Konoha Year 57, one year before the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Inside the headquarters of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Fugaku held a list in his hand. His face stern, he swept his gaze over the young members of the Uchiha Clan before him.
These children, aged twelve to sixteen, were the future of the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Fugaku said gravely, "Next... Uchiha Izumi."
"Huh? Here!!!"
The twelve-year-old Uchiha girl hurriedly raised her hand and answered.
Fugaku fixed his gaze on her and demanded, "Are you prepared to take the Konoha Military Police Force's Recruitment Assessment?"
Uchiha Izumi's pretty face turned solemn. "I'm ready!"
Fugaku nodded. "The assessment lasts one month. During that month, a full member of the Konoha Military Police Force will serve as your examiner and conduct your Recruitment Assessment."
"If he decides your performance meets the requirements, you can officially join the Konoha Military Police Force and become a law enforcer of Konoha."
Fugaku pointed at the names written on the wooden board behind him.
Many of the names had already been circled.
Fugaku continued, "You may choose your own examiner, but only from the names that haven't been circled."
Izumi looked up at the densely packed names.
-Uchiha Shun, Uchiha Yuetsu, Uchiha Chisen, Uchiha Isin...
The girl realized she didn't know a single one of them!
"Then... Mr. Chisen?" Izumi ventured timidly. She chose him simply because his name was very similar to her own.
Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Chisen differed by just one character.
Fugaku froze.
"Chisen..." A complicated look flickered in his eyes as he asked pointedly, "Are you sure? Once you've chosen, you can't change your mind."
Izumi missed the clan head's hint and thought he was urging her to hurry.
"I'm sure."
She hastily made her choice final.
Fugaku considered for a moment, then warned her, "Uchiha Chisen is an elite ninja of the Konoha Military Police Force. His assessment requirements will likely be harsher than anyone else's. Remember, do not disobey his orders-not if you want to survive."
Izumi froze.
She swallowed nervously.
The clan head hadn't warned any of the others the way he'd warned her. Did that mean she'd made the wrong choice?
The girl began to panic.
Izumi was still somewhat dazed when she left the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
She held an "Assessment Commission Letter" in her hand. Once she handed it to Mr. Chisen, she would spend the next month undergoing the Konoha Military Police Force's hellish assessment.
"If only Itachi were here. I could ask him what kind of person Mr. Chisen is."
Izumi muttered under her breath.
She wanted to ask the other clan members for information, but then remembered that she wasn't close to anyone else in the Uchiha Clan.
Izumi was the clan's sole outsider, unable to fit in with the other children her age.
Her mother was an Uchiha, but her father had been a civilian-born ninja. Until she was five, Uchiha Izumi had used her father's surname.
Then Nine-Tails Night came. Her father died protecting her, and her mother took her back to the Uchiha Clan. From then on, she used her mother's surname.
Calm down, calm down... As long as I'm polite, things shouldn't get too awkward, even if Mr. Chisen is strict.
Izumi decided to buy a gift for their first meeting.
However.
Before she could act, a startled cry came from nearby. "The police ninja are back!"
Izumi turned to look.
A group of Konoha Military Police Force members approached together-all wearing Ninja Combat Uniforms and carrying an assortment of ninja tools, each radiating an imposing, commanding presence.
There probably wasn't time to buy a gift. If Mr. Chisen was among them and she failed to greet him promptly, she might leave a bad impression.
Izumi hurried over at a jog and mustered her courage to ask, "Excuse me, which of you is Mr. Uchiha Chisen?"
Nervously, she showed them the letter in her hand. "I'm a candidate taking the Konoha Military Police Force's Recruitment Assessment. My name is Uchiha Izumi."
The ninja of the Konoha Military Police Force stopped.
One astonished pair of eyes after another focused on her.
It was as though they were staring at some rare summoned beast.
Among them... a female member of the Konoha Military Police Force walked up to Izumi and asked with an odd expression, "You chose Uchiha Chisen as your examiner?"
"Yes." Uchiha Izumi nodded.
"...Take care of yourself." The Uchiha woman patted Izumi's shoulder, sympathy in her voice. "He isn't here. If you're looking for him, try your luck on the village's most disorderly streets. He's probably there."
"Good luck. Sometimes, even surviving comes down to luck."
Izumi: "???"
Izumi's little face went pale with fright. She hurriedly asked, "Ma'am, is Mr. Chisen very strict with newcomers like us?"
The Uchiha woman shook her head. "Strict isn't the issue. He's... how should I put it? Not much of a team player, I suppose. Even Lord Fugaku has trouble giving him orders. Let me offer some advice: you'd better write your last will first. Trust me, it'll come in handy very soon."
Izumi: "..."
She noticed that all these senior members of the Konoha Military Police Force were looking at her with pity.
Meanwhile.
A young man dressed in the Konoha Military Police Force's uniform arrived on Konoha's notorious street of bathhouses, gambling dens, and drinking establishments offering female company.
The instant he arrived alone, the entire street seemed to fall silent.
A full three seconds later, a panicked uproar erupted.
"Shit! That Uchiha Plague God is back! Last time he came, he crammed more than fifty people into Konoha Prison! Quick, tell the boss! Shut the gambling den!"
"Why is he back again? How long has it even been? A month?"
"Hey! Uchiha Chisen! Don't push your luck! We're all operating legally! Konoha doesn't ban gambling or prostitution, and even the drug restrictions only cover a handful of substances. Why do you keep targeting us?"
"Shh-do you have a death wish? Cross that Uchiha Plague God and you'll spend the rest of your life in a dark cell in Konoha Prison."
"D-don't look at me! I'm just passing through!"
"..."
Uchiha Chisen rested one hand casually on the hilt of the ninja sword at his waist, his gaze drifting over the surroundings as he searched for prey his eyes could "see."
Suddenly.
Uchiha Chisen's gaze stopped. "Found a little rat."
In his line of sight, a short man kept his head down, cautiously hiding among the crowd by the roadside. At first glance, he seemed unremarkable.
But in Uchiha Chisen's eyes...
The short man was like a firefly in the night, impossible to overlook.
That was because he could clearly see a crimson box floating above the man's head, filled with lines of red text.
[Akiyama Jiro-Two days ago, drank to drown his sorrows after losing at gambling. While drunk, assaulted his own four-year-old child until the child died. Sin level: red name!]
This...
Was also Uchiha Chisen's golden finger in this life.
Expressionless, Uchiha Chisen walked toward the man. The bystanders scattered in fright, terrified that this Plague God from the Konoha Military Police Force would come after them.
Just as the man tried to hurry away with the crowd.
Uchiha Chisen spoke. "Akiyama Jiro, where do you think you're going?"
He lowered his eyes to look down at the short man.
His gaze remained utterly calm, as though he were looking at someone certain to die.
Just then.
"F-finally found you!"
A girl's breathless voice suddenly sounded behind Uchiha Chisen. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Uchiha Chisen?"
P.S. I've gotten myself into the right headspace, and the new book is setting sail. Please support it-and keep reading!
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