Inside the Ninja Academy.
"Sarutobi Hisa."
Under the nervous, throat-tightened gazes of the Academy instructors, and beneath the wails of the child crushed beneath his feet, Uchiha Keizumi casually called out a name. By sheer coincidence, the Sarutobi boy at his feet abruptly fell silent—
Because that was his name. Sarutobi Hisa.
His eyes widened, terror and despair overwhelming even the pain of his shattered face and pierced palm.
He was still just a child!
Surely this Uchiha shinobi wouldn't go any further?
Hadn't driving a blade through his palm and grinding half his face underfoot already been punishment enough?
But Keizumi's voice came cold and merciless, each word sharp as a knife: "Your vile deeds have reached the point of being unforgivable."
"W-wait—"
Sarutobi Hisa's eyes brimmed with terror. He had barely managed to force out a single syllable before the foot pressing on his skull suddenly surged with terrifying strength.
He heard it—the brittle crack of facial bones snapping. Agony split through his head, twisting his expression into something grotesque.
It felt as if his skull were about to explode.
[Boom!!!]
The Academy instructors' faces twisted with horror. They stared in shock at the scene before them. By all rights, as teachers of the Academy, they should have intervened immediately—this was the Ninja Academy, after all!
But not one of them dared step forward.
Even the three Uchiha Police Force shinobi twitched slightly at the eyelids. Though they themselves were Uchiha, even they felt Keizumi's methods were far too extreme.
If it had been them, they would at least have taken the three brats back to the Police Force headquarters for judgment.
Still, they remained calmer than the Academy instructors.
Tsunade, meanwhile, closed her eyes ever so slightly. She did nothing to stop what was happening. She could not tell whether she was suppressing her fear of blood… or suppressing the killing intent burning in her chest.
If her own temperament had been a little more extreme…
Then perhaps—
She might have acted exactly as this boy Uchiha Keizumi was acting now.
"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune swallowed hard, anxiety written all over her face as she looked to her sensei.
"…It's fine."
Tsunade shook her head.
Keizumi slowly lifted his right leg, now stained red with blood. His cold eyes swept to another trembling Sarutobi youth. Each word he spoke fell like the tally of the King of the Dead, sending shudders down spines: "Sarutobi Shōji."
Before that Sarutobi boy could even react, Keizumi had already brushed past him, his voice continuing without pause: "Sarutobi Zōnosuke. Your crimes are vile—unforgivable."
"M-my father is a Konoha jōnin of the Sarutobi clan! You can't—"
[Slash!]
A glint of steel flashed before his eyes. Zōnosuke's words were cut short forever.
"!!!"
Sarutobi Shōji froze where he stood, shock clouding his mind.
Hisa and Zōnosuke were dead. So why was he still alive? The terrifying man had passed right by him. Did that mean his crimes did not warrant death? But hadn't he clearly declared that Shōji too was sentenced—execution immediate…?
Just as Sarutobi Shōji stood in stunned disbelief, his vision suddenly blurred. The scene before him seemed to tilt, and a wave of dizziness crashed over his head.
Under the gaze of all present—
A faint, almost invisible line of blood slowly appeared across his neck.
The line thickened, until blood trickled down, until at last his head, no longer held in place, tilted and slipped away.
Only then did Sarutobi Shōji realize—
He had already been killed.
…
At the same time, atop a large tree not far away—
"Don't interfere…" Kakashi's lips twitched. Pakkun had already delivered the Hokage's order. But even without the Third's command, he had no intention of stepping in.
To obstruct Uchiha Keizumi's justice would be the same as gambling his life on the words "he won't kill me."
Many had made that gamble. Every single one had lost.
Kakashi did not consider himself blessed with such miraculous luck.
"And besides…"
He muttered under his breath, "Hokage-sama, your order came too late. Uchiha Keizumi has already dealt with it. Looks like the Sarutobi clan may have to hold another funeral… and this time, bury four brats at once."
Hidden in the tree's shadow, Kakashi watched the ghastly scene before him.
He sighed helplessly. "Couldn't Uchiha Keizumi at least pick a more discreet spot? Even taking them back to the Police Force would've been better. Doing this right here in the Academy—doesn't he realize he's terrifying all the kids?"
Then again—
Perhaps Keizumi had his own reasoning. Perhaps he intended to frighten them.
It was a form of warning.
Kakashi was certain plenty of children sneaking glances from the classrooms had been scarred by what they saw.
And in truth—
They had.
…
[Thud—]
Haruno Sakura's little face went deathly pale. She had to clutch the wall just to keep herself standing.
She had just watched a head crushed to pulp beneath a foot.
And two more heads lopped clean off.
Three headless corpses, blood jetting from their necks like fountains, sprayed scarlet across her vision. The sight left her whole body trembling, drained of strength.
Even from a distance, her young eyes were sharp. She clearly saw the two severed heads, their faces frozen in terror and despair, staring blankly in her direction.
"M-murder… Iruka-sensei!" Sakura's eyes welled with tears, her pale face stricken. "Someone's killing people outside… Three of them are dead… and they were all Academy students…"
"I told you, don't look! Don't pay it any mind!"
Iruka was already regretting not requesting from the Hokage that every classroom be fitted with heavy curtains.
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
"You two, stop tiptoeing to look outside! I said you're being punished, not that you can watch what's going on! And you—Shikamaru, Kiba, Chōji! What do you think you're doing? Back to your seats at once!"
Face dark, Iruka wished he could drag every last student back to their place and lock them there with chains.
Because he truly feared these little ones might be caught up in whatever was happening outside.
"Iruka-sensei, you're our sensei, and Keizumi-sensei is our sensei too. Sasuke and I just want to see Keizumi-sensei carrying out justice—what's wrong with that?"
Naruto muttered in dissatisfaction.
"Carrying out justice is not something you should be meddling in at your age! What you need right now is to shape your outlook on life, your morals! At the very least, you need some culture before you can even begin to understand what justice means!"
Iruka stressed wearily.
…
"So this is the 'Lava Release Beast's' Absolute Justice?"
Far behind Uchiha Izumi and Mitarashi Anko, Biwa Jūzō had been tailing them, witnessing everything.
He saw that Uchiha girl named "Izumi" subject someone to brutal torture right there in broad daylight.
Even Jūzō, hardened as he was, flinched at the sheer bloodiness of her methods.
At first he thought this Uchiha girl's impulsive cruelty would get her into serious trouble. But then he noticed—the Konoha civilians nearby seemed fearful, yes, but otherwise unfazed. No one screamed, no one went running to call the ANBU.
The impression Jūzō got was that they were already used to scenes of "public torture" happening on the streets.
A strange haze clouded his mind.
Where exactly had he ended up? Was this really Konoha? Why did it feel like he had stepped into Kirigakure under the Blood Mist policy?
Or maybe… this was Kirigakure, and he was caught in a genjutsu making him think he was in Konoha?
Tch…
Were Konoha's shinobi truly this bloodthirsty?
As his thoughts wavered, the two kunoichi ahead suddenly stopped in their tracks. By the time Jūzō realized something was wrong, both had already turned, their gazes locking onto him.
"Ah… they noticed me. Well, I never intended to conceal myself anyway. Being found out is only natural."
Jūzō met their stares without a hint of fear.
"You've been following us for quite a while now, haven't you?" Mitarashi Anko called out across the ten or so meters between them, her eyes sharp. "That strange outfit of yours—you clearly aren't a Konoha shinobi. Just who the hell are you?!"
Jūzō's face remained expressionless. "Looks like I've been away from the shinobi world long enough that none of you recognize me—even when you see this blade."
"Blade…"
Anko's gaze dropped to the massive sword slung across his back.
Though Jūzō's figure concealed most of it, enough of the Executioner's Blade was visible to freeze her in place.
Her already grim expression grew taut with vigilance. Her hand had already drawn a kunai without her realizing it.
She leaned toward Izumi and whispered sharply: "Be careful. This guy's likely one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen! If I'm not mistaken, he's Biwa Jūzō, wielder of the Executioner's Blade—a very dangerous man, cruel in his methods!"
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen!" Izumi's eyes widened. She had clearly heard that name before. "What's someone like him doing in Konoha?"
Though she felt a flicker of doubt in her heart, Izumi remained on guard.
She had already drawn the blade at her waist. Faint stains of blood still clung stubbornly to the steel, remnants from when she had used it to torture criminals.
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