Chapter 157: Fugaku: "Itachi was shaped by his environment."

As Uchiha Iizumi tightened his fingers slightly, his fingertips pierced through the man’s chest skin and plunged into the flesh beneath. Chakra surged through the wound, violently disrupting the cursed seal etched across the target’s torso.

The spy sent by Orochimaru—his body covered in intricate, dense seals—began to visibly unravel. The markings receded like a tide retreating from the shore.

He Chuan Shang stared down in horror at his own chest.

Orochimaru had branded him with these seals to prevent anyone from extracting secrets about the man himself. Any attempt to probe his mind would trigger the curse instantly—ripping his body apart in an instant.

He wasn’t opposed to this.

He had absolute loyalty to Orochimaru. Even if it meant dying, he’d protect his master’s secrets at all costs.

But he never expected… this.

No—

Before he could even react, a crushing pressure gripped his throat. His eyes rolled back. His consciousness flickered out. He collapsed into unconsciousness.

Uchiha Iizumi casually tossed the limp body toward Izumi.

"Take him to the Yamanaka Clan. Have them extract his memories. Bring back everything we can learn about Orochimaru."

His voice remained calm, unshaken.

Orochimaru’s words had stirred little more than a ripple in his mind.

"Yes! Iizumi Senior!" Izumi’s voice trembled with urgency. This was no ordinary mission—it involved one of the San-nin, the very source of corruption in the ninja world. And if Iizumi could finally eliminate him, it would be a decisive blow.

"I want to help too!"

Mitarashi Anko tore her gaze from the severed, pale white snake lying on the ground. Her jaw clenched tightly. "I'm not just a tool. I want to destroy Orochimaru."

As a former disciple of Orochimaru, Konoha Rin knew all too well the subtle glares, the cold distance she faced in Leaf Village. Even though Orochimaru had betrayed the village, his shadow still loomed over her—haunting her dreams, gnawing at her soul.

She wanted to kill him.

To slay her own master.

It was a truth woven into the very fabric of the ninja world.

"Go ahead," Uchiha Iizumi said.

---

In a hidden underground lab deep within the Land of Fire, Orochimaru held a scalpel in one hand, slicing into the trembling flesh of a man strapped to a medical bed—his face twisted in terror, eyes wide with Zetsu-like dread.

His golden vertical pupils flickered with cold detachment. His grip on the blade tightened.

Pfft—

He froze.

Below him, the man’s skin had turned pale, then gray—life drained from his face. His body went still.

“Uchiha Iizumi…” Orochimaru murmured, staring at the corpse. “You’ve cost me another precious little mouse. How… unforgivable.”

His outward calm was a lie.

The swift, brutal severing of that tiny white serpent—no more than a shadowy threat—had struck a nerve deep within him.

Iizumi had not just cut a snake.

He had cut into Orochimaru’s pride.

---

Leaf Village, Nara Clan residence.

Yamana Haiichi, the clan elder, took in the unconscious spy with a quiet nod. He didn’t ask questions.

But Izumi stepped forward anyway.

“This is an Orochimaru spy. Iizumi Senior needs intelligence on him.”

“An Orochimaru spy…”

Yamana Haiichi’s expression remained unreadable, but for a fleeting second, his eyes flicked toward the anxious figure of Mitarashi Anko standing behind Izumi.

He gave a single, deliberate nod.

“Understood.”

Then, he added, “Should we inform the Hokage?”

“No,” Izumi replied, shaking her head. “Not yet.”

Her tone carried a sharp edge—distrust thick in every syllable.

“If Third Hokage-sama gets involved, he’ll let Orochimaru go. He’ll cling to old ties, to the memory of their teacher-student bond. He’ll hesitate at the critical moment.”

She had seen it.

After years beside Iizumi Senior, she finally understood the man’s true nature.

The Third Hokage was loyal to his feelings.

But his loyalty often blinded him.

He tolerated Danzō.

He protected the very darkness he should have destroyed.

And Iizumi had already made up her mind—Third Hokage was not a good man.

Worse…

She suspected he was the one who concealed Itachi’s existence after the “Future Evil” revelation.

That he had hidden him, protected him—because he wanted to.

“Understood,” Yamana Haiichi said softly.

As Izumi turned to leave, he called out.

Izumi paused.

“I have a clan member who returned today,” Yamana Haiichi said. “While on a mission outside the village, he met a close aide of the merchant Kado. I believe… Iizumi Senior might find that connection interesting.”

Izumi’s breath caught.

“Kado?” Anko asked, her voice tight. “The one who built his fortune smuggling forbidden drugs? The man with a terrible reputation?”

“Yes,” Yamana Haiichi confirmed.

“Thank you, Clan Head,” Izumi said, bowing slightly. “I’ll pass this on to Iizumi Senior.”

Once the two had left, Yamana Haiichi turned his gaze back to the unconscious spy.

He knew—helping Uchiha Iizumi meant war with Orochimaru.

But the choice had already been made.

He would not hesitate now.

---

Meanwhile, deep within the Uchiha compound.

"Fugaku… you’ve been standing there for two hours," Uchiha Mikoto said softly, leaning against the doorway. Her expression was complex, her eyes fixed on her husband, motionless in Itachi’s room.

Even if he stayed here all day, Itachi wouldn’t return.

Uchiha Fugaku’s face remained impassive, yet beneath it, sorrow welled—raw, undeniable.

“Mikoto… the Uchiha clan shouldn’t be like this.”

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“We shouldn’t worship Absolute Justice. It only drags us from one extreme to another.”

“Itachi… he feared we’d become too extreme. He feared we’d hurt Leaf Village. He feared that, over time, even he would lose control.”

“Maybe he didn’t choose the darkness. Maybe he was pushed—by Setsuna, by Iizumi. Two men who forced him toward the abyss.”

“Without Setsuna’s ambition to overthrow the village… without Iizumi’s fanaticism, even killing the Hokage’s son… would Itachi have fallen?”

Mikoto paused, about to speak—

But Fugaku didn’t wait.

He wasn’t asking for an answer.

He was asking himself.

“No,” Fugaku said, drawing in a slow breath. “The only reason someone becomes so unyielding… is the environment.”

“Outside, there was the Hokage’s expectations. The nation’s will. Inside, there was Setsuna’s radical faction… and Iizumi’s Absolute Justice.”

“These four forces—this is what made Itachi someone we no longer recognize.”

Mikoto stepped forward. “Fugaku… let it go. If Itachi were alive, he wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

She spoke gently.

“Once, he was the one who took on burdens so you wouldn’t have to. He made you proud. You’re not doing him any justice by carrying this grief.”

And if you cling too tightly to his death… something terrible will happen.

She knew the Uchiha bloodline too well.

Even beneath Fugaku’s calm exterior, the fire of pride, of arrogance, burned eternal.

She feared he’d lose himself in obsession—do something reckless.

“Hmph…” Fugaku exhaled heavily, his silhouette lonely in the dim light.

“He was always thoughtful. Careful. When he learned from Iizumi that he would destroy the clan… he must have already planned his own end.”

“That means he prepared backups. Contingencies. Maybe he even expected to die before he could carry out the purge.”

“I’m trying to understand what he left behind.”

Mikoto’s eyes dimmed with disappointment.

He hadn’t listened.

“Fugaku,” she said, “don’t say any of this to Sasuke when he returns. You’ve already shaped Itachi’s fate. Don’t make Sasuke follow the same path.”

Fugaku was silent.

Then, softly—

“Yes. I won’t let Sasuke repeat Itachi’s mistakes.”

Mikoto blinked. Then smiled.

“That’s better.”

She turned. “I’m going to buy ingredients. I’ll cook his favorite dishes tonight.”

Her footsteps faded down the hall.

Fugaku remained still.

Staring at the room.

Leaf Village…

Sasuke…

Itachi…

Iizumi…

He felt the weight pressing down.

---

One hour passed.

Izumi rushed back to the Nara Clan residence, having relayed Yamana Haiichi’s message to Uchiha Iizumi.

She brought back the intelligence gathered from He Chuan Shang—and the Yamanaka Clan’s newly returned shinobi.

Panting slightly, she said, “Iizumi Senior… everything’s here!”

Uchiha Iizumi took the file without opening it. Instead, his eyes locked onto the nervous Yamanaka shinobi before him.

“Find Kado,” he said. “I’ll need you to guide me.”

The man flinched. “But… I don’t need a reward—”

“No,” Iizumi cut in. “You do need one. Not for yourself. For others. For those who still fear Absolute Justice.”

He turned to the man, voice steady.

“Justice doesn’t demand worship. It doesn’t need everyone to follow it. But it must not be feared by those who seek it. The only ones who should fear justice… are those who carry guilt.”

Izumi, standing beside him, hastily scribbled down every word in a small notebook—her pen flying.

These aren’t just words for him, she thought. They’re for us. For me. For Rin.

Uchiha Iizumi ignored her.

He opened the file.

The most critical data: the exact location of Orochimaru’s secret lab in the Land of Fire.

His eyes narrowed.

Then, he looked up.

“Where is Kado’s aide?”

The shinobi gave an address.

Uchiha Iizumi closed his eyes.

He visualized the map of the Land of Fire—connected the dots between Leaf Village, the lab, and the address.

“Perfect,” he said. “We can handle it all in one trip.”

---

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end