Chapter 45: Justice

Seeing you makes me want to vomit

“Huh… huh…”

A ragged figure crouched in a shadowed alley deep within the Uchiha clan district, gasping for breath as he tried to suppress his presence. A single bead of sweat traced down his cheek, glistening beneath the faint glow of his crimson Three Tomoe Sharingan, its eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Three minutes had passed.

Where the hell is he?

Uchiha Oniwa gritted his teeth, whispering the words only he could hear—his voice thick with frustration and dread.

He’d barely escaped the detention cell in the Investigation Corps Headquarters, killing an Uchiha Police Force ninja in the process. The entire Investigation Corps must’ve been mobilized by now. If the man didn’t show up soon, he’d be captured for sure.

His mind flashed back—after his crimes were exposed, after being suspended by Anbu and placed under investigation—another figure had approached him. A young man wearing a strange mask.

—“Heh… Uchiha Oniwa. You slaughtered two comrades. Do you really think the fools in Leaf Village will ever forgive you? Your fate is sealed—twenty years in prison? Thirty? Or perhaps a lifetime behind bars?”

—“I won’t lie. It’s not your actions that interest me. It’s your unique bloodline. The truth is, someone of great power wants you to join us. And they’ve promised—your… predilections will be fully satisfied.”

—“All you need to do is leave Leaf Village. Ask yourself—what’s left here for you? If you run, I’ll come for you when the time is right.”

—“Oh, and one last thing. You’ll know who this person is. I’m certain you won’t be surprised.”

At first, Oniwa had no idea who it was. But then he saw it—the white serpent slithering from the man’s sleeve.

That’s how I knew.

As a proud member of the Uchiha clan, he refused to serve as a subordinate to a rogue Leaf ninja. Once the spy brought him out of the village, he’d kill him without hesitation—then vanish into the shadows, far from the Leaf.

“Hmph… my special bloodline…” Oniwa’s eyes narrowed. “You’re after Iizumi’s molten release bloodline limit. But you’re too afraid to go after the kid. So you’re settling for me instead?”

He didn’t know why his eccentric nephew—so unlike anyone else in the family—had inherited two bloodline limits. Neither he, nor his late sister and brother-in-law, had ever awakened such a power. But that didn’t matter.

He still planned to use the spy’s connection to Orochimaru to escape.

But where the hell is he?!

Just as Oniwa clenched his jaw in fury, his Sharingan caught a flicker—a single drop of blood falling from above like rain.

Tap.

The wet ground beneath him bloomed with crimson. Oniwa’s eyes snapped wide.

He looked up—just in time to see a dark figure plummeting from above.

With lightning reflexes, he lunged upward and caught the falling body before it could crash or make a sound.

“What… is this?”

His breath froze.

His hands trembled.

He’d caught a corpse—still warm, blood still trickling from a severed neck. The mask had slipped off, revealing a face frozen in terror.

Oniwa didn’t recognize the face.

But he knew the mask.

It was the one worn by Orochimaru’s spy—the one who’d met with him just two weeks ago, who’d offered him a way out.

“Funny,” a voice said, calm and clear. “I found you by chance. But the one you call ‘spy’… his sins were like a beacon in the dark. I couldn’t ignore them.”

Oniwa’s blood turned to ice.

No longer hiding, he instantly vanished in a burst of speed—reappearing in a position he judged to be safe, then looked up.

Two pairs of Three Tomoe Sharingan locked eyes in midair.

Oniwa’s eyes widened.

“…Iizumi?!”

He knew this boy.

He’d seen extreme Uchiha before—himself included. But this nephew… he was something else entirely.

And despite being twenty years his senior, Oniwa suddenly felt infantile in his presence.

He was already halfway through his hand seals, his body coiled like a spring. The corpse at his feet made his face darken. The murderous intent in Iizumi’s eyes made his spine crawl.

Oniwa exhaled sharply, voice tight with caution.

“Iizumi… are you here to kill me?”

“Yes.”

The single word struck like a blade.

Oniwa’s heart sank.

He pressed on, desperation creeping into his tone.

“We’re blood. Family. You don’t have to stay in this village. You know how they see you—no one respects your path. The Uchiha elders don’t accept you. You’re nothing here. Come with me. Together, we’re unstoppable. We’ll take your bloodline beyond the Leaf. We’ll make the Uchiha name live on, outside this village.”

But as he spoke, he felt it—the silence.

His words had no effect.

He swallowed hard.

Then, cold and deliberate:

“Iizumi… think of your mother. I’m her brother. Your only living relative. Your only family.”

“Finished?”

Iizumi’s voice was flat, distant. He stared down, his Sharingan unblinking.

“…Yes.” Oniwa forced the word out, his stomach churning.

Iizumi tilted his head slightly.

“Evil is evil. My Absolute Justice doesn’t forgive just because you share my blood. And even if it did… I don’t have the power to forgive.”

Damn it… this kid is insane.

Oniwa’s face twisted in rage and disbelief.

He regretted hiding here. If only he’d picked a different place, maybe he wouldn’t have run into this monster.

Then Iizumi spoke again—calm, detached.

“Uchiha Oniwa. The only thing you’ll ever regret is meeting me. You’re already beyond saving. To me… you’re repulsive.”

Oniwa stared, stunned.

Had he really been so obvious?

And this child—this monster—could read him like a book?

“Fire Release…”

“Great Fireball Technique!”

Without hesitation, Oniwa completed the seals in a blur. A massive fireball roared toward the figure above.

…

…

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end