This was Execution Night for Absolute Justice

Uchiha Mikoto recognized Uchiha Chisen, not only because of his "renown" within the Uchiha Clan, but also because he had clashed with Itachi three years ago.

As far as she knew, if Uchiha Shisui hadn't been at Itachi's side that time, Itachi might have been in serious trouble.

After a moment of stunned surprise, Uchiha Mikoto quickly recovered and reached out to pull Sasuke to his feet.

Her eyes immediately took on a measure of distance and wariness.

"Chisen, Sasuke was just a little reckless. He hasn't broken a single law in Konoha." Uchiha Mikoto worried that this extremist from her own clan might hurt the young Sasuke.

And yet.

Uchiha Mikoto discovered that Uchiha Chisen merely gave her an indifferent glance and left without so much as a word.

It was as though her wariness and tension had been entirely unwarranted.

Hmm...

She hadn't seemed to sense even a trace of hostility from Uchiha Chisen, either.

"Chisen, wait for me." Izumi quickened her pace to catch up.

"Mom, who's he? He's so cold." Only seven years old, Sasuke wore his displeasure all over his little face.

"He..."

Uchiha Mikoto considered how to phrase it before answering, "He's someone who doesn't fit in. Sasuke, remember not to get too close to him."

"Why?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

Recalling what Itachi had experienced back then, Uchiha Mikoto said thoughtfully, "I don't know the details myself. I only know that he's very dangerous. If you really want to know, you can ask Itachi when he gets back. Itachi... is fairly familiar with Uchiha Chisen, I suppose."

"Huh?"

Sasuke's attention went elsewhere. "My brother's coming back?"

Uchiha Mikoto smiled and nodded. "Yes. His ninja cat returned to the village yesterday and told me he would be back the day after tomorrow."

But the smile on her face seemed a little forced.

Of course, it was good that Itachi could return safely after completing the village's mission.

But...

Uchiha Chisen was still in the village!

If the two happened to run into each other again, there was no telling what might happen.

Uchiha Mikoto felt worried.

Night fell.

Izumi dragged her utterly exhausted body home, finally able to release the tension that had kept her wound tight. She flopped weakly onto the couch, feeling completely drained.

The day's events had been far too "exciting." She felt as though her brain could barely process them all.

She was only a Konoha Genin who had graduated not long ago!

"Come to think of it, how did he end up following the path of [absolute justice]...?"

Finally getting a chance to relax, Izumi couldn't help letting her thoughts wander.

"Are you curious?"

"Mm..." Izumi answered instinctively.

"Hm?" She suddenly realized that wasn't her mother's voice.

It was...

Chisen's voice!

"Eek!!!"

Startled, Izumi shot upright and hurriedly looked toward the voice-only to see Chisen crouching on the sill of an open window in her house. She had no idea when he had arrived. Those calm eyes looking at her were always impossible to read. At least, Izumi could never guess what he was thinking.

Wait!

Shouldn't the real question be why he was here?

Uchiha Chisen said, "Kijiro found a new case. I happened to be passing by, so I came to pick you up. Besides, this should be a rare chance for you to get some actual combat experience."

An orange cat's big, round face poked out from the corner of the window at just the right moment. "Meow! Rookie! Hurry up!"

As expected of his ninja cat-just as decisive and efficient as he was!

Izumi hurried to her feet. "Yes, Chisen!"

Then she quickly called toward the kitchen, "Mom, don't make dinner for me! I'll eat out tonight!"

Izumi gathered her ninja tools and jumped straight out the window.

Only then did it suddenly register. She froze for a moment. "A-actual combat?"

Uchiha Chisen simply said, "Keep up. We're leaving Konoha this time."

Huh? Leaving Konoha?!

Question after question swirled through Izumi's mind, but this didn't seem like the time to ask.

She could only give it her all to keep up.

"Meow! Rookie, my children found a secret base outside the village!" Fortunately, Kijiro the ninja cat was there to explain things to Izumi. "It looks like some kind of experimental base, about a dozen kilometers from Konoha."

Izumi followed close behind Uchiha Chisen as Kijiro leaped and darted from rooftop to rooftop.

Panting slightly, she asked curiously, "Kijiro, how do you know there's a case at that base?"

"Experience!"

Kijiro's voice had a strange, shrill pitch. "Rookie, I've followed Lord Chisen for five whole years, meow! I've inherited at least one percent of his experience and skills! Of course, the main reason is that my children spotted shinobi dressed as Anbu going in and out of the secret base."

"Mysterious bases involving Root, Anbu, and the like usually aren't good places, meow."

Kijiro declared with absolute confidence, "Because Lord Chisen once said there's hardly a single good person in Konoha's Anbu or Root!"

"If you killed them all, you might kill someone innocent. But if you killed every other one, you'd definitely let plenty of guilty ones slip through!"

Izumi swallowed.

She was beginning to understand what Chisen had meant by "actual combat."

Was he really planning to force his way into an Anbu secret base?

"Rookie, a word of warning."

Uchiha Chisen's voice wasn't especially clear amid the gusts of night wind, but Izumi still strained to listen.

"Don't assume the Anbu are a positive presence in Konoha just because they're the Hokage's secret force. If you look at them through that kind of rose-colored lens, what comes next will be very unpleasant for you. Both Root and the Anbu have always been among the places where the most 'evil' in the Shinobi World gathers."

Izumi's heart tightened, and she hastily answered, "Understood, Chisen!"

She also vaguely felt that his words carried another meaning.

-Don't look at the Hokage through rose-colored glasses, either.

Then another crucial point suddenly occurred to Izumi, and she blurted out in shock, "Chisen, is tonight's 'case'... really within the Konoha Military Police Force's jurisdiction?"

Without looking back, Uchiha Chisen replied, "It's within the jurisdiction of [justice]."

Yikes!

Chisen really didn't care about the village's rules, much less the regulations governing the Konoha Military Police Force.

Was tonight a night for him to enforce his own [justice]?

"Wrong." Uchiha Chisen's voice drifted back. "This is Execution Night for [absolute justice]. Since you chose me as your examiner, you'll have to get used to it, rookie. There will be many nights like this, and they will be long."

Izumi: "!!!"

He really could read minds, couldn't he?!

She felt a little creeped out.

"Meow, you're just too easy to read, girl. You can't hide a thing. Everything you're thinking shows in your expression and your tone, meow." Kijiro quietly rubbed salt in the wound.

Izumi: "..."

Even a cat could tell what she was thinking?

Izumi took a heavy blow to her confidence.

As Izumi's mind reeled in a muddled daze, she suddenly realized she had followed Chisen out of Konoha without even noticing.

Konoha was already several hundred meters behind them.