TitoVillar
patreon
NAJ Chapter 66: The Clan, the Cat, and the Chaos
🕑 Added 2025-07-08 00:43:34 +0000 UTCKoharu narrowed her eyes.
“I heard that Fugaku also revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan last night. He’s been hiding it all this time—do you think he has ulterior motives?”
Homura shook his head.
“Just one Uchiha Keizumi being uncontrollable is already enough of a headache. Since Fugaku is openly standing on our side, let’s not cast unnecessary doubt on him.”
“…That reminds me.”
He stood up and gazed out the window at the war-torn landscape in the distance.
“The envoy sent by the daimyō of the Land of Fire should be arriving in Konoha soon. We must make sure he doesn’t come into contact with Uchiha Keizumi.”
“After all, those high-ranking elites…”
He said coldly, “They’ve no doubt committed unspeakable, shameful deeds behind closed doors.”
“And Uchiha Keizumi’s eyes—they can perceive the evils of the past and of the future. If he were to lay eyes on the daimyō’s envoy… it could spell disaster.”
Koharu’s heart jolted at the thought.
“You’re right. We need to stay vigilant.”
...
“The Mangekyō Sharingan… was my trump card for maintaining the balance between the Uchiha and the village. If I hadn’t seen Keizumi awaken his own Mangekyō, I would never have revealed mine.”
Fugaku stared solemnly at the ANBU-masked Uchiha Itachi in front of him. His tone deepened.
“Itachi… do you really believe I would use these eyes against the village you love so deeply?”
The moment he exposed his Mangekyō, Fugaku had known this day would come.
After all…
Itachi was the kind of child who would never tolerate the existence of any power that could pose a threat to Konoha—especially one as uncontrollable as this.
And perhaps…
That was also the reason why this boy possessed such extraordinary resolve.
“If you don’t trust me… would you raise your blade against your own father, Itachi?”
There was no emotion in Fugaku’s voice. The question, chilling as it was, came out sounding almost like a routine conversation between father and son.
“I would.”
Itachi answered without hesitation.
Fugaku replied calmly, “But you haven’t acted yet. That proves, at the very least, that you currently believe I have no intention of harming Konoha.”
“Perhaps it’s time you also believed that I can truly resolve the tension between the Uchiha clan and the village. That way…”
A rare flicker of complexity passed across Fugaku’s otherwise stoic face.
“…there’ll be no need to fall into that tragic future Keizumi described.”
Itachi was silent for a brief moment before speaking.
“Father… you might understand your own position clearly. But the rest of the Uchiha clan… you don’t understand theirs.”
“They’re already terminally ill. Completely beyond salvation. In this kind of situation, how many do you think can truly awaken and change?”
Suddenly, Uchiha Itachi changed the subject. Forcing a faint smile, he asked, “Has Sasuke woken up yet?”
Fugaku nodded.
“He has. He’s awakened the Sharingan. What you said to him the other day had a big impact.”
Itachi replied slowly, “It was for his own good.”
Silence fell once again between father and son.
Just around the corner of the corridor, in a blind spot to their vision, Uchiha Mikoto stood with her back to the wall. Two quiet streams of tears slid down her cheeks.
Her eldest son…
Had become a stranger to her.
...
“As the head of the Uchiha clan! As the patriarch of the Uchiha family! He possesses the legendary power of the Sharingan and yet hides it from his own people. Worse—he wants to use that power to suppress us!”
Uchiha Setsuna’s voice trembled with fury, his teeth clenched in anger.
“Fugaku has completely disgraced the name of our clan!”
Other clans might have a few members who side with outsiders, but usually, it’s just some lesser family offshoots.
But in their Uchiha clan?
The two most obvious turncoats… were none other than the clan head—and his own eldest son!
In the eyes of a hardliner like Uchiha Setsuna, those two were nothing less than parasites eating away at the clan from within.
They had turned the Uchiha into a laughingstock.
“And that Uchiha Keizumi…”
If Fugaku and Itachi were the kind of traitors Setsuna hated with every fiber of his being—his goal being to strip them of all influence in the clan—
Then Uchiha Keizumi was someone he wanted dead. Immediately.
Because he could feel it—that brat wanted to kill him, too.
That day… the murderous intent in Uchiha Keizumi’s eyes…
Setsuna was absolutely certain he hadn’t imagined it.
And yet—
“Elder Setsuna,” said one of the young radicals from the Uchiha clan, “Uchiha Keizumi has already awakened the legendary power of the Sharingan. He’s also a dual-kekkei genkai genius. We could support him to become the new leader of the Uchiha!”
Setsuna’s old face darkened at once.
But before he could say a word, more voices chimed in.
“Last night, Uchiha Keizumi dared to use a Sharingan technique right in front of the Third Hokage—on Shimura Danzō no less. He was completely surrounded by ANBU at the time. That kind of boldness... proves he's got what it takes to lead the Uchiha clan.”
Setsuna’s eyelid twitched violently.
Another radical ninja spoke after a moment of thought: “Granted, Uchiha Keizumi’s stance might differ from ours, but compared to those two who’ve sold out to outsiders—Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi—he might be our only true candidate.”
Someone else grumbled angrily, “Damn it, where the hell has that backstabbing Uchiha Itachi gone? No one’s seen him in days.”
“Hmph! That bastard knows he’ll be the one to slaughter us in the future—he’s probably hiding now, afraid we’ll strike first!”
Sitting at the head of the room, Uchiha Setsuna clenched the armrests of his chair so hard that cracks formed in the wood.
These bastards…
Did none of them ever consider me?
I, who sat through gods-know-how-many years of prison for the sake of the Uchiha!
Even if we’re forcing Fugaku to step down… even if we’re choosing a new clan leader… shouldn’t I, Uchiha Setsuna, be the one to step into the spotlight?
...
Meanwhile—
“Meow. Rookie, why are you dragging your feet?”
Tachibana Jirō had basically claimed Izumi’s shoulder as his second home over the past few days. The moment he saw her, he leapt up and perched on her left shoulder without hesitation.
Her left shoulder visibly sagged under the weight.
Tachibana Jirō added, “If you’re late, Keizumi-sama’s definitely going to dock your points.”
Izumi clutched a ninja blade in one hand and a sandwich in the other, shoving bites into her mouth as she dashed down the street in a flurry.
Her cheeks puffed out as she mumbled, “When I got back last night, I was immediately surrounded by a bunch of clan members. They kept pressing me for details about Keizumi-senpai…”
“I ended up chatting with them until late into the night—barely slept two hours.”
“But of course!”
Izumi quickly added, “I didn’t reveal any of Keizumi-senpai’s secrets. I just noticed they all seemed to really admire him…”
“So I figured, maybe I could identify a few with potential. After all, Senpai said last night he wanted to expand the ranks of Absolute Justice.”
As she ran, Izumi suddenly realized that all across Konoha—from shinobi to civilians—people were buzzing about what had happened the night before.
And the more she listened, the more she realized it was all about Keizumi-senpai.
Once again, his name was lighting up the entire village.
...
“I heard that jinx from the Uchiha clan got into another fight last night. Even the Yamanaka clan compound was wrecked, and now they’re temporarily staying with the Nara clan!”
“The noise last night was insane… I was so scared I couldn’t sleep a wink.”
“Hokage-sama should kick someone like Uchiha Keizumi out of Konoha already! Why should his so-called ‘justice’ come at the cost of disturbing our peace and quiet?”
“Oi, are you saying that ‘cause you did something shady and you’re scared Uchiha Keizumi might come for you?”
“I heard a lot of people died in that fight last night…”
“Seriously, these shinobi do nothing but fight each other.”
“…”
“Rumors sure spread fast!” Izumi muttered, gritting her teeth a bit. “Keizumi-senpai has always upheld justice in the shinobi world. He’s never done anything to those who haven’t broken the law. Why are they talking about him like this?”
Tachibana Jirō replied, “Every household in Konoha has a television these days. What happened last night made the morning news. Rookie, you’re a trainee in the Police Force. Don’t you know how to gather intel from TV and newspapers?”
“As for all this trash-talking… Is this your first day dealing with these Konoha loudmouths? They’ve always blown everything out of proportion. Otherwise, Hatake Sakumo wouldn’t have been driven to his death by public opinion back then.”
Just as Izumi was about to grumble again, a familiar figure not far ahead caught her attention.
“Ah! It’s Keizumi-senpai!!!”
Finally spotting Uchiha Keizumi, Izumi hurried over, silently counting the seconds as she ran.
Only after realizing she’d barely avoided being late did she breathe a sigh of relief.
“Huh?”
But then she noticed something surprising—Keizumi-senpai was carrying a half-pint blond kid by the scruff.
Wait a second…
“Uzumaki Naruto?!” Izumi stared in shock at the despairing, helpless look on Naruto’s face. She remembered clearly—hadn’t this unlucky kid been thrown into Konoha Prison by Keizumi-senpai? Why was he here now?
“Senpai, he…”
“The Third used the Hokage’s power of amnesty to have him released,” Uchiha Keizumi said flatly, holding Naruto up with one hand.
Naruto’s little face crumpled as he panicked, practically begging, “Grandpa Hokage already pardoned me! I haven’t caused any trouble lately either! Please, just let me go this time… I really learned my lesson—Grandpa Hokage already gave me a scolding…”
