Izumi had carried the culprit and the victim's corpse back all by herself. Along the way, she had lost count of how many people stared at her strangely, leaving her so embarrassed that she never dared raise her head.
Fortunately, no one misunderstood her because of it. Perhaps her Uchiha Clan attire had spared her some trouble.
When she finally forced herself to make it back to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters...
And finally saw Chisen again.
The emotions that had been stretched taut as a bowstring finally relaxed a little.
But...
She soon discovered that many of her seniors in the Konoha Military Police Force had turned all sorts of looks toward her.
Izumi had already experienced this feeling once before-being stared at like some rare animal.
Inevitably, she grew nervous again.
"Put the body here and leave it to them. Someone will handle it. Now come with me to see the patriarch." Chisen's cold voice reached Izumi's ears, yet somehow it put her at ease, giving her an unexpected sense of security.
Much of her inexplicable nervousness faded, too.
It felt as though she finally had someone to rely on.
"Yes, sir!!!"
Izumi hurriedly answered.
As Uchiha Chisen walked into the Military Police Force Building, he asked the Black-Haired Girl behind him without looking back, "As a member of the Konoha Military Police Force, what should you do if an ordinary criminal resists arrest while you're enforcing the law?"
Was this...
Was Chisen testing my theoretical knowledge?
Izumi gained a little confidence.
To join the Konoha Military Police Force, she had spent an entire month memorizing its code of conduct, without missing a single word.
Naturally, she had passed the written theory exam to qualify for the Konoha Military Police Force's Recruitment Assessment.
And...
She had passed with a perfect score!
She clearly remembered what the handbook said-if an ordinary person resisted arrest, appropriate restraint could be applied according to the severity of the situation.
Simply put, those who resisted mildly could be restrained gently; those who resisted fiercely could be subdued with a little force, but at most, that meant sending the criminal sprawling face-first.
After all, the criminal was only an ordinary person.
Not a more dangerous ninja.
"First, try to restrain them using gentler meth-" Izumi promptly began giving the standard answer.
But halfway through her sentence...
She suddenly froze.
She remembered what Chisen had done during today's law enforcement when the Short Man tried to slip away. It seemed completely at odds with the police force's code of conduct.
Izumi swallowed the rest of her answer. She had a feeling Chisen wasn't the sort of officer who followed every rule to the letter. Changing tack, she answered timidly, "Perhaps we should use somewhat more forceful methods?"
Just then, Uchiha Chisen paused. They had arrived at Uchiha Fugaku's office in the Military Police Force Building.
Uchiha Chisen said coolly, "Rookie, I hope you gave that answer for reasons other than flattering me. Remember, [Absolute Justice] stems from absolute enforcement. Different times call for different degrees of enforcement."
"Right now... the Shinobi World is more deeply infested with 'evil' than ever. Troubled times demand harsh measures. Even when we encounter the slightest 'evil,' we must strike hard and never show leniency."
I...
I got it right.
Although this wasn't the standard answer in the code of conduct.
Still...
Izumi felt that Chisen's views were far too extreme. As far as she was concerned, the Shinobi World's troubled times had ended long ago. The Third Shinobi World War had been over for years, and several years had passed since the Nine-Tails' Rampage, too.
Although there was still some minor friction in the Shinobi World, surely it couldn't be called an age of turmoil?
At least...
Judging by the Uchiha Clan, wasn't everyone thriving? Weren't their lives getting better and better?
Chisen seemed a little too pessimistic!
Of course.
She only dared let those thoughts pass through her mind. She would never dare say them aloud.
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
The knocking interrupted Izumi's thoughts. When Fugaku's steady, commanding voice called, "Come in," from inside, Uchiha Chisen pushed the door open and entered with the slightly nervous girl.
"Chisen? And... Uchiha Izumi?" Fugaku paused in surprise.
"You tell him." Uchiha Chisen tossed out the words casually, then found a chair and sat down. Crossing his legs, he idly rubbed and fiddled with the armrest, which he had almost polished to a shine.
"Huh?"
Only when Fugaku's gaze fell on her did Izumi realize that Chisen had been speaking to her.
And Patriarch Fugaku seemed accustomed to Chisen's rather rude behavior.
After all, Chisen hadn't even greeted Patriarch Fugaku!
Was there some conflict between them?
The odd thought flashed through her mind, and Izumi hurriedly said, "Lord Fugaku, today, Chisen and I..."
And so.
Izumi had no choice but to recount everything that had happened that day.
As he listened, Fugaku's brows knitted tightly, his expression almost identical to the Third Hokage's.
"Chisen, your methods are a little too extreme." Fugaku sighed, then grew solemn and said gravely, "This is precisely why the village is wary of us Uchiha. I know you're carrying out justice, and I know you have your own views on it. But sometimes, justice requires judging the circumstances and exercising restraint."
"You must realize... the village has grown increasingly distant from the Uchiha, don't you? Our Uchiha Clan was even forced to relocate to the very outskirts of the village. We have nowhere left to retreat, so we can only take measures to restore some of our reputation."
"But when you act like this..."
Looking at Uchiha Chisen, this young Uchiha Jonin, Fugaku felt a headache coming on.
He considered Uchiha Chisen exceptionally talented. He had awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan early and possessed the highly unusual "Lava Release," making him the Uchiha Clan's only ninja with a double Kekkei Genkai.
Perhaps this boy would one day awaken the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
And become another pillar of the Uchiha Clan.
But...
This outstanding Uchiha's ideals were completely at odds with his own.
No!
Uchiha Chisen's ideal of Absolute Justice was at odds with the entire Uchiha Clan.
Whether it was the Hawks, who advocated confronting the village to the bitter end and even wanted him, the patriarch, to plan a coup, or the Doves, who advocated negotiations and an agreement with the village leadership to resolve matters peacefully... neither had any common ground with Uchiha Chisen.
Because Uchiha Chisen's stance on justice did not place him on the Uchiha Clan's side. He stood on the side of the "fairness" and "justice" in his own heart.
Within the Uchiha Clan, he was a faction unto himself.
That was why he stood alone.
That was why he never fit in.
Uchiha Chisen lifted his eyelids and met the eyes of the renowned [Fugaku the Fierce Eye]. "You want me to take certain things into account when carrying out justice, to make selective compromises and ease relations with the village, correct?"
Fugaku said, "There's no need to put it so bluntly."
But he tacitly admitted it.
"My methods won't change. Instead of telling me to rein myself in, you should keep that beast of a son of yours under control. Better yet, have him see a psychiatrist. I think he badly needs it." With nothing more worth saying between them, Uchiha Chisen rose to leave.
Fugaku's expression stiffened.
To disparage a father's child like that, right in front of him.
Even Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help feeling anger rise within him.
But...
It seemed this had happened many times already. For some inexplicable reason, Uchiha Chisen simply couldn't stand Itachi.
He had even attacked Itachi once. Had Shisui not been there at the time, something might have happened to Itachi.
His face dark, Fugaku stared at Uchiha Chisen's departing back.
Meanwhile, Izumi looked left and right in utter bewilderment.
She could sense the tension in the office, and even more clearly, Patriarch Fugaku's suppressed anger. She had even caught a furtive glimpse of the fists he had quietly clenched.
She had no idea why Chisen had such a strong objection to the patriarch's son.
Huh?
Wait!
Patriarch Fugaku's sons... didn't that mean Itachi and Sasuke?
Izumi was bewildered all over again.
It seemed I'd chosen one hell of an examiner.
My future looked bleak!
PS: The contract's signed! You can keep reading and cast your monthly votes without worry~ Tanghulu will keep churning out words! Writing like mad!
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