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NAJ Chapter 170: The Shadow of Keizumi
🕑 Added 2025-08-20 05:14:13 +0000 UTC“Uchiha Keizumi knows far too many of my secrets. If he were to reveal them, everything I’ve done… all my careful preparations would be wasted.”
Uchiha Obito sat upon a moss-covered boulder, his tone cold as he spoke.
“Especially if Nagato and Konan realize that I am not truly ‘Uchiha Madara,’ and even know the abilities of my Mangekyō Sharingan… Nagato might not react much, but that woman Konan—she very well might strike against me.”
“Every time she looks at me, there’s something wrong in her eyes. That vigilance, that distrust… I can sense it, faint though it may be. And more than that… I suspect Uchiha Keizumi knows not only these things—he may know even more of my secrets.”
As he spoke, he glanced at the black-and-white figure before him.
“He might even know about your existence. That’s why I need Akatsuki’s power to investigate him.”
“I must uncover everything about him, and then erase him from this world—eliminate this hidden threat that unsettles my heart.”
Zetsu paused for a moment, then said, “Obito, the moment you suggest investigating Uchiha Keizumi, they’ll immediately sense that he must be holding onto something important.”
“Neither Nagato nor Konan will investigate him according to your intentions. They’ll most likely launch their own secret inquiry, trying to uncover the motive behind your request.”
Obito frowned. “That’s unlikely. What motive could they possibly think I have?”
Zetsu shook his head. “You said it yourself—Konan is wary of you. From her perspective, every action you take carries hidden meaning, carries an ulterior motive. Especially you, claiming to be ‘Uchiha Madara.’ Why would you suddenly take interest in investigating some junior of the Uchiha clan?”
At those words, Obito’s expression shifted slightly.
He thought he had been cautious enough toward Konan’s distrust.
Could that woman’s mind truly be so meticulous?
Zetsu continued, “So long as Konan holds such suspicions, she will certainly pursue them. Obito, I’ve warned you before—not to be so hasty.”
There was a hint of helplessness in Zetsu’s gaze. Before him stood Uchiha Obito, barely in his early twenties.
To a being who had lived for millennia, Obito’s every move seemed far too rash—childish even—leaving them now in a passive position.
In the end…
Uchiha Obito was nothing more than a cheap substitute for Uchiha Madara.
He wasn’t even a tenth of what Madara had been.
Now, Obito’s impatience had created a blunder that risked exposing secrets, and Zetsu had to waste words to calm him down, to keep him from rushing further.
If it had been Uchiha Madara… there would never have been such tiresome concerns.
Zetsu let out a faint sigh in his heart.
“But the problem shouldn’t be too great,” Zetsu said. “Konan may not uncover much. After all, even we don’t know why Uchiha Keizumi possesses so many secrets. By the time she realizes what we’re trying to do, by the time she considers making other plans—it’ll already be too late.”
Obito exhaled slightly, loosening the tension in his chest.
Zetsu continued, “Obito, if you really want to investigate Uchiha Keizumi, or even kill him, going directly at him will be very difficult. That man does have some skill.”
“But…”
“If he were truly alone, finding a weakness would indeed be hard. But he has a subordinate—the boy who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan earlier than anyone else in your clan’s history.”
“Uchiha Izumi!” Obito narrowed his eyes, finishing the name slowly before Zetsu could.
…
Konohagakure, Hyūga Clan compound.
Uchiha Keizumi had left. Sarutobi Hiruzen had left. The ANBU had left.
Only the silent members of the Hyūga clan remained—along with the blood-soaked corpse of a young clansman.
Feeling the weight of his clansmen’s gazes, Hyūga Hiashi sighed inwardly, though his face remained impassive as he ordered, “Take the body inside. Choose a day, and give him a proper burial.”
“Hiashi-sama…”
A Hyūga shinobi tried to speak, but Hiashi cut him off coldly. “This matter ends here. It’s best if we act as though nothing ever happened. To pursue it further would bring no benefit to the Hyūga clan.”
“If we press the issue, the outcome will be that the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, the Hokage himself, Uchiha Keizumi, and even the entire Uchiha clan… will stand against the Hyūga.”
Just imagining that possibility sent a chill through Hiashi’s heart.
The Hyūga always liked to claim they were Konoha’s foremost clan—but that was only after the Uchiha had been systematically excluded by the village. Before that, the true leading clan of Konoha was undoubtedly the Uchiha.
If the Hyūga were ever to face similar exclusion by the powers of the village…
Hiashi dared not imagine what would become of their great clan. Would they fall into the ranks of a mere third-rate family?
Even during the incident with Kumogakure years ago, the Hyūga had endured it. Time had passed, and the clan had acted as though nothing had happened.
Today, it was merely the death of one branch family youth.
For the Hyūga, enduring this was no burden at all.
“Take the child back.” Meeting the stares of some of his clansmen, Hiashi’s tone grew colder as he repeated the command.
“…Yes!”
Yet the events outside the compound quickly spread through the Hyūga household.
One of Konoha’s great clans had just lost a child at the very gates of their own compound.
By reason, they should demand answers—from the Hokage, from the killer.
But their own clan head had chosen to swallow his anger in silence.
Anyone would find that suffocating.
“Even if that Uzumaki Naruto is most likely the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, even if that Uchiha brat really is the second son of the Uchiha clan head… does that mean they can kill a Hyūga child in broad daylight? Does that mean they can ignore the laws of the Land of Fire?”
A Hyūga shinobi clenched his teeth and said, “The Hokage has always reminded us clans to behave properly within Konoha. We’ve followed the rules well enough—so why is it that those who don’t follow them can trample over us, while we who obey aren’t even allowed to resist?”
The more he spoke, the angrier he grew. If he had been one of the Uchiha, he would likely already be so outraged his eyes would awaken: “The one killed was still one of our Hyūga! He was just a child! Even if he made some mistake, did he deserve to be killed for it?!”
Nearby, a branch family jōnin with a cold expression stood with his arms crossed, speaking flatly: “Perhaps in the Hokage’s eyes, the Hyūga are nothing more than a tool.”
Someone else muttered bitterly, “The Hokage doesn’t dare show Uchiha Keizumi a harsh face, yet he shows it to us instead…”
“That’s because Uchiha Keizumi is strong enough. If the Hyūga clan possessed such power, we would truly be the foremost clan—surpassing even the Uchiha. Then the Hokage would be forced to treat us differently.”
“…”
The murmur of discontent spread among the clan, but as soon as Hyūga Hiashi ‘happened’ to walk by, the voices quickly died down.
Hearing the indignation of his clansmen, Hiashi felt only helplessness inside.
If the Hyūga had power equal to Uchiha Keizumi’s, the Hokage and others would indeed treat them differently—but that kind of different treatment would not be positive.
His clansmen likely did not understand why the Uchiha had been ostracized.
It was because they were too strong, strong enough to sit at the same table, strong enough to threaten certain people’s grip over Konoha’s rule.
At the final moment, as clan head, Hiashi had chosen to endure—to avoid making the Hyūga the next clan pushed into the spotlight like the Uchiha.
Standing out too much was never a good thing.
Unfortunately…
Some of the younger ones likely could not understand his decision. But once they came to grasp the political reality of Konoha, they would understand the pains he had taken.
Hiashi was not like Uchiha Setsuna, who sought to lead his clan to greater glory.
Nor was he like Uchiha Fugaku, who tried to balance relations between his clan and the village.
He only wanted to keep the Hyūga low-profile, lower and lower still.
Only then… no matter who wore the title of Hokage, the Hyūga would remain one of the leading clans of Konoha.
But—
All of this was seen clearly by Hyūga Neji.
“Main House…”
“Father…”
Neji stared at Hiashi’s fading back, clenching his fists tightly as he drew in a long breath. After barely two seconds of thought, he turned and walked straight out of the Hyūga compound.
He still remembered Uzumaki Naruto had left in that direction.
And as for why he didn’t go directly to find Uchiha Keizumi?
Some deep-rooted fear inside him unconsciously erased that option.
Even Neji himself couldn’t explain why.
