Chapter 35: This Is What Justice Looks Like

"Kill him." —The emotionless command from Keizumi made Izumi's palms sweat slightly.

She knew that Keizumi-senpai never joked.

And she understood that whether he was asking her to interrogate a criminal or to carry out an execution…

It was always a test of her commitment to [Absolute Justice].

She recalled the photo of the Yamada mother and daughter from the missing persons file—their delicate faces adorned with soft smiles. Then she remembered the fragments of bone dredged from the sewers beneath Konohagakure. And now, having witnessed Yamada Toshijirō's utter lack of remorse…

Izumi's once hesitant and uncertain eyes had hardened with resolve.

"Yes, senpai!"

As she uttered those words, she noticed that Keizumi-senpai had deactivated the Sharingan genjutsu.

Because Yamada Toshijirō had snapped out of the endless illusion of collapse and despair, dazed and disoriented.

He was trembling in both terror and shock. His pants were soaked. Tears and snot ran down his face, which was twisted into a grotesque contortion too pitiful to look at.

Izumi had no idea what kind of illusion Keizumi-senpai had shown him.

She only heard him mumbling with nervous terror.

And she watched as he trembled and squirmed on all fours—smearing the mud, the blood from his hands, and even his own urine across his face.

"Don't kill me—I was wrong… please, don't kill me, I regret it… I'm scared, I'm begging you… I really regret it… I was wrong—sob sob—I know I was wrong…"

Izumi had never seen someone debase themselves so completely just to survive.

"Did you ever consider that the mother and daughter you killed might've felt this same despair before they died?"

She clenched her ninja blade and gritted her teeth. "Do you remember if they begged you for mercy?"

"And did you… show them any?"

Her grip on the hilt had turned her fingers deathly pale.

"You're not repenting."

"You're just afraid of dying."

"You… scum!!!"

[Splurt—]

Izumi's ninja blade plunged into Yamada Toshijirō's chest. Just as she was taught in the Academy, she twisted her wrist sharply, then silently pulled the blade free, shifting one step to the side at the same time.

A spray of bright red blood erupted from his chest—narrowly missing her.

She watched his eyes go vacant.

Until he collapsed completely.

No longer showing any signs of life.

[Ding! A [Absolute Justice] believer you trained has successfully killed a 'Red Name' villain! Chakra slightly increased! Congratulations—Loot: Dismemberment XP Book ×2!]

[Uchiha Izumi has also received a slight chakra boost!]

"Keizumi-senpai, the criminal behind the dismemberment murders has been executed!"

Izumi took a deep breath, letting the rain rinse her blade. She suddenly felt an odd sensation—as though killing the criminal in the name of justice brought an inexplicable sense of release to her body.

She had felt the same way in the secret research base two days ago.

The realization gave her chills.

'Could I be… some kind of hidden, born-to-kill, psychotic freak?'

Shaken by her own wild thoughts, Izumi quickly shook her head and asked, "Senpai, how should we handle the body?"

"Let the police force collect it."

"Yes, senpai!"

…

Everyone at the Konoha Funeral Hall had long since been scared into silence.

Even though they knew the Hokage-sama was inside the village cemetery, not a single one of them felt any sense of security.

And yet—paradoxically—in this atmosphere of utter fear and helplessness… they felt a strange sense of calm.

Izumi noticed the fear in their expressions with sharp clarity.

Pressing her lips together, she suddenly declared: "Yamada Toshijirō murdered his brother's wife and daughter. He dismembered them in cold blood and dumped the remains into the sewers. The police force failed to catch him for four whole years, letting him roam free all this time."

"Only today has justice finally come for that mother and daughter. And it came far too late. This was a failure on the part of our Uchiha Police Force. But I swear, as long as we uphold Absolute Justice and purge evil, incidents like this will become increasingly rare!"

Izumi wasn't sure if her words had made any impact.

But she noticed that the fear in their eyes had slightly eased.

Though in its place, some confusion had taken root.

Izumi didn't know what else to say, so she ended with a single line: "Under the cleansing of Absolute Justice, the shinobi world will one day become a better place."

Then she hurriedly turned and followed after Uchiha Keizumi.

She lowered her head as she trailed behind him, anxiety gnawing at her chest. The courage she had just shown was now gone. In a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, she muttered an apology: "I'm sorry, senpai. I spoke out of turn and said things I shouldn't have..."

Only now did she realize she might've just badmouthed the Uchiha Police Force.

But—

She heard no rebuke.

Keizumi-senpai didn't say a single word.

"…Senpai?"

Uchiha Keizumi replied calmly, "You only spoke the truth."

…

After the infamous 'Plague God' of the Uchiha Police Force had departed, the staff of the Konoha Funeral Hall looked at one another in uneasy silence—then nervously glanced at the corpse on the floor.

They only managed to grasp two things from everything that had just happened:

—They were good people, so Uchiha Keizumi wouldn't trouble them. And now that he was gone, they could relax.

—Yamada Toshijirō was a heinous murderer.

Gulp—someone swallowed hard, finally breaking the eerie silence: "That bastard Yamada actually did something like this… I used to go drinking with him all the time. Was I walking on the edge of death every night?!"

"I heard that Uchiha ninja say Yamada chopped up his brother's wife and daughter!"

"Damn… how did we never notice what kind of guy he was?"

"He really hid it too well, huh? Good thing he got caught today—wait, did he even get caught?"

"So those two Uchiha were here investigating the case, huh?"

"Speaking of that 'Plague God'—he didn't seem nearly as scary as the rumors say. Weren't people saying he kills everywhere he goes? But look at us… we're still alive."

"…"

Amid the hushed whispers, everyone momentarily forgot they were supposed to be burying Sarutobi Shinnosuke's casket.

It wasn't until a grim-faced ninja from the Sarutobi clan walked over.

He frowned deeply, cast a glance at Yamada Toshijirō's corpse, and muttered, "That Uchiha guessed right again…"

He was referring to Uchiha Keizumi's perfect case-solving record.

Then, addressing the staff, the Sarutobi ninja reminded them, "Shouldn't the burial begin by now?"

Only then did the funeral hall staff snap out of it.

…

Elsewhere, as Uchiha Keizumi exited the Konoha Cemetery, a ginger-colored ninja cat came rushing toward him.

"Keizumi-sama! 'Wimpy Eyes' is looking for you, meow!"

Tachibana Jirō fired off the words at lightning speed.

"…'Wimpy Eyes'?" Izumi blinked in confusion from behind Keizumi.

Jirō explained, "That's Uchiha Fugaku! It's a nickname Keizumi-sama gave him a long time ago. If I remember right, it was—what? Seven or eight years ago?"

Izumi was stunned.

The Uchiha clan head…

Was he really that timid?

Izumi found it difficult to associate the word 'cowardly' with the stern, paralyzed expression of Clan Head Fugaku.

After all, in her eyes, Uchiha Fugaku still carried a strong aura of intimidation.

Even just standing in front of him made one feel pressured.

"Jirō, why is Clan Head Fugaku looking for Keizumi-senpai?"

Izumi shook off the strange thoughts in her mind. A sudden burst of curiosity helped dispel some of the killing intent still lingering from earlier. She asked again.

"Rookie! You need to call me senpai, meow! I've been following Keizumi-sama for many years before you ever came along!"

Jirō spoke with visible irritation.

Then he replied, "I'm not really sure of the details… It seems to be because of some case?"

Izumi's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Clan Head Fugaku had already gathered intel and knew that Keizumi-senpai and herself had crashed the funeral of the Hokage's eldest son—and that she had executed a scumbag right there at the ceremony?

Was Clan Head Fugaku summoning them to hold them accountable?

Izumi grew increasingly uneasy.

Unlike Uchiha Keizumi, who no longer cared about Fugaku's status within the clan, Izumi still held a certain fear and respect for the clan head.

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