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NAJ Chapter 10: Konoha’s Crime Rate Drops Instantly
🕑 Added 2025-05-31 20:27:54 +0000 UTC“…Has Keizumi still not returned?”
In the Uchiha Police Force headquarters, Uchiha Fugaku was staring at four corpses, visibly troubled.
“No, he hasn’t,” replied one of the forensic officers from the Uchiha Police Force.
Fugaku let out a heavy breath.
“He’s gone after shinobi clans of Konoha again. This will only push the tension between the Uchiha and the village… even further toward an irreversible state.”
This was exactly what Fugaku feared most.
To be honest—
What Uchiha Keizumi had done was indeed extreme, yet so correct that even Fugaku often found it hard to criticize.
But this kind of righteousness, for the already precarious Uchiha clan, felt more like a series of deadly curses.
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha had been under deep suspicion from the village.
Many shinobi clans who had previously maintained somewhat amicable relations with the Uchiha had become increasingly distant over the years.
Among the general populace, the Uchiha name had become more and more tarnished.
This growing external pressure, in turn, had intensified the demands from the hardliners within the clan, putting even more weight on Fugaku as clan head.
Just today—
Several Uchiha clan members had approached him privately, once again urging the creation of a detailed coup plan against Konoha.
“Sigh…”
Fugaku let out a long sigh. Was there no one in the entire Uchiha clan—aside from his eldest son Itachi, and the now-deceased Shisui—who didn’t constantly cause him stress?
“U—U—Uchiha Keizumi is here!!!”
At the same time—
A frightened, trembling shout shattered the tranquility of a street in Konoha.
A thief who had been quietly stealing froze mid-motion, his face instantly pale as death, filled with despair.
Panicked, he shoved the stolen wallet back where it came from.
He didn’t even dare to look in Keizumi’s direction—he immediately dropped into the most groveling 'dogeza' position, lying flat on the ground.
“I surrender! I surrender! I’m willing to confess every single crime I’ve ever committed to the Police Force! Please don’t kill me!”
The thief cried out in fear, drenched in sweat.
Elsewhere on the street, a pair of villagers who had been yelling and hurling insults at each other suddenly changed their tune, smiling and embracing like old friends.
It was hard to believe they had been locked in a heated argument just moments ago.
Another villager who had carelessly thrown some trash to the ground hurriedly picked it back up and stuffed it into his pocket.
“…That’s… that’s insane…”
Izumi finally witnessed just how powerful Keizumi-senpai’s reputation was in Konoha.
Until now, she’d been focused entirely on her studies inside the Ninja Academy—
She’d never paid attention to anyone famous outside its walls.
But now she was convinced—if Keizumi-senpai just walked a few laps around the village each day, Konoha’s crime rate would plummet by several percent!
“You little brat! Get back here!!!”
But just as quickly, an angry shout broke the strange silence.
“Who’d be stupid enough to stop?! You catch me, I’m dead meat!”
Another voice yelled back.
The first was an adult’s voice. The second—a child’s.
Curious, Izumi turned to look.
She saw a blond-haired kid running frantically through the street, chased by a furious man wielding a rolling pin.
The scene they left in their wake was utter chaos.
The blond brat kept grabbing random things off the street and flinging them backward to slow his pursuer.
In the process, he turned the entire street into a mess, scaring off passersby and villagers who scrambled to get out of the way.
Just as the blond kid ran past Izumi—
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Keizumi-senpai suddenly reaching out with one hand.
The running brat was instantly grabbed—
Hoisted up by the collar in a single motion.
Caught!
...
Today, Uzumaki Naruto had once again pulled a prank in the village—all just to draw attention to himself.
The prank succeeded, but it also successfully set someone off.
As a result, Naruto was chased through several streets.
Fortunately, he ran fast.
Naruto figured that if he could just sprint down two more streets, he’d be able to shake off the steamed bun shop owner—the guy whose health had been steadily declining ever since he started 'donating his grain rations' to his wife every night.
But then—
Just as Naruto was secretly celebrating, his feet suddenly stepped on thin air.
It felt like someone had grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him clean off the ground.
Crap... This is bad!
He got caught!
The steamed bun shop owner, panting heavily, rushed over. He was just about to thank whoever had caught Naruto when his eyes landed on the young face of Uchiha Keizumi.
The words of gratitude instantly caught in his throat.
“U—Uchiha...”
The shop owner’s face went pale, and even the rolling pin slipped from his hand and hit the ground without him noticing.
“Uchiha?”
Naruto, still dangling in the air, struggled a bit—only to find he couldn’t break free. With a look of dismay, he craned his neck upward.
Huh...
Don’t know him!
All Naruto could tell was that this meddling guy seemed a bit cold, and the way he looked at Naruto… it felt like he was staring at some rare animal.
“What did he do?” Uchiha Keizumi asked the steamed bun shop owner.
“H-he... he...” The shop owner was sweating bullets.
“Tell the truth,” Keizumi reminded him.
"Gulp."
Under an inexplicable, invisible pressure, the shop owner swallowed hard and stammered out Naruto’s prank for the day: he had swapped out the regular wheat flour at the steamed bun shop with protein powder.
Still hanging in the air, little Naruto mumbled, “It’s not like you can’t make steamed buns with protein powder… Plus, it helps with muscle growth.”
The shop owner was so furious his blood pressure spiked. “You little brat—!”
But the moment he remembered Keizumi was standing right there—and saw the complete lack of emotion in the man’s gaze...
He hurriedly swallowed his rage and bit back everything he was about to say.
Too terrifying!
How unlucky could he be to run into one of the infamous plague bringers of the Uchiha clan?
All because of this damned fox brat!
“So he really did pull a prank like that…” Uchiha Keizumi gave a slight nod and said calmly, “That boy’s guardian is the Hokage. Go ask the Hokage for compensation—tell him I sent you. If he refuses, I’ll go collect it for you.”
With that, Uchiha Keizumi prepared to walk away, still holding Naruto, who now wore an expression of utter despair.
His words left not just the bun shop owner in a daze—even Naruto was completely stunned.
The boy flailed wildly in midair, shouting, “H-Hey! Where are you taking me?! You’ve already caught me, can’t you put me down?!”
Keizumi raised his arm even higher, suspending Naruto a good metre above the ground. The two locked eyes—the Nine-Tails jinchūriki and the man holding him.
Naruto’s small face went stiff under Keizumi’s cold, expressionless gaze.
“Those who commit wrongs,” Keizumi said slowly, “regardless of age or gender, must be punished accordingly. Your prank caused financial losses and damaged the reputation of his shop. On top of that, your reckless escape disrupted the peace and hygiene of the village streets.”
“Given the number of offenses, even if you were willing to compensate, under Konoha’s laws you’d still need to spend half a month in prison. And that’s just under the standard village judgment. But since you’re in my hands…”
“…Let’s make that three months.”
Seven-year-old Naruto was completely stunned.
“P-prison...?”
“Three months... in prison?”
His brain shut down on the spot.
...
“Damn! The Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki just made contact with an Uchiha!”
At that moment, a member of the ANBU, responsible for monitoring Naruto, suddenly turned pale. A cold dread gripped his heart.
He had messed up—bad.
As the one assigned by the Hokage to watch over Naruto, his job wasn’t just to monitor...
It was also to clean up after him.
Although the jinchūriki brat had caused yet another prank, it was still his job to clean up after him.
Just now, he had specifically gone to replace the wheat flour that Naruto had secretly swapped out in the steamed bun shop.
But to his dismay, during that short absence...
The jinchūriki had been seized by a member of the Uchiha clan!
He could not possibly mistake the uniform of the Uchiha Police Force!
He had clearly seen the jinchūriki locking eyes with an Uchiha!
Those eyes—those were the infamous Sharingan, said to have the power to control Tailed Beasts!
If... if another Nine-Tails incident like the one from a few years ago were to happen again, then his negligence today would surely be the spark that led to the destruction of the village. And he, in turn, would be the sinner responsible for Konohagakure’s downfall.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the ANBU operative didn’t have time to hesitate. He couldn’t afford to worry about blowing his own cover either.
He rushed straight toward Uzumaki Naruto, shouting, “Put him down!”
Before many watchful eyes, the ANBU ninja appeared in a sudden flash. One hand was already loosely gripping the handle of his ninja blade, while the other reached forward to snatch Naruto away.
But Uchiha Keizumi abruptly flicked his arm to the side.
The ANBU ninja grabbed at thin air, and Naruto let out a startled yelp—he was nearly flung through the air from the sudden movement.
“ANBU?!” Izumi, standing nearby, instantly recognized the distinctive fox mask. A sense of unease began to creep over her.
“Uchiha! What do you think you’re doing?!” the ANBU shouted after missing his grab. His expression beneath the mask twisted with alarm. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what this kid represents! He’s—wait, what? Uchiha Keizumi?!”
Only when facing him directly did the ANBU ninja realize—
The man holding the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki was none other than Uchiha Keizumi!
One of the few Uchiha with a relatively 'good' relationship with the Hokage.
Well—
At least one of the ones often seen around the Hokage’s people.
