Chapter 38: Itachi — A Wall No Human Can Cross, Not Even a Beast

Uchiha Itachi returned to Leaf Village, but instead of heading straight to the Uchiha district, he made his way first to the Hokage Tower.

He found Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Knock, knock, knock—

After Uchiha Itachi knocked on the office door, a weary voice from within replied, “Enter.”

With that, Itachi stepped in, flanked by two of his subordinates.

“Hokage-sama,” Itachi said, hands at his sides, voice solemn. “The mission you assigned has been completed. Uchiha Itachi, Hyūga Ōzawa, and Sarutobi Ami have returned to Anbu.”

"...Itachi," Hiruzen murmured, lifting his head slightly, trying to force a smile. He couldn’t manage it.

He said, “No teammate was lost. Good work.”

Itachi sensed something was off. The atmosphere felt strained. The Hokage’s mood seemed… unnatural.

“Hokage-sama,” he asked, “has something happened in the village?”

Hiruzen paused for a long moment.

“Shintetsu’s funeral—and those of many Anbu—will be held this afternoon. Itachi, Ōzawa, Ami. You three returned just in time. If you wish to attend, return to your homes first, change your clothes, then meet at the Leaf Village Cemetery.”

He didn’t elaborate. But the weight in his words was enough.

Shintetsu… many Anbu dead…

The name rang a faint bell in Itachi’s mind. And the scale—so many Anbu lost… what kind of disaster had occurred?

Itachi hesitated. But he decided not to press further.

If the Hokage chose not to speak, there was a reason. He would not overstep.

“Hokage-sama, I’ll take my leave,” Itachi said.

“Hmm.”

—

After leaving the Hokage Tower, Itachi began walking toward the Uchiha district.

On the way, he overheard a few villagers whispering.

He paused, drew near, and listened.

And then it clicked.

He understood why the Hokage had been so subdued.

He finally recognized why “Shintetsu” felt so familiar.

That was the Hokage’s eldest son.

“Uchiha Iizumi… slaughtered many Anbu. Killed the Hokage’s firstborn. And all because Shintetsu did things no one should’ve done. Yes… Uchiha Iizumi is the kind of man who can’t tolerate such sins.”

Itachi fell silent.

Uchiha Iizumi.

That name stirred memories—unpleasant ones.

A man once hailed as the “Genius Twin Stars” of the Uchiha clan, alongside Shisui. Even during the Third Ninja World War, his reputation stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Shisui’s.

Yet despite such brilliance, he had always been… apart. Alien. To the entire Uchiha clan. To Leaf Village itself.

At first, Itachi had thought Iizumi was like him—both outsiders, both burdened by a sense of isolation.

But then came the words.

"—We are not the same kind. There is a wall no human can cross. A wall between man and beast, Uchiha Itachi."

The cold voice of Iizumi, echoing from memory.

And then, the other.

"—Shisui, you saved him… you’ll regret it."

Spoken the moment Shisui had pulled Itachi from Iizumi’s grasp, when the man had nearly killed him.

Itachi’s calm eyes flickered with a rare shadow.

Among all the Uchiha, Iizumi was the one he understood least.

—

On the other side of the village…

“Iizumi-sama, a case! Meow!” Tachibana Jiro crouched, then leapt straight onto Iizumi’s head, licking his paw before continuing. “My kittens found something extraordinary in the village sewers, meow!”

Iizumi weakly raised a hand in protest. “Tachibana Jiro-san… could you please not jump on my head when reporting cases? It’s… distracting.”

“Meow! You’re new, so I’m testing your reflexes! Only when you can dodge me will you become a true jōnin!”

Uchiha Iizumi cut in without emotion. “Be specific. And lead the way.”

Tachibana Jiro nodded, hopping down. “It’s human bones, meow—but shattered, only fragments remain. My instincts say it’s part of a jawbone.”

“My kittens scoured the entire sewer. Found another piece—also from a body. Likely the same victim, meow.”

“But the rest… gone. Washed away, or hidden.”

Iizumi froze. “D… dismemberment?!”

A thought struck him.

“If it’s already bones… it must have been dead for years. Could it be war-era remains? Foreign ninja corpses dumped in the sewers—maybe the village never had time to clean them up?”

“Oho? Thinking now, huh, newbie!” Tachibana Jiro patted Iizumi’s head. “Progress!”

“Let’s go see for ourselves,” Uchiha Iizumi said, voice calm.

Moments later, the Ninja Cat led Uchiha Itachi and Iizumi to a quiet, secluded alleyway.

Tachibana Jiro leapt down from Iizumi’s head and pointed to the lifted sewer grate.

Two other Ninja Cats stood guard beside it.

“Master Iizumi! Tachibana Jiro-sama!” they said in unison.

“Should I have the kittens bring up the bones?” Tachibana Jiro began.

Before he could finish, Uchiha Iizumi had already jumped into the sewer.

“Iizumi-sama, wait! Meow!” The cat leapt after him.

“Wait, Iizumi-senpai!” Iizumi scrambled after, jumping in.

—

“...The stench is unbearable,” Iizumi muttered as she landed, instantly regretting her decision.

The air was thick with a miasma she couldn’t describe—rot, decay, something ancient and foul.

Pitch black. No light. No way to see.

Then—light.

A sudden flare. A blaze that filled her entire vision in an instant.

Gasp.

Iizumi’s eyes widened.

Her mentor’s hand—now glowing red-hot, molten lava pulsing beneath the skin.

That light… it came from the lava.

“Iizumi-sama, this is it,” Tachibana Jiro said.

Iizumi hurried forward, squinting in the dim, fiery glow.

There, on a relatively clean patch of ground, lay a palm-sized bone fragment.

And there, in the flickering light, she saw Iizumi-sama pick it up.

“The death occurred no more than five years ago,” Uchiha Iizumi said, voice flat. “Not related to war. This is a murder case—dismemberment. The crime happened somewhere between three and five years ago.”

—

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end