"This guy was strong!"
Naruto's face went white as paper. "The two of us together… we almost couldn't beat him. But at least we really used our own strength to execute an evildoer."
"This bastard… he bullied war orphans at the academy, drove one of them to slit his wrists and take his own life… cough!"
"The academy teachers told us not to spread it around. They said the school would 'deal with it seriously.'"
"But no matter how serious their punishment, they could never make him pay back a life. After all, he was only three years older than us."
"Keizumi-sensei said before… cough, cough! …only when the aggressor pays with his life can the victim rest in peace."
"Sasuke, you jerk… the two of us, we did it…"
"Keizumi-sensei will definitely praise us."
"Don't talk!" Snapping back to his senses, Sasuke rushed forward, trying to lift him. "I'll take you to Konoha Hospital!"
As Sasuke struggled to support Naruto's weakened body—
A furious shout split the air.
"Stop!!!"
They had struck down a member of the Hyūga clan right outside the clan compound. If the Hyūga shinobi hadn't been alerted, that would have been the real problem.
Several Hyūga rushed to the scene, only to find a lifeless corpse on the ground.
And two blood-smeared children standing over it.
Their sharp eyes quickly recognized the dead man as one of their own.
And the two boys' hands were still wet with blood.
"Was it you who killed him?" The harsh question from one of the Hyūga made Sasuke tense instantly as he clutched Naruto.
Reason told him—at their age, if he stubbornly denied it, then unless they resorted to torture, there was no way these shinobi could force out the truth.
However—
Reason told him one thing, but emotion forced him to tighten his small face, suppress the nerves in his chest, and speak out loud: "Yes! But… it was because of his bullying that a war orphan at the Academy took his own life. And whether it was the Academy or your Hyūga clan, the punishment you gave him was nothing but a slap on the wrist. He was still able to attend the Academy safely, without paying the proper price for his crimes."
"We acted only in the name of [Absolute Justice], to make him pay. And… if such a villain were allowed to live, he would only commit even greater evils in the future. That is why justice demanded his execution!"
Sasuke admitted it openly, and from his point of view, every word rang righteous and unflinching.
But from the standpoint of the Hyūga clan, this was nothing less than a direct and severe provocation.
"Brat!"
Several Hyūga shinobi had already begun to encircle Naruto and Sasuke.
One of them, face darkened with anger, growled: "Don't think that just because you wear the Uchiha clan's clothes and spout words about [Absolute Justice], that makes you Uchiha Keizumi!"
"For an Uchiha to secretly kill a member of the Hyūga branch family—this is an act that provokes war between our two clans! Do you really think you can leave here after doing such a thing?"
"Wait…" At that moment, another Hyūga reached out and pulled back his furious comrade.
His eyes fixed on the pale, exhausted boy with blond hair.
His Byakugan revealed a strange glimmer as his expression grew heavy.
He spoke in a grave tone: "This blond-haired brat… he looks like that Nine-Tails brat—Uzumaki Naruto!"
The other Hyūga shinobi: "!!"
Then his gaze shifted to the tense young Uchiha standing beside him.
"And this Uchiha child—if I'm not mistaken, he is the second son of the Uchiha clan head—Uchiha Sasuke!"
The rest froze in renewed shock.
Until then, they had judged only by his Uchiha attire that he belonged to the clan—never imagining his identity was this significant.
The killers were a jinchūriki… and the son of the Uchiha clan head!
Suddenly, the Hyūga shinobi forced their anger down, their minds turning cold and calculating.
This…
This was no longer something they could handle themselves.
"Go back and report to Hiashi-sama!"
…
"Hah!"
"Haah!"
A faint gust of wind brushed against Hyūga Neji's face. In front of him, Hyūga Hinata had thrust her palm forward from a distance—yet nothing happened.
Expressionless, Neji stepped in quickly, toppling Hinata with a swift kick before striking down at her again with another palm.
"Ugh!"
Hinata clutched her abdomen with a cry, her body curling inward, her small face contorted in pain.
Neji straightened, his eyes first flicking to Hyūga Hiashi in the distance, who wore an expression of disappointment. Then he looked down at Hinata lying on the ground.
His voice was cold as he spoke: "You haven't even learned the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, yet you dare use it on me. Your combat sense is practically zero. The shinobi world is not for you—better you stay quietly in the clan as a sheltered heiress."
Hinata bit down hard at his words, trying to struggle back to her feet.
But just then, a Hyūga shinobi came rushing over.
"Hiashi-sama!" The man hurried to Hyūga Hiashi's side, leaned close to his ear, and whispered something in a low voice.
Neji's attention was instantly drawn.
He sharply noticed the way Hiashi's brow furrowed deeply.
"You didn't lay a hand on those two children, did you?" —this was what Neji heard Hiashi ask in a hushed tone.
"No."
When the Hyūga shinobi replied, Neji saw that Hiashi seemed to let out a faint breath of relief.
With a grave expression, Hiashi continued, "Take me to them."
"Yes, sir!"
Watching the two leave, Neji glanced down at Hinata, still writhing on the ground. Stifling the anger in his chest, he gave a scornful "Tch," then quietly followed after Hiashi.
Before long—
Hiashi and the Hyūga shinobi arrived at the scene.
He saw the corpse of his clansman, and he saw Naruto and Sasuke.
As clan head, he should have spoken… yet at that moment, Hiashi found he had no words.
That day had come at last.
He knew the Nine-Tails jinchūriki had already begun following Uchiha Keizumi, embracing [Absolute Justice]. He knew as well that Uchiha Fugaku's younger son, Sasuke, had taken up [Absolute Justice].
These two children… today they had killed a Hyūga youth. That meant [Absolute Justice] had come to the Hyūga clan itself.
"Haa…"
After letting out a heavy breath, Hiashi turned his gaze to Sasuke, who was in better shape than Naruto. His face remained impassive as he asked: "Even in carrying out [Absolute Justice], you still need a reason, don't you?"
Sasuke felt an immense pressure from Hiashi, but he clenched his teeth and insisted: "I… already explained once!"
A Hyūga shinobi leaned in and quietly relayed the details to Hiashi.
Hearing them, Hiashi's brow furrowed even deeper.
Just as he was about to speak, Hiashi suddenly looked up, as if sensing something. In the distance, figures were rushing swiftly toward them.
At their head was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen, newly returned to the village—behind him came a unit of ANBU shinobi.
At the sight, Hiashi's heart sank.
Now it was not only tied to Uchiha Keizumi's Absolute Justice—it was bound to the Hokage himself.
"Naruto!"
The first thing Hiruzen did upon arriving was check Naruto's condition. Seeing the boy covered in blood, the old man's face blanched.
In the same instant, he grew tense and wary, fearful that in such a state Naruto might suddenly lose control.
The Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto was no trivial matter.
"Hokage-ojiichan… I… I'm fine…" Naruto forced a weak smile, but in the next second, the pain wracking his body twisted his young face.
"Medical ninja!"
With his face set in stone, Hiruzen immediately called forward an ANBU skilled in medical ninjutsu.
The shinobi rushed in to treat Naruto's wounds.
"Hokage-ojiichan… him too…" Naruto raised his arm with difficulty, pointing toward Sasuke, who looked nearly as battered.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a look.
Another ANBU skilled in medical ninjutsu stepped forward.
Only after seeing Naruto's complexion improve slightly did Hiruzen allow himself to breathe easier.
Then—
With a stern face, Hiruzen turned toward Hyūga Hiashi.
"Hiashi, you had better be ready to explain this to me. Why was Naruto here killing someone? Why is he wounded? And the mark on his chest—that was from your clan's Gentle Fist, wasn't it? Do you understand what it means for him to be injured so severely?"
Faced with the Hokage's pointed questioning, Hiashi sighed inwardly. Outwardly, his expression stayed solemn as he replied helplessly: "Hokage-sama, this too was something I did not foresee."
He explained everything he knew, and finally added: "If you do not believe me, Hokage-sama, you may ask Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke directly."
Hiruzen froze for a moment.
Unable to help himself, he looked toward Naruto. The seven-year-old immediately nodded eagerly and said: "He's right, Hokage-ojiichan! Sasuke and I both felt it wasn't fair. Why should that guy cause someone's death and still not pay the proper price?"
So, the reason Naruto and Sasuke had suddenly come to the Hyūga compound was because they were carrying out [Absolute Justice], executing a Hyūga youth who had committed wrongdoing?
And their wounds—those were dealt by the boy who now lay dead? They had traded their injuries for his life?
This…
It seemed tied to Keizumi once again.
And when Hiruzen saw the seriousness on Naruto's face, recalling his words just now, he realized the child had already set foot on the crooked path of [Absolute Justice] with no turning back.
Keizumi hadn't even been in Konoha recently, and yet Naruto had still fallen under the sway of [Absolute Justice]?
To the point of taking such a reckless, extreme action today?
He had actually killed for the sake of [Absolute Justice]!
Did Naruto not understand that this was not something a child his age should be doing?!
Had Keizumi's extreme nature influenced him?
Or was he simply imitating Keizumi's actions?
Hiruzen could not comprehend it.
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