"Uchiha Keizumi..."
With a dark and stormy expression, Uchiha Setsuna gritted his teeth and spat out each word: "He's been brainwashed by the Will of Fire, just like that Uchiha Itachi!"
"His loyalty lies not with the Uchiha clan, but with Konohagakure—loyal to the Senju! He's a traitor to our clan!"
To an extreme hawkish elder like Uchiha Setsuna, any clansman who didn't support the coup was nothing more than a cowardly weakling.
And those who openly sided with the Hokage? To him, they were hopeless fools, completely indoctrinated by the Will of Fire.
As for Uchiha Keizumi…
Setsuna maliciously speculated that he was a combination of both types—perhaps even worse than either one alone.
Because that bastard Uchiha Keizumi had just shown killing intent toward him—and it was absolutely real.
He truly wanted to kill him!
"Elder Setsuna."
At that moment, another hawkish Uchiha beside him spoke.
"Uchiha Keizumi may become, just like Uchiha Itachi, the biggest obstacle to our plan."
"That guy might never have been on our side to begin with. His stance has never aligned with the Uchiha."
Setsuna snorted coldly.
Clearly calculating something in his mind.
…
Elsewhere.
After leaving the Root base, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't return to the Hokage building. Instead, he made his way to the Konoha Prison, silently waiting.
It didn't take long before a member of the Uchiha Police Force arrived.
The officer was escorting none other than the troublemaking Uzumaki Naruto to the prison—on direct orders from Fugaku.
"Hokage… sama?"
The officer couldn't help but grow nervous at the sight of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the ANBU operatives standing beside him.
After all, he was an Uchiha, and the kid he was holding onto was the rumored vessel of the Nine-Tails.
"It's alright."
Hiruzen motioned for him to stay calm. Smiling warmly, he said, "I've always trusted the Uchiha clan. I believe you wouldn't do anything out of line. From what I can see, Fugaku made the right call. You're standing with him, aren't you?"
The officer bowed slightly and replied, "Indeed, it was Clan Head Fugaku who instructed me to bring Uzumaki Naruto to Konoha Prison right away—so that certain members of the clan wouldn't get a chance to interact with him."
Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction.
He continued, "I'll take custody of Naruto from here."
The officer hesitated.
"If I hand him over to you, Hokage-sama… what about Uchiha Keizumi?"
Keizumi was someone even Clan Head Fugaku couldn't fully rein in.
The officer still felt somewhat intimidated by him.
Hiruzen replied, "This doesn't conflict with his intentions. That child's goal was simply to teach Naruto a lesson—by having him sent to prison. And look, you've already done that, haven't you?"
"As Hokage of Konoha, I'm exercising my authority to grant Naruto a special pardon and take him from the prison. That's within my rights. Even if Keizumi is displeased, he'll come to me—not to you."
"…Understood, Hokage-sama."
The officer thought it over, then released Naruto.
"Grandpa Hokage!!!"
"Uwaaah…"
After spending the entire day anxious and scared, Naruto nearly burst into tears as he ran toward Hiruzen for "rescue."
Hiruzen gently ruffled the boy's hair, then his tone hardened as he addressed the ANBU behind him: "Keep a close watch on Root in the coming days. I suspect Danzō won't let this go quietly. That man isn't someone who can swallow his pride—and especially not after being humiliated by a genius from the Uchiha."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
…
As evening fell in the blink of an eye—
Uchiha Keizumi, the very one who had unknowingly stirred the village into chaos, strolled casually through the village with Izumi at his side, as if none of it had anything to do with him.
His calm composure eased Izumi's unease as well. Despite her earlier anxiety, she gradually began to settle down, following his lead.
"Rookie, report the numbers."
"Yes, Keizumi-senpai!"
Izumi straightened up and responded energetically, "Including Uzumaki Naruto, today… we discovered a total of nine evil offenders. Among them, three disrupted Konoha's order, two were involved in theft, two in brawling, and…"
As she spoke, her tone grew a little cautious.
"And two were charged with obstructing justice. Out of the nine evil offenders, seven were arrested and imprisoned, and two were executed on the spot."
The two who were executed on the spot for obstructing justice—
Were none other than the Root operatives who died at the hands of Uchiha Keizumi.
Keizumi gave her a glance. "You missed a lot."
"Eh?"
Izumi froze for a moment. She didn't think she'd missed anything!
She had even taken detailed notes on everything that happened today in her little notebook.
But…
Under Keizumi-senpai's gaze, her confidence suddenly wavered.
The words "I didn't miss anything" stuck in her throat. No matter what, she couldn't bring herself to say them.
"M-Missed something…?"
Izumi asked timidly.
"Shimura Danzō. Sarutobi Hiruzen. That Uchiha Setsuna. And…"
Uchiha Keizumi calmly listed off names, one after another, as if a grim reaper reading from a death ledger.
His expression remained indifferent as he continued: "These people all stood against justice today. And yet, because our justice isn't strong enough, they still walk free."
"These evils that must be purged…"
"You missed every single one of them."
Izumi's heart trembled as she listened.
Keizumi-senpai had practically named every major figure in the village.
Even several of the Uchiha clan elders hadn't escaped his list.
If all the people he just mentioned were to be purged as he said—
Wouldn't that basically be… a rebellion?!
"Write them down too," Keizumi said calmly.
"Y-Yes, senpai…"
Izumi could only pull out her notebook and write down the names as he dictated.
But she noticed that her fingers were trembling as she wrote—especially when she wrote down 'Sarutobi Hiruzen', the current Hokage.
At that moment, she felt like there was no turning back.
If this little notebook were to be discovered by the ANBU…
Hiss…
She could practically see herself spending the rest of her life in Konoha's prison.
As Izumi followed behind Keizumi, jotting things down while walking, something caught her eye in the distance—
At the corner ahead, a small figure suddenly stepped into view.
Izumi's clear, watery eyes widened slightly.
She stared as the small figure rounded the corner and collided directly with Keizumi-senpai.
[Thud!]
Without suspense, the child fell flat on his butt, scattering the items in his hands across the ground.
"Ugh—"
Izumi heard the child groan in pain.
"Sasuke, watch where you're going," came a gentle voice from up ahead, sounding apologetic.
"Sorry about that, he's a bit clumsy. I hope he didn't cause any trouble."
"…Huh? You're…"
"Keizumi?"
Uchiha Mikoto recognized Uchiha Keizumi—not just because he was 'famous' within the Uchiha clan, but also because three years ago, he'd had a confrontation with Itachi.
From what she knew, if Uchiha Shisui hadn't been with Itachi at the time, things might have turned out very badly.
After a brief moment of shock, Mikoto quickly collected herself and reached out to pull Sasuke up.
Her gaze immediately turned guarded and distant.
"Keizumi, Sasuke was just a little reckless. He hasn't broken any laws of Konohagakure," Mikoto said, wary that this extremist clansman might harm her young son.
However—
To her surprise, Keizumi only spared her a brief glance and didn't say a word. He simply turned and walked away.
As if her tension and alertness were nothing but unnecessary overreaction.
Hmm…
She didn't actually sense any hostility coming from Keizumi either.
"Keizumi-senpai, wait for me!" Izumi quickly quickened her pace to catch up.
"Mom, who was that? He seemed so cold."
Sasuke, only seven years old, wore a pout on his small face.
"That was…"
Mikoto thought for a moment, then said, "Someone who doesn't get along well with others. Sasuke, make sure you don't get too close to him."
"Why not?" Sasuke asked, puzzled.
Recalling what Itachi had gone through, Mikoto hesitated. "I don't know the full story. Just that he's very dangerous. If you really want to know, you can ask Itachi when he comes back. He's… fairly familiar with Keizumi."
"Huh?"
Sasuke's attention instantly shifted. "Onii-chan's coming back?"
Mikoto smiled and nodded. "Mm-hmm. His ninja cat already returned to the village yesterday and told me he'll be back the day after tomorrow."
But there was a subtle strain behind that smile.
Of course, it was a good thing that Itachi could return safely after completing his mission.
But…
Keizumi was also in the village right now.
If the two of them happened to cross paths again, who knew what might happen?
Mikoto couldn't help but feel uneasy.