Chapter 2: The First Lesson in Enforcing [Justice]

Uchiha Iizumi turned sharply, only to find a black-haired, long-haired girl standing hesitantly behind him.

"Senior Iizumi... I... I..."

Izumi froze mid-sentence, her voice cracking under the weight of Uchiha Iizumi’s piercing gaze.

She had faced other seniors before—had even held her ground before the Fugaku Clan Head—but now, standing before this particular Uchiha Iizumi, she felt her courage dissolve into nervous silence.

"Speak," Uchiha Iizumi said.

Izumi jolted upright, scrambling to introduce herself. "I'm Uchiha Izumi! I took this year's police force recruitment exam. When the Fugaku Clan Head asked me to pick my examiner, I... I picked you, Senior Iizumi!"

But as she met the sharp, unwavering stare of the police officer before her, her voice dwindled, shrinking into a whisper. By the end, she dared not lift her eyes to meet his.

"Examiner? You chose me?" Uchiha Iizumi regarded her with a blank expression. "Though you look frail, I’ll give you this—your courage is at least commendable."

A thin, cold smile curled at the corner of his lips—just enough to show teeth, not warmth.

"To pass my test? It’s simple. Survive the next month without giving me a reason to kill you. If you manage that, you pass."

"Wait—hold on. There’s a rat trying to flee."

Izumi blinked. What?

Before she could process it, Uchiha Iizumi drew his kunai in a flash. The blade sliced through the air with a silver arc, and a splash of crimson bloomed into her vision.

In an instant, a short man collapsed to the ground, his left leg severed.

"Aaaaaaahhh!!!"

The man’s shriek tore through the air, mingling with the thick, coppery stench of blood—overwhelming, suffocating. Izumi flinched back half a step, her palms slick with sweat, her heart hammering against her ribs.

"Uchiha Izumi," Uchiha Iizumi said, flicking blood from the blade.

Izumi snapped her head up, startled—still worried the man might bleed out.

Uchiha Iizumi narrowed his eyes. "When I call your name, you answer 'Here!'."

"Oh—uh, here!" Izumi stammered, flustered.

"Is that all you can manage?" Uchiha Iizumi’s voice was ice. "I couldn’t hear a thing. Is this your resolve to join the police force? Can you even protect the meaning of [Justice]? Go home and play with dolls, if you’re this weak."

The Fugaku Clan Head had been right—Senior Iizumi was merciless. Just their first meeting, and she was already being scolded to the bone.

Izumi clenched her teeth, her face turning red with determination.

"HERE!!!"

Only when the cold edge in Uchiha Iizumi’s eyes softened slightly did she dare exhale.

"Um... about that man..." she stammered, hesitating. "If we don’t treat him soon, he’ll bleed out."

"How long does he have?" Uchiha Iizumi asked—calm, detached, utterly unexpected.

Izumi answered quickly: "He’ll go into shock within ten minutes."

"Enough time," Uchiha Iizumi said. "Newcomer. I’m giving you a task."

Izumi swallowed hard. "B-But I don’t know medical ninjutsu. Maybe we should take him to the Konoha Hospital?"

Uchiha Iizumi glanced at her, expression unreadable. "Who said anything about treating him?"

Izumi’s mind went blank—again.

"...You mean...?"

Uchiha Iizumi extended the kunai. Instinctively, she reached out and took it. The hilt was still warm.

"Prove your resolve to join the police force," he said, voice flat. "Take this blade. Interrogate him. Ask him—where is the child’s body? You have ten minutes. If you don’t get an answer, you’re dismissed. No need to come back tomorrow."

Interrogate?

Izumi’s breath caught.

She glanced around—this was one of Konoha’s busiest streets. Crowds flowed past, children laughed, merchants called out. And here, in the middle of it all, she was supposed to question a man whose leg had just been severed?

And why—why—was the question about a child’s corpse? Was this standard procedure for the Uchiha Police Force? Or was this just Uchiha Iizumi’s own twisted way?

She stole a glance at his face.

His expression was growing colder.

A sudden chill ran through her.

The warnings echoed in her mind—words from the Fugaku Clan Head, from the female officer who’d trained her:

“Don’t disobey him. Not if you want to live.”

“Good luck. Sometimes, surviving is all the luck you get.”

Fear gripped her.

She clutched the warm hilt of the kunai, her forehead slick with cold sweat.

The will to survive overrode pity.

She stepped forward, the blade pressing against the man’s throat.

"Tell me," she said, voice trembling but firm, "where did you hide the child’s body?!"

The man’s eyes widened in terror. "H-Help me! Take me to the hospital! I’m losing blood—my head’s spinning—I’m gonna die! Please, don’t let me die!"

She didn’t want to die either.

She forced her voice steady. "You have to answer me. Only then can I get you help. You won’t last a few more minutes!"

"I don’t know anything about a child!" he screamed. "I don’t know anything! Please, help me!"

"Senior..." Izumi looked back, desperate for help.

But Uchiha Iizumi stood with his arms crossed, watching—cold, impassive, utterly detached.

She couldn’t read a single emotion in his eyes.

A suffocating feeling pressed down on her chest.

She knew this feeling.

It was the same as on the night of the Nine-Tails’ attack—when she’d faced that monstrous beast, when death had been inches away.

That same crushing despair.

Her survival instinct surged.

She tightened her grip, the blade digging into the man’s neck.

"Last chance," she growled, teeth clenched. "Where is the child’s body?"

A thin line of blood welled up along his throat.

Tears streamed from his eyes. "I... I didn’t mean to... I didn’t want to kill her. You have to believe me! She... she was my daughter!"

His voice cracked. "We were just playing... I didn’t think... I didn’t think she’d... I threw her into the old well behind the house..."

Izumi froze.

Her mind reeled.

The man she was interrogating—this man in front of her—had killed his own daughter. And buried her body in a well.

A murderer.

Uchiha Iizumi’s voice came from behind her, slow and deliberate:

"Newcomer. This is your first lesson in enforcing [Justice]—as a member of the Uchiha Police Force."

"Obey my orders—without question."

"Without hesitation."

"Without failure."

...

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end