Squeezing a forced, wrinkled smile onto his face, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke:
“Since everything has been cleared up, that is for the best.”
“However, in the future, you must have sufficient evidence before making arrests.
Otherwise, public opinion will be difficult to control.”
“After all, you wouldn’t want to see the Uchiha being hated and ostracized by the villagers of Konoha, would you?”
Genya put on a somewhat surprised expression.
“How to manage public opinion…
isn’t that something the Fourth Hokage should be worrying about?”
“Our Konoha Police Force is only responsible for making arrests and determining guilt.”
“Even if you are the former Hokage, you shouldn’t be overstepping your bounds to manage the Fourth Hokage’s affairs, should you?”
At this moment, even Fugaku looked at Genya with a shocked expression.
Are you really going to make an issue out of this too?
Sure enough, upon hearing these words, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s gaze became dangerous.
Genya was essentially pointing at Hiruzen Sarutobi’s nose and saying he was hogging the pot without doing his business.
Even a clay man has his limits—let alone Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had ruled Konoha for over a decade.
“Of course, this is the Police Force, and there are only the three of us here.
You don’t need to worry about these words reaching anyone else’s ears.”
Genya’s statement was effectively a warning.
The meaning behind his words was crystal clear: the Uchiha no longer needed to curry favor with him; they had another leg to lean on.
Although Minato Namikaze had snatched the position of Hokage from Uchiha Fugaku, in all fairness, the Little Sun’s character was still dependable.
At the very least, he was much better to associate with than people like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.
With the support of Konoha’s greatest clan, the Uchiha, it was hard to say whether Minato Namikaze would continue to be held firmly in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s grasp as he was now.
In the past, the Uchiha had never considered this path because they couldn’t swallow their pride.
But that didn’t mean they didn’t have this option.
After giving Genya a deep look, Hiruzen Sarutobi shifted his gaze to Fugaku.
“Fugaku, the Uchiha have produced quite an exceptional clansman.”
Fugaku offered no response, continuing to stare at Hiruzen Sarutobi with those fierce eyes.
Now that the conversation had reached this point, there was no need to continue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi swept his sleeves and left.
On his way back, he had to think carefully about how to deal with this completely different kind of Uchiha.
This young man was proficient in the rules, and during a conversation, he wouldn’t hesitate to immediately slap a label on his opponent.
Who could withstand that?
Slap on a label first, then force a side—this was originally the signature move of the Hokage faction.
Yet, finding it used against himself one day, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of stifled frustration, as if blood were stuck in his throat, unable to be swallowed.
Once Hiruzen Sarutobi had left, Fugaku wordlessly led Genya to his office.
The walls of the Police Force Chief’s office were lined with defensive barriers, which could effectively block all kinds of sensory ninjutsu and Byakugan probes.
Discussing matters here could absolutely ensure that nothing would leak out.
Closing the door, Fugaku spoke hurriedly:
“Did you really kill that man?”
Genya nearly spat out his tea.
He had anticipated many questions Fugaku might ask, but he never expected him to ask such an inconsequential one.
“I brought him back and had him cremated.
Even if I were fast, I wouldn’t be that fast.”
Of course, Genya meant he hadn’t killed him at that exact moment, but that didn’t mean the commoner who attacked the Konoha Police Force would have a pleasant end.
Seemingly realizing he had just asked a stupid question, Fugaku changed his tune.
“What exactly are you trying to do?
Can you give me a straight answer?”
It was only now that Fugaku realized he seemed to have been played.
Only yesterday had Genya told him how to deal with the pressure from Konoha’s upper management, and the very next day, Hiruzen Sarutobi had come knocking.
The reason, as expected, was Genya causing trouble outside.
Moreover, that flawed explanation of his seemed intentionally designed to lure Hiruzen Sarutobi here.
Genya spoke unhurriedly, “Clan Leader, let me ask you a question.”
Fugaku nodded somewhat helplessly.
Genya was good in every way, except for his habit of answering questions with more questions.
It made Fugaku sit upright every time, like a student.
I’m the Clan Leader!
Why don’t you show me any respect at all?
And Hiruzen Sarutobi—Fugaku wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but he felt Genya didn’t treat the man like a Hokage at all.
Genya asked calmly, “Do you think the existence of the Police Force is a good thing or a bad thing for the Uchiha?”
Without waiting for Fugaku’s reply, Genya answered himself:
“Because of the work in the Police Force, all the elites of the Uchiha clan are working internally within Konoha.
Aside from their primary duties, the vast majority of mission requests they take are only C-rank or D-rank.
In other words, they are all worthless commissions.”
“Although the village provides funding for the Police Force, compared to other Konoha shinobi of the same level, the powerful ninja of our Uchiha clan earn far less money.”
“Compared to the other Great Hidden Villages, the average earning level of our Uchiha is actually in a very low position.”
Fugaku didn’t understand why Genya had suddenly shifted the topic to making money.
“Is money that important?”
Genya looked at Fugaku’s innocent expression with exasperation.
“…You’re the Clan Leader; you don’t run the household, so you don’t know how expensive basic necessities are.
Which part of being a ninja doesn’t require money?”
“With money, you can use better medicinal baths to recover from the physical damage caused by training.
You can buy better ninja tools, scrolls, and even summoning beasts.”
“The inherited ninjutsu of some other clans can also be bought if the price is right.”
“Being a ninja is a bottomless pit.
Aside from Kekkei Genkai and a tiny handful of geniuses, the power you gain is almost directly proportional to how much money you throw in.”
Money isn’t everything, but for a large clan, having no money makes everything impossible.
Without money, you can’t cultivate more ninja, and without ninja, you can’t earn commissions…
over time, you’ll even enter a vicious cycle.
Fugaku had been detached from the working masses for too long.
Didn’t he see that Sunagakure, because of their lack of funds, could only take the route of elitism in training their ninja?
Do they like training only elites?
It’s because they were forced into a corner with no other choice!
If anyone could afford saturation coverage, who would settle for precision strikes?
Criticized by Genya for not knowing the importance of money, Fugaku began to ponder.
Indeed, his lineage had always been the Clan Leaders.
Since childhood, he had never considered the issue of money during his cultivation.
After training, he always used the best medicinal baths to relax and recover his body, and there were even dedicated people to serve him.
Ninjutsu, ninja tools, and training equipment—he never lacked for anything.
To put it bluntly, from childhood to adulthood, Fugaku had almost never worried about money.