Uchiha Toko noticed Nara Shikaku's little gesture as well and naturally saw through his thoughts. With a slight smile, he said, "Nara's aide, do you think I'm right?"
Having been called out by Uchiha Toko, Nara Shikaku understood that he could no longer stay out of this. He could only bite the bullet and say, "Clan Head Douhuan's words do make sense."
What else could he say? Could he deny the Will of Fire in front of the Third Hokage?
Sarutobi Hiruzen said nothing. Not until he had finished this pipeful of tobacco did he finally react. Uchiha Toko's repeated invocations of the Will of Fire had instead pinned down the very man who usually never stopped talking about it. The Will of Fire was, after all, his foundation—the thing he had to maintain. If even the Will of Fire could not be upheld, then his days as the Third Hokage would truly be numbered.
If no one else had been present, he could have tried to smooth things over. But under the deterrence of Kotoamatsukami, someone else had to be present whenever he spoke face-to-face with Uchiha Toko.
After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally set down his pipe and compromised. "Then handle it according to what's written here. However, Douhuan, you must still exercise some restraint when enforcing the law. They are, after all, villagers of the same village."
"Understood." Uchiha Toko nodded. "The Military Police Force will strictly restrain itself in this regard and abide by the principles of Smiling Law Enforcement."
That afternoon, the Military Police Force posted notices regarding the new law in every conspicuous location throughout the village.
Naturally, this sparked a great deal of debate. Some villagers reined themselves in somewhat, but most of them did not take it seriously at all.