Uchiha Keizumi had killed two chunin from the Gekkō clan, stormed into their residence with his subordinates, and executed the previous clan head's second son—Gekkō Seisui.
This news quickly exploded across Konohagakure.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was smoking his pipe, was so shocked by the news that he coughed violently.
After finally recovering, he took a sip of water to calm his turbulent emotions, then asked the ANBU agent who had reported the news in a deep voice, "What was the specific reason?"
Just as the ANBU agent was about to answer, a knock came from outside the door.
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly had a hunch.
"Come in!" he called.
Sure enough…
Uchiha Keizumi, the one who had just slain three shinobi, walked into the Hokage's office as if nothing had happened, his demeanor calm and upright. Behind him followed a nervous young subordinate.
"The reason was that the suspect, Gekkō Seisui, resisted arrest," Uchiha Keizumi declared directly, not even waiting for Hiruzen to question him.
"Anyone who dares resist arrest is no longer a mere criminal. They must be dealt with swiftly and decisively—executed on the spot to serve as a warning to all."
Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly.
It wasn't the first time Uchiha Keizumi had entered his presence without so much as acknowledging him as the Hokage.
Nor was it the first time he had spoken to him in such a cold, indifferent tone.
It was as if, in Keizumi's eyes, he—the Third Hokage himself—was just another criminal.
This instinctively made Hiruzen feel uncomfortable.
Fortunately, his emotions were well under control. His expression soon returned to normal.
Looking at Uchiha Keizumi, he asked, "Suspect?"
"Uchiha Izumi," Keizumi called.
"Yes, Senpai!!"
Izumi took a deep breath. She had mentally prepared herself on the way here.
Stepping forward, she began reporting to the Hokage on behalf of her senpai: "Hokage-sama, earlier this morning, Keizumi-senpai and I..."
Her narrative was logically structured and concisely delivered.
By the time she had finished recounting the entire incident in full—
Sarutobi Hiruzen's frown had deepened significantly.
"Gekkō Seisui..." Hiruzen let out a long sigh.
"That child… I held him once in my arms, back when he was little. I never expected... he'd become so consumed by jealousy."
"To the point of... turning on his own blood…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen believed him.
Although he couldn't always grasp the methods Uchiha Keizumi employed, there was one thing he could be absolutely certain of—
When it came to matters of justice and evil, Uchiha Keizumi never made the wrong judgment.
This child…
It was as if he were born a judge. His accuracy in discerning the truth of a case had already reached one hundred percent.
Back then, Sarutobi Hiruzen had also harbored suspicions—
Had Uchiha Keizumi been using 'the execution of justice' as an excuse to indulge in the pleasure of killing?
But after dozens of investigations that revealed nothing unusual—
Sarutobi Hiruzen came to understand:
There truly existed people with such innate talent.
The Uchiha clan certainly was full of prodigies!
However—
"Keizumi!" Hiruzen knocked on the desk and spoke sternly.
"A matricide who resisted arrest—you used force to execute him on the spot. I will not hold you accountable for that. But why did you kill two innocent members of the Gekkō clan?"
"Those two young men—one was twenty-one, the other twenty-six. They merely stood in your way, and you killed them? Is harming the innocent still considered justice?!"
Izumi quickly sensed that the atmosphere in the Hokage's office had become tense.
Uchiha Keizumi met Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze and said, "I gave them prior warning. But since they insisted on obstructing law enforcement, it meant they had already made their choice."
"Unfortunately, they chose to stand on the side of evil.
They obstructed justice and enabled crime—thus, they were no longer innocent."
He paused, then continued: "Whether it's shinobi of the Gekkō clan standing before me—or even you, Hokage-sama—"
"I will purge all obstacles with absolute justice!"
"No mercy!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared deeply at Uchiha Keizumi. After a long silence, he sighed and asked, "Keizumi, how long has this tense, opposing dynamic between us been going on?"
Uchiha Keizumi replied, "Five years."
"Five years…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up, hands clasped behind his back. He took a few steps before stopping and asked again: "Keizumi, you should be able to sense that there are things happening in the village right now—"
"Things that no one wants to see. Even though the shinobi world is no longer embroiled in large-scale conflict, within Konoha itself, the waters remain far from calm."
"As an Uchiha, your sensitivity to such matters should be quite acute."
"So let me ask you—
"In your eyes, does justice stand with the majority of the village, or with the minority?"
"If one day, due to circumstance or political pressure, you are forced to do something that goes against justice—would you do it?"
Beside him, Izumi could already feel the atmosphere in the office growing so heavy it was as if the very air was about to freeze.
"Justice stands with the kindhearted people."
Uchiha Keizumi gave a third answer.
He continued: "My position is justice. I will never betray my position, nor will I ever go against the justice in my heart."
Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured thoughtfully, "Kindhearted people..."
Then he smiled faintly.
"Keizumi, your answer differs somewhat from Itachi's—
But it makes me even more certain that you and that child truly are the same type of person."
"You both love this village deeply."
"Hokage-sama, insulting people is wrong," Uchiha Keizumi frowned, correcting him flatly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "???"
...
After Uchiha Keizumi left with that Uchiha girl, Sarutobi Hiruzen still couldn't figure out—
What part of that could be considered scolding?
He pinched a bit of tobacco, packed it into his pipe, struck a match, and lit it. As the tobacco burned, he took a slow drag from the mouthpiece.
"Hoo…"
A faint plume of smoke enveloped his aged face. Hiruzen muttered softly, "Now it's basically certain… that boy Keizumi won't pose a threat to Konoha. That's enough to satisfy you, isn't it, Danzō?"
The moment he finished speaking, a so-called 'ANBU guard' stepped out from the shadows of the office.
But after just a few steps, the figure began to shift—
Becoming a bandage-wrapped elder, with only one eye exposed and a naturally grim and oppressive aura.
This was the man in control of Konoha's 'Root' division—
The black hole of blame in the shinobi world, master of absorbing all responsibility—
Shimura Danzō!
"When Uchiha Keizumi walked into the office, he glanced in this direction. He most likely noticed me the moment he entered," Danzō muttered, narrowing his only visible eye as he looked toward the door. He made no effort to hide the hostility and wariness in his gaze.
Then he turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen and continued coldly, "Hiruzen, you can't guarantee that Uchiha Keizumi didn't say all those things precisely because he noticed me. That boy… is an Uchiha whose methods are already visibly extreme—even to the point of evil."
"You heard him yourself. Even if the Hokage stood in his way, he said he'd raise his blade against him. A naturally twisted Uchiha brat like that shouldn't be allowed to exist in Konoha."
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and said, "Danzō, I know what you're scheming. Don't you dare touch Uchiha Keizumi. I've taken a personal interest in him—just like I did with Itachi."
"True, his extreme approach can be problematic, but it's also brought a renewed sense of justice to the village. It's forced certain troublemakers to finally rein in their behavior."
He slammed the desk with his palm.
"Keizumi's presence brings both risks and benefits—but right now, the benefits outweigh the risks."
"Hmph."
Danzō let out a dark snort.
"'Benefits outweigh the risks'? This is just your indecisiveness talking. The only reason you're saying that is because the ones who died today were from the Gekkō Clan."
"If it had been a Sarutobi clan member who was killed… would you still be saying the same thing, Hiruzen?"
Hiruzen replied flatly, "I act for justice, not for personal gain."
Danzō nearly laughed aloud at the sheer irony of that.
"Letting someone that innately evil run loose in Konoha, brandishing his so-called 'Absolute Justice'… That's playing with fire. One day, you will regret this, Hiruzen."
He stared deeply into Hiruzen's eyes.
But Hiruzen didn't flinch. Instead, he met his gaze and spoke with a low, firm tone, "Danzō, you've never been able to understand your place. I am the Hokage of Konoha. You… are just its shadow."
"When I say Keizumi is not to be touched—then he is not to be touched. Don't forget—'Root' only continues to exist because I permit it. The moment I give the order, Root will be disbanded. Completely."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
"As Hokage, my authority is absolute. You wouldn't want me to go that far, would you?"
Danzō's eye widened.
"You damn monkey, you—"
"Hmph!!!"
Seeing that their conversation had broken down entirely, Danzō's face twisted with suppressed rage. He said nothing more, turned, and left.
[BANG!]
The door slammed behind him with a heavy crash, a sound that made it painfully obvious just how hard he was holding back his fury.