The fire that broke out late at night woke many people.
Fugaku Uchiha, who had only recently gone to bed, was called out by his subordinates.
He had no choice but to head to the shopping street.
Although fires occasionally happened during winter nights in previous years, this case was clearly different.
It wasn't caused by careless use of fire.
It was very likely… arson.
"Dad…"
In the next room, the half-asleep Sako was awakened by the noise her father made.
But she was still at the age where children needed plenty of sleep, so she quickly fell asleep again.
In another room, however, Itachi Uchiha quickly got up and stepped into the courtyard to check what was happening.
Several clansmen had arrived in a hurry, their expressions serious.
They spoke briefly with his father before preparing to rush out.
After a moment's thought, Itachi Uchiha realized it had been many years since such a situation had occurred.
So he quickly put on his coat and followed his father out the door.
"Itachi…"
Mikoto Uchiha blinked when she saw him following Fugaku.
At the moment, Itachi Uchiha was still a Genin.
Normally, only those who had reached Chunin rank could join the Uchiha Police Force.
Technically, Itachi Uchiha was not qualified to act with them yet.
"Mother, just consider it early training."
Itachi Uchiha casually gave an excuse.
But in truth, he was deeply concerned about the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village.
He had begun paying closer attention to everything.
No matter what, he hoped the Uchiha Clan would never walk down an extreme path.
"Right… bring Shisui along as well."
—
About fifteen minutes later, the group arrived at the scene.
The clan members on night duty stood together with Fugaku Uchiha.
Itachi Uchiha immediately looked toward the friend standing beside him.
"This looks serious…"
Shisui Uchiha stared at the shop currently being extinguished.
Flames were still raging.
Nearby shinobi worked desperately, using Water Release techniques and nearby water sources to fight the fire.
Since Itachi Uchiha wasn't part of the Police Force, he could only watch for the moment.
Shisui Uchiha, meanwhile, had never joined the Police Force.
The villagers had strongly opposed it.
As a result, Shisui Uchiha had become the only Uchiha shinobi since the fallen Obito Uchiha who reached Chunin rank but did not enter the Police Force.
Because of his excellent reputation among villagers, Shisui Uchiha served as a bridge between the clan and the village.
He helped ease the negative image many people held toward the Uchiha Clan.
Over the years, he had worked hard to maintain good relationships with other villagers and shinobi—and achieved impressive results.
That was why Itachi Uchiha had called him here.
As close friends, both of them cared deeply about the clan's position within the village.
They had even made a promise.
To restore the reputation of the Uchiha Clan.
"Everyone, please stay back! The fire is dangerous!"
Seeing several spectators trying to move closer, Shisui Uchiha immediately warned them.
Most of the crowd had gathered out of curiosity.
After all, that was human nature.
The civilians reluctantly stepped backward.
"…."
Among the many spectators stood Naruto Uzumaki.
He watched the scene with a blank expression.
How do you think I'm watching, Kurama?
Of course I'm watching with a mask.
The murderous boy wore the same white mask he had taken from the shop owner earlier that day.
The raging flames reflected off the mask, dyeing it with a bright orange glow.
"Heh… Naruto Uzumaki, you really are a demon."
Kurama sounded somewhat dissatisfied.
Logically speaking, as a tailed beast who once rampaged through Konoha and hated the village, he should have enjoyed tonight's events.
But Kurama was now judging Naruto Uzumaki as a person.
And he had to admit something.
In over one thousand years, he had never seen a human with such a twisted personality.
The darkness within Naruto Uzumaki was abnormal even to him.
Naruto Uzumaki remained silent.
He simply watched as the members of the Uchiha Police Force gradually extinguished the flames.
"Please leave the area…"
As a shinobi of Konoha, Itachi Uchiha naturally joined in to help maintain order.
When he noticed everyone stepping back except for one small child standing motionless, he couldn't help but speak.
Naruto Uzumaki glanced at him.
The distinctive hairstyle and deep lines around the mouth made the identity obvious.
Sako's older brother.
And one of the people responsible for the destruction of the Uchiha Clan in the original story.
Without a word, Naruto Uzumaki quietly blended back into the crowd.
Moments later, the fire was finally extinguished.
Fortunately, the neighboring shops had only suffered minor damage.
With a bit of repair, they could still be used.
But the first floor of the mask shop—the main business area—had been completely destroyed.
The second floor had collapsed and burned as well.
Soon afterward, Anbu shinobi arrived.
The entire Anbu Squad Six, led by Kakashi Hatake, appeared on the scene.
Konoha was one of the most prosperous cities in the Land of Fire, second only to the capital where the Daimyo resided.
As a powerful official military force, the village had a well-established legal system.
Every place had its rules.
Konoha was no exception.
Killing someone during missions was nothing unusual for shinobi.
They lived on the edge of life and death.
But murder inside Konoha was completely different.
Especially when the victim died in the busiest shopping street.
That was essentially a slap in the face of Konoha's leadership.
The victim's body was soon discovered.
After confirmation, the deceased was the mask shop owner.
However, tension quickly arose between the Uchiha Police Force and the Anbu.
Their responsibilities overlapped in several areas, which often caused friction.
The Nine-Tails Incident had intensified that conflict even further.
Rumors blaming the Uchiha Clan for the Nine-Tails attack, combined with the fact that many Anbu had lost family members during the disaster, made the clan's situation within Konoha increasingly delicate.
"The Uchiha were supposed to protect the village, yet an arson and murder case happened under their watch. How incompetent. And now you're getting in the way of the investigation too?"
One of Kakashi Hatake's subordinates spoke sarcastically.
Even Kakashi Hatake found this situation troublesome.
He could restrain his subordinates to some extent.
But he couldn't change public opinion.
Especially this particular subordinate named Jiang.
He had lost his younger sister during the Nine-Tails Incident.
Many other Anbu shared similar tragedies.
"You want to repeat that?!"
The one who stepped forward was Uchiha Yashiro.
A middle-aged man with white hair.
A veteran who had served the village through multiple generations.
He was Fugaku Uchiha's right-hand man and a representative of the clan's radical faction.
With his narrow eyes and thin face, he looked furious as he moved forward to argue with the Anbu shinobi.
"Oh… so that's one of the background Uchiha characters Itachi beat in the original story."
Naruto Uzumaki watched the conflict unfold while swaying slightly.
"Jiang, that's enough."
Kakashi Hatake immediately stopped his subordinate.
Meanwhile, on the Uchiha side, Shisui Uchiha stepped forward to calm Uchiha Yashiro.
Only then did the visible hostility between the two sides begin to fade.
Itachi Uchiha watched all of this closely.
Unlike Naruto Uzumaki—who was simply enjoying the spectacle—Itachi Uchiha believed the Uchiha Clan needed to reflect on its own actions.
Soon the joint investigation began.
With Fugaku Uchiha, captain of the Police Force, and Kakashi Hatake, leader of Anbu Squad Six, personally handling the case, the initial examination was quick.
"The skull was pierced by a kunai," Fugaku Uchiha said.
"Entry through the forehead. Exit through the back of the head. Instant death. Tremendous force."
Kakashi Hatake nodded.
"A normal person couldn't do this. In fact… most Genin and even many Chunin wouldn't be capable of this level of damage."
Both the Police Force and the Anbu were professionals when it came to handling corpses.
It didn't take long for them to reach a conclusion.
Location: Mask shop
Victim: Mask shop owner
Cause of death: Skull pierced by a kunai. Arson at the scene.
Conclusion:
The killer was a shinobi, with strength at least comparable to a Chunin, possibly even stronger.
Clearly, the killer hadn't attempted to completely destroy the evidence.
Instead, it looked like a deliberate provocation against Konoha's authority.
Several years had passed since the Great Ninja War ended.
The nations had been quietly rebuilding.
Could this be the work of a spy from another country?
Speculation was only speculation.
The investigation would continue.
Both the Anbu and the Police Force would submit reports to Konoha's leadership.
Within an hour at most, a decision would be made.
"Shisui…"
Itachi Uchiha looked at his friend.
Shisui Uchiha only gave a wry smile.
As if saying—
Now you understand the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village even better, don't you?
Meanwhile, among the crowd…
Naruto Uzumaki quietly turned and left.
After analyzing everything for so long, neither group had suspected him at all.
It couldn't be helped.
No one would imagine a child committing such a crime.
It was a blind spot in their shinobi thinking.
A dimensional gap Naruto Uzumaki had exploited perfectly.
The first real bloodshed test was successful, Naruto Uzumaki thought.
The results of the experiment are excellent.
Next time… I can face a real shinobi.
—
The next morning.
The sun rose as usual.
After a late-night meeting, Konoha's leadership strengthened Anbu patrols at night.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan was assigned to search for suspicious individuals during the day.
This kind of strict inspection would inevitably disturb civilians.
Complaints would spread.
And it would worsen the already negative impression people held of the Uchiha Police Force.
Konoha's leadership was essentially using the villagers to pressure the Uchiha Clan further.
For Naruto Uzumaki, however, the heightened security meant fewer disasters would occur.
Which raised an interesting question.
Would it affect the attempted kidnapping of Hinata Hyuga?
That would also be an experiment.
After all, confronting the Kumogakure shinobi leader directly would be extremely dangerous.
That man's position was equivalent to Konoha's Jonin Commander.
The same position held by Shikamaru Nara's father, Shikaku Nara.
The difference was that Konoha only had one Jonin Commander.
Kumogakure had several shinobi leaders.
Each of them possessed Jonin-level strength.
If the village's increased vigilance prevented the kidnapping of Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki would happily accept that outcome.
But Naruto Uzumaki also understood one thing.
Never put all your eggs in one basket.
Relying on luck alone was foolish.
To prepare for any accident, he needed to continue strengthening himself.
The only troublesome part was…
After using the Tailed Beast Cloak last night, that uncomfortable swelling had returned.
So the question became—
Who should he ask to help deal with it this time?