Today, Uzumaki Naruto had played another prank in the village, hoping to get people to notice him.
His prank had succeeded, but it had also successfully pushed someone over the edge.
And so Naruto had been chased through several streets.
Luckily, he was a fast runner.
Naruto figured that if he ran another two streets, he could shake off the steamed bun shop owner behind him, whose nightly marital duties were leaving him weaker by the day.
But...
Just as he was secretly celebrating, his feet suddenly found themselves treading empty air.
Naruto felt as though someone had grabbed the back of his collar and hoisted him up.
Oh... oh no!
I've been caught!
The bun shop owner came panting up and was about to offer his delighted thanks when his gaze landed on Uchiha Chisen's young face. Fright choked the words back down his throat.
"U-Uchiha..." The bun shop owner's face drained of color. He did not even seem to notice the rolling pin falling from his hand.
"Uchiha?"
Dangling in the air, Naruto struggled a little. When he found he could not break free, he looked up with a miserable expression.
Hmm...
Don't know him!
Naruto only thought that this meddlesome fellow looked a little cold. And when the man studied him, it felt as though he were looking at some rare animal.
"What did he do?" Uchiha Chisen asked the bun shop owner.
"He... he..." Cold sweat poured off the bun shop owner.
"Tell the truth," Uchiha Chisen reminded him.
Gulp.
Under that inexplicable, invisible pressure, the bun shop owner swallowed and shakily explained Uzumaki Naruto's prank that day-he had replaced the wheat flour in his shop with protein powder.
Little Naruto muttered as he dangled there, "It's not like you can't make buns with protein powder. Besides, eating them can help you build muscle."
The bun shop owner was so angry his blood pressure shot up. "You little brat..."
But with Uchiha Chisen standing before him, and those seemingly emotionless eyes staring at him...
He hastily suppressed his anger and forcibly swallowed everything he had been about to say.
He's terrifying! How could I be so unlucky as to run into the Uchiha Clan's infamous plague god?
It's all this demon fox brat's fault!
"So that was your prank..." Uchiha Chisen nodded slightly and said calmly, "This brat's guardian is the Hokage. Go straight to the Hokage and demand compensation. Tell him I sent you. If the Hokage refuses to pay, I'll help you collect it."
With that, Uchiha Chisen prepared to leave, carrying a Naruto who looked as though he had lost all will to live.
That left not only the bun shop owner bewildered, but Naruto as well.
Naruto hurriedly struggled, flailing his arms and legs as he shouted, "Y-you! Where are you taking me, ya know? You've already caught me, so can't you put me down?"
Uchiha Chisen raised his arm, lifting Naruto more than a meter off the ground, and quietly met the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's eyes.
That cold stare made Naruto's little face freeze.
Uchiha Chisen said slowly, "When people do something wrong, they must receive the appropriate punishment, regardless of sex or age. Your prank caused financial losses and damaged the shop's reputation. Furthermore, the commotion you caused running through the streets seriously disrupted order in Konoha and dirtied the streets."
"With all those offenses taken together, even if you're willing to pay compensation, you'll still have to spend half a month in Konoha Prison. And that's merely judging you according to Konoha law. Since you fell into my hands, let's make that three months instead."
At just seven years old, Naruto was utterly dumbfounded.
"Locked..."
"Locked in prison for three months..."
He went blank on the spot.
"This is bad! The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has come into contact with a member of the Uchiha Clan!" At the same time, the face of an elite Anbu ninja assigned to watch Naruto changed drastically. He felt he had made a disastrous mistake today.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's observer, the mission the Hokage had given him was not merely to watch Naruto, but also to "clean up after him."
In other words, no matter what prank that little Jinchuriki pulled, he had to go to the trouble of sorting out the mess.
He had just gone out of his way to replace the wheat flour Naruto had swapped out at the bun shop.
But he had never imagined that in the brief time he was away...
A ninja from the Uchiha Clan had grabbed the Jinchuriki!
There was no way he could mistake the Konoha Military Police Force uniform!
He could clearly see the Jinchuriki looking straight into the Uchiha's eyes!
Those were the Sharingan, rumored to be capable of controlling tailed beasts!
If... if the Nine-Tails' rampage from several years ago happened again, his negligence would be the spark that brought about the village's destruction. He would become a sinner of Konoha.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Anbu ninja had no time to think, much less worry about exposing himself.
He rushed toward Uzumaki Naruto, shouting, "Put him down!"
In full view of the crowd, the Anbu ninja openly appeared with the Body Flicker Technique. One hand hovered around the hilt of his ninja sword, while the other reached out to snatch Uzumaki Naruto away.
Uchiha Chisen suddenly swung his arm to the side.
The Anbu ninja grabbed empty air, while Naruto let out a startled cry. The movement was so violent that Naruto had nearly been flung away.
"Anbu?!" Izumi, standing nearby, recognized the Anbu ninja's attire at once. That fox mask was unmistakable.
She suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Uchiha! What are you doing!" After his hand caught nothing, the Anbu ninja's expression beneath his mask became quite a sight. He demanded, "Don't tell me you don't know what this brat represents! You... huh? Uchiha Chisen?!"
Only when he faced the man directly did the Anbu ninja realize that the person holding the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was actually Uchiha Chisen!
He was one of the few Uchiha who had a relatively "good" relationship with the Hokage.
Well-
At least he was the sort who often met with the Hokage's people.
Uchiha Chisen glanced at the white box above the Anbu ninja's head. A hair-raising sharpness gathered in his eyes as he demanded, "Are you going to obstruct the Konoha Military Police Force in enforcing the law, Yamanaka Yoshinobu?"
The Anbu ninja: "!!!"
"You..."
He was stunned.
He was wearing an Anbu mask, and he had never even met Uchiha Chisen face-to-face. How had the man recognized him?
Noticing the sharpness in Uchiha Chisen's eyes gradually taking on a dangerous edge, the Anbu ninja hesitantly withdrew his hand from his ninja sword.
He had heard some intelligence about Uchiha Chisen.
He knew where this enforcer of [absolute justice] drew the line.
To be safe, it was better not to clash with him.
"Phew!"
The Anbu ninja exhaled, calming himself a little, and said gravely, "Uchiha Chisen, surely the Konoha Military Police Force's law enforcement has nothing to do with Uzumaki Naruto? He's just an 'ordinary' child, isn't he?"
He deliberately stressed the word "ordinary."
Uchiha Chisen said, "He happens to be the offender I caught."
The Anbu ninja: "???"
Damn...
This is going to be tricky.
Just as the Anbu ninja was sweating profusely and racking his brains over what to do, a hoarse, furious shout suddenly approached from the distance. "You inherently evil Uchiha brat! What are you doing! What exactly is your evil Uchiha Clan plotting!"
The Anbu ninja froze, bewildered. How was someone else even more frantic than he was?
When he looked toward the voice, he saw a familiar figure.
That was...
Shimura Danzō?!
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