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NAJ Chapter 33: Justice Waits for No One
🕑 Added 2025-06-13 02:27:54 +0000 UTCThe next day.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had donned mourning clothes early in the morning. Today was the burial day of his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke. Perhaps the heavens were not feeling merciful—fine drizzle poured steadily from the sky.
“Let’s go. To the Konohagakure Cemetery.”
With a heavy heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke quietly and took the lead, walking forward and letting the rain fall freely on his body.
Behind him followed Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s wife, Sarutobi Nadeshiko, and their son, Sarutobi Konohamaru.
The rest of the Sarutobi clan members trailed closely behind as well.
Aside from them—
Only a few of Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s old friends had come.
In truth, the funeral of the Hokage’s eldest son should have been a much larger event.
But…
The negative rumors surrounding Sarutobi Shinnosuke had only grown worse. Even though the Third Hokage had tried to quell public opinion, he quickly discovered it was completely beyond his control.
The more he tried to suppress the rumors, the more the villagers believed they were true.
This, too, was something of a traditional 'talent' of Konoha’s troublesome civilians.
In such circumstances, it was inappropriate to make the funeral too grand.
After all, in the eyes of many villagers in Konoha—Shinnosuke was a 'villain' who had abused his power simply because his father was the Hokage. If even in death, he was granted a lavish funeral... wouldn’t that be far too unjust to his victims?
There was no choice.
Considering the backlash in public sentiment, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only keep things simple and invite only a few of Shinnosuke’s close friends.
Before long—
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others arrived at the Konohagakure Cemetery. The funeral home had already delivered Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s coffin to the site.
“Hokage-sama, may I see him one last time?”
Sarutobi Nadeshiko held Konohamaru’s small hand tightly, tears welling in her eyes.
“Mm.” Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded heavily.
“Mom… why is Father lying here…?”
Konohamaru, only three years old, was still too young to understand. Even his words were clumsy and uncertain.
Sarutobi Nadeshiko could no longer hold back her tears. With tears streaming down her face, she said gently, “Konohamaru, your father is just asleep. It’s just that this time… he’ll be sleeping for a very, very long time. When you grow up, you’ll understand why he’s sleeping so long.”
…
Not far away—
A few staff members from the funeral home were whispering among themselves.
“That woman… she’s the Hokage’s daughter-in-law, right? She’s really beautiful... Hey, Yamada, are you just going to keep staring? I’m warning you—don’t get any funny ideas. She might be a kunoichi. She could crush you with just a finger.”
“Yamada? You’ve been acting weird the past few days. Not answering when called… don’t tell me you’ve really fallen for the Hokage’s widow?”
Yamada shuddered, snapping back to his senses. He quickly refuted, “You bastard, don’t say such nonsense! If Hokage-sama hears that, you’ll ruin me!”
Suppressing the growing unease in his chest, he added, “It’s probably about time. Shouldn’t we lower the coffin now?”
The others nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”
However—
Just as the funeral home staff were preparing to step forward, an unexpected commotion suddenly broke out.
They could vaguely hear people arguing in the distance.
——“Hey! Uchiha Keizumi! What the hell are you doing here?! You’re not welcome today!”
——“This is an Uchiha Police Force enforcement operation. Bystanders must not interfere. Any resistance… will be met with deadly force.”
——“You bastard!!!”
“Uchiha Keizumi? That name sounds familiar…”
One of the funeral staff stroked the short stubble on his chin and muttered. Then he noticed something odd about the man beside him.
“Hey, Yamada… your face is pale! What’s wrong with you?!”
“N-nothing…” Yamada’s lips were trembling slightly.
The smile he forced out looked worse than crying. “I-it’s just the rain. Maybe I caught a bit of a chill…”
But inside, Yamada was screaming the same phrase over and over: No way. No way. No way.
There was absolutely no way that what he had done four years ago had been exposed!
Maybe…
Maybe it was just a coincidence.
After all, the village wasn’t that big. It was perfectly reasonable for that grim reaper from the Uchiha Police Force to be here too, wasn’t it? Maybe today was just a stroke of bad luck—just an unfortunate encounter.
Besides, back then, he had cleaned up everything so thoroughly. Four whole years had passed, and no one from the police force had ever come to trouble him.
There’s no way it could’ve come to light… right?!
…
Elsewhere.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had also taken notice of the disturbance in the distance. When he vaguely heard the name 'Uchiha Keizumi', the look on Hiruzen’s face visibly darkened.
When he saw his daughter-in-law, who had been kneeling beside the coffin, suddenly rise without a word…
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s heart skipped a beat.
He feared that, overwhelmed by the grief of losing her husband, Sarutobi Nadeshiko might act irrationally.
He said, “I’ll go see what’s going on. Nadeshiko, stay here and keep Shinnosuke company on his final journey.”
Drawing a deep breath, Sarutobi Hiruzen, accompanied by two ANBU bodyguards, quickly moved toward the source of the commotion.
And sure enough—
He found himself face to face with the one person he least wanted to see right now.
—Uchiha Keizumi!
“Hokage-sama.”
The Sarutobi clan shinobi who had been blocking Uchiha Keizumi’s path immediately stepped aside upon seeing Hiruzen arrive, respectfully greeting him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward slowly, stopping less than two meters from Uchiha Keizumi.
“Keizumi…”
His tone was layered with mixed emotions. “You know very well, after what you’ve done, you shouldn’t be here. Your presence will only provoke many people and lead to unnecessary conflict.”
“If you’re here to pay respects to Shinnosuke…”
The drizzle continued to pour, obscuring the look in Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyes. He paused for a moment, then continued, “Come tomorrow instead. Just not today.”
In truth, when he saw Keizumi appear at Shinnosuke’s funeral, Hiruzen’s anger had lessened slightly.
At the very least, Uchiha Keizumi still remembered the bond between sensei and student.
At the very least, he had come to see Shinnosuke off one final time.
It seemed that Keizumi had not yet become completely estranged from all human sentiment. It was just that his so-called 'Absolute Justice' was far too extreme.
Back then, when Uchiha Keizumi’s 'blade' had not yet turned toward Hiruzen himself, the Third Hokage still saw him as a double-edged sword—dangerous, but if used properly, an exceptional elite shinobi of Konohagakure.
But—
When that same double-edged sword began to wound Hiruzen personally…
He could no longer ignore how extreme and uncomfortable Keizumi’s 'Absolute Justice' had become.
And yet—
Keizumi’s reply caught him completely off guard: “Third Hokage, I may come to mourn Shinnosuke-sensei one day… but not today. I’m here to carry out justice.”
A sharp alarm rang through Sarutobi Hiruzen’s mind.
The two ANBU behind him narrowed their eyes as well.
The atmosphere shifted—Keizumi’s words had altered everything.
Carry out… justice?!
What did that mean?
“Uchiha Izumi.”
Just then, Keizumi called out.
“Yes, sir!!!”
A loud shout from a girl startled Sarutobi Hiruzen, making him think Keizumi was about to start a confrontation with the village.
Only when he saw Izumi emerge from behind Keizumi did he calm slightly.
His expression darkened—he couldn’t understand why this Uchiha girl had to shout like that.
Keizumi said, “You explain.”
“Yes, Keizumi-senpai!”
Gathering her courage, Izumi suppressed her nervousness and addressed the Hokage directly: “Hokage-sama, Keizumi-senpai has uncovered an extremely vicious murder and dismemberment case. Yesterday and this morning, he already investigated several suspects. Only one remains—Yamada Toshijirō of the Konohagakure Funeral Home!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. “Dismemberment?”
Izumi nodded. “The victims were a mother and her daughter. The murderer dismembered their bodies and disposed of the pieces into Konoha’s sewer system. Although Keizumi-senpai was only able to recover some bone fragments, he was able to identify the victims from those remains.”
“We’ve been eliminating suspects based on the clues. And now—only Yamada Toshijirō remains.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent for a long moment.
He had to admit—he had always acknowledged Keizumi’s investigative abilities.
And not just acknowledged—he trusted them completely.
However…
“Keizumi.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke in a low voice. “Today is the day Shinnosuke is being laid to rest. Let him have a moment of final peace. If you want to arrest someone, wait until the ceremony is over.”
Uchiha Keizumi replied without emotion, “Third Hokage, justice has already been delayed for four years. Are you going to let it be delayed even longer?”
“Justice that’s already late must not be postponed further.”
His eyes locked directly onto Hiruzen’s. “Or is it that, in the eyes of the Third Hokage, the peace of a dead man who fell into darkness matters more than the long-overdue justice owed to two innocent victims?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly saw the hostility in those eyes.
No—
Rather than saw, it would be more accurate to say Uchiha Keizumi was blatantly radiating that hostility, with no attempt to hide it.
Hiruzen’s face tensed, and his tone hardened. “Keizumi, give me some respect. Whatever this is, bring it up tomorrow.”
Keizumi answered, “If your respect, Third Hokage, could turn back time—if it could bring the dead back to life—I would gladly give it to you.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen now saw that Uchiha Keizumi’s right hand was resting on the hilt of his ninja blade.
The two ANBU behind him also reached for their weapons in response.
The already-tense atmosphere instantly escalated into one charged with imminent violence.
“Keizumi, I am the Hokage—”
[Click—]
Hiruzen’s eyelid twitched.
Uchiha Keizumi’s thumb had already nudged open the tsuba of his blade. The inch of exposed silver steel gleamed sharply in Hiruzen’s eyes—far too glaring to ignore.
This man is a beast he can no longer control.
Not even Danzō had ever dared to confront Sarutobi Hiruzen so aggressively.
His mood soured completely. His expression darkened visibly. “Must it really come to this?”
Uchiha Keizumi had now fully drawn his blade.
The two ANBU guards didn’t hesitate—they immediately drew their weapons as well, stepping swiftly between Keizumi and the Hokage.
But—
“Stand down!”
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and gave the order, which made both ANBU pause in confusion.
“Hokage-sama?”
“Stand down!” Hiruzen repeated, and the two guards reluctantly sheathed their blades—though the caution in their eyes remained sharp.
At the slightest movement from Keizumi, they were prepared to strike.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Uchiha Keizumi one last, long look.
Then, without a word, he turned and walked away.
“Keizumi-senpai, should we…?”
Startled by the razor-sharp tension in the air, Izumi finally spoke in a timid voice.
Keizumi interrupted flatly, “Go in and make the arrest.”
“Yes, senpai!”
