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NAJ Chapter 125: The Ringleader’s Body Lies Over There
🕑 Added 2025-08-08 01:44:11 +0000 UTC“There's no need to stare at me like that.” The lava flowing across Uchiha Keizumi’s body had already begun to recede. Now, standing calmly
“There's no need to stare at me like that.” The lava flowing across Uchiha Keizumi’s body had already begun to recede. Now, standing calmly
“There's no need to stare at me like that.”
The lava flowing across Uchiha Keizumi’s body had already begun to recede.
Now, standing calmly before them all, he looked almost pristine—only the edge of his cloak slightly stained, his hair a little tousled.
Expressionless, he said coldly: “The moment they harbored evil intent and chose to ambush me here, they had already fallen into the abyss of evil—and were destined to be purged by [Absolute Justice].”
The ANBU: “!!!”
The weight of Keizumi’s words was staggering.
That meant… the Twelve Guardian Ninja had, for some unknown reason, laid an ambush just outside Konohagakure—waiting for Uchiha Keizumi to appear… intending to kill him?!
And yet… they were all counter-killed by Uchiha Keizumi instead!
A group of elite jōnin from the Land of Fire, hiding in the shadows, failed to assassinate a single shinobi standing openly in the light.
“Wait a second!”
Suddenly, one ANBU came back to his senses.
The expression under his mask twisted with shock and disbelief.
He couldn’t hold back anymore—he blurted out in horror: “One of the Twelve Guardian Ninja is named Sarutobi Asuma! Was he… involved in this ambush against you?!”
“Yes.”
Uchiha Keizumi answered openly, “He was even the ringleader. If you want to check the body, you can find it over there.”
As if what he had killed was just another ordinary villain—and not the Third Hokage’s second son.
The ANBU: “…”
At that moment, it wasn’t just Kakashi drenched in cold sweat—every ANBU ninja present felt beads of sweat rolling down their backs.
“Sarutobi Asuma… Why does he share the same surname as the Hokage?” Might Guy rubbed his chin and furrowed his brows, mulling it over.
“…He’s the Hokage’s second son,” Kakashi muttered softly beside him.
“Oh! …Huh? Huh?!”
Might Guy’s eyes widened in disbelief.
...
Inside the Hokage Tower.
“It seems… it’s over.” Koharu also hadn’t gone to investigate the situation outside the village in person.
She stood next to Sarutobi Hiruzen, gazing toward the distant horizon as the smoke gradually began to clear. She spoke, “It started in a rush, and ended just as quickly. But we still don’t know what the casualties were.”
Koharu let out a performative sigh. “Although I’ve never been particularly fond of young people like Uchiha Keizumi, with their extreme personalities... They never listen to reason, only acting on what they believe in their hearts. They don’t realize that much of what they do only creates trouble for Konoha.”
“But…”
“In the end, Uchiha Keizumi is still a part of Konohagakure. I don’t wish for anything bad to happen to him. Right now, the village simply can’t afford to lose such a powerful shinobi.”
Those kinds of pretty words from Koharu felt insincere even to Sarutobi Hiruzen as he listened.
His expression turned grim as he responded in a low voice, “We’ll know the situation once the ANBU return.”
He said no more than that.
Because—
Even he didn’t know why…
But once the noise in the distance had fully subsided, he didn’t feel relieved.
Instead, the ominous feeling in his chest only grew stronger—so much so that Hiruzen felt a deep, pounding unease.
“Something feels… wrong.”
Standing at the highest point of the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi Hiruzen rested one hand on the wooden railing in front of him.
The anxiety in his chest caused his fingers to tighten involuntarily.
[Creaaaak—]
The railing groaned under the pressure.
His restlessness was mounting.
No matter how he tried, he couldn’t calm himself.
...
On the rooftop of a building somewhere in the village.
“Looks like it’s all quiet now, huh?!”
A female ninja retracted her gaze from the distant battlefield and turned to her companion with a cheeky grin.
“Hey, Kurenai! Speaking of which—did your childhood sweetheart come back to visit recently? I saw you two meeting the other day. So? Did he confess his feelings or what?!”
Yūhi Kurenai, still just a special jōnin at the time, continued to peer into the distance with curiosity.
Hearing her companion’s teasing, her pretty face tensed up. She quickly retorted: “Who’s confessing to who? Konoha’s not that big, and it’s not like he’s the only boy I grew up with.”
The other kunoichi clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, you’re almost twenty-two and still haven’t found anyone? That Sarutobi Asuma guy seems pretty great to me. He is the Hokage’s son, after all!”
“And you even met him privately before this, didn’t you? He must’ve been the one to seek you out, right? Don’t tell me he wasn’t into you? That’s impossible!”
Yūhi Kurenai frowned slightly, her brows knitting together. She didn’t take the bait.
Sarutobi Asuma had indeed approached her in private not long ago.
At the time, she was so startled she thought he was going to confess.
She had even prepared several gentle rejection lines in advance—because Kurenai believed that before becoming a full jōnin of Konoha, she shouldn’t allow herself to be distracted by love or relationships.
But in the end, the guy had just said a bunch of strange, cryptic things.
— “Kurenai, I’m about to do something most people wouldn’t even dare attempt. If I succeed… Konoha will be rid of a worm that’s been eating it hollow from the inside.”
— “The old man doesn’t know what I’m planning yet. But when he finds out, I’m sure he’ll understand. I hope you can understand too.”
— “Phew… Honestly, I wasn’t that nervous at first. But after coming back to the village and gathering some intel, I’ve started to feel it. Still, once the bowstring is drawn, there’s no turning back. When something has to be done, you have to go all in.”
— “Tomorrow, I’ll ask you to meet me again. Same place. You won’t turn me down, right?”
As those strange words from Asuma flashed through her mind, Kurenai slowly took a deep breath.
She had a bad feeling about all this.
...
“Do you think Keizumi-sensei will be okay?”
Naruto’s face was full of worry. Before leaving, Izumi had told Naruto and Sasuke: “Keizumi-senpai seems to be fighting some enemies. I’m heading out to assist him. Naruto, Sasuke—stay put at the Academy and don’t wander around.”
The bruised handprint on Sasuke’s neck still hadn’t faded. But his tone was unwavering as he replied, “He’ll be fine. Keizumi-sensei is strong.”
He was the kind of man that even Mother wanted to entrust her son’s safety to.
The kind of man that even Father—the head of the Uchiha clan—couldn’t keep under control!
Moreover—
Sasuke believed that the reason Uchiha Itachi had retreated earlier wasn’t just because Naruto had erupted and interrupted him.
It was also likely because he sensed that Keizumi-sensei might arrive at any moment.
In other words—
Even Uchiha Itachi was wary of this man!
Sasuke was firmly convinced:
Uchiha Keizumi would be just fine.
...
Inside the Uchiha Clan compound.
“Setsuna-sama, things seem to have quieted down. If we head out of the village now to check the situation, the higher-ups’ lapdogs shouldn’t stop us, right?”
A young member of the Uchiha radical faction asked anxiously.
What if that brat Uchiha Keizumi had ended up in a mutual defeat with his ambushers?
What if he was now seriously injured?
If they rushed out now to check the scene—
Wouldn’t that risk saving that extremist brat?
That absolutely couldn’t be allowed!!!
Uchiha Setsuna’s aged face was tight with tension.
“By the time we get there, the ANBU will most likely have already arrived,” he said coldly.
“And considering how much noise was made outside the village… If any members of the Uchiha clan were seen at the scene, what do you think the higher-ups would assume?”
“Don’t forget our final plan.”
“Until the coup d’état is fully in motion, any unexpected deviation could throw everything into uncertainty.”
“At a time like this, what we need is restraint—to sit tight and let the higher-ups lower their guard, not make them even more wary of the Uchiha!”
Uchiha Setsuna’s stern warning forced the group of eager radical youths behind him to grit their teeth and hold back.
“Damn those higher-ups!” one young Uchiha ninja cursed.
“If it weren’t for their discrimination and isolation of the Uchiha, we wouldn’t be so powerless right now!”
Sensing their righteous fury, Uchiha Setsuna inwardly let out a sigh of relief.
At the very least…
even under the influence of Uchiha Keizumi’s so-called [Absolute Justice], they hadn’t abandoned their will to launch the coup.
That meant there was still hope for the Uchiha clan!
And the one to save the Uchiha… would be him—Uchiha Setsuna!
