Chapter 97: The Twisted, Pathological Ninja World Demands Absolute Justice

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t tell if Iizumi was mocking him.

Instinctively, he felt this case—this heinous crime—was beyond the reach of probing the social circle of a seven-year-old victim. A child’s world, after all, was made of other children. What could they possibly know? What could they possibly do?

After waiting a while, a group of Ninja Cats dashed back in, panting and flustered. This time, they presented their gathered suspect list directly into the hands of Uchiha Iizumi.

Tachibana Jiro, utterly exhausted, slumped against a wall, tongue lolling out as he gasped for breath. “Iizumi-sama… we’ve locked onto three suspects.”

Hiruzen felt an uneasy chill crawl up his spine. He interrupted, voice sharp with suspicion: “Iizumi… let me see that list.”

Uchiha Iizumi glanced at the names. Without a word, he handed it over.

Hiruzen took it. The handwriting was jagged, uneven—clearly not written by an adult. Yet, it was legible enough.

And that was precisely what made his blood run cold.

His pupils dilated visibly. His wrinkled face twisted in disbelief. A sharp, involuntary intake of breath escaped him.

The others watched in silence, confusion spreading through the room.

Then Hiruzen spoke, voice strained: “Iizumi… are you certain this isn’t a mistake? These three… I know them. All are students at the Ninja Academy.”

“A murder like this… involving children? They’re just kids!”

Now everyone understood why the Hokage looked so shaken.

Who could fathom that a massacre of this scale could be tied to children?

“Children in the Ninja World are trained to fight at four,” Uchiha Iizumi replied coldly. “Why do you assume Ninja Academy students are incapable of such monstrous acts?”

He paused, then added, “Why, Third Hokage, do you rely so heavily on your Fire Nation Will?”

Hiruzen fell silent.

“First suspect: Hyūga Shōya, branch member of the Hyūga clan. Had a verbal altercation with the victim at the Academy. Their relationship was hostile.”

“Second suspect: Murayama Kyōtarō, from a civilian family. Once friends with the victim, but drifted apart over petty disputes. Even now, attending the same school, they remain distant.”

“Third suspect: Tsuchi no Ryūji, member of the Tsuchi clan. The victim’s ‘senior’ at the Academy—appeared to be looking out for him, but in reality, was engaging in covert bullying.”

Hiruzen recited the names, each one heavier than the last. He exhaled sharply, shoulders sagging. “These three… their conflicts with the victim were minor. Barely enough to spark a fight, let alone a massacre. How could this… this have happened?”

He still believed the real clues lay with the parents of the four victims. Bring every possible suspect before Iizumi. Let the man with the Sight see them all.

Then, surely, the true killer would be revealed.

Yet every time he considered Iizumi’s ability—to see the future and past evil—a deep unease settled in his chest.

There was no privacy in this man’s gaze. No secret was safe.

But then he noticed—Uchiha Iizumi wasn’t speaking. He was simply staring at him.

Hiruzen stiffened. He looked away immediately, forcing his eyes to the floor.

That gaze… it unsettled him. Deeply.

To mask the abrupt shift, he turned to Naruto, forcing a smile. “Naruto… you agree, don’t you? These kids couldn’t have done it.”

Naruto hesitated, voice barely above a whisper. “Hokage-sama… maybe… maybe we should bring them all here?”

Hiruzen blinked.

Then it hit him.

In Naruto’s eyes, these three weren’t children.

To an adult, the idea of a kid committing such a crime was absurd—almost laughable. But to a child?

To someone who’d never known the weight of ninja expectations, the pressure of destiny…

Naruto wasn’t thinking about innocence. He was thinking about truth.

And the truth, it seemed, was horrifying.

“…Hmph.”

With a heavy sigh, Hiruzen signaled the Anbu Ninja. “Bring them in.”

…

Hyūga Clan Residence

An Anbu Ninja arrived in a blur, no warning, no ceremony.

The moment the door cracked open, Hyūga Hiashi was roused.

But it was too late.

The masked figure simply declared, “Hokage-sama’s command,” and seized Hyūga Shōya—branch family, seven years old—without hesitation.

“Hyūga Shōya?” Hiashi’s expression darkened. “That’s… one of the branch members, isn’t it? Why would the Hokage need him?”

A Hyūga elder stepped forward. “Lord Hiashi… should we stop them? He’s a Hyūga with the Byakugan. If the Hokage wants him for research…”

The clan had long lived in fear.

After Shimura Danzō’s secret experiments with Bloodline Limits, every clan trembled at the thought of being used.

“No,” Hiashi said flatly. “He’s already bound by the Cage of Birds Seal. And the Hokage… he wouldn’t harm a fellow Leaf ninja.”

“Danzō was an aberration.”

…

Hokage Tower

A Tsuchi clan ninja burst in, frantic, voice cracking.

“Little Spring! The Anbu took my son! Why? Why take my son?!”

Tsunade Konoha recognized him—high-ranking, elite, a special jōnin.

But her brow furrowed. “Anbu took your son?”

The man nodded frantically. “They said… it was the Hokage’s order!”

The Hokage?

Konoha’s heart skipped.

But… isn’t the Hokage with Iizumi right now?

A cold dread seeped into her bones.

“Did they go… toward the Uchiha Compound?” she asked, voice low.

The man hesitated, then nodded. “Yes… yes, they did.”

Konoha’s grip tightened on her desk.

What is he doing?

What are you doing, Hiruzen?

…

Hokage Tower – Interrogation Chamber

The Anbu were swift.

Uchiha Iizumi didn’t have to wait long.

Three trembling children—pale, wide-eyed, legs shaking—were brought before him.

Their first time ever being taken by Anbu.

Their minds were already filled with visions of torture, of blades, of fire.

Instead, they found themselves in the Uchiha Compound—surrounded by Uchiha Police Force, dozens of masked Anbu, and…

The Hokage.

Hiruzen smiled warmly. “Don’t be afraid,” he said, voice gentle, grandfatherly. “Just a few questions about a case. Afterward, you can go home.”

He turned to Iizumi, about to speak—

Then he froze.

Iizumi was staring at one of them.

Not just looking.

Staring.

Like he was looking at a corpse.

Hiruzen’s stomach dropped.

He followed Iizumi’s gaze.

The third suspect.

Tsuchi no Ryūji.

From the Tsuchi clan.

The one who was supposed to be a mentor.

The one who was the bully.

Hiruzen wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Tachibana Jiro’s ears twitched. Izumi’s breath stilled.

Fugaku, silent in the back, narrowed his eyes.

Even Naruto, who had been quiet, felt the shift in the air.

He looked from the Hokage… to Iizumi… to the trembling boy.

“…Iizumi,” Hiruzen croaked, voice dry. “Are you… sure? He’s… just a child.”

The Anbu behind them shifted, their stares turning predatory.

“Third Hokage,” Iizumi said, voice like ice. “Absolute Justice does not waver.”

In his vision, a blood-red square hovered above Tsuchi no Ryūji’s head.

Inside it, red letters pulsed:

> Killed entire family. Motive: Jealousy. Cause: Fear of being surpassed.

“Meow. Predictable,” Tachibana Jiro muttered, unbothered. “Just like I said.”

Izumi took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Tachibana Jiro… how common are children like this?”

“Plenty, really.” He smirked. “Remember Uchiha Itachi? Ran away for days. A monster at seven.”

Izumi went silent.

Itachi.

Just two years older than this boy.

And yet, in one year’s time, he would erase an entire clan.

One boy—now—had already murdered a family of four.

The other—future—would slaughter hundreds.

Was this the world they lived in?

A world where innocence was a myth?

Where even the youngest could become monsters?

Naruto heard every word.

His eyes widened. He pointed at Tsuchi no Ryūji. “Him? He killed four people? He’s the one we’re looking for?”

The boy flinched.

His face drained of color.

“W-What?! What are you talking about?! I don’t know what you’re saying! Why am I here?! I didn’t do anything last night! I stayed home! My clan can vouch for me!”

Hiruzen exhaled slowly.

He’d heard it—the fear, the lies, the desperation.

The truth.

He looked at Iizumi.

Again, he thought of those words.

The Ninja World is broken.

It’s already sick.

The Third Ninja War was over. The Nine-Tails Uprising had been years ago.

The village should be healing.

But here was a child—born into privilege, raised in a noble clan, fed, clothed, protected—

…who had murdered four people for jealousy.

How?

Was it the Academy’s fault?

The parents’?

Or was it something deeper?

Something wrong with the village itself?

And worse… was it his fault?

Was he the one who failed?

His gaze drifted to Naruto.

The boy had just witnessed the true face of the Ninja World.

Not the heroic tales. Not the legends.

The truth.

And now… what would he believe?

Would he still trust in Fire Nation Will?

Or would he, too, come to believe in Absolute Justice?

…

Fugaku stared at Iizumi’s back.

Then at the boy—Tsuchi no Ryūji.

He remembered Itachi.

That day, Iizumi had seen the future evil in him.

Now, he saw the past evil in this child.

The difference?

Itachi had known.

He’d accepted it.

He’d chosen to save the village.

This boy?

His capacity was less than one percent of Itachi’s.

And yet…

He’d still done it.

Itachi had walked a different path.

He’d wanted to save the village.

Fugaku… wanted to save his clan.

A different goal.

A different war.

…

“W-Why are you all staring at me?!” Tsuchi no Ryūji stammered, backing away.

He felt every eye on him.

Even the other two kids—his peers—seemed to be judging him.

His heart pounded. Sweat soaked his skin.

It can’t be found!

No one could have seen it!

The traces were erased!

Zetsu said it was safe!

It’s impossible!

But the more he denied it… the more obvious his guilt became.

“Tsuchi no Ryūji.”

A voice—calm, cold, unfeeling—cut through the silence.

The young man in the Investigation Corps uniform stepped forward.

“I know what you did.”

The boy’s breath hitched.

“You killed them,” the man said, “because you feared your ‘little brother’ would surpass you. Your jealousy… twisted you. Made you a monster.”

Izumi’s expression didn’t change.

But her hands clenched.

A Ninja Academy student… killed four people… over jealousy?

That wasn’t evil.

That was madness.

Tachibana Jiro muttered, “Worse than Itachi. Or… maybe not. Itachi was just… more efficient.”

Naruto’s eyes were wide.

He couldn’t process it.

He’d been jealous of stronger kids.

But he’d never… wanted them dead.

He’d just… felt annoyed.

That’s all.

But this boy…

He’d killed for it.

Naruto stared at Tsuchi no Ryūji like he was a beast.

Not a person.

A monster.

“Jealousy… just jealousy?” Hiruzen whispered, head aching.

How could a child—raised in comfort, born to power—be so broken?

What had gone wrong?

Was it the Academy?

The clan?

The village?

Or was it simply… the world?

…

Tsuchi no Ryūji was suffocating.

How?!

How did he know?!

He knows I did it!

He knows I was jealous!

He knows… everything!

Is he reading my mind?!

Who is he?!

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he shrieked. “I didn’t do anything! You’re making it up!”

He tried to play dumb.

To bluff.

But then—

The Investigation Corps ninja slowly drew his blade.

The steel gleamed in the light.

Cold.

Sharp.

Real.

Tsuchi no Ryūji felt ice pierce his flesh.

His breath came in ragged gasps.

His pupils contracted.

No… no, no, no…

“Naruto Uzumaki,” Iizumi said, voice clear. “This is the evil of the Ninja World. It has no logic. No reason. No mercy. It grows from the smallest seed—jealousy, fear, pride—and blooms into mass murder.”

He paused.

“Letting it grow… is letting it consume the innocent.”

Naruto’s mind snapped back.

He remembered the scene.

The blood.

The wounds.

The way the bodies lay… broken.

He remembered everything.

“Remember what they looked like?” Iizumi asked.

Naruto nodded.

“Then ask yourself… does he deserve to live?”

Naruto bit his lip.

Images flashed—faces, blood, silence.

A surge of rage built in his chest.

Why?

Why kill four people… just because someone was better?

Why steal their lives… over pride?

The question burned.

And the answer came, raw and true:

“Yes.”

Iizumi raised his blade.

Sunlight glinted off the steel.

“Absolute Justice does not negotiate. It does not forgive. It purges.”

Hiruzen’s eyes widened.

No… not here. Not now.

Tsuchi no Ryūji was a student. A clan heir.

If this was done…

What would it make of Naruto?

“Wait—Iizumi!”

Too late.

The blade descended.

…

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end