Akainu spoke, "Izumi Uchiha."
"Here!!!" Izumi immediately responded loudly, her energetic demeanor startling Naruto.
Akainu said, "You try to analyze who the culprit is."
"Yes, Senpai!"
Izumi recalled the information Kuromaru had mentioned. Her small face serious, she said, "Mass murder of this nature is highly likely to be an inside job."
"The area around the Yamanaka clan compound has a relatively high population density in Konoha, and many ninja live nearby. For the perpetrator to silently incapacitate all four family members without attracting the attention of other ninja suggests they are also a ninja of considerable skill."
"If we list the ninja known to the victims and focus on those who had financial disputes with them, we should be able to pinpoint a few likely suspects."
"And..."
At this point, Izumi carefully glanced at Akainu before continuing, "At that point, with Akainu-senpai's abilities, you'll be able to instantly identify the culprit from among the suspects."
Kuromaru exclaimed, "Rookie, you're actually pretty good, meow!"
Izumi said sheepishly, "It's mainly from being with Akainu-senpai; I've learned a lot that isn't taught in the Ninja Academy."
—And following Akainu-senpai, the probability of encountering extremely heinous cases is remarkably high, leading to rapid accumulation of experience that even veteran members of the Military Police Force wouldn't gain in such a short time.
Of course, that last bit, a slight "grumbling internal thought," Izumi wouldn't dare to say in front of Akainu-senpai.
As everyone was talking, they unknowingly walked into the Uchiha clan compound.
The victims had already been moved to the Military Police Force building.
---
"...This is bad!"
Trailing far behind, the ANBU ninja, Ryoshin Yamanaka, looked at the Uchiha clan compound ahead, his scalp tingling.
How could Akainu bring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to a place like this?!
Wasn't that like putting a lamb among hungry wolves?
Could he really be trying to control the Nine-Tails?!
Within the Uchiha clan territory, if he risked his life, would he have even a one percent chance of getting Naruto Uzumaki out?
As he stepped into the Uchiha compound himself, Ryoshin Yamanaka acutely sensed many vigilant and hostile gazes instantly locking onto him.
—It's the Uchiha clan ninja!
They must have noticed the ANBU mask hanging from his waist!
"Phew!"
Sweating profusely, Ryoshin Yamanaka tightly gripped the hilt of his ninja blade, adopting a defensive stance, ready to draw it without hesitation. He then bravely pushed forward.
"Hokage-sama..."
"When will you arrive?!"
He swore, if he survived today, he would definitely submit a letter of resignation to Hokage-sama.
Even if he were sent to an enemy country as a spy, he wouldn't want to monitor the Jinchuriki anymore.
This wasn't a job for a human!
His death flag was practically waving!
---
"I'm back here again, believe it!" Naruto didn't realize he was unknowingly tugging at the nerves of many people in Konoha.
He was curiously observing the Uchiha clan compound.
And many Uchiha clan ninja were observing him as well.
And quite unreservedly at that.
"That blond kid, he's not from our Uchiha clan, is he? I don't remember any of our clan members having blond hair."
"He's that 'demon fox brat.' He was caught by the Military Police Force once a while ago. I hear Akainu caught him, and this time... it seems Akainu caught him again."
"The demon fox brat, huh! I hear the Nine-Tails that caused such chaos in Konoha back then was sealed inside him. I wonder if it's true. If it is... then he's the one responsible for our Uchiha clan being ostracized by the village, isn't he?"
"Be careful. That kid was brought back by Akainu . If you dare to have any ill intentions, he won't spare your life."
"Hm? How come there's an outsider too? That guy... isn't that an ANBU mask hanging from his waist?"
"Oh? An ANBU ninja in our Uchiha clan territory?"
Ryoshin Yamanaka, hanging back a hundred meters, was far too conspicuous.
While the "demon fox brat" was enough to pique the interest of many radical Uchiha ninja, the presence of Akainu beside him made them wary.
So...
Ryoshin Yamanaka, who clearly looked like an "easy target," became the focus of everyone's attention. Pairs of Sharingan eyes intently watched him.
As if any unusual movement from him would instantly result in him being sliced into minced meat.
"...Is it because of me that the Uchiha clan is being ostracized?"
These Uchiha ninja weren't lowering their voices when they discussed him, so Naruto naturally heard them talking about himself.
His curious expression instantly fell.
"Don't take on 'evil' that doesn't belong to you."
Until Akainu 's voice suddenly rang out, "If it were you right now, would you have the thought of ostracizing the Uchiha clan?"
Naruto quickly shook his head. "No, I wouldn't!"
He was the one who was discriminated against and ostracized in the village; how could he possibly have the right to ostracize others?
Naruto believed he would never have such a thought.
---
### Meanwhile, at the Military Police Force Building office.
The news that "the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had once again entered the Uchiha clan compound" naturally reached Fugaku's ears quickly. It shocked Fugaku so much that he crushed the teacup he was holding.
"He's here again? Who brought him in?"
He no longer cared about the hot tea dripping onto him.
A string of questions poured out of him.
The last time Akainu brought Naruto Uzumaki to the Military Police Force building, it had already startled Fugaku considerably.
Who would have thought Naruto Uzumaki would make a second "visit"!
It completely flustered Fugaku!
"It was Akainu ." The Military Police Force ninja who came to report the situation gave an answer that no longer shocked Fugaku.
Fugaku: "..."
He was clearly becoming desensitized by Akainu 's antics.
He couldn't understand how one person could cause so many headaches for him, the Uchiha clan head, within a mere twenty-four hours.
"Akainu... when will you finally realize that only by maintaining balance can the village and the Uchiha remain stable?"
"Phew!"
After muttering to himself, Fugaku let out a sigh and immediately stood up. His face stern, he asked in a deep voice, "Where did he take Naruto Uzumaki?"
The Military Police Force ninja replied, "The Military Police Force's underground morgue."
Fugaku: "???"
The Military Police Force ninja also realized his statement might have been ambiguous and added, "Naruto Uzumaki is still alive. I don't know why Akainu took the demon fox brat there."
Fugaku: "..."
In that brief moment, a layer of cold sweat had broken out on his back.
He didn't even bother to remind the other person not to speak in half-sentences anymore.
Fugaku immediately set off for the underground morgue.
---
### Inside the Morgue.
The chilling air filling the room made Naruto shiver. He stared dumbfounded at the bodies lying on the metal beds, so many that he couldn't even count them all at a glance!
The strange odor lingering in the air constantly assaulted his sense of smell, making Naruto's stomach churn and his dirty little face turn subtly pale.
Akainu walked to a body covered with a white sheet and directly pulled the sheet away.
At that moment, the intense visual impact made Naruto, standing nearby, feel dizzy. He couldn't find any words to describe the horrific state of the corpse. And it was the body of a child who looked to be around the same age as Naruto Uzumaki!
Naruto was so scared that he instinctively closed his eyes.
"Open your eyes." But when Akainu 's cold voice rang out, Naruto felt that this terrifying man was even more frightening.
His survival instinct made him bravely force his eyes open.
"Rookie, take notes. Victim number one, male, age seven to eight. Multiple blunt force traumas, crushing injuries leading to comminuted fractures. The caved-in skull appears to be the primary cause of death, but a closer look reveals strange marks on the side of the neck, suggesting a forceful attack to the side of the neck before death, causing a cervical fracture."
"This is the actual cause of his death."
Seven to eight years old...
Naruto, tightly covering his mouth, his small face flushed from trying to hold back his vomit, couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Wasn't that around his age?
Could he also be a Ninja Academy student?
Akainu walked aside and pulled back another white sheet—the sight of this corpse made Naruto unable to hold it in anymore.
Unspeakable vomit even oozed from between his fingers.
His azure pupils trembled violently.
"Victim number two, female, age two to three. Her entire body was crushed by heavy building debris, but this shouldn't be the fatal injury. There's unswallowed food lodged in her throat; this is likely the cause of her death. She was knocked unconscious while eating."
It was as if Akainu was intentionally making Naruto witness every single corpse with his own eyes.
As for how Naruto felt or the extent of the psychological impact on him, it seemed to be of no concern to Akainu.
He pulled back the third white sheet.
"Victim number three, male, age twenty-nine to thirty-one. Although he also has many marks from being struck by heavy building debris, the true fatal injury is to his chest. This isn't a wound caused by a building collapsing; it's clearly a wound from a sharp object piercing through."
Then he pulled back the fourth white sheet.
"Victim number four, female, age..."
Having continuously witnessed four corpses with extremely gruesome appearances, Naruto was now completely stunned. His eyes had lost their light, and he stared blankly at the last female body.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto, suddenly called by his full name, shivered all over.
"S-Sorry!" Naruto was almost crying. "I shouldn't have thrown up, I can clean it up..."
But Naruto found that this terrifying man didn't blame him. Instead, he said with an indifferent tone, "This is the evil of the ninja world."
The evil of the ninja world... was he referring to this family of four?
No!
That's not right!
Naruto realized—he was referring to the murderer!
"The 'evil' spawned by a twisted, pathological ninja world brings slaughter, pain, and disaster to innocent people... The family of four you see now are all victims of 'evil'."
Akainu asked slowly, "Do you think they are pitiful, Naruto Uzumaki?"
Naruto wiped the corner of his mouth, his lips trembling slightly as he said, "They've all been killed... so they must be very pitiful."
Akainu continued, "As 'evil' approached them, they were completely unaware, a family happily eating dinner. Until a villain appeared, wielding a sharp blade, ruthlessly taking their lives."
"And that murderous villain... is perhaps gloating right now. Because last night's chaos caused buildings to collapse onto the four bodies. If someone inexperienced handled this, the case would have been closed as an 'accident'."
"At that time, the murderous villain would receive no punishment, and [Justice] would suffer a defeat."
Even though he had never experienced fatherly or motherly love, nor the warmth of a family dinner.
Yet, as Akainu 's words entered his ears, Naruto unconsciously began to visualize scenes.
—A warm family of four happily eating dinner and laughing, but under the night sky, an uninvited guest broke into their home.
—The three-year-old girl, while eating, was first knocked unconscious by the murderous villain who had snuck into their house, but because food was lodged in her throat, the three-year-old girl suffocated to death.
—The husband, shocked and enraged, stood up, but was swiftly run through the chest by the murderer's blade.
—Before the wife could scream, the murderer struck again, piercing her chest.
—The seven-year-old boy fled in terror, but was caught by the murderous villain, who broke his neck with a single hand chop, killing him instantly.
All four family members brutally murdered!
At this point, Naruto couldn't bear to visualize it any further.
The images he had conjured in his mind had a stronger psychological impact on Naruto than the gruesome state of the four corpses. He stood rooted to the spot, feeling utterly ashamed and guilty for his earlier vomiting.
"How... how could someone do that?" Naruto's nose tingled, and he mumbled to himself, "This is wrong... Even if everyone in the village can't get along, it shouldn't be like this!"
Naruto vaguely looked at the other corpses in the morgue.
He then looked up at Akainu , who seemed unfazed by any of it.
Naruto asked in a low, dazed voice, "Does this kind of thing happen often?"
"It's constantly happening," Akainu said. "Every moment."
Akainu coldly added, "And this is merely the 'evil' that festers in one ninja village, Konoha. Looking at the vast ninja world, this 'evil' in Konoha is just the tip of the iceberg."
"This ninja world is sick. So sick that many people who have caught the 'sickness' are unaware of it. This pathology has twisted the minds of many, and twisted the moral bottom lines of many."
Naruto was stunned for a few seconds.
"It shouldn't be like this..." Naruto looked up and met Akainu 's gaze. This was the first time he had such courage, and his voice held a pleading tone: "The ninja world shouldn't be like this, right?"
Akainu didn't answer. Instead, he asked another question: "Naruto Uzumaki. Now that you've witnessed the tip of the 'evil' iceberg, is there anything you want to do?"
His voice drifted into Naruto's ears, "Follow your heart. Say out loud what you want to do most right now."
The moment Akainu 's words fell, Fugaku hurriedly burst into the morgue. When he saw the blond-haired Nine-Tails Jinchuriki right before his eyes...
Fugaku went numb.
"Akainu! You..."
But before Fugaku could utter a complete sentence, he was interrupted by Naruto's loud shout: "I... I want to make the murderous villain pay! Such a villain shouldn't go unpunished! I want this family of four to find peace in the afterlife! This... this... this is what I want to do..."
Naruto's voice grew softer and softer. Ultimately, fear took over, and his surge of courage fizzled out in less than three seconds.
Akainu said, "Remember this conviction you have right now."
Naruto, who had his head down and dared not speak, paused.
"This conviction is called [Justice]."
Akainu slowly stated, "In that brief moment, you embraced a heart determined to execute justice. Never forget that indignation, and never allow yourself to become numb."
Naruto mumbled, repeating, "Justice..."
Fugaku's pupils constricted slightly. Having witnessed everything, he immediately realized what Akainu was doing—he was indoctrinating the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with his [Absolute Justice]!
Fugaku gasped, taking a cold breath.
Was this something he should be doing?!
This must surely have crossed the Third Hokage-sama's bottom line!
"Akainu... what exactly are you doing?" Even though he already had the answer in his heart, Fugaku couldn't help but ask.
A lingering shred of hope made him wish Akainu would give an answer completely contrary to his guess.
Akainu glanced at Fugaku, stating openly and without reservation, "The ninja world needs more [Absolute Justice]."
Fugaku: "..."
That glimmer of hope was instantly crushed.
The anxiety that had been plaguing Fugaku finally died.
"Akainu! That's Naruto Uzumaki! You can instill your ninja way into anyone within the Uchiha clan. But Naruto Uzumaki alone... aren't you aware of his unique status?!"
Fugaku could no longer suppress his emotions: "Akainu! What you're doing is pushing the Uchiha clan into a corner! Don't forget why the Uchiha clan was forced to move to this compound!"
For years, Fugaku had made countless concessions and compromises with the village to ease the Konoha elders' concerns about the Uchiha clan.
Every day, he also faced pressure from the hawkish factions within the Uchiha clan.
But Fugaku believed he had managed all these pressures.
If only he had a little more time, perhaps three to five, or even seven to eight years, he might have been able to dispel the elders' suspicions. To make them understand that the Uchiha clan had no intentions of a coup, and that the Uchiha clan was trustworthy.
However...
Akainu bringing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to the Uchiha clan compound twice and indoctrinating him with the concept of Absolute Justice.
This was tantamount to smashing all of Fugaku's years of effort to pieces with one punch!
Once like this, and then again...
How could Fugaku possibly keep his emotions in check?!
---