Overhauling the Police Force

At the edge of Konoha, on the training grounds of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

As the sun gradually rose, Uchiha members clad in green ninja flak jackets arrived at the training grounds one after another.

They gathered in small groups of two or three.

"Have you heard that Senya Uchiha became the deputy clan head?"

"Senya? I remember he awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan two years ago. He even completed an S-rank mission alone."

"Apparently, all the Police Force ninja were notified yesterday and told to gather here this morning. What's this about?"

In the woods beside the training grounds, Senya rested beneath a lush tree with his reclining chair. Once the time was about right and everyone had arrived, he appeared in the center of the crowd with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Men and women, separate! Form rows of ten, arranged from left to right by height! Make it look neat!"

The sudden order caught everyone off guard, but they quickly reacted. As Uchiha ninja, their discipline and efficiency far surpassed those of civilian ninja.

Senya looked at the stopwatch in his hand. "Ten point eight six seconds."

The ninja before him had formed row after row.

"Uchiha Inohibi, step out. Come stand before me and take a look at how your formation is arranged."

When Uchiha Inohibi heard his name, his heart clenched. He thought he had done something wrong, but only understood after hearing the rest that he was fine and was merely being asked to inspect it.

He walked to Senya's side and looked over the formation of more than four hundred clansmen on the training grounds.

Sweat dripped from Inohibi's forehead. He clearly remembered that Senya had specifically said it needed to look neat. Though he had no idea what use that served, the sight before him...

Everyone stood differently. Looking at any one person alone, there might not have been a problem. But with more than four hundred people standing together, there was only one impression: "Messy!"

Seeing Inohibi's gloomy, conflicted expression and his reluctance to speak, Senya spoke directly.

"Say it! How does your formation look?"

"Messy! It doesn't look good at all!"

Senya's urging made Inohibi blurt out what he truly thought.

The crowd began to stir, and quite a few people became dissatisfied with Senya. After all, his appointment as deputy clan head had come too suddenly. No one had expected it.

Senya did not want to waste too much time on this. It was better to convince them through strength.

The three tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly as he casually snapped his fingers.

Before even one of the more than four hundred people could react, they all fell into Senya's Genjutsu.

Their perspectives suddenly shifted. They saw where they had just stood and how they had been positioned—some with their arms crossed, some with one hand on their hips, some standing lazily.

Their view suddenly pulled back, widening to show more than four hundred people scattered messily across the training grounds.

One minute later, Senya released his Genjutsu.

"Any objections? If you can instantly cast a ninjutsu and trap more than four hundred people in Genjutsu for one minute, then you can have my position as deputy clan head."

"..."

No one dared to raise any further objections. On a battlefield, a single instant of carelessness could cost someone their life, let alone an entire minute! If Senya had intended to kill them, it would have been enough time to kill them dozens of times over.

Seeing that everyone had settled down, Senya felt a hint of satisfaction. As expected, once this bunch understood his strength, everything afterward would be much easier.

"Anyone willing to become squad leaders? There are only forty slots. First come, first served!"

At those words, the formation immediately broke apart. Everyone eagerly rushed forward. There were only a little over four hundred people in total, yet more than one hundred and sixty gathered before Senya!

Senya gave them a glance. They were all people who had attended the Clan Meeting that night, along with several unfamiliar faces, probably some chunin who had overestimated their own strength.

He pulled forty bells from his Ninja Tool Pouch and showed them to the ninja.

"I'll tie these bells behind kunai and throw them out. Whoever brings a bell-tied kunai back to me will become a squad leader."

"Oh, and as long as you can hand it to me, any method is allowed. Just don't kill or seriously injure your fellow clansmen."

After saying that, Senya formed hand seals with both hands.

Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Forty figures each held a kunai with a bell tied to it, then fiercely threw them beyond the training grounds.

"Go!"

At Senya's command, the ninja behind him immediately sprang into action. Some even began fighting before they had left the training grounds.

Senya sat down where he was and waited for the results.

"Deputy Clan Head! I'm the first squad leader!"

Uchiha Inohibi was the first to return. He took out his prize and displayed it to Senya.

Senya glanced at Inohibi. This guy was one of the few War Faction ninja Senya remembered. Though he was somewhat hot-tempered and easily angered, he was a decent person.

Back when Senya was still a chunin, Inohibi had already become a jonin and had taken Senya on several missions. Whenever they encountered enemies, Inohibi was always the first to charge forward. Even when he had previously tried to recruit Senya into the War Faction, he had never brought up their past missions.

"Keep it. It's a memento of your becoming a squad leader."

Looking at the kunai in his hand, then at Senya before him, Inohibi could not help recalling their past missions together.

Senya had been meticulous during missions, and his strength had far surpassed others of the same rank. Even then, Inohibi had known that Senya would surely become an outstanding ninja of the Uchiha clan in the future. He had never expected that Senya would now awaken the Mangekyo as well.

He had witnessed Senya's strength grow step by step, until Senya had long since left him behind. Yet Senya had never looked down on ninja like them, whose strength had already reached its limit. He had even brought new hope for the clan's future.

Uchiha Inohibi put away the kunai. From that moment onward, he resolved to follow Senya faithfully and, for the sake of the clan, do his utmost to complete every mission Senya assigned.

After Inohibi, quite a few ninja returned one after another.

Senya memorized every one of their faces and names. They all held the kunai in their hands as if they were priceless treasures, because they represented each person's honor. They had become squad leaders through their own strength.

Only the defeated ninja wore looks of regret.

But they soon shook off their disappointment and became energized once more.

"Each squad will have ten members. Every two months, squad members may challenge squad leaders, but they may only challenge the leaders of other squads."

The ninja who had already become squad leaders suddenly felt a new measure of pressure. At the same time, the younger ninja who had not yet fully grown and those who had just failed the competition found renewed motivation.

Looking at the scene before him, Senya was very satisfied. This method was just right: it could raise the Uchiha's overall strength while allowing the battle-loving Uchiha to expend their excess energy in sparring. It was the best of both worlds.