Uchiha Chiquan walked along the main street of Konoha.Trailing behind him was a young girl clutching a ramen box in one hand and chopsticks in the other, slurping away at a mass of noodles that had long since clumped together.
Most passersby on the street, upon noticing Uchiha Chiquan, wore expressions that were… less than relaxed.Children who had been playing around were quickly pulled back by their parents, who scolded them for being unruly.
Clearly, these people had heard of Uchiha Chiquan's reputation.Or perhaps their relatives or friends had been on the receiving end of Chiquan's "special attention."If so, they were either already under the ground or rotting away in Konoha's prison.
"Um… hello!"
Chiquan's steps slowed.A Konoha villager had suddenly rushed forward to block his way.
The man held a box in his hands. Summoning all his courage, he extended it toward Chiquan with both hands, bowing his head as he blurted,"Thank you for catching the men who murdered my fiancée three months ago!I've been… in a bad place since then, and I never had the chance to thank you. Please—please accept this small gift of gratitude!"
Chiquan could never remember every name in the Uchiha clan, nor did he care to recall exactly who had died under his blade.But he never forgot the faces of victims whose lives had been shattered by evil.
The sorrowful man before him was a civilian genin of Konoha named Takikawa Osamu, twenty-five years old.Three months earlier, his fiancée had been assaulted and killed by a group of drunken men.Chiquan had found those three culprits.
"I didn't catch them," Chiquan said slowly."I killed them all."
The man lowered his head further. "That's exactly why I'm so grateful to you."
"Please… please take this gift!"
Chiquan shook his head.He stepped around the grieving man, and when he passed behind him, he spoke again:
"I'm sorry that this world—so diseased and riddled with holes from the rot of evil—has let you down. If you've truly made up your mind, there's no need to give me that gift. Give it to someone who truly needs it."
He paused, then added evenly,"If you're still hesitating, then hold on to your life. I'll prove to you that this world can become a better place."
The sound of slurping noodles from behind him had gone silent at some point.From Chiquan-senpai's words, Izumi had a faint, uneasy guess about what he meant.She stared, shocked, at the man whose eyes were brimming with tears.
"Thank you… thank you," the man murmured.
Izumi watched his staggering figure as he walked away, her lips parting as if to speak, then closing again.
"Chiquan-senpai… he's not going to…?" she asked tentatively.
"He's not the first," Chiquan replied. "When you've seen enough of these cases, don't let yourself grow numb.The moment you grow numb, your justice will start to rust.And rusted justice is a betrayal of justice."
Izumi was about to reply when something suddenly thumped down onto her head.Whatever it was, it had to weigh at least ten pounds!
The blow made her cry out in surprise, bending her neck from the force.
At that moment, a voice with a strange, almost old-fashioned accent spoke right above her head:
"Lord Chiquan, we have a situation. My children discovered a buried corpse on the outskirts of the village. Judging from the soil marks nearby, it was most likely buried last night."
Izumi froze for a moment.
The peculiar voice continued,"Many traces at the scene have been deliberately erased. The one who buried the body also staged the site to look different. This suggests the perpetrator was highly skilled. Most likely, a shinobi did it."
Before Izumi could react, an orange blur leapt gracefully from her head to the ground.
"A cat?" She blinked. Then it hit her—"A ninja cat?!"
It was an orange ninja cat, so fat it was almost unbelievable—like a giant, living drumstick.
No wonder it was so heavy!
Could this orange ninja cat be Chiquan-senpai's summoning beast?
"Lead the way," Chiquan said to the cat.Then, turning to Izumi, he added, "Rookie, keep up."
Whoosh—
In a blink, both Chiquan and the ninja cat vanished into motion, leaving only the retreating silhouettes of one tall figure and one very large feline.
Izumi barely had time to think. She tossed her ramen box into the nearest trash bin and sprinted after them.
She pushed herself to keep up.Although she never saw more than Chiquan-senpai's back, she managed to stay within sight—either because the ninja cat was too fat to run fast, or because Chiquan was deliberately holding back so she wouldn't be left behind.
After all, he was a jonin of Konoha.If he ran at full speed, there was no way she could keep pace.
Before long, they reached the outskirts of Konoha.Diving into a dense patch of forest, Izumi finally spotted Chiquan-senpai and the orange ninja cat stopped ahead.
"Phew…" She wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was tired.
"Lord Chiquan, is this your new lackey?" the ninja cat asked, licking its paw and speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world."Your last two lackeys didn't last even a full day. Let's see how long this one can make it."
"It's my second day as Chiquan-senpai's student," Izumi interjected timidly.
"Meow? Oh?" The cat looked at her in surprise, raising one paw as if trying to give her a thumbs-up."You've lasted two days? You've got potential, girl!"
"Uchiha Izumi."
"Here!!"
Izumi forgot about the cat instantly, snapping to attention.
"Go down and bring the body up," Chiquan ordered.
"Yes, Senpai."
Izumi jogged over and saw a large pit at his feet. The edges bore small claw marks—like a cat had been digging.
At the bottom lay the muddy corpse of a middle-aged woman.
The forehead was caved in, the face smeared with dried blood.Her expression was frozen in terror, as if in her final moment she had seen something utterly beyond belief.
Izumi jumped down, hoisted the corpse up, and brought it to the surface.After yesterday's experience, she was far more efficient this time.
"Female victim, name unknown, estimated age forty to forty-five," she reported."Cause of death: single blunt-force strike to the head. No other marks—likely cleaned by the assailant. Definitely experienced. Highly probable the killer is a shinobi."
"Jūjirō," Chiquan said evenly.
"Meow!" the orange cat replied.
"Go to the Police Force and have them take the body back," Chiquan instructed."Rookie, let's go take a walk through the village."
"Yes, Lord Chiquan."
"Yes, Senpai—wait, huh?"
Izumi hesitated, swallowed hard, and then worked up the courage to ask in a small voice,"Senpai… aren't we going to investigate?"
"Walking through Konoha is the investigation," Chiquan replied."Check your ninja tools. Be ready to execute justice at any moment."
"…???" Izumi blinked.
End of Chapter