Chapter 13: What Are Your Intentions?!
Today, Naruto Uzumaki had pulled another prank in the village, aiming to attract attention to himself.
His prank had succeeded, but it had also successfully broken someone's spirit.
As a result, Naruto was chased for several blocks.
Fortunately, he was fast.
Naruto believed that if he ran for just two more blocks, he could shake off the middle-aged owner of the steamed bun shop, who was getting weaker and weaker from "delivering grains to his wife" every day.
However…
Just as he was secretly gloating, his feet suddenly landed on thin air.
Naruto felt as if someone had grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifting him up.
Oh… Oh no!
He'd been caught!
The steamed bun shop owner arrived, panting heavily. Just as he was about to express his joyful gratitude, his gaze suddenly landed on Uchiha Ikeizumi's young face, and the words of thanks caught in his throat, stifled by fear.
"U… Uchiha…" The steamed bun shop owner's face was devoid of color, and the rolling pin in his hand dropped to the ground, unnoticed.
"Uchiha?"
Naruto, held aloft, struggled for a moment, found he couldn't break free, and lifted his head with a frustrated expression to look up.
Hmm…
He didn't recognize him!
Naruto just felt that this busybody's expression was a bit cold, and he felt as if the man was examining him like a rare animal.
"What did he do?" Uchiha Ikeizumi asked the steamed bun shop owner.
"He… he…" Cold sweat poured down the shop owner's face.
"Tell the truth," Uchiha Ikeizumi prompted.
Gulp.
Under an inexplicable, invisible pressure, the steamed bun shop owner secretly swallowed, then tremblingly recounted Naruto Uzumaki's prank for the day—he had swapped all the wheat flour in his shop for protein powder.
The little Naruto, still held aloft, grumbled, "Protein powder can still be made into steamed buns, dattebayo, and you can even build muscle from eating it."
The shop owner's blood pressure shot up in anger: "You brat…"
But seeing Uchiha Ikeizumi standing before him, seeing the man's seemingly emotionless eyes…
He frantically reined in his anger, and forcibly swallowed back the words he wanted to say.
Too terrifying! How could he be so unlucky as to run into the Uchiha clan's infamous plague god?
It was all that demon fox brat's fault!
"Pulled a prank like that, huh…" Uchiha Ikeizumi nodded slightly, calmly saying, "This child's guardian is the Hokage. Go directly to the Hokage and demand compensation. Tell him I sent you. If the Hokage doesn't comply, I'll help you get it."
With that, Uchiha Ikeizumi prepared to leave, carrying a thoroughly dejected Naruto.
This act not only bewildered the steamed bun shop owner but even Naruto himself.
Naruto struggled urgently, flailing his arms and legs while shouting, "W-Where are you taking me, dattebayo? You've already caught me, can't you just put me down?"
Uchiha Ikeizumi lifted his arm higher, making Naruto hover over a meter off the ground. He calmly met the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's gaze.
His indifferent eyes made Naruto's small face stiffen in shock.
Uchiha Ikeizumi slowly said, "When a person commits a mistake, regardless of gender, age, or youth, they must receive appropriate punishment. Your prank caused economic loss and damage to the shop's reputation. Furthermore, the commotion you caused by running around wildly severely disrupted Konoha's order and messed up the cleanliness of the streets."
"Under the cumulative charges, even if you're willing to pay compensation, you'd still have to spend half a month in Konoha's prison. And that's just judging you by Konoha's laws. Since you've fallen into my hands, that half-month will become three months."
Seven-year-old Naruto was completely dumbfounded.
"Ja-jail…"
"Three months in jail…"
He instantly froze in a daze.
....
"Oh no, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is making contact with an Uchiha!" At the same time, an elite ANBU ninja, responsible for monitoring Naruto, his face suddenly changed. He felt he had caused a huge disaster today.
As the Jinchuriki's observer, the Hokage-sama's mission for him wasn't just to monitor Naruto, but also to "clean up his messes."
Essentially, no matter what prank the Jinchuriki brat pulled, he had to painstakingly sort it out.
He had just specifically gone to swap back the wheat flour that Naruto had pranked at the steamed bun shop.
But he never expected that in the short time he was away…
The Jinchuriki had been picked up by an Uchiha ninja!
He absolutely couldn't mistake that Uchiha Police Force uniform!
He clearly saw the Jinchuriki making eye contact with the Uchiha's eyes!
Those were the Sharingan, rumored to be able to control Tailed Beasts!
If… the Nine-Tails attack from years ago were to happen again, then his oversight would absolutely be the fuse that destroyed the village. He would certainly become a criminal of Konoha Village.
The ANBU ninja, realizing the seriousness of the situation, had no time to think further, let alone worry about revealing himself.
He swiftly rushed towards Naruto Uzumaki, shouting, "Put him down!"
In the eyes of many, the ANBU ninja appeared in a brazen Body Flicker Technique. One hand was already loosely gripping the hilt of his ninja blade, while the other reached out, intending to snatch Naruto Uzumaki.
Uchiha Ikeizumi suddenly swung his arm to the side.
The ANBU ninja grabbed empty air, and Naruto let out a gasp. Due to the large movement, Naruto was nearly flung away.
"ANBU?!" Izumi, standing by, immediately recognized the ANBU ninja's attire; the fox mask was very distinctive.
She suddenly felt a bad premonition.
"Uchiha! What are you doing!" After his hand grabbed nothing, the ANBU ninja's expression beneath his mask instantly became incredibly vivid. He demanded, "Don't tell me you don't know what this brat represents! You… huh? Uchiha Ikeizumi?!"
When he faced the man directly, this ANBU ninja realized that the person who had grabbed the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was actually Uchiha Ikeizumi!
One of the few Uchiha with a relatively "good" relationship with the Hokage-sama.
Hmm—
At least, the kind who frequently met with the Hokage's people.
Uchiha Ikeizumi glanced at the white box above the ANBU ninja's head, his eyes brewing with a sharpness that made one's hair stand on end. He questioned, "Are you going to obstruct the Police Force's law enforcement? Yamanaka Yoshinobu?"
The ANBU ninja: "!!!"
"You…"
He was shocked.
He was clearly wearing an ANBU mask, and he had never met Uchiha Ikeizumi face-to-face, so how did the other party recognize him?
Noticing the increasing danger in Uchiha Ikeizumi's sharp gaze, the ANBU ninja hesitantly put his ninja blade away.
He had heard some intelligence about Uchiha Ikeizumi.
He knew this [Absolute Justice] enforcer's bottom line.
To be safe, it was better not to conflict with him.
"Hmph!"
The ANBU ninja exhaled, trying to calm himself down. He said in a deep voice, "Uchiha Ikeizumi, the Police Force's law enforcement shouldn't have anything to do with Naruto Uzumaki, should it? This is just an 'ordinary' child, isn't he?"
He specifically emphasized "ordinary."
Uchiha Ikeizumi stated, "He is precisely the criminal I apprehended."
The ANBU ninja: "???"
Oh no…
This was tricky.
Just as the ANBU ninja was sweating profusely, racking his brain for what to do, a sudden, hoarse, angry shout grew louder from afar: "You naturally evil Uchiha brat! What are you doing! What are your wicked Uchiha clan's intentions?!"
The ANBU ninja was instantly bewildered, a bit lost. How was someone even more frantic than him?
When he looked in the direction of the voice, he saw a familiar figure.
That was…
Danzo Shimura?!
....
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