What the Hell Is Fairness?

On Konoha's pedestrian street, the three of them walked outward, supporting one another.

"Ah, I'm almost home, so I'll head back first and digest properly. See you tomorrow, when the ninja squad gathers in force!" Morino Kei said goodbye to the other two at the fork in the road.

"Ah, you were just stuffed to the point of death, and now you're bouncing around full of energy. I can only say, that really is Kei..." The corners of the boy's mouth twitched.

"Haha, Kei has always been like this. Kai-kun, you've known him for ages. He's the kind of guy whose sense of judgment is inversely proportional to his physique." The girl covered her mouth and giggled, the corners of her eyes curving like a painting.

"Well, having a good attitude is a kind of strength too, right?" Kai responded.

"Kai-kun is still the same as ever. Looks like I was worrying too much..." The girl turned her head, a slightly different light gleaming in her eyes.

"What?" Uchiha Kai suddenly jolted. For an instant, he seemed to sense something unpleasant, and even the hand the girl had resting on his waist felt strange.

"Hehe, it's a secret." With that, the girl suddenly pulled away.

"See you tomorrow, Kai-kun. Please take care of me in my future ninja career."

Before Uchiha Kai could react, the girl turned into a gust of wind and ran into the distance.

"Still the same as ever... Not necessarily..." Uchiha Kai raised his head slightly, his words filled with wistfulness.

After temporarily parting with the other two, Uchiha Kai once again walked alone along Konoha's streets. A breeze swept past. The street was even livelier now, and the conversations of passersby formed a bustling scene.

"Good heavens! I've been wronged! I've been so wronged! Everyone, judge for yourselves!" On the street not far away, a crowd of villagers had surrounded something so tightly that not even water could pass through. It made people wonder what had happened inside.

He could only vaguely hear someone wailing and complaining. With his curiosity piqued, Uchiha Kai quickly approached. Just as he was about to squeeze inside, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

"Well, is that Kai? What a coincidence." The boy with a peculiar hairstyle and half his head wrapped in a head covering spoke up.

Hearing this, Uchiha Kai turned around and greeted him as well.

"Classmate Mibu Nin? It really is a coincidence. What are you doing here too?"

"Ah, we just graduated, didn't we? To celebrate, Big Brother Ibiki invited me and Dōkaku out for a meal. A little graduation gathering."

As he spoke, Mibu Nin pointed toward the mature-looking young man behind him, who naturally possessed a frightening air, and the well-mannered boy beside him who wore glasses.

"Hello." Ibiki Morino nodded indifferently in response.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dōkaku." Dōkaku pushed up his square-framed glasses, his tone perfectly calm.

"Hello, I'm Uchiha Kai, Mibu Nin's classmate. I hope we'll get along." Uchiha Kai politely introduced himself with a faint smile.

The two who had just been indifferent suddenly changed expressions when they heard the word Uchiha, looking somewhat... strange.

"Uh... What's wrong?" Uchiha Kai asked in confusion. "Is there something on my face?"

Feeling the strange gazes of Ibiki Morino and Dōkaku, the boy was puzzled.

Are these two hostile toward the Uchiha? That doesn't seem to be part of the original story. Uchiha Kai muttered inwardly, but his question was soon answered.

"No, it's not what you think, Classmate Kai." Ibiki Morino spoke first.

"It's just that the situation over there is somewhat..." He pointed toward the increasingly noisy crowd nearby, his expression growing complicated.

"It seems that members of the Security Force have gotten into a conflict with the villagers..."

"This is bad. I hope nothing happens." Uchiha Kai was immediately startled, and an ominous premonition surged into his mind.

The Uchiha can't afford another incident now. If things get out of hand, the rift between the two sides will only grow wider. While praying that the matter would not escalate, the boy squeezed toward the center of the crowd.

After a flurry of elbowing, he made several tall men blocking his way suffer terribly.

"Hey, hey, watch the show if you want, but don't jab your elbows into people."

"Who just hit me in the kidney? If something's broken, can you afford the responsibility?" "Who stepped on my foot?" Voices like these rose and fell one after another.

The next second, however, they were all drowned out by a voice only the boy could hear.

[Quest triggered: What the hell is fairness]

[Quest details: Two members of the Konoha Security Force bought a skewer of Three-Color Dumplings by the roadside. After paying, the shopkeeper claimed they had eaten two skewers but had only paid for one. Please resolve the predicament.]

[Quest reward: Physique ×0.1, Bu'a (special reward)]

"Did a quest trigger? And what's with this objective? Is someone trying to frame the Uchiha Clan?"

Looking at the information provided in the quest details, the boy fell into thought.

The Uchiha Clan's strict law enforcement is famous throughout Konoha. In theory, no one should inexplicably seek death by provoking them, unless someone is deliberately causing trouble and trying to use this incident to fuel something bigger...

Not to mention that the arrogant members of the clan have always disdained arguing with ordinary people. Even if there really were some vicious ones who enjoyed bullying the weak, they would never openly commit such an ugly act out of fear of Lord Yashiro's authority.

To put it bluntly, a little dumpling vendor publicly accusing members of the Security Force? He must think his life has been going too smoothly and wants to add some difficulty to it.

Someone is definitely giving orders from behind the scenes... The boy furrowed his brow as he pondered.

At this point in time, could it be that old dog Danzo? An idea suddenly surfaced in the boy's mind, and it seemed extremely plausible.

That old dog, who committed ninety-nine percent of the monstrous deeds in the original story—whenever some inexplicably vicious incident occurs in the Shinobi World, there's a high probability he did it. There's no mistake: he's setting a trap for the Uchiha Clan.

Create false charges in public and pin them on the Uchiha Clan, sow discord between the villagers and the Uchiha Clan, then spread all kinds of rumors and public opinion... Wasn't that exactly how White Fang died with regrets?

With that thought, the boy felt as though his mind had cleared and every question had been answered.

Shimura Danzō... Just wait. Sooner or later, I'll pluck that ugly, hypocritical head of yours off and stick flowers in it. Uchiha Kai muttered inwardly.

Far away, in the darkness of the Root base, Shimura Danzō sat in a chair listening to his subordinate report on the mission.

The next moment, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his head and sneezed several times in a row before recovering.

"Strange. Has my body really grown this feeble...? The years truly are a terrifying blade." Shimura Danzō spoke with a sorrowful expression.

"No, the research on Wood Release must produce results as soon as possible. Only by uncovering the legendary power left behind by the First can I experience a second spring and challenge that position..."

Shimura Danzō's figure faded into the darkness, terrifying scars and ugly wrinkles scattered across his withered cheeks.

Konoha's streets, inside the circle of people.

Uchiha Kai had just squeezed through the human wall and stepped into the very center of the circle when he heard the man in front of him shout.

"You... Why are you trying to cheat me out of my money? It isn't easy for us commoners to earn a living. Please, don't make things difficult for me. I'll pay you..." The middle-aged man wailed, clearly the owner of the Three-Color Dumpling stand.

"Bullshit! We paid you! My brother and I went to your shop and bought one skewer of dumplings. We paid before leaving. You're falsely accusing us for no reason—what are you trying to do?" Uchiha Liu widened his eyes, his expression incredulous.

"You did pay, but you only paid for one skewer, while you ate two." The shopkeeper spoke in a low voice, not even daring to meet their eyes.

"Go to hell! We only ate one skewer, so of course we only paid for one!" Uchiha Huohuo cursed angrily, clearly infuriated.

"Waaah... Don't bully me, members of the Security Force. I'm just a small vendor. Please don't bully me..." The merchant repeated the words stiffly.