"Whew. I finally managed to get half a day off approved by Hokage-sama. It's been half a month since I last saw Mother—perfect timing to pay respects to Father, with her… and Seisui."
Gekkō Hayate, a member of the ANBU directly under the Third Hokage, was carrying freshly purchased offerings as he made his way back to the Gekkō Clan compound.
However—
As he approached the compound gate, he suddenly froze. The offerings in his hands slipped to the ground.
In his line of sight—
A crowd of Konoha villagers had gathered around the clan's entrance, craning their necks to see what was going on inside. Yet it seemed they were afraid of something—they didn't dare get too close, only observing from a distance.
Right in front of the gate lay two headless corpses, unmistakably conspicuous. Nearby, the severed heads had rolled to a stop.
Their expressions were still frozen in confusion.
From the crowd, Hayate faintly overheard scattered fragments of conversation—
Something about an 'Uchiha'… something about a 'Police Division'…
And then he heard a name that made his pupils contract instantly.
—Uchiha Keizumi!!!
That was the man who…
…murdered his father.
Gekkō Hayate could still clearly remember—
Two years ago…
A genius from the Uchiha clan named Uchiha Keizumi, wearing the uniform of the Konoha Police Force, had stormed into the Gekkō clan compound alone.
The man had declared coldly: "Konoha Police conducting an investigation. All unrelated personnel—clear the area. Otherwise, lethal force will be used."
To this day, Gekkō Hayate still didn't know what had caused the conflict back then.
All he knew was that he had witnessed—
his father being killed right before his eyes.
Two uncles—senior members of the clan—
had also been slain.
That night...
The Gekkō clan's compound had reeked of a harsh sulfur stench.
Scorching magma flowed across the ground, and the walls of their buildings had been slashed and riddled with embedded kunai and shuriken.
Even more vividly, Hayate remembered how afterward, the entire Gekkō clan had reported the Uchiha to the Third Hokage.
They especially demanded that the Hokage arrest Uchiha Keizumi.
They wanted to drag that Uchiha devil to the execution platform!
However—
For some reason…
The whole matter had been quietly dropped.
The elders of the Gekkō clan had returned from their audience with the Hokage, defeated and silent—and they never brought it up again.
Nor did they ever attempt to confront the Uchiha clan about it.
Instead, they simply told the younger generation to bear the hatred in their hearts.
And beyond that, they were not to act.
But now—
That same Uchiha Keizumi...
He was back!
"Not good!!!"
Gekkō Hayate snapped out of it with a jolt.
He hurriedly drew his ninjatō, his movements as he ran toward his home slightly panicked.
But just as he reached the gates of the Gekkō compound—
a deafening boom rang in his ears.
In his line of sight—
His younger brother, Gekkō Seisui, wore a ferocious expression as he unleashed a ninjutsu, attempting to kill a pair of Uchiha teens dressed in Police Force gear.
He also saw Seisui's body turn transparent in an instant as he wielded a kunai.
Hayate couldn't tell whether his brother was using his Transparent Release to launch a surprise attack—or to run away…
"Seisui! Don't!!"
He shouted frantically.
Because either way—
He would die!
The only chance to survive that demon Keizumi…
was to drop all weapons and surrender immediately!
...
Inside the compound, Uchiha Keizumi grabbed Izumi by the collar and tossed her aside.
He then leapt lightly into the air, dodging a massive boulder that hurtled toward him.
His eyes had already turned an eerie, blood-chilling scarlet.
The triple tomoe pattern of the Sharingan slowly surfaced in his pupils.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to the left—
Though no one was visible, the soil on the ground rippled unnaturally.
"Transparent Release… heh."
Keizumi drew several shuriken and flung them instantly in that direction.
The shuriken tore through the air with a piercing whistle, as if they had struck something invisible.
"Urgh!!"
A muffled groan rang out—
and fresh blood suddenly splattered into the empty air.
"Seisui! Don't run!!"
Gekkō Hayate shouted again as he sprinted toward the bleeding air.
But Seisui, whose camouflaged body had been hit even while using Transparent Release, panicked even more upon seeing his brother.
He dodged around Hayate.
Clenching his teeth against the searing pain in his back, he fled in another direction.
But he hadn't yet made it out of the Gekkō clan's compound—
When a razor-sharp ninjatō—
pierced cleanly through his back and out his chest!
Seisui's bloodshot eyes widened to their limits.
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak,
the blade in his chest twisted once—then was slowly and methodically withdrawn.
Seisui's body staggered, unable to stay upright.
He clutched his chest in a panic, his hand instantly soaked in blood.
His Transparent Release kekkei genkai could no longer hold.
His miserable, battered body became fully visible again.
"Seisui——!!!"
His brother's anguished cry grew closer and closer.
But Seisui's consciousness was already fading fast.
"Gekkō Seisui."
"Your mother's body has been found.
The crimes you committed—have been exposed."
Uchiha Keizumi's cold tone sent Gekkō Seisui into a spiral of despair in the final moments of his life.
"Today, in the name of Absolute Justice, you are sentenced."
Clutching his chest, Seisui staggered forward a few steps and forced himself to turn around. The world before his eyes was rapidly fading into darkness.
"Evi… evidence… where…?"
"You did erase the physical traces from the corpse," Uchiha Keizumi replied, shaking the blood off his blade, "but you couldn't erase the body's memory."
"The Police Force will transfer the remains to the Yamanaka clan. You should know about their secret techniques."
"The evidence you crave may be sent to you after your death—if your clan is willing to forgive your crime of matricide."
All the strength drained from Seisui's body.
He collapsed helplessly.
Just as he was about to hit the ground, Gekkō Hayate finally arrived. He caught his brother in his arms, his hand instinctively pressing down on the gaping wound in his chest, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
"Seisui! Hang in there! I'll take you to a medical-nin!"
[Smack—]
Hayate froze.
Seisui had slapped his hand away.
"Kh… don't… pretend to care…"
His lips were deathly pale, his voice frail and mocking.
"If she hadn't favored you so much… I wouldn't have… killed her."
"How ironic, isn't it… The father who cherished you most—killed by Uchiha Keizumi. And the mother who loved you the most—died by my hand… Heh…"
Under Hayate's stunned gaze, Gekkō Seisui uttered his final words: "I was so jealous of you…"
The light faded from his eyes.
His gaze turned empty.
His breath—ceased.
[Ding! You have successfully killed a 'Red-Name' criminal! Your chakra has slightly increased! Congratulations, you have obtained: Transparent Release kekkei genkai!]
Two years ago, Uchiha Keizumi had slain three members of the Gekkō clan—
But what he gained from them were merely three ninjutsu techniques, not the clan's unique Transparent Release.
Today—
After executing Gekkō Seisui, this red-named sinner, Uchiha Keizumi had now added to his collection, alongside the Sharingan and Lava Release, another kekkei genkai—
Transparent Release.
"Keizumi-senpai…"
Izumi's bewildered voice came from behind him.
"That body… was his mother?"
Clearly—
Everything that Uchiha Keizumi and Seisui had just said…
Izumi had heard it all.
Her worldview had taken a massive blow, and she now stood in a daze, disoriented and shaken.
"…Yeah."
Keizumi gave a brief reply.
Izumi murmured, her young face full of confusion: "He killed his own mother… just because he was jealous? That's…"
"This… is the evil of the ninja world."
Keizumi stared at the corpse, then at Gekkō Hayate—frozen in place as if his mind had crashed.
He spoke slowly: "Twisted thoughts. Brutal wars… All of it amplifies the darkness inside each person."
"The power that ninjas possess makes them naively believe they can escape the judgment of justice."
"This ninja world is sick."
"And it needs to be cleansed."
...
"Seisui... Mother..."
Hayate stared blankly at his younger brother, now limp in his arms, showing no signs of life.
The death of his brother—and the words he spoke before dying—threw his mind into a daze, momentarily robbing him of the ability to think.
He lifted his head in a daze and locked eyes with Uchiha Keizumi, who had just sheathed his blade.
At some point, two streams of sorrowful tears had already begun to fall.
"Your mother's body should have been taken away by other members of the Konoha Police Force by now. Next, we'll have the Yamanaka clan's shinobi join for a collaborative investigation."
Uchiha Keizumi spoke expressionlessly. "If you wish to see your mother, you can wait until the investigation is over—it should take one or two days."
Mother...
She was murdered...
Uchiha Keizumi's words turned Seisui's final mockery into fact, plunging Hayate deeper into grief, as though countless invisible blades were stabbing into his heart.
Two years ago, his father died—killed by Uchiha Keizumi.
Two years later, his mother died—at the hands of his own younger brother.
And now, his brother too was dead—again by Keizumi's hand.
Of the Gekkō clan, among this direct bloodline, he, Gekkō Hayate, was now the only one left.
Hayate had already become somewhat disoriented.
He didn't even know whether he should take revenge on Uchiha Keizumi.
This Uchiha who resembled a demon—he had killed his father, killed his younger brother...
And yet, the man had done so in the name of 'justice'.
One could even say Keizumi had avenged his mother.
And—
Matricide was a sin heaven itself would not forgive!
"Keizumi-senpai, he seems to be in a lot of pain. Mentally… he looks like he's on the verge of collapse."
Izumi spoke softly, a hint of worry on her youthful face. "Will he be alright?"
Uchiha Keizumi turned to leave and said calmly, "Let him be for now."
"Oh," Izumi quickly followed after him.