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NAJ Chapter 165: A Trial by Blood and Justice
🕑 Added 2025-08-17 03:25:48 +0000 UTCKeizumi’s expression didn’t flicker as he flicked the blood from his blade.
When he slid the sword back into its sheath, his gaze swept across the street.
This was a street in the Uchiha compound. On either side stood not only civilians but also members of the Uchiha Police Force.
At least a dozen had just witnessed Uchiha Keizumi cut down a man in broad daylight.
And then—
One of the police force shinobi recognized the severed head on the ground!
“This is…”
His eyes widened, shattering all of the Uchiha’s usual cold pride. His face twisted in shock.
“Elder Setsuna?!”
He looked back up at Keizumi, only to find Keizumi’s gaze fixed on another spot.
Following it curiously, the police shinobi froze once more.
“Clan Head Fugaku?”
At the corner of the street stood Uchiha Fugaku.
Could it be that Clan Head Fugaku was going to act? After all, this time Uchiha Keizumi had killed an elder of the Uchiha Clan!
But to his astonishment, Fugaku only stood there, motionless, merely locking eyes with Keizumi from afar.
After that brief exchange of gazes, Keizumi said flatly, “If you want an explanation, go ask the Yamanaka Clan.”
With that, he didn’t even spare a second glance at the corpse on the ground.
As though an Uchiha elder was nothing worth his notice.
He simply turned and walked away.
Not until his back had vanished from sight did Fugaku finally step forward under the silent eyes of his clansmen, his expression complicated. He moved slowly to the headless corpse of Uchiha Setsuna. The blood still flowing from the body spread outward, staining his shoes red.
Fugaku muttered, “Elder Setsuna… when you set Keizumi as your enemy, I wonder if you ever imagined this day would come. I can tell you clearly—I did.”
Watching with his own eyes as Setsuna, who only days ago had tried through the clan council to force him down from his position, was now reduced to a corpse… it left Fugaku in a daze.
“[Absolute Justice]…”
“So extreme!”
Looking around at the clansmen who had all witnessed this, Fugaku knew the news could not be contained. Before long, the entire clan would know that Keizumi had killed Uchiha Setsuna.
He also knew that, as clan head, having stood by in silence while an elder was slain, his standing among the clan members had surely dropped yet again.
Fugaku let out a faint sigh in his heart.
Perhaps no one in the entire Uchiha Clan understood his difficulties.
By choosing silence now, he could let the matter end here. But had he chosen instead to fight Keizumi over this, it would only have thrown the clan into greater chaos, and indirectly plunged Konoha into turmoil as well.
Yet…
Perhaps his judgment was too harsh. Perhaps there were still those in the clan who could understand his position.
Itachi, for example…
He surely understood.
…
Just as Fugaku thought, with news impossible to suppress, the entire Uchiha Clan was shaken!
The most respected and most senior elder of the radical faction, Uchiha Setsuna, had been killed in the street by Uchiha Keizumi—his body and head separated. The news left the clan utterly stunned.
Many instinctively thought it must be false, but when they rushed to the scene and saw it for themselves, they fell into silence.
Setsuna’s body had not been collected in time at Fugaku’s order.
His corpse and severed head lay quietly in the middle of the street.
The blood that had spread across the ground had already dried and turned sticky.
Setsuna’s aged face, frozen in defiance, seared itself into the nerves of every witness.
Some ran to Setsuna’s residence and found the place marked everywhere with signs of battle—alongside nine corpses of radical Uchiha shinobi strewn across the house.
When another radical elder heard the news, he rushed over at once. Seeing Setsuna’s residence in such devastation, he immediately turned a furious glare upon the few radical Uchiha shinobi who stood nearby, motionless.
“What happened?”
The radical elder ground his teeth, demanding, “Wasn’t Setsuna supposed to have you guarding him closely? This is how you protect him? Why are nine men lying dead here, yet you stand without a scratch?”
“Where is Setsuna? Where is his body? And Uchiha Keizumi—where is he now? I’m asking you a question! Are you all deaf?”
The few radical Uchiha shinobi lowered their heads in silence.
They were the very same who had hesitated and retreated earlier, unwilling to fight to the death to protect Setsuna.
And it was their retreat that spared their lives.
The blade of justice had not fallen on them.
“Answer me!” The elder, seething as they remained mute, clenched his teeth and raised a hand to slap one of them. But before it could fall, his wrist was caught, halting the strike in midair.
“Elder.”
The young radical shinobi who had seized his wrist finally spoke: “What we wanted to protect was an Elder Setsuna who truly thought of the Uchiha Clan. But we do not believe someone who committed such vile acts could ever be a worthy leader. Nor do we believe he ever truly acted for the clan’s sake.”
“The fact that we didn’t side with Keizumi against him already shows more restraint than you deserve. Don’t hide behind your seniority to lecture us.”
“In the Uchiha Clan, strength is what speaks. Uchiha Keizumi was stronger than Elder Setsuna. He killed him and gave sound reason and motive for doing so—that makes him right.”
“As we said, we’ve done all that duty and honor require of us.”
With that, the young radicals turned their backs and walked away, leaving the elder standing frozen.
For several long seconds he just stared, stunned, before his face twisted with fury.
“A few treacherous ingrates, siding with outsiders! Parasites within the Uchiha! And that Keizumi… he actually dared strike down an elder of the clan!”
“These young fools are utterly intolerable!”
Though his mouth spewed curses and his face contorted with rage, the fear in his eyes could not be concealed.
He… was afraid.
…
Elsewhere.
After calming her storm of emotions, Mitarashi Anko asked hesitantly, “Keizumi killed an elder of the Uchiha, and nine clan shinobi besides. Won’t your clan head come after us for this?”
“Meow, Coward-Eyed Fugaku—where would he find the guts?”
Tachibana Jirō licked his paw, his face utterly nonchalant. “If he had the backbone for it, if he had the resolve, would the Uchiha Clan ever have been pushed into such scorn and exclusion by the village?”
“Besides…”
“Keizumi-sama stands on the side of Absolute Justice, meow! What right would Fugaku have to trouble us? Because we killed a wretched villain?”
“If that’s his reason, then Fugaku himself is nothing more than an accomplice to evil!”
Anko hadn’t expected such words to come from a ninja cat.
And she had to admit—it made a lot of sense.
But…
What was this “Coward-Eyed Fugaku”? She remembered clearly that the Uchiha Clan Head’s nickname was “Wicked-Eye Fugaku.” Could it be… because he was too soft?
Unable to figure it out, Anko decided not to dwell on it. She took a deep breath, looked at Keizumi—his clothes still stained with blood—and summoned the courage to ask, “Keizumi… so have I passed your first trial?”
“Barely.” She heard the words she had most wanted to hear.
In an instant, the nervous unease on her face was replaced by joy.
Though she had once been “defiled” by Orochimaru’s evil,
She had now received the recognition of justice.
Even if only a preliminary acknowledgment, for Anko it was enough. At the very least, it gave her a new direction in life—proof that she was not an irredeemable sinner.
“Orochimaru…”
She bit down on her lip, her eyes brimming with hatred.
…
At that same time.
Outside Konohagakure.
“We’re back…” After many days, seeing the village gates again left Sarutobi Hiruzen slightly dazed.
He had returned later than Keizumi only because the mess Keizumi left behind in the capital of the Land of Fire had been enormous. Especially since so many nobles had misunderstood his relationship with Keizumi. It had forced Hiruzen to go from house to house, patiently explaining and proving himself.
“Assassination of the Daimyō,” “slaughtering nobles,” “Absolute Justice”—none of these had anything to do with Sarutobi Hiruzen!
If he didn’t explain himself, the misunderstanding would only deepen! If it went on too long, he would never have the chance to clarify!
Upon returning to Konoha, Hiruzen went straight to the Hokage Tower.
There, he learned from Koharu and Homura a piece of information that left him stunned—Uchiha Setsuna, the radical elder of the clan, had been killed by Keizumi.
And it had happened just an hour ago!
Hiruzen blinked blankly.
“…Truly, the moment I come back I’m handed a ‘great surprise,’” he muttered after several long seconds of silence.
He rubbed at his aching temples, so weary that he couldn’t even summon anger.
But wait—why should he be angry about Setsuna’s death? Why feel weary?
Shouldn’t this be cause for celebration?
Shouldn’t it be a time for rejoicing?
Realizing this, Hiruzen coughed dryly.
No wonder Koharu had shown no anger when relaying the news.
At his side, Homura spoke: “Hiruzen, this is a good thing for Konoha. The most radical of the Uchiha is dead. From here on, they should be a little calmer. And with the clan settling down, Itachi is unlikely to take any drastic action.”
“Uchiha Keizumi’s extreme actions are not entirely without benefit to Konoha. At the very least, this one incident is to the village’s advantage.”
But Koharu spoke gloomily: “That doesn’t erase the harm he’s brought to Konoha. Don’t forget, he killed the Daimyō, and even bathed the entire capital of the Land of Fire in blood.”
At this, her gaze fell on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Though she didn’t say more, Hiruzen could clearly see—she was blaming him for not taking action against Keizumi.
But was it because he hadn’t wanted to act at the time?!
Hiruzen ignored her look. Just as he was about to speak, a Root shinobi suddenly entered. With Hiruzen having taken almost all of the Anbu with him when he left the village, Root had been filling in for their duties.
The Root shinobi immediately reported: “Koharu-sama! Hokage-sama! Homura-sama! The Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki and Uchiha Fugaku’s younger son… something has happened!”
Hiruzen: “!!”
