Three Days of Reflection
Chiyu and Kushina Uzumaki walked quietly behind Jiraiya and Tsunade as they approached the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building.
Jiraiya didn't bother knocking. He pushed the door open and bellowed, "Old man! We're back!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up with a warm smile, his pipe resting between his fingers. "It's good to see you both return safely," he said, exhaling a puff of smoke. His eyes then shifted past them. "Chiyu? Kushina? What brings you two here?"
Chiyu's gaze fell on the crystal ball on Hiruzen's desk.
Hmph. So he was watching.
The last time Chiyu had been in this office, the crystal ball hadn't been there. Its presence now meant that Hiruzen had likely observed everything through his infamous "Observation Jutsu." Meaning, he already knew what had happened.
And yet here he is playing dumb. Typical.
Chiyu stepped forward and said plainly, "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama brought me here to interrogate me."
At the word "interrogate," Kushina's nerves flared. She stepped beside him, fists clenched. "Hokage-sama! Chiyu didn't do anything wrong—he was helping me!"
Hiruzen raised a hand calmly. "Start from the beginning. I want to hear everything clearly."
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Chiyu recounted the events in full.
When they finished, Hiruzen set his pipe down. The warmth in his expression disappeared, replaced by steely seriousness. His eyes locked on Chiyu.
Kushina opened her mouth to defend him, but Chiyu reached out and gently lowered her arm. He shook his head.
Kushina looked at him, torn and tense, but she said nothing.
Just as Chiyu was about to speak, Tsunade beat him to it. "Old man, Chiyu knows he was out of line. But those brats provoked him first. No real harm was done. Let's just drop it."
Hiruzen's sharp eyes never left Chiyu. "Chiyu," he asked firmly, "do you admit that you were wrong?"
Chiyu stood tall. "Hokage-sama, I don't believe I was wrong."
That stunned even Jiraiya and Tsunade. They had handed him a free pass, and he didn't take it.
Kushina was visibly anxious. She knew this could've been over if he'd just played along.
Hiruzen's chakra flared subtly, a quiet pressure descending on the room like a stormcloud. "You don't think you were wrong?"
Chiyu didn't flinch. "No, I don't. I've told you before, Hokage-sama—I want to protect Konoha."
"But your actions," Hiruzen interrupted, "go against what it means to protect this village."
Chiyu's eyes hardened. "With all due respect, I disagree. Protecting Konoha doesn't mean protecting everything blindly—it means protecting the people and ideals worth defending. The Academy teaches that comradeship is sacred. Yet a Genin pulled a real kunai on a first-year student—on Kushina.
I didn't attack a comrade—I stopped someone from becoming a danger to others. If someone like that can raise a blade against a classmate now, what will he do later?
People call me a traitor because I'm different, but I've never hurt anyone in this village—not once. Despite all the insults, the isolation, I've never lifted a hand in anger. Because I still see them as comrades.
But if we let someone like that go unchecked, someone who turns his blade on his own—then we've already betrayed what this village stands for.
I acted to protect the Leaf. And I'll stand by that."
Silence.
Even Jiraiya was stunned. This kid… he's only nine.
Tsunade looked impressed. "The nerve on him…" she muttered under her breath.
Hiruzen's pressure faded. The old man's brow furrowed in thought.
He remembered what he'd seen in the crystal ball: Chiyu had activated the Sharingan.
That alone was already a red flag—and a revelation.
A nine-year-old unlocking the Sharingan was unheard of, even among the elite Uchiha. And that wasn't all. Hiruzen had read the records—Chiyu had already mastered an A-rank technique. Talent like that was beyond rare; it was monstrous.
Potential like that couldn't be ignored.
And beyond talent—Chiyu's character was resolute. His loyalty was not to rules, but to values.
Hiruzen finally spoke, his tone measured. "Even if others are in the wrong, the Konoha Military Police exists for a reason. You had no authority to take matters into your own hands."
He paused.
"But your motives… were not selfish. You acted to defend a friend. That matters."
Hiruzen gave a long sigh and said, "You'll stay home and reflect for three days. After that, the matter is closed."
Kushina's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
Chiyu bowed. "Understood. Thank you."
To Chiyu, this was more than a slap on the wrist. It was proof—that Hiruzen saw the truth behind the act, and was willing to turn a blind eye as long as the boy's motives didn't threaten his control.
Everyone has selfish motives. What mattered was not crossing the lines that couldn't be crossed.
"You're dismissed," Hiruzen said, waving them off.
Chiyu and Kushina exited, hand in hand.
Jiraiya watched them go. He chuckled and scratched his head. "Damn, the kids these days… They're built different."
Tsunade nodded. "I heard the Sharingan awakens through intense emotional stimulus. Chiyu must really care about Kushina."
Hiruzen said nothing, but the pipe trembled slightly in his hand.
He had wanted Minato Namikaze to be the one Kushina bonded with. A future where she and Minato balanced each other's loneliness.
But now?
It looked like that future was slipping through his fingers.
---
Back at Chiyu's home, Kushina exhaled deeply. "That wasn't so bad. We just need to lie low for three days."
Chiyu motioned for her to sit on the couch. His tone was serious. "Kushina… I need to tell you something."
She tilted her head, confused. "Huh? What is it?"
He glanced toward the window—no crystal ball here.
He finally confessed.
"Everything I said in the Hokage's office… was a lie."