Outside Konohagakure.
The ANBU finally located the body of Sarutobi Asuma.
When they saw his corpse—soaked in blood, with a massive charred hole in the chest—
all of them fell silent.
Though the Hokage's second son rarely stayed in the village,
they still easily recognized Asuma's face.
And this—
Ever since the ANBU Commander, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, had been killed by Uchiha Keizumi in the name of "justice,"
Asuma seemed to be the Hokage's only remaining son.
And now, this only son… had also died by Uchiha Keizumi's hand.
None of the ANBU present could even begin to imagine—what kind of reaction the Hokage would have when he learned the truth.
For a father like the Hokage…
Wasn't this just too cruel?
By all logic, what the ANBU should do now was to immediately apprehend Uchiha Keizumi and deliver him to the Hokage—but that would only make sense if Keizumi had committed a crime.
The issue was—the one most in the wrong here… was Asuma!
He had led the Twelve Guardian Ninja into an ambush outside the village to assassinate Uchiha Keizumi.
That amounted to conspiring with outsiders to murder a fellow comrade from the same village—without cause!
That level of misconduct was even worse than what the Shimura clan had done.
At least Uchiha Keizumi had a reason for killing—[Justice].
Even the Hokage himself had acknowledged it.
And whenever Keizumi killed, he did so openly, without concealment.
The Yamanaka clan would even assist him in investigating the criminal records of the deceased.
But Sarutobi Asuma—what justification did he have?
Avenging his brother?
The problem was—his brother had already been officially labeled a criminal!
That kind of motive wouldn't hold up at all!
Just as the ANBU were struggling to find any way to excuse Asuma's actions—and utterly failing to do so—they suddenly heard some movement off to the side.
All eyes shifted in that direction.
And what they saw—was a young girl in Uchiha Police Force attire stepping out from the forest, with a whole crowd of ninja cats trailing behind her.
"Keizumi-senpai!"
"Keizumi-sama!"
The girl and the cats all called out in unison, which made the ANBU immediately recognize her—
That was Uchiha Izumi, the little tagalong who'd been frequently seen at Uchiha Keizumi's side lately!
The moment Izumi saw that Keizumi was unharmed, she finally let out a breath of relief.
The tension on her small face eased noticeably.
But when her gaze fell on the battered and bloodied Tachibana Jirō, her heart jumped into her throat.
She could instantly imagine just how intense the battle must have been.
It was also the first time she had ever seen Tachibana Jirō in such a pitiful, disheveled state.
"Jirō-sama!"
The group of ninja cats—some speaking human tongue, others meowing anxiously—rushed over in a panic to surround him.
"Stop yowling, meow!"
Jirō smacked away a young ninja cat that pounced toward him, rolled his eyes, and growled, "Don't touch my wounds, you brats! That hurts, dammit!"
The devastated landscape around her, riddled with destruction, left her deeply shaken.
Just as the girl hesitated, unsure whether to speak, Uchiha Keizumi said calmly, "I killed eleven criminals who dared to raise their blades of evil against [Absolute Justice]."
As expected—
Whatever she was thinking had already shown on her face.
There was no hiding it from Keizumi-senpai.
"I'm sorry, Senpai. I was late," Izumi said, pressing her lips together, her voice filled with guilt. "If I'd arrived a little earlier, maybe I could have fought alongside you."
"You overestimate yourself." Uchiha Keizumi's face remained expressionless. "Your sense of [Justice] is still too weak."
He's as blunt as ever…
Izumi's cheeks flushed with a hint of embarrassment.
But—what he said was the truth.
Keizumi continued, "Go back. What you need to do is carry out Absolute Justice within Konoha—not come running out here."
With that, he turned to leave.
His movement drew surprised reactions from the surrounding ANBU.
Beneath their masks, many of them wore expressions of disbelief.
The same unspoken thought echoed through all of them—
Did Uchiha Keizumi really not realize yet… that killing Sarutobi Asuma was a monumental incident?!
One ANBU couldn't hold it in any longer.
He stepped forward and said sternly: "Uchiha Keizumi, shouldn't you stay and give the Hokage an explanation? You just killed one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja! He was the Hokage's son! An elite jōnin of Konoha!"
Izumi: "!!!"
Wait a minute…
Did she just hear that right?
The unknown enemy who ambushed Senpai… was the Hokage's son?!
What?!
Uchiha Keizumi paused and turned his head slightly, glancing coldly at the speaker.
"Send the body to the Yamanaka clan. They'll give the Third a proper explanation."
"If he doesn't accept their explanation, he's welcome to come question me in person when I return to the village."
Meanwhile, Tachibana Jirō—still licking the wounds on his paw—limped his way through the group of cats and followed behind Uchiha Keizumi.
With a scornful expression, he turned back and sneered, "So the Third sends Keizumi-sama out on an S-rank mission, and wouldn't you know it—his son just so happens to be lying in wait outside the village with a whole squad to ambush us. What a 'coincidence,' meow!"
"Maybe he should be the one giving us an explanation first!"
"And if he can't explain it…"
"Doesn't that mean he might've taken part in this ambush against Keizumi-sama?"
"And if that's true, wouldn't it mean the Third Hokage of Konoha just tried to assassinate a fellow shinobi from his own village?"
Uchiha Keizumi's and Tachibana Jirō's remarks left the ANBU utterly speechless.
Because…
Even they had to admit—it all seemed far too convenient, as if the entire sequence of events had been orchestrated.
Maybe even their own "delayed arrival"… had been part of the plan all along.
So then…
Did the Hokage truly take part in this?!
They all watched as the "murderer" who had killed the Hokage's second son walked further and further away.
In the end… not a single ANBU stepped forward to stop Uchiha Keizumi.
Just as Might Guy looked like he was about to spring into action—
Kakashi reached out and grabbed his arm.
Kakashi gave a slight shake of his head. "This isn't something we should get involved in."
He paused, eyes fixed on Uchiha Keizumi's fading silhouette, then spoke in a complicated tone: "All we need to do is bring Asuma's body back to the village… and inform the Hokage. That's it."
"Uchiha Keizumi…" Kakashi slowly drew in a deep breath. "He would never kill someone without reason."
Maybe Sarutobi Asuma deserved to die—
But that final thought, Kakashi never said aloud.
Still, Might Guy heard it anyway.
He fell into a heavy silence.
The ANBU exchanged glances, and ultimately decided to start by extinguishing the raging fire and the lava flowing across the forest floor, to prevent the blaze from spreading to Konoha.
Afterward, they began silently collecting the scattered corpses.
Some ANBU focused on fire suppression; others began carrying the bodies back to the village.
Kakashi and Might Guy also returned quietly to Konoha.
"So that's how it is…"
Though she had only heard bits and pieces, Izumi had already pieced much of it together. She murmured in thought, "The Hokage's son led a team to ambush Keizumi-senpai, only to be completely wiped out by Senpai instead. He was the mastermind behind this assassination attempt—and his death was only fitting. Because what he did placed him squarely in the camp of evil."
"But if none of this gets explained, the village will likely believe that Senpai killed the Hokage's son for no reason. That could lead to another wave of misunderstandings about Senpai's [Absolute Justice]. Worse yet, someone with ulterior motives might twist public opinion!"
Lowering her voice so the nearby ANBU wouldn't hear, she looked seriously at the ninja cats around her and said: "We need to spread the truth of what really happened—for Senpai's sake."
"Before anyone can stir up negative sentiment against him… before the villagers start misunderstanding him again… they must know the truth!"
Izumi believed this was absolutely necessary. As long as they could seize the moral high ground of justice—
The Hokage would have no reason to take action against Keizumi-senpai.
After all, judging from the cause, the course, and the outcome of what happened…
It was the Hokage's son who was in the wrong.
Keizumi-senpai stood on the side of true justice—flawless and unshakable.
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