Absolute Justice: Uchiha’s Crusade

"Uzumaki Naruto," Uchiha Keizumi said quietly, "when endless malice, open isolation, and whispered curses behind your back all come crashing down on you—can you feel that despair and helplessness?"

Naruto nodded almost instinctively.

Keizumi asked, "Do you think what they did was right?"

Naruto bit his lip. "It wasn't right…"

How could it ever be right to bully and isolate a child like that?

Naruto knew exactly how that felt.

"If you believe it was wrong, that means your sense of right and wrong hasn't yet been corrupted by the decay of this shinobi world," Uchiha Keizumi said. "Because everything you've suffered—was born from the evil of this world. In order to achieve their own goals, the wicked will place the full weight of their malice on an innocent child."

Naruto felt a deep sense of grievance.

He didn't even know those people. A few years ago, he'd barely even learned how to speak.

So why target him like that?

Was it really because of the 'evil' that this terrifying man spoke of?

"The evil of the shinobi world breeds endless suffering," Uchiha Keizumi said, "and countless innocents get pulled into it, unable to escape. You're just one of them."

"And the pain you've experienced—compared to the many others harmed by that evil—is sadly ordinary. You're not even the most tragic exception."

Naruto froze.

"If you truly want to see what this world's evil looks like," Keizumi said, "finish your bowl of ramen and come walk around Konoha with me. If luck isn't on your side… you might just see it for yourself."

Naruto stared blankly at Uchiha Keizumi's profile. He had the distinct feeling that this terrifying man had seen all kinds of 'evil' far too many times.

That emotionless tone, that blank expression—it all gave the sense of someone completely numb to cruelty.

And yet… there seemed to be a faint trace of hope buried beneath that numbness.

It reminded Naruto of his own yearning to be acknowledged by the people of the village. Of course, he didn't think this scary man wanted anyone's approval—he just vaguely sensed that Keizumi still held some kind of expectation for the shinobi world.

Maybe it was that lingering expectation… that made this terrifying man keep sticking his nose into everything happening around the village.

Logically speaking—

Naruto felt he ought to stay away from someone like this. Grandpa Hokage had warned him not to approach Keizumi on his own.

But…

As he stared into the light steam rising from his bowl of ramen, Naruto suddenly felt a strange flutter in his chest.

Without even realizing it, he nodded.

And then he buried his face in the bowl and began devouring the ramen.

…

Just then, someone else walked into Ichiraku Ramen.

From the corner of her eye, Izumi caught sight of the newcomer. It was an ordinary face—nothing remarkable at first glance. But the girl quickly noticed the mask hanging at the man's waist.

That was unmistakably an ANBU mask!

The ANBU ninja entered like a regular customer, quietly taking a seat in the corner of the shop.

But Izumi noticed: he'd briefly glanced at Uzumaki Naruto.

Perhaps he had seen that Naruto wasn't in any immediate danger.

Izumi sensed that the ANBU operative had exhaled slightly—relaxing just a bit.

She understood immediately.

This was one of the ANBU sent by Hokage-sama to monitor the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.

And she was right.

The only reason the ANBU had revealed himself and entered Ichiraku was because Naruto had stepped out of his direct line of sight—and was now sitting with none other than Uchiha Keizumi.

The alarm bells in his head had been screaming ever since.

—What if Uchiha Keizumi, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, tried to control the Nine-Tails with his dōjutsu?

—What if he decided that Uzumaki Naruto, the 'Demon Fox', was a threat—and simply killed him?

—What if Keizumi started feeding the jinchūriki dangerous ideas, turning him against Hokage-sama… against Konoha itself?

After weighing all the risks, the ANBU had no choice but to act.

He removed his mask and walked straight into Ichiraku.

Though he sat down as if nothing was wrong, only he knew how drenched his back already was with cold sweat.

Only he knew just how much pressure he was under right now.

Especially when Uchiha Keizumi's gaze swept briefly in his direction, the ANBU operative nearly drew the ninja blade at his waist out of pure reflex.

Fortunately...

Uchiha Keizumi didn't make any other moves. Maybe it was because, in his eyes, there was no 'sin' in him—neither in the past nor in the future?

Or perhaps it was because he was from the Yamanaka Clan, and the clan leader was known to have a decent relationship with Keizumi.

Was he benefitting from his clan's reputation?

Besides, the jinchūriki was still alive—and from the looks of it, had quite an appetite.

So… nothing strange had happened yet, right?

Just then—

The ANBU noticed a black ninja cat slip into the shop. The cat leapt onto the table and began meowing incessantly at a chubby orange ninja cat.

He heard the orange cat suddenly speak in human language: "Keizumi-sama, a new case has been discovered in the village!"

The ANBU let out the rest of the breath he was holding.

Great. That meant this Uchiha plague was about to get busy—and hopefully far away from the jinchūriki.

But what he didn't expect was...

Keizumi calmly set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and stood up. Then, turning to the jinchūriki beside him, he said coldly, "If you want to see for yourself, you can come along now."

The ANBU: "???"

Hold on—

See what?!

Then he saw Uzumaki Naruto hurriedly shovel the last few mouthfuls of ramen into his mouth, cheeks puffed out as he scrambled to his feet and mumbled, "Coming!"

The ANBU: "???"

Hey, hey, hey!

What the hell is going on here?!

Did he miss something crucial before stepping into Ichiraku Ramen?

As he watched Naruto follow Uchiha Keizumi out of the ramen shop, the ANBU realized something was very wrong. His mission had just taken a serious turn for the worse.

Damn it!

He had to alert the Hokage immediately!

"What kind of ramen would you like?" came Teuchi's casual question.

The ANBU ignored it completely.

He bit his thumb.

Slapped the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!!!"

A ninja pigeon, about twice the size of a normal dove, burst into view from the summoning seal. The ANBU leaned down and spoke urgently: "Fly to the Hokage at once. Tell him Uzumaki Naruto has been taken away by Uchiha Keizumi. The situation is extremely urgent!"

The ninja pigeon gave a firm nod.

And immediately took off into the sky.

The Anbu ninja clenched his teeth and quickly followed after Uchiha Keizumi, though he didn't dare stay too close. He could only trail from a safe distance.

"If he tries to do anything to the jinchūriki, I'll have no choice but to risk my life… and get the jinchūriki back..."

But the question was: would it even matter if he did?

The Anbu ninja wasn't feeling particularly confident about that.

…

Not long after.

Hokage Residence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was in the middle of a discussion with Koharu and Homura on how to deal with the massive mess Uchiha Keizumi had caused.

At that moment, a messenger pigeon flew in through the window, drawing all three of their attention.

"What is this…"

Hiruzen's brow furrowed. He recognized the bird—an Anbu pigeon belonging to Yamanaka Ryōshin. But Ryōshin was supposed to be monitoring Naruto right now, wasn't he?

A strange sense of déjà vu crept over Hiruzen.

Then the pigeon opened its beak and spoke: "Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto has been taken by Uchiha Keizumi! The situation is extremely urgent! —Ryōshin asked me to deliver this message."

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "…"

Before he could even respond, Koharu shot to her feet. Her wrinkled face tightened, expression dark and grim.

She immediately snapped, "Hiruzen! Do you see now?! This is Uchiha Keizumi's ambition in full display! That so-called 'Absolute Justice' of his is just a grand excuse to cloak his real intentions!"

"As a member of the Uchiha clan, as someone with the Mangekyō Sharingan—do you really think he doesn't understand what it means to make contact with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki? And now he's taken the boy away!"

Koharu took a deep breath. Her blood pressure, which had just spiked, eased slightly.

She continued coldly, "Even if—even if—he's truly motivated by this so-called 'Absolute Justice,' then that's exactly why we need to be even more cautious. His brand of justice is far too extreme!"

"This is the man who dared to kill the son of a daimyō—are you seriously telling me you think he wouldn't try to use the Nine-Tails' power to 'cleanse' Konoha? A man like him would probably call it justice if everyone in the village died!"

"Hiruzen! The Nine-Tails' Rampage from seven years ago—it's about to happen again!"

Homura couldn't stay seated either. He stood up and said sternly, "Hiruzen, we have to retrieve the jinchūriki. Whether or not Uchiha Keizumi has such thoughts, we cannot allow him unrestricted access to Uzumaki Naruto."

"Because even if he doesn't have any ill intent, someone else in the Uchiha Clan will. And then—this time, the Nine-Tails' Rampage could truly repeat itself."

"The last time it happened, Konoha suffered devastating losses. We cannot afford a second time."

Words from Koharu and Homura struck Sarutobi Hiruzen hard.

He realized he could no longer delay. He spoke up immediately: "Kakashi!"

Hatake Kakashi, who had been standing outside the Hokage's office this whole time, pushed the door open and stepped in.

"Notify all ANBU," Hiruzen ordered sternly. "Assemble at once! We're bringing Naruto back—together."

Koharu interjected.

"I'm coming as well."

She explained, "Hiruzen, if you go alone, you'll just keep indulging Uchiha Keizumi. True, Keizumi is powerful enough to intimidate even foreign villages, but you need to weigh the damage he's bringing to Konoha along with his strength."

Hiruzen's brows furrowed slightly—but he didn't object.

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