Naruto: Uchiha's Absolute Justice

Chapter 26: Heart as Clear as a Mirror

"Senior, these are the research materials on the Uchiha clan's Sharingan that Hokage-sama ordered me to deliver. Also, three Three-Tomoe Sharingan are being sent along with them."

Inside a hidden research facility, an ANBU ninja from Konoha spoke to another ANBU ninja within the base.

"So, the old man sent them…"

The ANBU ninja inside the base took the data files and the three Sharingan preserved in test tubes of nutrient solution.

Looking at the three Three-Tomoe Sharingan, which exuded a bizarre aura.

Shin'nosuke Sarutobi's eyes flashed with an unusual glint, and he asked, bewildered, "Where did the old man get these Sharingan?"

The ANBU ninja from the village thought for a moment. He considered that the man before him was the Hokage-sama's eldest son, an ANBU senior, and one of Hokage-sama's right-hand men.

Perhaps sharing some information with him would be fine.

He replied in a low voice, "From Danzo Shimura of Root."

"Danzo, huh…" Shin'nosuke Sarutobi suddenly understood: "That makes sense. The old man is stubborn; he's clearly interested in many things, but always feels that as Hokage, he shouldn't do those things. He wouldn't stoop to stealing the Uchiha clan's Sharingan."

"Only 'Danzo Shimura,' the Darkness of Konoha and leader of Root, would dare to do something like this in the village."

Shin'nosuke Sarutobi shook his head, stating bluntly, "However… he's just half of the old man's dirty hand. The dirty work the old man doesn't want to do himself, he tacitly allows Danzo to do."

The ANBU ninja from the village dared not speak.

"Tell him that—we will do our best to fully understand these Sharingan research materials."

"Understood, Senior."

...

The ANBU ninja from the village walked out of the secret base. He looked back at the unremarkable patch of dense forest behind him, reaching out to lightly touch the air, where ripples appeared.

"What a masterful genjutsu. As expected of Hokage-sama's eldest son."

He shook his head, casting aside extraneous thoughts, and was about to head back to Konoha when…

He suddenly heard a very abrupt cat's meow.

"Meow~"

The ANBU ninja frowned, his gaze swiftly darting towards the source of the meow.

—What a fat cat!

That was his first thought.

The next instant!

A sharp whooshing sound came from his side, startling the ANBU ninja into a sudden crouch. Three shuriken flew past his face, one of them cutting the string of his mask, forcing him to reveal a young face.

"Enemy?!"

The moment he swiftly drew his ninja blade, his vision was consumed by two crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Uchiha…"

The ANBU ninja's pupils contracted, and he instinctively tried to avert his gaze, not wanting to meet the Sharingan's stare.

Puchi!!!

The sharp pain in his chest made the ANBU ninja instinctively look down, only to realize that the ninja blade in his hand had never been drawn; the sound of a blade being drawn had come from his opponent.

And a ninja blade had, at that very moment, pierced his heart.

It was a genjutsu!

[Ding! You have successfully killed a "red-named" villain! Your chakra has received a slight boost!

Congratulations, you have successfully dropped: "Konoha Style Kenjutsu" EXP Book ×10!]

"Fourth one," Uchiha Ikeizumi pulled out his ninja blade, saying calmly, "Newbie, you missed four consecutive opportunities. Your shurikenjutsu needs to be refined."

"I-I'm sorry, Senior…" Izumi emerged from behind.

While feeling deeply apologetic, she also watched the slumped ANBU ninja with a trembling heart.

This was the fourth ANBU that Senior Ikeizumi had killed tonight.

The first three were the ANBU ninja on lookout duty outside.

Watching blood gurgle from the ANBU ninja's chest, seeing his young face, no older than her own, now devoid of life, Izumi felt a momentary confusion: "Senior… are they really all evil people?"

"Yes."

Uchiha Ikeizumi flicked the blood off his ninja blade. He gazed at the "dense forest" ahead; before his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, even the most profound genjutsu seemed like a clumsy display.

Izumi didn't know where she found the courage, but she actually asked Senior Ikeizumi this question: "Senior… how do you judge another's evil…"

Uchiha Ikeizumi replied: "A heart as clear as a mirror."

Izumi was startled.

Uchiha Ikeizumi walked directly towards a large tree ahead. Half of his figure seemed to merge into the tree, and his voice reached Izumi's ears: "I have a special ability. My eyes can see the 'evil' in all living beings. And the foundation for this special ability to discern good and evil is a heart and actions as clear as a mirror; it judges evil based on my own moral values."

Izumi's beautiful eyes widened. Could this… be the power of the Sharingan?

"Newbie. Do you think a ninja who, to protect their family, had to take up arms and go to war, even killing many people, would be considered an evildoer in my eyes?"

As Uchiha Ikeizumi posed the question, his body had completely melded into the forest genjutsu.

Izumi quickly followed, pressing her lips together, and replied in a low voice, "Senior, I don't think so."

"Indeed not."

Uchiha Ikeizumi said calmly, "Its judging standard is the same as my standard for discerning good and evil before I awakened this ability. One must let the ability be born from oneself, not oneself from the ability. Otherwise, [Justice] would become evil disguised in sheep's clothing."

The moment Uchiha Ikeizumi's words fell, the scene before him transformed dramatically.

A secret base, quite substantial in scale, appeared before him.

The air was filled with the scent of various strange chemicals.

Subtly mixed with a hint of blood.

"Who are you?!" Then, a sudden cry of alarm came from in front of Uchiha Ikeizumi.

What he saw was…

A Konoha ninja looking at him in shock, especially when he saw Uchiha Ikeizumi's crimson Sharingan, his breathing hitched for a few seconds in fright.

[Inuzuka Maki—ANBU Secret Research Base Scientist, participated in seventeen human experiments over the years, was one of Orochimaru's many assistants, directly or indirectly killed eleven war orphans. Sin Level: Red-named!]

"I remember you."

Uchiha Ikeizumi's serene tone was like that of a Shinigami emerging from the underworld. He approached step by step, saying, "Years ago, when the Third Hokage raided the Sannin Orochimaru's human experimentation lab, I was there. What a coincidence, I saw you then."

"It seems the Third Hokage didn't uphold his promise to me to secretly execute you people. Instead, he covered for you and kept you here, making use of you as waste."

"…It's you? The Lava Release ninja?!" Inuzuka Maki's distant memories exploded in his mind like cannon fire.

He widened his eyes.

His face filled with terror.

....

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