Late at night.
Two wasted Utatane clan shinobi stumbled back to their compound, reeking of alcohol and barely holding each other up.
One of them hiccuped and slurred, "You said Koharu-sama's been losing her mind over that Uchiha Chizumi guy? Like, can't eat, can't sleep?"
Hic! "Then why doesn't she just get rid of him? She's a big shot now, right? I heard she even took over Root..."
"Shouldn't be that hard to take down one Uchiha. Even if he's some kind of lava-wielding beast."
The other one shook his head, breathing out foul-smelling air. "You've been gone too long. You don't get it. Koharu only got Root because Chizumi killed Danzo."
"That fight rocked the whole village. Chizumi basically slaughtered most of Root. Koharu had to pull in outsiders just to keep it from falling apart."
"He straight-up killed a high-ranking official, and nobody touched him. Not even the Hokage. If Koharu could take him out, she would've by now."
He paused for a second, then hiccuped again. "Recently she's been going through the clan, hunting down anyone with a dirty past. Word is she's trying to ship them out of the village..."
"Because if they bump into Chizumi? They're toast."
"You were gone for like six months. You didn't do anything shady, right? If you did, better report it before—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Eyes wide, he stared up at a nearby rooftop.
A figure stood there in silence, glowing crimson Sharingan eyes glaring down coldly like a god judging the dead.
That chilling stare instantly sobered him.
"Sharingan... Uchiha..." he murmured, squinting hard.
"HEY! Who the hell are you?!" his drunk friend yelled, oblivious. "Hic! This is Utatane territory, Uchiha scum—"
SHUNK!
A blade pierced clean through his back, stopping him mid-sentence. His body offered no resistance.
The blade twisted, then slid out slowly in the hand of a pale, delicate girl.
Blood sprayed from front and back, hitting the man next to him.
Warm, sticky.
He reached up and touched his face.
"...Blood?!" The shock hit him like a slap.
He spun around.
A girl in Uchiha police gear was casually wiping off her blade. A ninja cat perched on her shoulder. Next to her stood another kunoichi with short hair.
He heard the second one ask, "How'd you know he was dirty?"
The girl with the cat replied, "If we truly believe in Absolute Justice, Chizumi-senpai grants us power. This Sharingan lets me see evil—but I have to focus hard. He only needs a glance."
"I'll mark the ones who are guilty. Then we take them all out. We finish it tonight. After the Utatane clan, we're going straight to the Mitokado."
"Understood," the short-haired kunoichi nodded.
The surviving shinobi nearly had a heart attack.
Chizumi... that guy on the roof... that's really him?!
And these girls—his assassins?!
His drunk comrade collapsed to the ground.
Terror surged in his chest—but the girls just walked past him.
Right. He hadn't done anything wrong... yet.
Wait—
The bad apples in the clan were still here! They hadn't been evacuated yet!
Should he shout? Warn them?
He looked up.
Chizumi's Sharingan were locked on him.
Gulp. If he made a sound, he was dead.
…
That same night, Koharu Utatane had a nightmare.
In it, she and Chizumi were at war. The whole Utatane clan and Root facing off against him.
But the "lava monster" was unstoppable.
She watched her people get annihilated—drowned in lava and blood.
The stench of iron filled her nose.
Wait.
Why did it smell so real?
She jolted awake.
Relieved... until she realized the scent was still there.
"Why can I still smell blood?"
It was strong. Too real.
A chill ran through her. She jumped out of bed, threw on clothes, and rushed outside—
—and froze.
The compound was a massacre.
Utatane ninja lay everywhere. Throats slashed, hearts stabbed, necks torn like they were bitten.
One special jōnin tried to fight back—only to catch a kunai in the throat. He dropped like a stone.
Moonlight lit up the attackers.
"Mitarashi Anko?!"
"Uchiha Izumi?!"
Koharu's rage boiled over—until she looked up.
"Uchiha Chizumi."
The last person she ever wanted to see.
And he was staring straight at her with his Mangekyō Sharingan.
She remembered how Danzo died. Every second of it.
"Chizumi! What the hell are you doing?!" she shouted, avoiding eye contact.
"Executing Justice."
Four cold words. Calm. Final.
Koharu clenched her fists, trembling.
She turned her anger on the two girls. "Anko! I personally promoted you! Are you betraying me now?!"
Anko took a breath. "Koharu-sama, you're a senior advisor—but you let your own clan commit crimes right under your nose. Before you question my loyalty, ask yourself if you're loyal to the Will of Fire."
"The First Hokage said: Where the leaves dance, fire burns. Fire gives life to the new. But when the leaves rot and choke the tree—shouldn't we cut them off?"
"If you'd done that, why are there still so many criminals in your clan? Are you really living by the Will of Fire?"
Koharu: ...what the hell?!
She was stunned.
Getting lectured by someone half her age—a former student of Orochimaru, no less?
When had she betrayed the Will of Fire?
Before she could snap back, Chizumi's voice cut through the silence.
"So. You're standing in the way of justice?"
"Anyone who does—dies."
She froze.
"...You!!!"
More Utatane ninja rushed out.
They froze when they saw the carnage.
Then they saw Chizumi.
Their fury evaporated.
One of them looked to Koharu. "Your orders, ma'am?"
They were ready to fight—if she gave the word.
But she couldn't. Even all of them together wouldn't win.
If they fought now... they'd all die.
"Chizumi..." she whispered, teeth grinding. "I'll remember this. Every second."
Chizumi didn't even look at her.
He turned to Izumi, Anko, and the cat. "Next: Mitokado. Then Sarutobi."
"Yes, Senpai."
Koharu froze.
Mitokado...
Sarutobi...
No way...
As they walked off, Koharu snapped back to life.
"You! Collect the bodies. Don't give them to Yamanaka or the police!"
"You! Warn the Mitokado! Hurry—get to Homura before Chizumi does!"
"You! Go to Root! Get everyone moving—now!"
"Everyone else, follow me. We're going to Hiruzen. Chizumi's completely lost it. If we don't stop him, Konoha's going to fall apart! That brat is this village's biggest threat!"
"Yes, Koharu-sama!"
…
Keep moving! Hurry!
Three Utatane clan chunin raced through the village, sprinting toward the Mitokado compound like their lives depended on it. They were gasping for air, legs burning, but they didn't dare slow down—not even for a second. They were practically wishing for extra legs to run faster.
Buildings zipped past them in a blur as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
No one knew how long they'd been running, but finally, the Mitokado compound came into view.
"Huff... huff..." one of them gasped, barely able to breathe. "Did... did we beat him here? Maybe... Chizumi hasn't shown up yet?"
But then, a breeze drifted past.
It carried the heavy, unmistakable stench of blood.
Their faces all fell.
The three exchanged a look, each swallowing hard—then broke into another desperate sprint.
The compound gates were wide open.
Through them, they could see everything.
They froze.
"You're too late..." Mitokado Homura's voice broke the silence. He looked at the three of them with a weary, hollow gaze. He sighed—long and deep—as if he had aged years in a matter of minutes.
"I already checked our clan ahead of time," he said. "Warned everyone. Told them not to hide anything from their past."
"But some of them still thought they could get away with it. This... is what happens when you gamble with justice."
He looked down at the seven corpses lined up neatly on the ground, eyes filled with sorrow.
"Go see Hiruzen," he said tiredly. "If the Sarutobi clan doesn't want to suffer the same fate, they're going to need more shinobi on standby. It's the only way to slow Chizumi down."
There was no fire in his voice—he sounded less like a senior advisor and more like an old man who had lost everything.
The three Utatane ninja looked at each other. They could hear the fear in his voice.
Homura had been shaken to the core.
…
"Tsunade-sama, weren't we supposed to use that money to help the Tanzaku Town orphans? You've already lost ten million ryo at the casino tonight!"
It was deep into the night in Konoha. The only places still buzzing were gambling dens and bars.
Shizune held Tonton close as she chased after Tsunade, her face a mix of worry and frustration. "At this rate, you're gonna burn through the entire budget!"
"Relax, relax!" Tsunade waved her off. "As long as the orphans are in Konoha, the old man will pay for their care. We don't need to foot the bill. Besides... huh?"
She stopped talking mid-sentence.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something—or someone.
Her golden eyes narrowed.
"That... is that Chizumi? And those two girls with him... who are they? What the hell is that brat doing out this late?"
"Uchiha Chizumi?" Shizune blinked, following her gaze. But all she saw were shadows disappearing into the distance.
Then she sniffed the air.
"Tsunade-sama... I smell blood."
Tsunade's eyes sharpened. "Shizune, follow me."
She vanished in an instant.
"Eh?! Wait for me, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune took off after her, stumbling to keep up.
…
Sarutobi Hiruzen had just started to fall asleep when he was suddenly yanked out of bed by Koharu and a few Utatane shinobi.
Still groggy, he rubbed his face and stepped outside, breathing in the cold night air. He'd only just returned from the Fire Capital, hoping for a single peaceful night. That clearly wasn't happening.
He looked at Koharu and the exhausted, panicked ninja beside her.
"What's going on?" he asked, frowning. "It's the middle of the night. You've already taken over Root—shouldn't you be handling this yourself?"
Koharu took a few breaths before responding, her face dark. "If I could, I would. But this concerns you, Hiruzen. I had to come."
"Me?" he blinked, his gut suddenly tightening. "Something happened to Naruto?"
"No—it's Chizumi!" she snapped, practically grinding her teeth. Then she launched into everything that had happened at the Utatane compound.
Hiruzen stood in stunned silence.
"His next target is the Mitokado clan," Koharu continued. "Then—he's coming for Sarutobi. He's gone off the rails! Hiruzen, this is the 'justice' you let grow. It's already killed your two sons. Now he's ready to wipe your whole clan off the map!"
"He might've already reached Mitokado. Tonight, he and those girls—Izumi, Anko, and that ninja cat—slaughtered thirteen members of my clan. Two of them were kids."
"If he'll kill kids, you really think he'll spare your clan? Or do you actually believe the Sarutobi are clean in his eyes?"
Hiruzen's face turned grim.
If what Koharu said was true, and Chizumi really planned to purge three major clans in one night—
That was a line even Hiruzen couldn't ignore.
These clans weren't just part of Konoha's foundation—they were his foundation.
If they were wiped out, the village's strength would take a massive hit.
And it wasn't just politics. He knew there were people in his clan operating in gray areas. He turned a blind eye because he knew they were working for the Sarutobi's—and Konoha's—benefit.
Chizumi would kill even them?
"Anbu!" Hiruzen shouted.
Shadows immediately appeared.
"Mobilize all squads. Work with Root. Stop Chizumi's movements tonight."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
"Stop him?" Koharu snapped. "Hiruzen, is that all? Still just stop him?! Where's the man who once commanded the entire ninja world with iron will?"
"My clan's been butchered. My honor's been stomped into the ground. And you want to stop him?"
"He has to pay!"
"This is Konoha!" Hiruzen snapped. "When did you turn into Danzo—blinded by short-sighted rage?! If we fight Chizumi here, you know what'll happen?"
"Half the village could burn. How many civilians would die? How many buildings destroyed? Roads ruined? The collateral damage alone would be catastrophic."
He let out a slow, heavy sigh.
"Koharu... What else can we do but compromise? You saw what happened when I let him walk last time."
Koharu clenched her teeth so hard she felt one crack.
Blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"Then kick him out of the Land of Fire!" she growled. "You're the Hokage—don't tell me you can't do that!"
"While you're busy protecting Konoha, you better remember to protect the rest of us too. That brat's 'Absolute Justice' is going to get us all killed—one by one."
"Me. Homura. You. None of us are safe. He's not going to stop with our clans."
Just then, more Anbu arrived, and Root shinobi followed close behind.
The chaos had shaken half the village.
…
"Was that Anbu just now?" Yamanaka Inoichi squinted at the shadows vanishing into the distance. "Not sure what's going on, but we should probably check it out."
Beside him, Nara Shikaku nodded. "That direction leads to the Sarutobi compound. Might be a direct order from the Hokage."
Just as they were discussing it, something small caught their eye.
A calico ninja cat strolled calmly toward them.
"Inoichi-sama," it said in a raspy, strange voice, "Jujiro-sama requests that you help collect the corpses. Around twenty so far. Some at the Utatane compound. Some at Mitokado."
It paused, tail flicking.
"Also... you'll need to head to the Sarutobi compound next. There'll be plenty more to collect there soon."
Inoichi: "...!!!"
Shikaku: "...!!!"
"Welp..." Inoichi let out a long breath. "Guess this isn't optional anymore."
His face grew serious.
"Chizumi probably won't go after the Hokage himself—but his clan? Yeah, that's different. The old man's not gonna just sit back and let that happen. We need to be there."
Shikaku looked up at the moon. "Call Choza. If the Ino–Shika–Cho trio stands together, maybe we can actually pressure the Hokage."
"I can't believe Chizumi's actually going after three major clans tonight..."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If the Utatane, Mitokado, and Sarutobi clans all get hit with a purge tonight... their influence in the village is going to plummet."
He smirked faintly.
"That means the Ino–Shika–Cho will rise without lifting a finger."
The logic was simple: when your rivals get weaker, you get stronger.
Would Konoha grow weaker as a result?
Shikaku didn't think so.
After all, Uchiha Chizumi was only getting stronger.
Absolute Justice would fill the gap.
He clapped Inoichi on the shoulder. "Honestly, this path of Absolute Justice might not be so bad. Don't think we're being selfish—I'm the head of the Nara clan. I've got to look out for my people."
"Let's go. Chizumi's going to need us."
…
Uchiha Compound
Fugaku hadn't slept a wink.
He and Mikoto had gotten into a heated argument at dinner—so intense they nearly shouted at each other.
Needing air, he stepped out for a walk. That's when he saw it—a blur in the night. An Anbu ninja darted past.
As they crossed paths, Fugaku swore the masked ninja looked straight at him.
Even with the mask on, something about that gaze felt familiar.
"...Itachi?"
He froze.
Just as he was about to call out, Itachi stopped on his own. Standing just three meters ahead.
"Father. This is a direct order from the Hokage," Itachi said, his face unreadable. "It's related to Uchiha Chizumi. I don't know the full details."
Then he vanished in an instant, gone in the blink of an eye.
"Chizumi... and the Hokage?"
A wave of unease hit Fugaku. A bad feeling.
He immediately followed.
…
"The Child of Prophecy..."
"The Savior..."
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, yawning.
He was walking alone through a quiet street in Konoha, lost in thought beneath the dim glow of a streetlamp.
"Uzumaki Naruto? Uchiha Sasuke? Or maybe... Uchiha Izumi? Uchiha Itachi?"
He'd narrowed it down to a few candidates. All were young. The oldest—Izumi and Itachi—were just twelve.
Still, something in his gut told him the savior of the future might not come from the Uchiha. Their minds were too unstable.
"Which leaves just one option—Minato's kid. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki... Uzumaki Naruto."
A flicker of emotion crossed Jiraiya's face. He had once believed Minato was the Child of Prophecy. He'd trained him with that in mind. But Minato—Konoha's Fourth Hokage—had died far too young.
Could his son be the one?
"Bright blue eyes... That part checks out." He frowned. "Now that I think about it, I've been back in Konoha for days and still haven't seen the kid."
As he brooded, a familiar scent snapped him to attention.
"Tsunade?!"
He looked up—but her figure was already gone. In her place was a panting, flushed Shizune.
"Tsunade-sama! Please slow down!"
"I—I can't keep up...!"
"Huh?!"
Shizune, gasping and drenched in sweat, suddenly stopped when she saw Jiraiya in front of her.
"Jiraiya-sama?!"
Jiraiya raised a brow. "You're Tsunade's student, right? Why's she in such a rush? What's going on?"
Shizune hesitated, but then remembered Jiraiya and Tsunade were old comrades. She quickly filled him in.
"Uchiha Chizumi?"
Jiraiya's brows furrowed. A pit formed in his stomach. Something big was definitely going down tonight.
"I'm coming with you."
"Uh—what?" Shizune blinked, completely caught off guard.
…
"Where the hell are these kids headed?"
Tsunade mumbled to herself as she followed Chizumi's group from a distance. "They're not seriously about to do something like in Tanzaku Town... are they? This is Konoha. They wouldn't dare make that kind of scene here... right?"
Her doubts were interrupted as she saw the group ahead stop.
And in that moment, it hit her.
"Wait, wait, wait—"
Her eyes widened.
"That's the old man's place, isn't it? Isn't that... the Sarutobi clan compound?!"
Her heart dropped.
Chizumi was going to bring 'justice' to the Hokage?!
"No way... no way..."
She shook the thought away. "That brat's strong, sure—but he's not on Hiruzen's level. Even if he could match him one-on-one... he's not getting that chance. Not in the heart of the village."
Still, she kept following.
…
Sarutobi Compound
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood silently, flanked by Koharu and several elite Anbu. Something was coming. They could all feel it.
Among them, Kakashi's expression sharpened. His deadpan eyes drifted toward a certain direction—and locked onto a figure.
Uchiha Chizumi.
He really showed up.
Hiruzen and Koharu both focused on him. Their expressions darkened.
"Chizumi," Hiruzen said, stepping forward under the protection of the Anbu. "Koharu told me everything you've done tonight. I can't believe my leniency only pushed you further over the edge."
"You killed over a dozen from the Utatane clan. Then several from Mitokado. And now, you step boldly into the Sarutobi's home."
"Do you not see? What you're doing is no different from a rogue ninja."
"With one command, I could declare you a traitor to Konoha. Every ninja in this village would be ordered to hunt you down."
His voice went cold.
"If you still consider yourself a Konoha shinobi, then walk away. Right now. Reflect on what you've done."
Koharu had been nodding with approval up to that point.
But those last words made her want to scream.
Seriously?! Still showing mercy?! He should be exiling Chizumi right here and now!
Before she could speak, she caught movement behind Chizumi. Not just the two girls—
"...Tsunade?!"
Suddenly it all made sense.
That's why Hiruzen backed down... He saw her arrive.
And he knew Tsunade wasn't exactly against Chizumi's brand of 'Absolute Justice.'
Her presence alone was pressure.
But why was she even here? Did Chizumi bring her to apply pressure on Hiruzen?
"Tsunade-sama... T-Tsunade-sama..."
Shizune's voice called out from behind.
And then—another arrival.
"Jiraiya?!"
Koharu's eyes widened.
Still... Jiraiya's presence might work in her favor. At least he wasn't fully aligned with Chizumi, right?
Jiraiya let out a breath, his gaze fixed on Chizumi's back.
"Chizumi... Don't tell me you came here to confront the Hokage."
That one sentence made Koharu exhale with relief.
Good. Not every young person is on that brat's side.
Then—
"Man, looks like everyone's up tonight."
Nara Shikaku's voice floated in casually.
Koharu's brief hope died on the spot.
The Ino–Shika–Cho trio was here too.
And from the way they moved, they weren't here to stop Chizumi.
Those Traitors! Koharu seethed. Hiruzen treated them so well, and this is how they repay him?!
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!