Late at night, Konoha Village.
It should have been a night of a full moon, yet the sky was completely swallowed by heavy, oppressive black clouds. Not a single ray of moonlight slipped through. The entire village was plunged into a darkness so thick that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
The towering Hokage Rock, usually majestic and imposing, was reduced to nothing more than vague, ink-black silhouettes in the night. The stone faces of the four past Hokage stared silently over the village below—mute witnesses to everything that would unfold.
Suddenly—
A shrill, heart-rending scream tore through the stillness of the night.
"You—you damn gambling addict!"
"You actually took our son's life-saving money to gamble… and lost every last bit of it!"
"Now our son is already… already…"
Her words collapsed into hysterical sobbing, grief tearing through her chest.
"And even now, after all that, you still want to go gambling tonight?!"
"Are you even human anymore?!"
"Let go of me, you crazy woman!"
Smack!
A loud slap echoed through the darkness, followed by the dull thuds of fists and kicks striking flesh—again and again—mixed with the woman's piercing cries.
Intertwined with it all was the man's furious shouting.
"You lunatic! The kid's already dead—what's the point of saying any of this now?!"
"If his spirit really exists in heaven, then he should be blessing his old man to win big from now on!"
"This is the last bit of money we've got to turn things around!"
"I'm going to win back everything I lost!"
"Once I have money, I'll eat and drink like a king in Tanzaku Town—endless wealth, endless pleasure! Who the hell would care whether you live or die then?!"
Those words became the final straw.
The woman completely lost herself.
With a sudden lunge, she sank her teeth viciously into the man's leg.
"Ahhh—!"
His scream split the night apart.
Enraged, he kicked her brutally in the head.
The woman let out a muffled groan, her body collapsing limply to the ground, unconscious.
The man barely spared her a glance.
Cursing under his breath, he strode away without hesitation.
Under the cover of darkness, he weighed the small pouch of coins in his hand—the last of the family's money. The thought of gambling freely again in Tanzaku Town made his heart itch uncontrollably. Even his bones seemed to tingle with excitement.
"Damn it… once I turn things around this time, I'll head straight to the best hot spring hotel in Tanzaku Town."
"And then I'll call over a few young, pretty girls and have myself a real good time…"
As the couple's violent argument echoed through the streets, lights began flickering on in neighboring homes.
Yet when people saw the man's crazed expression, no one dared step forward to stop him.
Seeing him abandon his wife and dead child for gambling stirred righteous anger in everyone's hearts—but they all knew the truth.
Once this man went mad, he was worse than a rabid dog.
No one wanted to provoke him.
They could only gather at a distance, whispering among themselves. Some sighed and shook their heads; others glared with hatred—but in the end, not a single person stepped forward.
Only after the man disappeared did a few neighbors rush over to check on the unconscious woman.
"Haruko… wake up…"
"A-are you alright?"
The woman named Haruko slowly opened her eyes at their calls.
But her gaze was empty, as though all strength had drained from her body.
"My son is dead… I don't want to live anymore…"
"And that gambling bastard… he doesn't even care about us as husband and wife anymore…"
The neighbors let out helpless sighs.
"That kind of man deserves to die! Taking his own son's life-saving money to gamble—he's worse than an animal!"
"Yeah! Sooner or later, heaven will take him!"
"Really? But in this world… good people die young, while scum live forever…"
Silence fell.
Haruko shook her head weakly.
"E-even so… he's still my husband. My son is gone… he's the only one I have left…"
Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
"After everything he's done, you still—?"
Haruko staggered to her feet and began chasing after the direction the man had gone.
"I… I need to find him… convince him to come back…"
The neighbors followed after her anxiously.
"Haruko, that man is beyond saving—he'll never turn back…"
…
Meanwhile, the man was happily sprinting toward the village entrance, clutching his money pouch.
His mind was filled with fantasies—dominating the gambling tables, then indulging himself endlessly in Tanzaku Town.
Suddenly—
A figure emerged from the darkness ahead, blocking his path.
"What the hell is this?"
"Good dogs don't block the road—move aside!"
The figure did not move.
Despite the pitch-black night, the man clearly saw a pair of eyes gleaming with a cold,幽深 light.
His heart skipped.
The alcohol in his system evaporated instantly, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
"Y-you… are you human or a ghost?!"
"Hmph! Even if you're a ghost, I'm not afraid!"
"Get out of my way, or I'll make you regret it!"
By then, Haruko and the neighbors had caught up.
"W-who is that?"
One neighbor raised a lantern, pushing back the darkness and illuminating the scene.
"That uniform is—"
"The Konoha Police Force?!"
"A-and that crest… an Uchiha!"
A tremor ran through the crowd.
If it were any other law enforcement, it would have felt like salvation.
But Konoha's Police Force…
They were all Uchiha.
To ordinary villagers, Uchiha were like demons with blood-red eyes—objects of awe and fear alike.
"The police?"
The man froze for a moment—then relaxed.
As long as it wasn't a ghost, what was there to fear?
"Even the police can't control me!"
"So what if you're Uchiha?!"
"I'm just going gambling—are you going to arrest me for that?!"
The figure ahead remained silent.
At that moment, two more figures in police uniforms flashed in from both sides, standing beside him.
"Captain, there's no need to get involved in something this trivial…"
"Our duty is village security. This man deserves to die, but it's not our place to interfere…"
"Exactly. The clan's already under pressure—causing trouble now won't look good for the clan head either…"
Hearing this, the man's courage swelled.
"Did you hear that?!"
"Mind your own damn business!"
"Uchiha or not, police or not—"
"Even if the Hokage himself showed up, he couldn't interfere in my family affairs!"
With a cold laugh, he weighed the money pouch again and deliberately strode past the three officers.
Then—
"AAAAAH—!"
Screams exploded into the night.
The onlookers were terrified out of their wits—some collapsing on the spot.
"What happened?!"
The gambler turned his head—
Only to find the world spinning.
…Huh?
That headless body—
Is that…
Me?!
Before the thought could finish—
Thud.
A severed head rolled across the ground, eyes wide open in disbelief, unable to understand what had happened even in death.
The last thing it saw—
Was a boot slamming down onto its face.
"C-Captain Qianyu!"
"Y-you—"
Uchiha Qianyu, squad captain of the Konoha Police Force, calmly stopped the rolling head beneath his foot.
His eyes were cold.
Unwavering.
Without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Ding!
[You have successfully helped a gambling addict quit gambling.]
[Good deed accomplished. Merit Points +10]