Genya hadn’t finished yet:
“I’ve looked into the state of the clan’s shinobi over the last dozen years or so.
Setting aside the top-tier power for a moment, even excluding war, the strength of our mid-to-lower-level Uchiha has been on a downward trend.”
“If it weren’t for our ancestral holdings supporting us, the Uchiha might have already faced a massive collapse in power, leading to a complete generational gap in strength.”
“So, according to you, the Police Force is actually a burden?” Fugaku couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes,” Genya changed his tone, “but also no.”
It had to be said that Tobirama Senju handing the management of the Police Force to the Uchiha was indeed a brilliant move.
The work of the Police Force confined the Uchiha to patrolling the village, handling low-value tasks like catching cats and walking dogs.
During the Great Ninja Wars, they would send the Uchiha to the front lines as cannon fodder, making full use of their formidable combat power while simultaneously depleting their numbers.
But there was no commission to be earned in a Great Ninja War; at most, the families would receive a small pension.
They couldn’t make money in their daily lives, and in real wars, they could only trade their lives on the front lines.
Furthermore, the work of the Police Force was inherently about offending people; one could only imagine the Uchiha’s standing in the village.
In theory, a coercive department like the Police Force should never be monopolized by a single clan, as it leads to a very dangerous situation.
Yet, that was exactly what Tobirama Senju did.
The purpose of this move was to keep the Uchiha in a state of long-term decline.
Neither starving to death nor allowed to grow, they naturally posed no threat to Konoha.
It’s just that his students misunderstood his intentions, pushing the entire Uchiha clan toward defection and death.
Only the Uchiha were restrained enough; if any other Hawk elder had taken power, you’d see if this bunch of ‘red-eye sufferers’ wouldn’t have rebelled after such long-term suppression!
The reason he said ‘but also no’ was that, within the jurisdiction of the Police Force, obtaining benefits was incredibly simple.
It wouldn’t even require corruption or bribery; based purely on the Uchiha’s enforcement rights, massive amounts of ostensibly clean funds would flow in.
With Genya around, the unruly citizens of Konoha would soon understand what it meant for the Police Force’s power to be absolute.
Seeing Genya speaking in riddles again, Fugaku suppressed the urge to smack him and said:
“Speak plainly.
What do you mean by ‘Yes, but also no’?”
“Because the boundaries of the Police Force’s power are very blurred.
It can be summarized in one sentence.”
“Which sentence?” Fugaku’s curiosity was piqued.
“Execution first, report later—by the Second’s special permission.”
As soon as these words were spoken, it was as if a door of inspiration had swung open for Fugaku; he stood frozen in place.
Even if he didn’t fully grasp it, upon careful reflection, he felt Genya’s words made a lot of sense—they were incredibly bold!
Genya said faintly, “The Police Force is the Police Force, and the Uchiha are the Uchiha.”
“Since the Second Hokage oversaw the establishment of the Police Force, theoretically, no matter what happens, the blame can be shifted onto him.”
“Are they really going to dig up the deceased Second Hokage and make him talk?”
Although there was indeed a jutsu that could do such a thing, Orochimaru likely hadn’t perfected it yet at this point.
Even if he had and Tobirama Senju was dug up, Genya had ways to occupy the moral high ground and attack Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“You’d even dig up your own teacher’s grave—are you even human!?”
In short, as long as he had no morals, no one could stand on the moral high ground and judge him.
Genya paused for a moment and continued, “We don’t need the Uchiha to be accepted by the villagers; we just need to make the Police Force even more hated by Konoha.”
Fugaku savored Genya’s words carefully.
After a moment, he said, “You want to…
separate the Uchiha from the Police Force.”
Genya nodded.
“But not yet.
I have a plan, but it will take some time to execute.
Since the Police Force is such a hated department, it’s best to drag a few other clans in to share the burden.”
“The Inuzuka clan would be a good choice.
If we encounter troublemakers in the future, we can just set the dogs on them.
Afterward, we can brush it off by saying the ninken haven’t developed their sapience yet, or simply say they’re newly recruited dogs.
We’ll see if they dare try it again.”
Fugaku fell silent.
Setting aside whether Genya’s final remark about recruiting the Inuzuka clan was a joke, he understood the underlying meaning.
“You want the power of the Police Force?”
Fugaku was not the type to crave power.
If it could free the Uchiha from their current situation, he was willing to let go of the position of Chief of the Police Force.
Genya nodded.
To be honest, managing the sole, dominant police agency in all of Konoha and still leading the Uchiha to the point of being universally despised was a unique talent of Fugaku’s.
Under Genya’s watch, he would never allow the existence of unruly citizens in Konoha.
“Fine.
I can delegate all the power of the Police Force to you, but a formal appointment will probably have to wait until the Jonin Council.”
Fugaku still didn’t know exactly what Genya intended to do.
If he had guessed his thoughts, he surely wouldn’t have handed over the power of the Police Force so easily, right?
Although the Chief of the Police Force had always been held by someone from the Uchiha clan, there was still a process to follow; it couldn’t just be decided on a whim.
Genya shook his head and said, “They won’t agree.
Their reasons will be the same old excuses.”
“But that doesn’t matter.
I only want the substantive power; whether they appoint me or not is irrelevant.”
“The Police Force was entrusted entirely to the Uchiha by the Second Hokage.
It’s not for his disciples to butt in.”
Genya and Fugaku exchanged a glance, both wearing a tacit smile.
…
When Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the Hokage’s office, he uncharacteristically lost his temper.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi smash his water cup on the floor the moment he entered, Minato Namikaze couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“What happened, Third Hokage?
Why such a temper?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to speak, but he felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him.
Minato Namikaze was his student’s student; how could he display such incompetent rage in front of a junior?
Not to mention spreading the word about his humiliation at the Police Force.
But as luck would have it, people often find exactly what they fear.
The door to the Hokage’s office was kicked open once again, and Danzo Shimura walked in with an arrogant, swaggering gait.
Seeing this old master appear, Minato Namikaze was helpless and could only bury himself in a pile of documents, pretending to be busy.
It wasn’t that he feared Danzo Shimura, but rather that Danzo never listened to him anyway, so it was better to say nothing.
Honestly, his tenure as Hokage was quite frustrating.
It was bad enough having Hiruzen Sarutobi over him, but even Danzo Shimura, the Hokage’s Assistant, sometimes completely ignored him.
He couldn’t even command the Hokage’s Assistant—what kind of bullshit Hokage was he?