Morino Ibiki, who had spent years matching wits and clashing with shinobi from neighboring countries along Konoha's borderlands, was sent back to the village after being wounded.
The Third Great Ninja War had ended years ago, but minor frictions between villages were still frequent. Every year, quite a number of Konoha shinobi died because of them. And because these ninja weren't active inside the village, when they died outside, few people paid attention.
Ibiki felt surviving this time was already a stroke of luck. Of the Konoha squads he'd led, only six people were left alive—and he was one of the six.
"Phew—"
Arm in a cast, Ibiki walked out of the Hokage's building with a heavy heart. He'd brought back the ashes of many subordinates.
What puzzled him was that the Hokage seemed… off. After hearing that so many Konoha ninja had died to secure the Land of Fire's borders, the Hokage barely reacted and only told him to go rest.
Ibiki could tell it wasn't that the Hokage didn't care about the fallen; he was simply exhausted. In just two or three short years, the Hokage looked as if he'd aged more than a decade.
Was that change… connected to Chizumi?
Even stationed outside the village, Ibiki had occasionally heard some of what was happening in Konoha. He didn't know much, but he knew the Hokage had been troubled lately by Uchiha Chizumi's "absolute justice."
On that point, Ibiki found it hard to sympathize with the Hokage. He knew Uchiha Chizumi well—in fact, they could be called friends.
"Looks like Chizumi must've stirred up a lot in the village recently to wear the Hokage down this much."
Ibiki decided to ask around for news.
What he learned shocked him.
Killing the Fire Daimyō, slaughtering corrupt nobles, detaining the Hyūga main house, detaining Konoha's advisors, killing Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin, forcing Uchiha Fugaku to back down, and even killing Uchiha Fugaku—any one of these would shake the whole village, and yet they had all happened within less than half a year.
"That guy—"
Ibiki drew a long breath; his scarred, fierce face was full of disbelief. "No wonder he didn't tell me what he was up to the last time we met. He was on his way to assassinate the Fire Daimyō! If I'd known in advance, I definitely would've tried to stop him."
"And afterward, the Hokage didn't pursue it, and the Land of Fire didn't make much of a fuss either. Tch… Chizumi must've used overwhelming force to suppress all dissent—just like the First Hokage once subdued the entire ninja world."
The only difference was that Chizumi's methods seemed even harder and more extreme—like a fusion of the First and Second Hokage.
After thinking it over, Ibiki decided to seek out Uchiha Chizumi.
He stepped into the Uchiha district.
"You got back earlier than I expected." Uchiha Chizumi looked up at Ibiki and tipped his gaze at a seat. "Not going to sit?"
"The gap in our positions is a bit too big," Ibiki said, shaking his head. "If your Police Force subordinates saw me sitting and chatting with you, it might dent your authority."
He sighed. "Who would've thought that in less than half a year, you'd turn around and take over the Konoha Police Force."
"And when I walked into the Uchiha compound, I actually saw quite a few non-Uchiha around. Seems your influence isn't limited to the Police—you're affecting the whole clan. The Uchiha weren't this open before."
"Most outsiders who come here are just here to file reports," Chizumi replied evenly.
Ibiki smiled, though paired with his scars it wasn't much to look at. "You're too modest. For a conservative, insular clan, that's a big change."
Chizumi changed the subject. "Did the Third assign you a new mission?"
Ibiki shook his head. "Not for now. The Hokage seems pretty tied up thanks to you—buried in busywork—and doesn't have time to bother with a small fry like me."
"Then come help me," Chizumi said.
Ibiki blinked.
Chizumi offered the olive branch without expression. "After several purges, the Police Force is short on people. Even guarding justice within this little Konoha is a strain—let alone extending justice beyond the village, across the Land of Fire, and even the shinobi world."
"The Police Force needs talent I can vouch for. Like you."
He was blunt, without circling around it, and not stingy with praise for a capable shinobi like Ibiki.
"Hah—" Ibiki was surprised. "Given your personality, you're actually inviting someone to execute justice with you? Chizumi, you've changed a lot. For you—and for your 'absolute justice'—it feels like a positive change."
"When did that start?"
Chizumi paused for two seconds. "When I acknowledged a little knucklehead who often blunders but sometimes shines. At the very least, she made me realize there are many people in this world who long for absolute justice."
Ibiki grew thoughtful.
"So, what's your decision?" Chizumi asked.
"…I've decided," Ibiki said. "As long as your Uchiha don't shun me as an outsider. I hate office politics—they wear me out."
He accepted. He switched sides.
"Achoo!!!"
After throwing a Konoha rabble-rouser who'd been spreading rumors into the interrogation room, Uchiha Izumi suddenly felt a prickling in her nose. She sneezed uncontrollably, then rubbed it.
"Did I catch a cold?" she muttered. "Anko says I'm already at about Special Jōnin level now—and I'm one of the more taijutsu-leaning types—so I shouldn't come down with something that easily, right?"
Smack!
"Old man, why won't you approve stationing a medical unit with the Police Force? I spent all night on this proposal. Even in peacetime, Police shinobi take risks all the time—getting hurt is just part of the job."
"If the Police had their own attached med-nin, injured officers wouldn't have to be hauled all the way to Konoha Hospital. The Police's med unit could treat their own people."
"That way, the wounded get help faster. How is that not a good proposal?"
Tsunade slapped the Hokage's desk, leaving a crisp handprint in the wood. She fired off a volley of questions at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
His eyelid twitched. That desk had cost a fortune—custom work from precious timber. But seeing who stood before him, he swallowed the pain.
He drew a deep breath, looked up at the overbearing Tsunade, and asked the core question: "Tsunade, if I'm not mistaken, you once told me you were done meddling in Konoha's affairs. Yet lately you've done nothing but interfere. Why?"
"If people could cling to one view forever," Tsunade said coolly, "we wouldn't see 'decisive in midlife, indecisive in old age.'"
With that pointed jab, she continued, "Consider it me returning to shinobi business. So my proposal isn't excessive, is it?"
"It's not as simple as you think," Hiruzen said, rubbing his brow. "The Police are already in Uchiha hands—that's a very powerful force. It's the greatest indulgence the village can afford them."
"If that Police Force also has its own medical corps… Tsunade, who balances them then? I know you mean well, but—"
"Running a village and upholding justice aren't the same thing. You need to learn to balance, to—"
"Old man," Tsunade cut him off, "if you could actually balance the factions, would the village look like this? Since you can't, let capable people act—and let the younger people choose."
Hiruzen faltered. "Tsunade, you've become a bit of a stranger to me."
"Like I said, people don't stay the same," she answered after a beat. "I just want this shinobi world to be different from what it is now. That's all."
Hiruzen more or less understood. After Nawaki and Dan died on the battlefield, Tsunade had grown deeply sick of the wars. She was dissatisfied with the status quo, but instead of trying to change the shinobi world, she ran away—holed up in Tanzaku Town, gambling, borrowing, repaying, dodging debts. Maybe she couldn't see a future worth fighting for, so she fled.
Now, it seemed she'd glimpsed a sliver of that future in Uchiha Chizumi's "absolute justice," a future that matched what she'd always hoped for. So she chose not to run.
Whatever twists had moved her heart—twists the Hokage might never know—the result was clear.
Even so, Hiruzen shook his head firmly. "No. Allowing the Uchiha to control the Police is already the absolute limit. Give them more power and the village will fall apart."
Tsunade fixed him with a steady look. "So even if Police officers can't get timely treatment and their lives are at risk, you'll cling to a 'balance' you can't actually maintain?"
"Running a ninja village isn't as simple as you think," he repeated. "You're still too young."
When Tsunade stepped out of the Hokage building, Shizune hurried over, clutching Tonton.
"Tsunade-sama?" Seeing Tsunade's thundercloud expression, Shizune got nervous. It felt like she'd butted heads with the Hokage.
"The old man refused," Tsunade said flatly. "In his eyes, giving the Police a medical unit would be a huge threat to Konoha."
"Then what will you do?" Shizune asked timidly.
"Tch. He can't stop me." Tsunade waved it off. "If the Hokage won't do it, I will. At the end of the day, he just doesn't trust Uchiha Chizumi."
"He thinks if the Police under Chizumi have their own med unit, Konoha won't be able to control them—like he's controlling them now."
"If he won't do it, I'll do it myself."
Watching Tsunade's mood flip from overcast to blazing with fighting spirit, Shizune asked softly, "Why go this far for Uchiha Chizumi? It feels like you're volunteering to work for him."
Tsunade paused, then spoke bluntly. "I just want to see a shinobi world that isn't like this one—a world that won't keep sending family to die on the battlefield. And that kid looks like he can make it happen."
"Besides… the sages have already recognized him. On that basis alone, he and I are in the same boat."
…
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain—
"What's going on?" Kabuto pushed his glasses up, frowning. "Why can't I get in touch with Orochimaru-sama? Is he hiding working on some human-body experiment?"
He'd intended to pass along intel from the Land of the Rice Fields, but every message vanished without a reply. A bad premonition rose in his chest.
"Maybe I can reverse-summon a snake from Ryūchi Cave and ask what's happening. They should know something."
He bit his thumb to summon his contract beast—only for nothing to happen.
He froze.
"Where's my summoning beast?!"