At this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer spare the time to pacify the heads of the various shinobi clans who had been "offended" by Uchiha Keizumi. Once he realized Naruto might be in danger, he didn't hesitate for even a second—he brought every available ANBU operative and stormed straight into the Uchiha district.
Naturally, the sudden intrusion of so many ANBU was met with widespread dissatisfaction from the Uchiha.
No one, not even Uchiha shinobi, would be pleased to see a group of dangerous masked men lingering at their doorstep.
And yet—
Ever since the clan had fallen under the leadership of Uchiha Fugaku…
The Uchiha district had become a place where anyone could come and go.
"Fugaku!"
Hiruzen spotted him amid the wreckage of the recent explosions. His aged face was clouded with displeasure as he asked in a grave tone, "Is Naruto here?"
Fugaku, who had already braced himself for this, was just about to speak when a loud voice cut him off from nearby.
"Hokage-ojiichan!!!"
The moment Naruto's voice rang out, the tension on Hiruzen's face eased ever so slightly.
He even managed to force a small smile as he moved forward to greet Naruto—
Only to see the boy clutching his head in pain.
The once-white handkerchief pressed to Naruto's head had already been stained red with blood.
Hiruzen's smile immediately froze on his face.
"Medical ninja!" he barked, and one of the ANBU with medical training instantly stepped forward. Hiruzen quickly made his way to Naruto's side and said, "Let the medical ninja take care of your wounds first, Naruto."
Naruto pointed toward Sasuke, who was seated nearby.
"Hokage-ojiichan, could you have them treat him too?"
Hiruzen blinked. That kid next to him…
Wasn't he Fugaku's younger son?
"No problem," Hiruzen nodded slightly, stepping aside to give the medical ninja space to begin treating Naruto first. Then he looked at Naruto with concern and asked, "Your head injury—what happened? Who hurt you?"
Naruto answered honestly, "I got caught in the explosion."
Hiruzen: "!!!"
Explosion?!
He turned to look at the nearby ruins. The force of the blast, judging by the devastation, made Hiruzen's brow twitch.
If Naruto had been caught in that… didn't that mean he had been this close to dying?
Hiruzen's expression darkened. He turned to Kakashi.
"Kakashi, I assigned you to watch over Naruto. You should know more than he does, don't you?"
But before Kakashi could respond, Naruto—still receiving treatment—jumped in, "This white-haired guy already said it was the Shimura Clan who did it!"
"The… Shimura Clan…"
Hiruzen was stunned.
Kakashi let out a slow breath, then began recounting the full details to Hiruzen, who listened with an increasingly furrowed brow.
So—
It had been the Shimura Clan's shinobi who attempted to assassinate Uchiha Keizumi.
But not only had they failed, they'd nearly ended up killing Naruto and Fugaku's younger son in the process!
If Keizumi hadn't reacted with such sharp instincts and thrown them out of the blast zone…
If Kakashi hadn't caught them midair…
Those two boys could've really died.
"Wait!" Hiruzen suddenly interrupted,
"You just said Keizumi went alone toward the Shimura Clan's compound?"
Kakashi nodded.
Hiruzen asked again, "When did that happen?"
"Five minutes ago."
Hiruzen: "…"
It was probably too late already.
Tonight, a clan extermination might very well be taking place.
But not the one Keizumi had predicted for the Uchiha Clan—
Rather, it might be the Shimura Clan facing their extinction tonight.
And Hiruzen, due to his close relationship with Danzō, was all too aware of the kind of people that made up the Shimura Clan.
Yes, they were loyal to Konohagakure.
They wouldn't hesitate to give their lives for the village.
But they were also deeply shaped by Danzō's extreme ideology.
Whether or not they had carried out dirty work for him in the past, tonight's incident alone had already crossed a deadly line.
If not for the fact that Keizumi cared about the safety of ordinary people—
That explosion might have taken the lives of countless innocent Uchiha.
And under Keizumi's doctrine of [Absolute Justice]—
Everyone involved…
Must die.
"Hokage-ojiichan! Today, Keizumi-sensei let me personally carry out a mission of justice! I passed his test!"
Just as Naruto, now healed, cheerfully told this to Hiruzen, the old man was about to grumble internally—
Why on earth is he calling Keizumi "Keizumi-sensei"...
But the very next second, Hiruzen suddenly froze in shock.
"What?!!"
His eyes widened in disbelief as he lost composure, glaring at Naruto.
"Wait—Naruto, did Keizumi… encourage you to kill someone?! You said you passed his test—does that mean…"
Hiruzen stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing into a sharp glare directed at Kakashi.
Hadn't he explicitly ordered Kakashi to prevent Naruto from being influenced by [Absolute Justice]?
Just what had Kakashi been doing?!
"Hokage-sama, it's not what you think…"
Kakashi gave a wry smile and briefly explained the situation.
Hiruzen blinked, then blinked again.
So… it really was just a test?
Ahem.
Hiruzen suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Thankfully, he hadn't voiced his inner complaints toward Kakashi—otherwise, he truly wouldn't have had a leg to stand on.
…
Meanwhile, within the Shimura Clan's estate, a few clan members were anxiously awaiting the return of their elders.
As soon as they saw them return, they quickly crowded around.
"Elder, did that Uchiha plague finally get…"
The elder of the Shimura Clan shook his head.
"Though we did witness Uchiha Keizumi being swallowed by the explosion from the paper bombs, we couldn't confirm whether he was completely dead. Staying any longer would've meant running into the police force."
A flicker of gloom passed through his cloudy eyes.
"I also didn't expect Hatake Kakashi to be present at the Uchiha compound. If we hadn't run fast enough, we might not have gotten away from him."
"Kakashi? The Copy Ninja?" a younger member asked hesitantly. "Isn't he supposed to be in ANBU? What was he doing there?"
The elder replied slowly, "Who knows… But at least our initial objective was fulfilled. After tonight, I'll go directly to the Hokage and turn myself in. I'll take full responsibility for planning the assassination."
"That way, the Uchiha Clan won't be able to pin anything on the rest of you. And if Keizumi somehow survived… if he comes seeking vengeance, he'll come for me alone."
"During the time I buy you, you must all leave Konoha under the pretext of undertaking missions outside the village."
"Don't return until this storm has passed."
"I have somewhere much more suitable to send you."
A sudden cold voice cut through the room, making everyone present freeze in shock—
The elder's aged face twisted in disbelief.
"How about the underworld? Would that be suitable?"
Uchiha Keizumi, blade in hand, strode openly into the Shimura Clan compound.
The elder of the Shimura Clan turned around in sheer horror.
And when he saw Keizumi, completely unharmed—
His frail body stumbled back several steps as he blurted out in disbelief, "You knew ahead of time someone would try to kill you?!"
He couldn't fathom how Keizumi had survived the explosion of over a hundred explosive tags unless he had activated his Lava Release: Chakra Armor in advance.
And doing so ahead of time… could only mean he had known what was coming.
Wait a minute!
The elder's face visibly darkened.
He was now beginning to suspect—
Could this whole thing have been a setup? A scheme orchestrated by Uchiha Setsuna and Keizumi together to destroy the Shimura Clan?
Their plan all along… was to use this as an excuse to wipe out the Shimura Clan?
"Hmph!"
Exhaling a heavy breath, the elder of the Shimura Clan spoke coldly, "Uchiha Keizumi. I alone take full responsibility for what was done. I was the one who plotted the assassination. It was my plan. It was my hand that arranged the explosive tags."
"Everything—all of it—has nothing to do with the others. They were simply forced to obey my commands. In the Shimura Clan… only I bear the weight of guilt!"
"Is that so?"
Uchiha Keizumi swept his gaze across the Shimura clansmen, all of whom stared back at him with guarded hostility.
His eyes scanned the area—rows upon rows of crimson letters glared back at him.
The vast majority of them were marked with a glaring red crime:
[Directly involved in the assassination attempt on "Uchiha Keizumi"]
This single offense was enough to brand them all as red-named criminals.
After all, had Keizumi not revealed his Wood Release in time—had he not rescued the Uchiha clansmen nearly caught in the blast—many innocent lives would have been lost.
And these people… they all knew such collateral damage was likely.
Yet they still chose to take part.
They never cared about the innocent.
What's more—
Aside from the red tags related to the assassination plot, Uchiha Keizumi also spotted other marks floating above the heads of several Shimura Clan shinobi—ones who had escaped his notice until now.
That wasn't surprising.
Konohagakure might not be vast, but it wasn't small either—and many shinobi were out on missions for long periods. Keizumi couldn't possibly encounter every Konoha ninja.
Besides, back when he had yet to mature fully, [Absolute Justice] was still weak.
"What a pity… I don't see a single innocent soul among you."
The moment those words left Keizumi's lips, the elder's face darkened dramatically.
"Especially you, Shimura Shō."
Keizumi's eyes sharpened.
"To my eyes, the evil clinging to you… is the most monstrous of all."
The elder of the Shimura Clan, Shimura Shō, immediately realized—
Uchiha Keizumi had come tonight to kill.
And more than that…
He wasn't just here for him—
Keizumi intended to annihilate the entire clan!
"Attack him all at once! Otherwise, we're all going to die here!"
Faced with Keizumi's utterly unorthodox, overwhelming force, Shimura Shō could no longer stay composed. His aged face twisted with fury as he roared, hurling aside his cane and rapidly weaving hand seals.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!!!"
He was straining to squeeze every last drop of chakra from his aging body.
With a sharp inhale, he unleashed it—two barely visible blades of wind shot toward Uchiha Keizumi at blistering speed.
Keizumi tilted his body slightly, dodging one wind blade. Then, with a single horizontal swing of his blade, he sliced the second clean in half with ease.
As he lifted his gaze slightly, his blood-red Sharingan—each bearing three tomoe—gleamed with a chilling brilliance under the moonlit sky.
Other Shimura Clan shinobi immediately joined the assault.
One even bit his thumb and summoned a contract beast on the spot.
Every available tactic was used.
Every powerful technique was thrown at him with lethal intent.
And yet—
"No wonder none of you have ever stirred up a real storm… No wonder you leave no presence behind."
Keizumi sheathed his sword.
His right arm was now completely molten.
Several Wind Release: Vacuum Spheres shot through the air and struck his torso, punching four perfectly round holes through his body.
But not a single drop of blood spilled out.
Inside, only lava could be seen flowing.
[Whoosh—!]
A razor-sharp wind blade struck with surgical precision, slicing halfway through Keizumi's neck before continuing forward and cleaving through the half-open front gate of the Shimura compound.
And yet—
Even his neck was filled with lava.
The magma flowed steadily from the wounds in his body and down his neck.
And almost instantly, every injury inflicted by the wind techniques had already fully regenerated.
His molten right arm surged with heat.
Under the horrified stares of the Shimura Clan's shinobi—
That arm was rapidly expanding.
"Lava Release…"
"Great Eruption!!!"
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