“Shisui, if you came to see this old man this late at night, there must be something important you need to report.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked behind the desk and instinctively reached for his pipe, intending to take a few puffs to wake himself up.
He had barely lit it when Shisui’s next words made him choke violently.
Even a lifelong smoker like Hiruzen coughed hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.
Shisui immediately said,
“Lord Third, we have a serious problem!”
“The Uchiha clan is extremely agitated right now.
Clan Head Fugaku has been hiding his true intentions all this time—he’s actually the most radical hardliner of them all!”
“Tonight, he stirred up the emotions of the entire clan.
If this isn’t handled properly, an Uchiha uprising could be right around the corner!”
Hiruzen coughed several more times before finally managing to process what he had just heard.
He no longer had any interest in smoking.
Tossing his pipe aside, he quickly asked,
“Tell me everything you know.”
Shisui began recounting what had happened during that evening’s clan meeting.
He placed particular emphasis on Shinya’s sudden rise to prominence and how, with Shinya’s “support,” Fugaku’s prestige within the clan had skyrocketed.
After the meeting ended, Fugaku had even summoned Shinya for a private conversation.
Shisui had no idea what they discussed.
But there was a very real possibility that they were deciding the timing and specific details of an Uchiha uprising.
After hearing the entire account—and especially Fugaku’s supposed behavior during the meeting—Hiruzen was completely dumbfounded.
Was this really the same Fugaku who usually swallowed every grievance and retreated whenever the village applied pressure?
Why did Hiruzen smell a conspiracy?
Of one thing, he was absolutely certain.
Every time Danzō was preparing to cause trouble, Hiruzen got this exact same feeling.
After experiencing it enough times, it had practically developed into a sixth sense.
But there was no reason to doubt Shisui’s intelligence either.
Could it be that Fugaku really had been a hardliner pretending to be a moderate all these years?
The facts were undeniable.
After Shinya’s performance tonight, the emotions of the entire Uchiha clan had been thoroughly stirred up.
And Fugaku’s prestige had, without question, reached the highest point it had ever attained since becoming clan head.
Following the principle that the person who benefited most was usually the most suspicious, Fugaku certainly looked like the most likely mastermind behind everything.
Had Fugaku been pretending to be weak all these years?
The Third Shinobi World War had only just ended.
Konoha had already suffered severe losses.
Large numbers of shinobi were still stationed along the borders to guard against renewed attacks from the other villages.
If someone wanted to launch a coup…
This really was one of the best possible opportunities.
Had Fugaku decided that the time was finally right and simply stopped pretending?
If that was true, then the man’s patience and ability to conceal his intentions were terrifying.
The thought instantly drove away every trace of Hiruzen’s sleepiness.
Cold sweat broke out across his back.
Uchiha shinobi were notoriously formidable on the battlefield, often capable of fighting multiple opponents of the same rank.
If the clan launched an uprising inside Konoha itself, the damage would be unimaginable.
And unlike in the future Shinya remembered, the Uchiha district had not yet been relocated to the outskirts of the village.
Right now, it was still situated deep inside Konoha.
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
He almost wanted to summon Konoha’s senior leadership immediately and begin discussing how to suppress the Uchiha rebellion before it could erupt.
But before that, there was something else he needed to do.
Hiruzen forced a faint smile as he looked at Shisui.
“Shisui, the intelligence you provided tonight is extremely important.”
“It may even prevent a large-scale disaster.”
“You are a hero of Konoha.”
Shisui immediately straightened his posture.
“Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire burns.”
“I have always kept Lord Third’s teachings close to my heart.”
Hiruzen smiled approvingly and patted Shisui on the shoulder before watching him leave.
But the moment Shisui disappeared from sight—
Hiruzen’s expression turned cold.
“ANBU!”
At his command, an ANBU operative who had been standing by around the clock immediately appeared behind him and dropped to one knee.
“Summon the Hokage’s advisor and both senior councilors immediately.”
“We’re holding an emergency meeting.”
…
Early the next morning, Shinya dressed and prepared to formally report for duty at the Konoha Military Police Force.
He still remembered that Elder Yashiro had promised him the position of squadron captain.
The system mission required him to accumulate sufficient prestige within the Uchiha clan.
He couldn’t rely entirely on manipulating Fugaku from behind the scenes.
At some point, he needed to step forward and accomplish something tangible himself.
And in Shinya’s opinion, the Konoha Military Police Force was the perfect place to start.
The Uchiha controlled nearly all internal law enforcement within Konoha.
Yet somehow, they had still managed to become one of the most disliked groups in the entire village.
It was honestly impressive in the worst possible way.
Fugaku’s constant concessions were partly responsible.
But another major reason was the Uchiha clan’s aloof and prideful personality.
Outside wartime, the authority of the Military Police Force was enormous.
More importantly, there was plenty of room for discretion.
If the Uchiha had simply learned to be a little more flexible in how they exercised that authority, they could have gained countless advantages from it.
It was about time Konoha’s troublesome citizens learned something important.
The authority of the Military Police could be very, very broad.
Shinya registered his new jōnin status.
The higher-ups had already been informed, so he encountered almost no resistance before receiving permission to form his own unit.
Including Shinya’s newly established squadron, the entire Konoha Military Police Force had only eight squadrons.
Every squadron captain was an elite Uchiha who possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Each squadron consisted of three to five teams.
Every team followed the standard three-man structure, and every member was an Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan.
Even the weakest among them were outstanding chūnin.
The Military Police Force was, after all, the Uchiha clan’s primary enforcement arm.
Naturally, it gathered many of the clan’s most capable shinobi.
There was only one problem.
Shinya’s squadron currently consisted of…
Shinya.
And nobody else.
He was a commander without a single subordinate.
Shinya began considering whether he should pull Inabi into the unit and give him the position of deputy captain.
His immediate subordinates didn’t necessarily need to be exceptionally powerful.
But they absolutely needed to be trustworthy.
He couldn’t exactly go out on patrol as a squadron captain while still operating like a one-man army forever.
As for Shinya skipping over the lower team-leader position and being promoted directly to squadron captain, almost no one in the Military Police Force objected.
The Uchiha had never cared much for seniority.
Shinya possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
He had also defeated Kakashi and proven his strength.
That alone was enough to qualify him.
Shinya decided to head outside and familiarize himself with his new responsibilities.
And, if possible…
Maybe find someone who needed a beating so he could get used to the job.
Walking through the streets of Konoha, Shinya immediately noticed the reactions of the villagers around him.
Whenever their eyes landed on the Uchiha fan crest displayed prominently on his uniform, brief flashes of dislike appeared in their expressions.
Unlike many other Uchiha, Shinya wasn’t fragile enough to have his pride wounded just because a few civilians looked at him badly.
As far as he was concerned, Konoha’s troublesome citizens simply hadn’t experienced a proper beating from reality yet.
They disliked the Military Police Force for interfering in their affairs.
But they never stopped to consider how many crimes and dangerous situations the Uchiha prevented before those problems ever reached them.
That kind of disloyal attitude was dangerous.
Clearly…
Uncle Shinya was going to have to help straighten out the thoughts inside their heads.