Chapter 43: Scared‑Eyes Uchiha Fugaku

"Kill him."

The words came from Chizumi-senpai, utterly devoid of emotion, and a film of sweat broke out on Izumi's palms.

She knew that Chizumi-senpai never joked.

Izumi also understood that whenever Senpai ordered her to interrogate—or to execute— a criminal, it was always a test of her resolve toward Absolute Justice.

Images flashed through her mind: the photograph of the mother and daughter from the missing‑persons file labeled "The Yamada Family"; their gentle smiles; the splintered bones dredged from Konoha's sewers; and how Yamada Toshijirō, moments ago, had shown no remorse whatsoever…

Izumi's wavering gaze hardened into cold determination.

"Understood, Senpai!"

As the words left her lips, she realized that Chizumi-senpai had released the Sharingan genjutsu, because Yamada Toshijirō suddenly snapped out of the endless nightmare of collapse and despair.

Terror and confusion contorted his face; his trousers were soaked, and snot and tears streamed together. It was almost unbearable to look at him.

Izumi had no idea what illusions Senpai had shown him.

She only heard him babbling in panicked delirium, saw him crawling on hands and knees, smearing mud, blood, and even his own urine across his face.

"Don't kill me—I was wrong… Don't kill me, I regret it… I won't dare again, please… I really regret it… I'm sorry, sob… I know I was wrong…"

Never had Izumi seen someone abase himself so completely just to stay alive.

"Did it ever cross your mind," she asked, gripping her ninja blade, teeth clenched, "whether that mother and daughter you murdered felt the same despair you do now?"

"Do you remember whether they begged you for mercy?"

"And you… did you spare them?"

Her fingers whitened around the hilt.

"You're not repentant."

"You're just afraid to die."

"Scum!"

Shff—

Izumi's blade punched through Yamada Toshijirō's chest. Following the kill‑technique drilled into her at the Academy, she twisted the blade sharply, then drew it out and sidestepped to the right.

A jet of scarlet blood spouted from the wound, missing her by a hair.

She watched the light fade from his eyes until he collapsed, lifeless.

…

[Ding! Your student of Absolute Justice has slain a "Red Named" villain! Chakra slightly increased! Congratulations, you have obtained: Dismemberment Manual × 2!]

[Uchiha Izumi has also gained a small chakra boost!]

"Chizumi-senpai, the perpetrator of the serial murder‑and‑dismemberment case has been executed."

Izumi drew a long breath and let the rain rinse her blade. A strange sensation washed over her—an inexplicable euphoria each time she carried out justice.

She'd felt it two days ago in the secret research facility as well.

A shiver crept up her spine. Could I be some latent, natural‑born psychopath…?

Startled by her own thoughts, she shook her head and quickly asked, "Senpai, what should we do with the body?"

"Let the Konoha Police pick it up."

"Yes, Senpai!"

…

Inside the Konoha Funeral Hall, the attendants were too frightened to make a sound. Even knowing the Hokage was in the village cemetery, they felt no safety—yet paradoxically, in the midst of this fear, they sensed a strange reassurance.

Izumi noticed their unease. After wetting her lips she spoke up:

"Yamada Toshijirō murdered his brother's wife and daughter, and viciously dismembered their bodies, dumping the pieces into the sewers. For four years the Police Force failed to find the culprit, allowing him to roam free.

"Only today has justice for that mother and daughter finally arrived. This was the dereliction of us in the Uchiha Police Force. But I promise you: so long as we uphold Absolute Justice and purge evil, crimes like this will become ever rarer!"

Whether her words helped or not, the terror in their eyes receded a little—though now they looked puzzled.

Unsure what else to say, Izumi concluded: "Under the baptism of Absolute Justice, the shinobi world will one day grow ever brighter."

She hurried to follow Uchiha Chizumi, head bowed in anxiety, voice barely audible: "I'm sorry, Senpai. I spoke out of turn… said things I shouldn't have."

Only then did it hit her that she had criticized the Police Force aloud.

Yet no rebuke came. Chizumi-senpai didn't speak a word.

"…Senpai?"

"You merely told the truth," Chizumi replied calmly.

After the infamous "Plague" of the Uchiha Police Force departed, the funeral‑hall staff exchanged uneasy looks, then glanced fearfully at the corpse.

They had grasped two points:

1. They were good people; Uchiha Chizumi would not trouble them—and he was gone, so they were safe.

2. Yamada Toshijirō was a heinous murderer.

Gulp. Someone finally broke the oppressive silence: "Who would've thought Yamada did something like that… I used to drink at the red‑lantern bars with him—was I in danger every day?"

"They said he dismembered his sister‑in‑law and niece!"

"Why didn't we notice before?"

"He hid it too well… Lucky he was caught—well, not exactly caught…"

"So those two Uchiha were investigating a case."

"Funny, that 'Plague' didn't seem as terrifying as the rumors—the stories say he kills wherever he goes, but we're all still alive…"

Amid the hushed chatter, they momentarily forgot they still had to inter Sarutobi Shinnosuke's coffin—until a dark‑faced Sarutobi clan shinobi strode over.

He frowned at the corpse and muttered, "That Uchiha guessed right again." He was talking about Chizumi's one‑hundred‑percent case‑clearing record.

"Isn't it time to finish the burial?" he reminded the attendants, who finally came to their senses.

…

Elsewhere, as Uchiha Chizumi left the cemetery, an orange‑striped ninja cat dashed up.

"Chizumi-sama, 'Scared‑Eyes' is looking for you, meow!"

"…'Scared‑Eyes'?" Izumi blinked.

The cat, Jūjirō, meowed rapid‑fire: "That's Uchiha Fugaku! Chizumi-sama gave him the nickname years ago—seven or eight, I think?"

Izumi's jaw dropped. The clan head… is he really that timid?

~~~

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