Chapter 107: Kakashi: Will the Fire Nation Make the Leaf Village Even Weaker? (5000 words)

Izumi quickly slid her Ninja Sword back into its sheath. She flipped open the first page of her notebook—and froze.

There, written in sharp, precise script, was a name. Beneath it, a full address. And below that, a series of transaction records.

Her breath caught.

“Iizumi-senpai… Is this…?”

“Hmm.” Uchiha Iizumi’s voice was calm, detached. “The list of those involved in smuggling and trafficking banned pharmaceuticals. Every single one of them is from the Leaf Village.”

Izumi’s eyes widened in shock. “!!”

She didn’t even process how Iizumi had obtained the list—whether it had been taken from one of the Anbu Ninjas during the distraction, or if it had been hidden on a suspect’s person while her attention had been elsewhere.

She flipped through the pages rapidly, each one bringing a deeper sense of dread.

The list wasn’t just full of ordinary civilians. It included civilian ninjas, clan-affiliated shinobi, even merchants who had lived and operated in the village for years.

Fifteen names.

Fifteen people.

In a village as small as the Leaf, this was staggering.

She took a slow, deep breath.

“Every time I think I’ve seen the absolute worst of the Ninja World’s corruption… something worse comes along. Something I can’t even comprehend.”

Fifteen individuals—carrying poison through the heart of the village.

How many had already suffered? How many had died?

Tachibana Jiro had once told her that at least a few people died each year from banned substances. And countless more were left broken, barely clinging to life.

Her eyes hardened. A cold fire sparked in their depths.

Her fingers tightened around the notebook, knuckles whitening.

“Senpai… we—”

“Split up.” Uchiha Iizumi’s voice was flat, but his gaze cut straight through her. He knew her too well—her thoughts always showed in her expression. “You handle the civilians—merchants, civilian ninjas. Tachibana Jiro will accompany you. The clan-affiliated shinobi? I’ll deal with them.”

“Yes, senpai!”

Kakashi, standing nearby, watched silently as Uchiha Iizumi approached. Without hesitation, he stepped aside.

Izumi grabbed Tachibana Jiro’s arm and sprinted after him.

Before leaving, she turned to Naruto and Sasuke.

“Absolute Justice,” she murmured, her voice barely audible. “That’s what it really means.”

Alone in the underground shelter, Kakashi stared at the corpses—twisted, lifeless, their final moments etched in agony. The air reeked of burnt flesh and synthetic toxins. The shelves were packed with crates of banned drugs, a toxic archive of human suffering.

He exhaled slowly.

“He really does live by his words. No hesitation. He slaughtered his own kin without flinching. He truly has no tolerance for evil.”

A pause.

“…If Naruto Uzumaki ever follows this path of Absolute Justice… maybe he’s not going down the wrong road after all. The village owes him so much. Let him be reckless for once. At least this kind of justice doesn’t breed traitors.”

He thought of Obito.

Once, Obito had dreamed of becoming the Hokage of the Leaf. Now he was a rogue, a deserter, a man who had betrayed everything.

If Uchiha Iizumi hadn’t revealed the truth—those secrets buried deep beneath Obito’s façade—Kakashi might still be blind to the rot.

And now, a chilling thought stirred in his mind.

—Could the Fire Nation really make the Leaf Village better?

His father had believed in the Fire Nation Will. And look where it got him—driven to suicide by village backlash.

Obito believed in it too. And look what he became.

Danzō believed in it. And everyone knew what kind of man he truly was.

Kakashi himself had believed in it.

And yet… everyone he cared about had slipped away.

The Leaf Village… it had grown weaker.

In his memory, the village had been stronger before the Third Ninja War. Now, it felt… diminished.

Kakashi fell silent, lost in thought.

Then, a voice—soft, distant, but urgent—cut through the silence.

“If you don’t want to burn with a ton of banned drugs, get up here now.”

Kakashi snapped back to reality, heart pounding. He scrambled up the stairs.

At the entrance, Uchiha Iizumi stood, his arm blazing with molten lava.

As he stepped out, the lava surged like a volcanic tide, pouring down the staircase and flooding the underground chamber.

In less than a second, the entire shelter was swallowed by fire. The drugs, the bodies, the evidence—all reduced to ash.

Kakashi’s clothes were soaked in cold sweat.

That was… extreme.

If Iizumi hadn’t warned him, he’d have been incinerated too.

“Sasuke!”

A new voice—fierce, sudden—shattered the stillness.

The door burst open.

A group of shinobi stormed in, led by a man who immediately called out the name.

“Sasuke!”

Sasuke spun around, stunned.

“…Father?”

“Father? Huh? Wait—what?!” Naruto stared at Uchiha Fugaku in disbelief. “That emotionless dude is your dad? I’ve seen him twice already!”

Sasuke blinked, dumbfounded.

It was Fugaku—along with several members of the Investigation Corps.

Fugaku’s eyelid twitched, almost imperceptibly.

If he had a choice, he’d rather never have seen the Jinchūriki again.

He pushed aside his thoughts.

“Sasuke,” he said, voice sharp, “why aren’t you at home after school? What are you doing here?”

Sasuke lowered his head, fingers clenched in his sleeves. He dared not speak. Fugaku’s strict discipline had taught him to fear defiance.

Fugaku glanced at the underground shelter’s entrance.

Lava still seeped from the cracks, glowing like embers.

The air was thick with heat.

“What is this, Iizumi?” he demanded.

“Iizumi-san,” Izumi stepped forward, voice firm. “He is carrying out Justice.”

She emphasized three names: Uchiha Hayato, Uchiha Masaru, Uchiha Chitō—all involved in large-scale smuggling of banned pharmaceuticals.

Fugaku’s brow twitched violently.

He didn’t say it outright, but the words “carrying out Justice” and the lava-filled shelter spoke volumes.

—Iizumi killed three of his own clan members.

And one of them… was Uchiha Hayato.

The only grandson of Uchiha Setsuna.

Fugaku’s blood ran cold.

What will Setsuna do when he learns his grandson is dead?

He could already smell the storm brewing within the Uchiha Clan.

He hadn’t expected the conflict to come from within the clan—before the village’s tensions even erupted.

He inhaled sharply, pain flaring in his chest.

“Iizumi,” he said slowly, “they were all… Uchiha.”

But Iizumi cut him off mid-sentence, his voice icy.

“Because they were Uchiha, they were above the law?”

Fugaku fell silent.

Then it hit him.

Uchiha Iizumi had killed Uchiha Oniwa—his last blood relative—because Oniwa had fallen into darkness.

If blood ties meant nothing to him… what did three clan members matter?

Fugaku said nothing.

“Fugaku Clan Head,” Iizumi said, placing a hand on Fugaku’s shoulder, “please step aside.”

He pushed.

Fugaku stumbled, off-balance.

“Hey! Uchiha Iizumi! You—” One of the Investigation Corps ninjas stepped forward.

Fugaku raised a hand, silencing him.

“…It’s fine.”

His face was grim, but he held back his fury. He could feel it—the clan was on the verge of exploding. His duty as clan head was to prevent the explosion, not fuel it.

Even if Iizumi’s actions were disrespectful… he would endure it.

For the sake of the Uchiha Clan.

He was being a good leader.

He was proud of himself.

He watched silently as Iizumi, Izumi, Tachibana Jiro, Naruto Uzumaki, and Kakashi—people who, by all rights, should never be together—walked away.

Then he noticed Sasuke following them.

Fugaku couldn’t stay silent.

“Sasuke!” he snapped. “Your home is to the left. Why are you going right? It’s nearly dark. Go home now.”

Sasuke froze.

The sharp tone weighed heavily on his shoulders.

“Yes… Father.”

He turned, mouth tight.

But then—Naruto Uzumaki suddenly stopped.

He spun around, grabbed Sasuke’s wrist, and yanked him back.

“Hey?! What are you doing, Deadlast?!”

Sasuke yelped in shock.

Naruto pulled him hard, turning to face Fugaku with a determined look.

“Hey, old man,” he said, voice firm, “this arrogant guy kept asking me what Justice is. I brought him here so he could see Justice for himself. So… can I borrow him for a bit?”

Fugaku stared.

His second son—being dragged by the Jinchūriki, stumbling, struggling, but clearly not trying too hard.

He almost laughed.

Fake resistance. I see through you.

He turned his gaze back to Iizumi’s distant silhouette.

A slow, bitter realization settled over him.

Iizumi… once, you watched Itachi with malice. Now, you’re watching Sasuke with kindness. Are you using him? Or are you trying to use Sasuke to manipulate me?

But then he paused.

No… Iizumi isn’t the type to manipulate people.

That meant… he truly wanted Sasuke to understand Justice.

But the problem remained: Iizumi’s Justice is too extreme.

Would it twist Sasuke’s path?

And… did Itachi even know?

---

Meanwhile, Kakashi, still wary of the Jinchūriki’s safety, had re-hidden himself.

“Nothing’s happening,” he said, pulling his Anbu mask back over his face. He turned to the other Anbu under his command.

“By the way…” His deadpan eyes flicked toward one of them. “Go back and tell the Hokage. Uchiha Iizumi may be about to start a massacre today. But the ones he kills… they’re all guilty.”

He paused.

“I only know the first three were Uchiha. The rest… I don’t know. But the list had at least fifteen names.”

He hadn’t looked at the notebook. He’d only seen Izumi flip through it—fifteen times.

So fifteen targets.

It had to be right.

“Yes, sir.”

The Anbu ninja immediately understood the gravity. He broke away from surveillance duty and dashed toward the Hokage Tower.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi received the message, the sun had already dipped below the horizon.

“Fifteen?!”

The tea in his mouth shot out in a spray.

Fifteen?

The last time Iizumi had killed so many in one day… was when he executed the Daimyō’s second son and his entire retinue.

Now, another mass execution?

Hiruzen stood up, heart racing.

What kind of disaster is this man going to cause?

Before he could even move, another Anbu ninja burst in.

“Hokage-sama! Kakashi’s message—Uchiha Iizumi has broken into the Tsunade Konoha Clan and killed two shinobi! And—” The ninja paused. “—Iizumi and Izumi have split up. They’re conducting separate operations. High efficiency. High speed.”

Hiruzen’s eyes widened.

Efficient?

One Anbu reports a massacre. The next one arrives before the first one even finishes?

And now, two deaths—from the Tsunade Konoha Clan?

Hiruzen’s stomach dropped.

Tomorrow, Tsunade Konoha will be furious. I can already hear her yelling through the village.

Then—Naruto was with Izumi.

What if this kind of justice corrupts him?

What if the kind, gentle Naruto becomes a cold-blooded killer?

Would he even be the Naruto I know?

He was about to run out—when another Anbu ninja appeared.

“Hokage-sama!” It was Yamada Ryosin. “Kakashi sent two of his subordinates to me. I’m tracking Uchiha Izumi. She stormed a tavern in broad daylight and decapitated the owner—in front of witnesses!”

Hiruzen stared.

…

Before he could respond, another Anbu ninja arrived—panting, sweating.

“Hokage-sama! Uchiha Iizumi has attacked the Hyūga Menji Clan! A sixty-year-old veteran shinobi—Hyūga Menji’s cousin—was killed!”

Hiruzen’s breath hitched.

Menji’s cousin?

That’s… a major figure in the village.

He could already picture the scene—Hyūga Menji, calm and collected, standing before him tomorrow, eyes blazing with fury.

Even if Menji was the most level-headed of the four elders… he lost a blood relative.

Hiruzen felt dizzy.

“Hokage-sama!” A new voice.

He staggered.

Before the Anbu could speak, Hiruzen growled, teeth clenched.

“Who did Uchiha Iizumi kill this time?!”

The Anbu hesitated.

“It wasn’t Uchiha Iizumi.”

Hiruzen blinked.

“It was… Tachibana Jiro, the Ninja Cat… and Uchiha Izumi, a rookie from the Investigation Corps. Together, they killed a Special Jonin.”

Silence.

Then—crack.

Hiruzen’s grip on the desk had been so tight that the leg snapped.

His face turned pale.

“You were watching them! Why didn’t you stop them? Even if you couldn’t stop Iizumi—couldn’t you stop a cat? A newly graduated genin?”

The Anbu exchanged glances.

“Kakashi-sama instructed us to report only. Since the Jinchūriki wasn’t involved… we weren’t to interfere. That was his order.”

Hiruzen’s rage drained.

He had no one to blame.

No one to scream at.

His chest rose and fell rapidly. The weight of the situation pressed down on him.

Iizumi had killed only the guilty.

But the aftermath—the chaos, the blood, the outrage—was unbearable.

There’s no way to stop it now.

Absolute Justice—once it finds its target… it never stops.

And with Iizumi moving like a storm, even finding him would be impossible.

Unless… he waited until the bloodshed was done.

Hiruzen stood up.

Then slowly, heavily, sat back down.

He stared at the darkening sky.

…This night… won’t be a good one.

---

“D-d-dead… last…” Sasuke stammered, staring at the corpse at his feet.

He was trembling.

He had no idea this was what “Justice” looked like.

Maybe his father was right. He should’ve stayed home.

“I… I forgot,” Naruto whispered, voice hollow. He had prepared himself. But nothing could’ve prepared him for this.

“Let’s go,” Iizumi said, pulling his sword again. He wiped the blood off with a flick of his wrist.

He glanced at the two wide-eyed kids.

“Only one left.”

He turned to Naruto.

“Naruto Uzumaki. This one… is yours.”

“…Huh?!”

Naruto froze.

Me?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end