Away from the center of Konoha Village stood a tall, oppressive-looking structure in the darkness.
Right in the middle of the building's facade was a massive shuriken emblem, and at its center lay the Uchiha clan's fan crest.
This place was the headquarters of the Konoha Police Force.
Uchiha Chiyu strode inside. Check latest chapters at novel⟡fire.net
Behind him, his two subordinates followed nervously, barely daring to lift their heads.
As soon as he entered, Chiyu felt a cold, powerful chakra surge toward him. It was none other than the chakra of the Uchiha Patriarch… Uchiha Fugaku.
At the moment, Fugaku was surrounded by several elite members of the police force, including veteran Uchiha Yashiro and others like Uchiha Yakumi, Uchiha Tekkā, and Uchiha Inabi.
All eyes fixed on Chiyu the instant he arrived—especially Fugaku's. The Patriarch took a deep breath, his expression unusually livid.
"Chiyu, what's the meaning of those two corpses?"
Fugaku pointed to the bodies that had already been collected and laid out on the floor.
Chiyu didn't even bother to glance at them.
"The man was a compulsive gambler. He even stole his own son's lifesaving money to gamble, causing the boy's death. A crime deserving death.
"The woman shielded that criminal. Even knowing her son had died at his hands, she still protected him. That makes her an accomplice. And then she attacked a police officer, which only compounded her crimes. She didn't die in vain."
Fugaku was stunned. He glanced at the nearby police elites, and they all looked equally taken aback.
"Chiyu, do you really believe what you're saying?"
"I believe it completely."
Fugaku raised his voice, his agitation showing.
"Do you have any idea how this sort of law enforcement makes us Uchiha look in the eyes of the other ninja and villagers? Do you realize that after the Nine-Tails' attack, the entire village is already suspicious of us? The higher-ups are just waiting for an excuse. Tensions are high, and it wouldn't take much to spark a conflict—and you still dare to use such extreme methods?"
Chiyu remained unfazed.
"Patriarch, tell me: what could I possibly do that would make the ninja and villagers of Konoha see us Uchiha differently?
"What could I do to keep the village's top brass from eyeing us like hawks?"
Fugaku fell silent. Indeed… at this point, no matter what the Uchiha did, it wouldn't change the way the village viewed them, nor alter how Konoha's leadership treated them.
Uchiha Yashiro and the others exchanged bitter smiles.
"Even so, we're basically sitting on a powder keg here. Why are you so determined to light the fuse yourself?"
Chiyu spoke calmly: "The fuse was never in my hands to begin with. You, Patriarch, know exactly whose hands it's in.
"As for whether or not my methods are too extreme, I stand by them. I only know that everything I do is for justice—and my conscience is clear.
"If you, Patriarch, believe I've broken some rule, feel free to expel me from the police force."
Fugaku found himself at a loss. How could anyone be so stubborn? There was no swaying him in the slightest. And on top of that, Chiyu had considerable strength and loyal followers—he was someone the Uchiha currently couldn't afford to lose. Deep down, Fugaku didn't entirely disagree with Chiyu's tactics…
"Yashiro," Fugaku said, "maybe you can talk some sense into him."
The older Uchiha gave a wry smile. "Patriarch, if he won't listen to you, what good will my words do?
"Still, Chiyu…" He hesitated. "That gambler was indeed hopeless. Killing him is understandable. But did you really have to kill the woman, too? Don't talk about her 'attacking the police.' She was just an ordinary, middle-aged civilian—she couldn't have actually hurt a jōnin like you."
Chiyu shook his head.
"I already explained. She made no move to stop the man who caused her son's death. Even after I killed him, she defended him and directed her anger at me. She was ignorant and foolish, effectively an accomplice.
"In this world, evil people deserve to die, of course. But idiots who sympathize with evil—
"They have no right to keep on living, either."
Uchiha Yashiro sucked in a sharp breath. This man was terrifying… especially since, twisted though his reasoning might be, it was almost impossible to argue with him.
Uchiha Chiyu… he preferred living in his own convictions.
Fugaku pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Chiyu, I know you're young, aggressive, and yes, harsh to the extreme. But at least consider things from my perspective.
"What am I supposed to tell the Hokage if he demands an explanation? Should I really repeat all this twisted logic to him?"
"Why not?" Chiyu replied, unruffled.
Fugaku was momentarily at a loss for words.
"If the Hokage insists on holding someone accountable," Chiyu continued, "then allow me to explain it to him in person. Whatever punishment you or the Hokage decide to give me… I'll accept it."
With that, he turned and left.
All Fugaku and the others could do was exchange resigned looks.
The Hokage's office was wreathed in smoke. Sarutobi Hiruzen's pipe glowed faintly in the dim light. Although he looked tired, he forced himself to keep sifting through various files.
Behind him, hidden in the shadows, sat Shimura Danzō, his face expressionless as he stared at the Hokage's back, lost in thought.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Hiruzen set his files aside, knitting his brows slightly. "ANBU?"
Two ANBU operatives wearing eerie masks entered the office.
"What news from the Uchiha side?" Hiruzen asked. "Any movements?"
The masked pair glanced at each other. "We're not sure if it counts as a 'movement'… but that man called Uchiha Chiyu has killed two more Konoha civilians."
Hiruzen's pipe trembled in his hand. "It's that cold-blooded psycho again? And what's his excuse this time?"
They explained the entire matter in detail. Hiruzen's expression darkened.
"Hmph! That man's out of control. He really thinks he can do whatever he wants!
"Tobirama-sensei created the police force to push the Uchiha away from the political center and sow mistrust between them and the villagers. Now this Uchiha Chiyu… does he truly believe he holds the power of life and death?"
From the shadows, a grim chuckle sounded.
"Hiruzen, if Uchiha Chiyu is this brutal and extreme, doesn't that drive the rest of the village further away from the Uchiha? Doesn't that fit perfectly into our plans? So why are you so upset?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glared over his shoulder into the darkness.
"That's beside the point!
"If the Uchiha and their police force can decide a villager's fate without the Hokage's involvement, where is Konoha's authority in all this? Where is its prestige?"
Danzō gave a derisive snort. "Is it really about Konoha's 'prestige'… or your own, Hokage?"
Hiruzen shot him a cold look. "Is there a difference?"
Danzō merely scoffed without answering.
One of the ANBU ventured, "Lord Hokage, should we take steps to hold the police force accountable? Perhaps even demand that Fugaku hand over Uchiha Chiyu?"
Hiruzen took a deep draw from his pipe before releasing a heavy cloud of smoke.
"For all we know, Fugaku might have approved of this from the start. Now that tensions between the Uchiha and the village are so high, he could be preparing to make his move. Chiyu's actions might be part of that plan."
Danzō's eyes glinted from the darkness. "Then so much the better, isn't it? From the very founding of Konoha, the Uchiha have been a cancer. Wouldn't it be best if we removed them once and for all?"
Hiruzen shot him a glare. "Watch your mouth, Danzō."
"Hmph. You're too soft, Hiruzen."
"Enough, Danzō! I'm the Hokage!"
"…You'll regret this, Hiruzen."
With that, Danzō vanished into the shadows, slipping away through a hidden door.
Left in the quiet, Hiruzen spent a long moment in thought.
"All right then… I'll use this incident as a pretext to visit the police force myself and see which way the Uchiha are leaning."