A fire in the middle of the night woke up many residents.
Fugaku Uchiha, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened by his subordinates.
He had no choice but to head to the shopping district.
In past winters, nighttime fires had occurred occasionally, but this time, it was clearly different.
It wasn't a domestic accident—most likely... it was arson!
"Dad..."
In the adjacent room, Sako, still drowsy and half-asleep, was stirred by her father's sudden movements.
But being in the middle of a growth spurt, she quickly drifted back to sleep.
In another room, Itachi got up in a hurry and stepped into the courtyard to observe the situation.
A clan member, looking grim, arrived hastily.
His father exchanged a few words with him before rushing out.
Itachi wondered: how many years had it been since something like this last happened?
He quickly put on his coat and followed his father outside.
"Itachi..."
Mikoto, standing at the entrance, blinked as she saw Itachi trailing her husband.
Itachi was still just a genin.
Normally, one had to be a chūnin to join the military police.
Itachi had no right to be part of this operation.
"Mother, consider this early training..."
Itachi gave a vague excuse.
In truth, he was deeply concerned about the relations between his clan and the village.
Increasingly sensitive—perhaps even paranoid—he had begun to watch every event closely.
Above all, he hoped the Uchiha clan would not spiral into extremism.
"By the way, let's call Shisui too..."
...
Fifteen minutes later.
The group arrived at the crime scene after a frantic run.
The clan members on duty that night stood near Fugaku. Itachi glanced at his close friend.
"This looks serious..."
Shisui stared at the burning shop.
Flames roared.
Ninjas around them tried to extinguish the fire with water-style techniques and nearby water sources.
Itachi, not being an official investigator of the military police, could only observe.
Shisui, on the other hand, had not joined the police force, partly due to pressure from village ninjas and his own popularity.
Thus... Shisui, after the late Obito Uchiha, was the only Uchiha to become a chūnin without joining the police force.
Highly regarded, Shisui served as a bridge between the clan and the village, improving the Uchiha's reputation.
In recent years, he had worked hard to build rapport with other villagers, achieving impressive results.
That was why Itachi had invited him to come along.
Both friends deeply cared about the clan's place within the village.
They had made a vow... to guide the Uchiha's reputation back on track.
"Please step back! The fire is dangerous...!"
Shisui stepped in to keep the onlookers away.
The crowd, mostly curious spectators, began to disperse.
Among the crowd, Naruto was present.
He watched the scene, expressionless.
Kurama, you're asking what I think?
Of course, I'm watching with a mask on.
Naruto, with a dark heart, wore the mask he had gotten from the shop earlier that day.
The flames danced across his white mask, casting an orange glow over it.
"Heh... Naruto Uzumaki, you really are a demon."
Kurama's voice carried a trace of indignation.
As a bijū that had once ravaged Konoha, he should've enjoyed the sight.
Yet now, Kurama judged Naruto with a strange sense of morality.
He had to admit, in a thousand years, he'd never met a human this twisted.
The darkness in Naruto's heart chilled him.
Naruto ignored Kurama's comments.
He simply watched the police force as they gradually extinguished the flames.
"Please move away from here..."
As a Konoha ninja, Itachi joined in the effort.
Seeing a boy unmoved by the warnings, he approached to give a polite warning.
Naruto looked at him and immediately recognized the iconic haircut and facial features.
That's Sako's brother...
— also one of those responsible for the Uchiha clan's downfall in the original timeline.
Without a word, Naruto slipped into the crowd.
Soon after, the fire was finally put out.
Fortunately, the surrounding shops suffered only minor damage.
But the mask shop's ground floor—the heart of its operations—was reduced to ashes.
The upper floor had also collapsed.
The ANBU finally arrived, led by Kakashi and his team.
Konoha was one of the most prosperous cities in the Land of Fire, second only to the capital.
As an official institution, it had well-established laws.
Killing wasn't rare for ninjas, but committing murder inside Konoha was something else entirely.
Especially when the victim was killed in the heart of the shopping district—this was a direct challenge to the village leadership.
The victim's body was found.
Upon identification, it was confirmed to be the shop owner.
However, tensions quickly erupted between the military police and ANBU.
Their responsibilities overlapped, leading to recurring conflicts.
The chaos caused by the Nine-Tails had only worsened these tensions.
Be it rumors that the Uchiha summoned the demon or ANBU members who lost loved ones that day—the Uchiha's position in Konoha was becoming more precarious.
"The Uchiha, who are supposed to protect the village, allow arson like this... Heh... Not only are you incompetent, now you want to get in our way?"
One of Kakashi's subordinates, named Kō, sneered.
Kakashi himself looked embarrassed.
He could control his team to some extent, but not public opinion.
Especially since Kō had lost his sister during the Nine-Tails' attack...
"What did you say?!"
Hachidai Uchiha, a veteran and Fugaku's right-hand man, stepped forward in fury.
A man with narrow eyes and an angular face, he represented the radical faction of the Uchiha.
"Oh, it's that squinty-eyed guy who got beaten by Itachi in the original story..."
Naruto, also with half-lidded eyes, watched the scene with amusement.
"Kō, be quiet," Kakashi intervened.
Meanwhile, Shisui tried to mediate.
The situation calmed—on the surface, at least.
Once again, Itachi noticed the growing rift between his clan and the village.
But unlike Naruto, who merely watched from the sidelines, Itachi believed the Uchiha needed to reflect on themselves.
The investigation officially began.
With Fugaku, head of the military police, and Kakashi, ANBU leader, the case would be handled quickly.
Fugaku: "The skull was pierced by a kunai. Entry through the forehead, exit through the back. Instant death. The force was considerable..."
Kakashi: "No civilian could've done this. Even most genin and chūnin couldn't pull this off..."
Both men were experts.
They quickly reached a conclusion:
Crime Scene: Mask shop
Victim: Shop owner
Cause of Death: Pierced through the skull with a kunai, then burned.
The killer was most likely a ninja—at least chūnin level, or higher.