Force recruitment assessment. When Clan Head Fugaku told me to choose my examiner… I… I chose you, Senior Chiquan."
But under the sharp scrutiny of the senior before her, her voice grew smaller and smaller. By the end, she didn't even dare lift her head to meet Uchiha Chiquan's eyes.
"Examiner? You chose me?"
Uchiha Chiquan looked at the girl and said, expressionless, "You may look fragile, but at least you've got some courage."
He gave a smile that wasn't a smile. "Passing my assessment is simple. For one month, don't give me the urge to kill you—then you pass."
"Oh, wait. There's a rat trying to run away."
Quan: "???"
Huh?
Before she could make sense of it, her eyes widened in shock—Uchiha Chiquan suddenly drew the short blade at his waist.
The blade swept through the air, tracing a silver arc, and in the blink of an eye, a flash of scarlet blood entered Quan's vision.
The next second—
A short man toppled headfirst to the ground.
—His left leg had been severed!
"Aaaahhh!!!"
The man's shrill scream and the thick scent of blood in the air pressed hard against Quan's mental endurance.
She instinctively stepped back half a pace, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
"Uchiha Quan." Uchiha Chiquan shook the blood from his blade.
"Ah?" Quan, still worried the man might bleed to death, quickly looked up in alarm.
Chiquan frowned. "When I call your name, you answer 'Here.'"
"Oh… ah—Here!"
"So soft-spoken and you want to join the Police Force?" Chiquan's voice was cold. "I can barely hear you. Is this your resolve for joining? Can someone like you protect the word 'Justice'? You might as well go home and be a well-behaved little girl!"
Clan Head Fugaku was right—this senior was harsh. First meeting, and she was already being scolded into the ground.
Quan summoned every bit of strength she had, her small face turning red.
"Here!!!!"
Seeing the senior's gaze ease slightly, she finally relaxed a little.
"Um…" Quan hesitated.
"Speak."
She quickly said, "Senior, if we don't treat this man right away, he might die from blood loss."
"How long can he live?" Chiquan asked, his tone so calm it caught her off guard.
She answered quickly, "He might go into shock within ten minutes."
"Plenty of time." Chiquan looked at her. "Rookie, here's your task."
Quan swallowed hard. "Senior, I've never learned medical ninjutsu. Maybe… we should take him to Konoha Hospital?"
Chiquan glanced at her. "Who said anything about treating him?"
"Eh?" She'd lost count of how many times she'd been baffled today.
"You mean…"
Chiquan handed her the short blade. She instinctively took it.
His face was completely impassive. "Prove to me you have the resolve to join the Police Force. Take this blade and interrogate that man. Ask him—where is the child's body? You have ten minutes. If you can't get an answer, go home and don't come back tomorrow."
Inter… interrogate?
Quan was stunned. She glanced around—this was one of Konoha's busiest streets. She couldn't even count how many people were here!
Interrogate an injured civilian, out in the open, with a leg cut off?
And why that question—about a "child's body"?
Was this the usual style of the Uchiha Police Force?Or… just Senior Chiquan's own personal method?
She tried to sneak a look at his eyes—only to see his gaze grow colder.
Her heart skipped a beat.
The warnings from Clan Head Fugaku and that female Police Force senior flashed through her mind.
—"Don't defy his orders if you want to live."—"Good luck. Sometimes, staying alive is just a matter of luck."
Fear gripped her.
She tightened her grip on the still-warm handle of the short blade, sweat pouring down her pale forehead.
Survival instinct pushed her forward a few steps. Facing the short man clutching his severed leg and wailing in pain, she forced out:
"Y-you… where… where did you hide the child's body?!"
A flicker of panic crossed the man's pained, despairing eyes.
"Take me to Konoha Hospital! Aaahhh!!!"
He didn't answer her shaky question, only shouted in terror:"My head's getting dizzy… I'm losing so much blood… Am I going to die? Save me! I don't want to die! Please—save me!!"
I don't want to die either… Quan screamed in her heart.
"Where exactly did you hide the child's body?"
Forcing herself to stay calm, she told herself Chiquan wouldn't make her ask this question for no reason. She pressed urgently, "If you answer me right now, I'll take you to the hospital. You won't last more than a few minutes!"
The man still cried out in panic: "I don't know any child! I don't know anything! Please, I'm begging you, save me!"
"Senior…"
Quan looked toward Uchiha Chiquan, hoping for some guidance—only to find him standing with arms crossed, watching coldly from the side.
From those eyes, she couldn't read even a sliver of emotion.
She suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe.
This feeling…
She knew it well.
Years ago, on the Night of the Nine-Tails, when she encountered that massive beast, she had felt the same thing—The suffocating despair of knowing her life was about to end.
Quan's survival instinct suddenly outweighed her sympathy.
She gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and pressed the blade to the man's neck. Her voice was low and sharp:
"Last chance. Where is the child's body?!"
The blade's edge nicked his skin, leaving a thin red line.
The man's eyes widened in horror. The faint sting at his neck broke his composure.
"I… I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to kill her. You have to believe me! You really have to believe me! She… she was my daughter…"
"I was just playing around with her. I… I didn't think she would die… I threw her into the dry well in the yard."
Quan froze.
His broken, halting words revealed something that shook her to her core—The man she was ordered to interrogate, right here in public, had killed his own daughter.And then thrown her body into a dry well.
He was a murderer.
"Rookie." Uchiha Chiquan's voice sounded behind her, slow and steady."This is your first lesson in enforcing 'Justice' as a member of the Uchiha Police Force—"
"Always carry out the orders I give you.""Without question.""Without resistance.""Without mistakes."
…
…
(End of Chapter)