The blazing magma didn't just burn the Fire Daimyō—it incinerated his internal organs on the spot.
"L-Listen—cough, cough—"
His horrified expression froze in place. As his mind blurred and dimmed, tears and snot streamed down his face. He looked utterly broken—completely undignified.
When the molten lava-beast finally pulled back from his body, the Daimyō collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
He fell face-first onto the floor.
CRACK.
The sickening thud was followed by the crunch of bone—his nose shattered instantly. Blood sprayed across his face and began to spread along the tile, soaking into every crack.
There was no scream. No last gasp.
Because he was already gone.
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire…
Executed.
It was as if someone had hit pause on the entire palace. Time stopped.
Samurai, retainers, servants—everyone held back by walls of searing magma—stood frozen in place, pale and stunned.
Even the Daimyō's sons just stood there like statues. Their faces were blank, their minds still trying to process what had just happened. Some even looked like they didn't believe this was real.
Even Mitarashi Anko, standing behind Uchiha Chizumi, couldn't help but pinch her arm hard with a trembling hand.
Ouch...
That hurt. Badly.
She could feel the bruise swelling already.
Which meant—this wasn't a dream. Probably not a genjutsu either.
That man—the absolute ruler of the Land of Fire—just got wiped out by Uchiha Chizumi… like it was nothing.
It was too easy. Too fast. Too clean.
Shouldn't someone like the Daimyō go out in some huge, dramatic fashion?
No—what was she even thinking?
Wasn't the real question: shouldn't someone like that not be killed at all?
Her thoughts were a mess. Her head spun.
"F-Father!!"
The weird silence shattered all at once.
Wailing erupted like a dam bursting. Screams, sobs, panic. The palace exploded with chaos.
"FATHER!!"
The Daimyō's eldest son collapsed in grief. Sure, he had suspected something like this might happen—but seeing it with his own eyes? That was something else entirely.
He staggered forward, legs wobbling, and dropped to his knees beside his father.
But the moment his hands touched the body—
"AH!!"
It burned.
His palms turned bright red in an instant. He'd been scorched.
This wasn't a normal corpse. It was like touching a branding iron.
The heat coming off the body was unbearable. He didn't even know where to place his hands anymore.
But one thing was absolutely clear—his father was dead.
And the man who did it?
That ninja from Konoha—Uchiha Chizumi—
He didn't give a damn about the whole "loyalty to the ruler" thing.
He said he'd kill—and he actually did.
W—wait…
A shiver of instinct ran up the son's spine.
He looked up—
And met Chizumi's eyes.
Those eyes were terrifying. Calm, cold, merciless.
His mind went blank. His chest tightened with fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
Cold sweat drenched the back of his robe.
"I—I—I—" he stammered, unable to say anything coherent. He was sweating bullets, face ghostly pale.
Then Chizumi spoke. Calmly. Like he was just stating facts.
"When someone commits evil—no matter their status, age, or gender—they must pay the price.
Minor evil earns prison. Major evil demands your life."
"You think I shouldn't have killed him, don't you?
Because of his title. Because you think someone like him is above judgment. That morality and justice don't apply to people like the Daimyō. Isn't that right?"
Each word struck like a loaded question on a final exam—and the son knew if he failed, he'd end up just like his father.
To most people, "Daimyō" was a title of power.
But here, in front of Uchiha Chizumi, it was a death sentence.
"N-no, that's… that's not it," he stuttered. He struggled to make his voice steady. "The Daimyō is still human. Maybe… maybe my father got used to looking down on people. Maybe he forgot how to look up. He—"
gulp
"He might've thought what he was doing wasn't a big deal. But to the people on the receiving end—it was."
"There's a saying, uh... it goes..."
He froze up. His brain was blank. He was itching with panic but too afraid to move.
Chizumi filled in the blank without hesitation.
"A speck of dust to those in power... is a mountain to the commoner."
"Yes! That's it!" the son quickly latched on. "My father ignored the people. He focused only on his own privileges. That's why he let Kyūsuke do whatever he wanted. That's why he passed those awful laws that drained the people dry."
"He never once thought about the consequences— Because the ones paying the price weren't him. It was the people."
The son knew full well that the words he was saying would label him a coward. Unfilial. Disgraceful.
But that was better than getting killed.
He was only in his thirties. He had a life to live.
Then Chizumi asked:
"So?"
The son flinched—but clenched his teeth and pushed through.
"So… my father brought this on himself.
He sowed the seeds. This was the harvest.
It was his fate."
Silence. The whole hall stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
He was supposed to be the heir.
He should've demanded revenge.
Sworn justice.
Instead, he basically said, "Yeah, my dad had it coming."
People were starting to wonder—
Did this guy even want revenge?
But then they all glanced at Chizumi.
And just like that, the judgment vanished from their eyes.
Because none of them had the guts to speak either.
The son stared down at his father's body, dizzy from the fear and tension.
Even without being asked again, he said:
"From now on… the laws of the Land of Fire must change. They can't just serve the nobles. They need to protect the people too. And…"
He glanced up at Chizumi.
"We need to push new national reforms. Radical ones. Reforms that uphold justice—true, absolute justice."
Chizumi added flatly:
"The entire Land of Fire—and the shinobi world—is sick. Twisted by the lack of justice.
Rotting from the inside. Evil runs rampant because no one ever cuts it out at the source."
"Only absolute, uncompromising justice can correct that."
"Right, Goen'in Yasuhito?"
The son's eyes widened in shock.
How did he know his name—oh wait, right. He was the heir. It made sense.
"Y-Yes!" he nodded like crazy.
Then, nervously, he added, "Also, um… the funding from the palace to Konoha has been kinda lacking recently. And too vague. We should probably restructure it—maybe have a specific budget just for the Uchiha Police? Maybe… two hundred million ryō? Or five hundred million?"
Chizumi's eyes visibly sharpened.
The air suddenly turned scorching.
A suffocating aura filled the room.
"!!!"
Wait—wasn't Chizumi part of the Uchiha clan? Shouldn't he like this idea?
Unless…
Crap.
Was he… was he interpreting that as a bribe?!
The son broke out in cold sweat again.
He forced a shaky smile, trying to follow Chizumi's thinking. "F-Forget I said that. Maybe… we should just start by purging the corrupt cops in the capital first. And then, uh, investigate the noble families. No leniency. Bring back the old cold cases and give justice to the victims."
"And maybe even…"
"...maybe even restructure everything from the ground up," Yasuhito muttered, his voice barely above a whisper now, like he was trying to read Chizumi's thoughts before speaking. "Maybe we really need to wipe the slate clean—rebuild the capital's police forces with only people who truly care about justice. No more cronies. No more figureheads."
"Investigate the elite. Top to bottom. Don't let a single small-time thug slip through the cracks, but also don't let a big fish swim away either. And maybe… maybe we should reopen every old case that's been buried. For the sake of victims who were never heard."
"Maybe we should—"
…
Meanwhile, back in Konoha.
Koharu Utatane barged into the Hokage's office, her face like thunder. She didn't find Hiruzen—but she did find Homura Mitokado, and frankly, she wasn't surprised.
The moment she stepped in, she let him have it.
"What the hell happened in the capital, and why wasn't I informed?!"
It was true. Neither Hiruzen nor Homura had told her anything about the situation before they left. And even though Hiruzen had briefed several people in the village before departing with the Anbu… Koharu hadn't been one of them.
Now that she'd found out on her own, she was livid.
Homura let out a long sigh. "Koharu… Ever since you took over Root from Danzo, have you noticed how much more… impulsive you've become?"
"Hiruzen thought that if he told you, things would spiral out of control even faster. Besides, you know now, don't you?"
Koharu grit her teeth. "Don't put this on me! If Uchiha Chizumi weren't such an extremist, I wouldn't be so damn agitated all the time!"
She paused, took a long breath, then forced herself to calm down.
"…So. What's the situation now?"
Homura shook his head. "We're still in the dark. No new reports have come from the capital. Hiruzen and the Anbu… even moving at top speed, they'll take a full day to get there."
Koharu stood there, pacing, frustrated beyond belief.
"Why did he let that guy leave the village at all?!"
Homura let out another sigh. "It was Asuma."
"WHAT?!"
"He used some made-up excuse to trick Hiruzen into approving the mission. The idea was to lure Chizumi out of the village."
"That reckless move triggered everything."
Koharu fell silent for a few seconds.
Then she clenched her fists.
"These damn kids... not a single one of them knows how to make life easier!"
…
Elsewhere, on a rooftop overlooking the Uchiha compound—
Might Guy crouched beside Kakashi, peering at the Uchiha district in the distance.
"Kakashi, do you have any idea why the Hokage wants us keeping an eye on the Uchiha so closely?"
Kakashi replied without looking away. "No clue."
His tone was emotionless, his eyes unreadable beneath the forehead protector and half-mask.
"But if the Hokage ordered it, he must have a reason."
That's what he said aloud—but in truth, Kakashi had plenty of suspicions.
He didn't believe for a second that the Fire Daimyō invited Hiruzen to the capital.
Not after his second son died in Konoha.
There had to be bad blood now between the palace and the Hokage.
And if the Hokage left the village so suddenly...
It could only mean one thing:
Uchiha Chizumi.
That was the only person who could shake things enough for Hiruzen to act in person.
As for why they were being told to watch the Uchiha now?
Kakashi was sure it was because the Hokage was worried that while he was gone, the radicals inside the Uchiha might make a move.
…
Within the Uchiha district—
A secret meeting was already underway.
Several of the hawkish Uchiha elders were gathered, with Uchiha Setsuna seated at the head.
"Setsuna! This is it!" one of the elders hissed, barely containing his excitement. "Hiruzen left the village with most of the Anbu! We've confirmed it! Konoha is at its weakest right now."
"If we, the Uchiha, rise up now—take the whole clan and move—we can seize the village within a single day!"
"By the time Sarutobi returns, it'll be too late! He'll be the former Hokage—and the Fifth will be one of us!"
"The next Hokage... will be an Uchiha!"
The other elders nodded eagerly.
Setsuna's heart pounded.
This was too perfect.
Hiruzen gone. Chizumi gone. The Anbu gone.
All that remained was the weakened Root Division—already wrecked by Chizumi—and a handful of disorganized ninja clans who couldn't even form a unified front.
It was the best chance they'd ever get.
Setsuna grinned.
The whole "earn the villagers' approval to become Hokage" speech?
Complete bull.
The clans only backed whoever looked strongest.
Just like how Ino-Shika-Cho had backed Chizumi after he clashed with the Hokage—and won.
If Setsuna led a successful coup—if they won—the others would fall in line.
"Alright!!"
He slammed his hand on the table, face flushed with excitement.
But before he could say anything else—
Noise outside. Loud, angry.
Setsuna frowned.
Suddenly, the doors were yanked open—
Uchiha Fugaku entered the room with a group of grim-faced Uchiha shinobi.
Setsuna's eyes went wide.
Fugaku didn't say a word. He walked in calmly, found a seat, and sat down with cold elegance.
"Elders," he said, his voice flat. "Shouldn't a meeting this important include the entire clan?"
"So... would you mind telling me what you were just discussing?"
Setsuna's face twitched violently.
"Fugaku!!"
He could tell immediately—Fugaku was here to throw a wrench in everything.
That damn puppet of the Hokage...
Even as Setsuna glared daggers at him, Fugaku remained unmoved.
He'd already made his choice: protect the Uchiha bloodline, no matter what.
To do that, he had to keep the clan from going over the edge.
And he had to follow the Hokage's instructions.
Especially the part about keeping an eye on Itachi.
So Fugaku had come here to shut this whole coup down—personally.
The air in the room grew tense.
One wrong move, and the entire compound could erupt.
…
Somewhere on the streets of Konoha—
Blood ran down her face from a gash on her forehead.
Uchiha Izumi staggered forward, panting hard. Her left shoulder was pierced deeply by a shuriken, blood soaking through her uniform.
But still—
She gripped her blade, shoved it deep into the chest of the Konoha shinobi in front of her, and twisted.
The man gasped. His eyes went wide—then glassy.
"Today," Izumi said, cold and resolute, "I pass judgment in the name of Absolute Justice."
She yanked her blade free.
The man's body dropped with a thud, thrashed once, then went still.
Izumi gave the corpse one last glance… then shoved it aside with her foot.
Behind her, Naruto and Sasuke stood frozen. Shocked. Speechless.
She turned to them.
"No matter who the criminal is," she said, voice low but firm, "whether they're from the Sarutobi clan… or even related to the Hokage himself..."
"Absolute Justice doesn't care."
"There's no mercy for those who do evil. No exceptions. No favoritism."
Naruto's mouth fell open.
That body on the ground—he recognized the flak vest.
That wasn't just any shinobi.
"That was a Sarutobi… a Special Jōnin," he whispered, like he couldn't believe what he'd just seen.
Izumi hadn't forgotten her mission. Chizumi-senpai had been clear.
Carry out justice.
And teach these two brats—Naruto and Sasuke—what it really meant.
"But—but what about him?!" Naruto suddenly blurted out, pointing to a nearby man curled up on the ground, clutching the stump of a severed wrist.
"He's not an enemy! He was just trying to break up the fight!"
He remembered it clearly.
While Izumi was clashing with the Sarutobi shinobi, that guy had stepped in—just trying to de-escalate. Not fight. Just mediate.
And Izumi had cut his hand clean off without hesitation.
Naruto had been terrified.
He always thought Izumi was the "nice onee-san" type.
But now?
She was a damn battlefield executioner.
"I warned him," Izumi said without remorse, her voice as cold as the blade she held.
"I told him not to interfere. Not to get in the way of justice. Or he'd be treated as an enemy."
She reached up and, without flinching, tore the shuriken from her shoulder.
The wound was deep. You could see bone.
But she didn't even wince. Just clenched her teeth and kept talking.
"He made his choice."
"He sided with evil."
"He's no longer innocent."
"To Absolute Justice, he didn't 'try to help.' He got in the way. He became a shield for the wicked."
"And that makes him one of them."
These were Chizumi's words.
Now they were hers.
She was passing them on—just like he had passed them to her.
Strange, how that made her feel a little proud. A little weird too.
She realized something:
She was copying him.
His words. His tone. His ruthlessness.
Even now, with her shoulder torn open and burning, she refused to groan.
That's what Chizumi-senpai would do.
That's what made him a real badass.
...But where the hell was he?
It had been so long.
Why hadn't he come back?
…
"Huff..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen crouched on a thick tree branch, struggling to catch his breath.
The last time he'd pushed his old bones this hard... had been during the Nine-Tails' attack all those years ago.
And back then, he hadn't even felt this old.
Now?
Now he felt every damn year.
One long sprint from Konoha to the capital had nearly wrecked him.
"...Guess I really am too old for this," he muttered to himself.
A large group of Anbu stood behind him, watching silently.
"Hokage-sama?" one of them finally asked, stepping forward.
Hiruzen straightened his back. The fatigue disappeared behind a composed face.
He looked toward the distant city and said calmly, "We're going in. Priority: protect the Daimyō."
"Yes, sir!"
To seasoned shinobi like them, the capital's defenses were laughable.
They slipped past the outer perimeter without even being noticed.
But as soon as they hit the streets, something felt… off.
Really off.
The people moved quickly, avoiding eye contact. There were worried looks on every face.
Shops were shuttered. The alleys were empty.
In the distance, a slow funeral dirge played.
The entire city… felt haunted.
Hiruzen's heart dropped.
"Something's wrong—" he muttered, picking up the pace. The Anbu followed as they raced toward the palace.
On the way, they passed a massive noble estate—
And froze.
Dozens of corpses were being carried out by palace guards. Each body was wrapped in white linen.
Hiruzen stopped dead in his tracks. The Anbu behind him halted too.
The guards flinched—clearly not expecting a squad of masked shinobi to appear from nowhere.
Hiruzen's face was grim.
"These nobles… were they murdered?"
His presence carried weight. And the oppressive atmosphere around the Anbu didn't help.
One guard swallowed nervously.
"It was… a ninja. They said his name was… Uchiha Chizumi-sama."
Chizumi…
That was it.
The last thread of Hiruzen's hope snapped cleanly in half.
He suddenly felt like his throat was dry.
"How many?"
"We don't know," the guard replied, shaking his head like a drum. "People say… he started killing yesterday morning. Didn't stop. Killed through the night. All the way to sunrise."
"I stepped outside earlier and the air still smelled like blood."
"The palace didn't say much. Just told us to start disposing of the bodies."
Wait.
Hiruzen suddenly noticed something.
Why did this guard refer to Chizumi as "Chizumi-sama"?
Didn't the palace declare him a wanted criminal?
But this guy was just a low-level guard. Maybe he didn't know better.
Still…
"Thank you," Hiruzen said quietly. Then he and the Anbu vanished in a blink.
…
The Daimyō's palace
One by one, the Anbu dropped in from the rooftops like black feathers, each one taking position in the shadows.
They formed a silent perimeter, surrounding the entire palace.
Hiruzen stood at the main gate.
Only two Anbu flanked him now.
"There's a stench of blood," he muttered, sniffing the air. "Not as thick as that noble estate… but close."
His chest tightened.
Something was horribly wrong.
And then it hit him—
There were no guards.
No samurai. No ninja. No one standing watch.
Didn't the Daimyō care about his own safety?
Or… had it already happened?
Hiruzen didn't let himself dwell on it.
He walked through the gate.
"H-Hokage-sama?!"
A voice called out from inside. Hiruzen turned—
It was Mitarashi Anko.
"…Anko?"
He barely had time to register her shock before his eyes landed on the man standing beside her.
Uchiha Chizumi.
Bloodstained.
Calm.
Unbothered.
And in that moment, Hiruzen knew—
The worst had happened.
The Daimyō was dead.
Before Hiruzen could say a word, a voice came from the side—quiet, hesitant.
"You're… the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen-senpai, right?"
Hiruzen turned.
The young man who spoke bore a striking resemblance to the late Daimyō.
Of course.
Goen'in Yasuhito.
The Daimyō's eldest son.
Now the new head of the house.
His eyes were rimmed with exhaustion. His voice was cautious. His body language screamed one thing: tread carefully.
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
Yasuhito seemed to understand the Hokage's unspoken question. His face twisted into a pale, strained smile.
"My father…" he began, voice hoarse. "...has already paid the price for his mistakes."
Hiruzen's breath caught.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
But hearing it confirmed?
Hearing it from the son himself?
It still hit like a punch to the gut.
Even the Anbu behind him flinched. Silent eyes flicked toward Chizumi.
The Uchiha.
The walking executioner of Absolute Justice.
He had done it.
He had actually killed the Daimyō.
And he hadn't even bothered to leave the palace afterward.
No escape. No coverup.
He just stood there—
Right in the middle of the murder scene.
Unapologetic.
Was there ever a shinobi this arrogant?
No… not even Uchiha Madara, with all his madness and power, had gone this far.
Even Madara had walked away.
Chizumi?
He waited.
And now Yasuhito…
Yasuhito wasn't demanding revenge.
He wasn't screaming.
He wasn't even angry.
He had just… accepted it.
Was that what he meant by "paid the price"?
The realization slammed into Hiruzen's mind like thunder.
Everyone in the palace felt it too.
Because now… now they understood why Chizumi was still standing here—unshackled, unchallenged.
Because the heir—the next Daimyō—had already forgiven him.
No.
Not forgiven.
Agreed with him.
Shit.
Hiruzen's scalp tingled.
His heart pounded against his ribs.
If the noble families heard about this, what would they think?
They'd say Chizumi was acting on Hiruzen's orders.
That Konoha had assassinated the Daimyō.
That he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had orchestrated a silent coup.
Especially with Yasuhito dodging his gaze like this.
This misunderstanding was going to drown him.
He'd need the entire Uchiha compound to vouch for him, the council, the nobles, hell—maybe even divine intervention—and he still might not clear his name.
He wanted to scream.
But all he could do was stare at Chizumi.
"Chizumi…"
Hiruzen's voice was low—dangerously low—as if held together with nothing but sheer willpower.
"What have you done?"
"That was the Daimyō. The ruler of the Land of Fire. A nation's sovereign."
"Konoha's shinobi are his sword and shield. His vanguard. His wall of defense."
"Not traitorous serpents that strike from the shadows."
His voice cracked at the edges. His fists trembled. His eyes were bloodshot.
"And yet you—!"
His breath caught. Rage clawed up his throat.
Chizumi had crossed a line even Hiruzen couldn't ignore.
This wasn't like Tanzaku Town, where he'd massacred criminals by the hundreds. Hiruzen had turned a blind eye to that.
They were criminals, after all.
But this?
This… this was war.
"You—" Hiruzen growled, barely holding it in. "You've abandoned everything. This isn't justice anymore. You're not punishing evil—you're tearing down the world's foundation."
"Are you trying to go to war with the entire shinobi world?!"
Chizumi looked at him calmly, like he was watching a tired old man yell at clouds.
"Wasn't I already their enemy?"
"Isn't that what you always thought?"
"That Absolute Justice was too radical? Too 'inconvenient' for your world to accept?"
Two quiet sentences. That's all it took to stun Hiruzen into silence.
"Chizumi… this isn't the same!" Hiruzen shouted.
"You used to just fight evil. Now you've turned against order itself."
"There's no place in the shinobi world for someone who assassinates a Daimyō!"
Chizumi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Correction."
"I didn't assassinate anyone. I walked into this palace in broad daylight and, under the name of Absolute Justice, executed a tyrant who had abused his power."
"We don't kill from the shadows."
"We judge in the open."
Hiruzen blinked.
"...Seriously?"
That's what he wanted to correct? That was the part that bothered him?
The Hokage could feel his veins pulsing.
Chizumi wasn't just ignoring everything Hiruzen was saying—he was reframing it all.
Like Hiruzen was the one who didn't understand justice.
He felt like he was going to pass out from anger.
"Chizumi," Hiruzen growled, "I've let you get away with too much in Konoha."
And just as he was about to let loose, Chizumi cut him off—
"Third Hokage."
"The Daimyō's son has no problem with his father's execution under Absolute Justice."
"So why do you?"
"Why are you, the leader of Konoha, mourning the death of a man who brought nothing but suffering to his people?"
"Don't you even know right from wrong anymore?"
"???"
Hiruzen turned sharply—just in time to see Yasuhito nod slightly.
"Hokage-sama," he said, "My father… he made his choices. You don't need to defend him."
Hiruzen's brain short-circuited.
"...Your Highness?" he said slowly.
He tried to recover. "Perhaps you misunderstand Konoha's position. Konoha has always stood behind Daimyō's office. Chizumi's... ideology... does not represent the Will of Fire."
He said that part clearly.
Because he needed Yasuhito to understand: I'm not with him.
But Yasuhito looked from Chizumi to Hiruzen… and hesitated.
For a second, it looked like he was swaying toward Hiruzen.
But then—
He remembered everything:
The blood-drenched capital.
The piles of corpses.
His own cowardice, broadcast in front of everyone.
The scent of death still clung to the air.
And just like that, any hope Hiruzen had evaporated.
Yasuhito's forehead beaded with sweat.
His smile turned stiff, strained.
"Hokage-sama," he said softly, "my father… was blinded by his own power. He made a lot of mistakes."
"You really don't need to justify anything on his behalf."
"As his son, I'll spend the rest of my life making up for the damage he caused."
"Even if that means completely rebuilding the Land of Fire's morality. Reforming our justice system. And embracing what we lost—Absolute Justice."
Hiruzen didn't answer.
Because for a few seconds...
He simply forgot how to speak.
~~~
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