Leaf Village Police Department

When Zhang Miao heard the name "Leaf Village Security Force," he knew things had become troublesome.

The Leaf Village Security Force was subordinate to the Leaf Village Police Department. Its main duties were maintaining public order in Konoha and assisting the Anbu with the village's defense.

The Leaf Village Police Department had always been controlled by Konoha's elite Uchiha Clan. Even the Security Department's emblem bore the Uchiha Clan's crest—a fan.

Zhang Miao knew very well that being caught by the Leaf Village Security Force would not have been so troublesome in the past. But ever since the Nine-Tails' attack, everything had changed.

Although the Nine-Tails' Rampage had been quelled, the Uchiha Clan had begun to face suspicion and exclusion from the entire village. In the end, even their clan's residential district had been relocated to the very edge of the village by decision of Konoha's higher-ups.

In other words, the Uchiha Clan had now been driven out of Konoha's center of power.

Naturally, this would leave the Uchiha Clan dissatisfied!

As the saying went, ice three feet thick was not formed in a single day. The Nine-Tails incident alone had not caused this outcome; it was the result of accumulated suspicion and estrangement!

Ever since Madara Uchiha, the former head of the Uchiha Clan, fought the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, at the Valley of the End, the seeds of distrust had been planted and begun to take root.

By the time of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, he had established the Leaf Village Police Department and appointed the Uchiha Clan to manage it, both to placate them and to keep watch over them.

From then on, the Uchiha Clan's prestige and power reached their peak, and they became known as the "Fan Uchiha"!

However, the other villagers' estrangement from the Uchiha Clan grew by the day. The Nine-Tails incident then pushed that distrust and alienation to its peak, ultimately leading to the current situation!

As one of Konoha's old and distinguished clans, the Uchiha Clan possessed pride no less formidable than their fighting strength. Naturally, they could not tolerate being driven out of Konoha's center of power, so they chose to resist in their own way.

Their method of resistance was to expand the Leaf Village Police Department's jurisdiction and intensify its enforcement, treating even trivial matters as major cases and greatly increasing the punishments!

The Uchiha intended to use this method to express their dissatisfaction with Konoha, and it was also a form of venting for them!

However, their actions had left all of Konoha complaining bitterly, with everyone living in fear. Under such circumstances, Might Wei had been caught by the Leaf Village Security Force and labeled as having an unknown identity. Before long, he might be branded a "spy from another country."

Thinking of this, Zhang Miao let out a helpless sigh.

"Ugh, this is a huge problem now!"

As he spoke, he untied the long scarf around his neck, then picked up Naruto and placed him in Owl's arms.

"Owl, help me look after Naruto. I'm going to the Leaf Village Police Department to pick someone up!"

"You're going?" After taking Naruto from Zhang Miao, Owl frowned when he heard that. "How about I go with you?"

Owl was clearly reluctant. After all, he was lying in the Leaf Village Hospital now because of Might Wei. But Zhang Miao was someone the Third Hokage had instructed him to protect, so he could not let Zhang Miao go to the Leaf Village Police Department alone.

Zhang Miao could more or less guess what Owl was thinking. He immediately laughed and waved a hand at him.

"Ha ha, no need, no need. Stay here and recover properly. Help me watch Naruto while you're at it. I can handle the Leaf Village Police Department by myself!"

After saying that, Zhang Miao nodded toward the nearby member of the Leaf Village Security Force.

"You're from the Uchiha Clan, right? Then take me to the Security Department now!"

"Uh..."

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, the Leaf Village Security Force member immediately hesitated.

Although he did not understand why this child could speak to an Anbu on equal terms, he felt there was no point in bringing a child back with him, so he frowned.

"Where are your parents?"

At that question, Zhang Miao narrowed his eyes and shot the Leaf Village Security Force member a sidelong glance.

"That question isn't important. What I want to tell you is that the Might Wei you caught is my attendant."

"I can prove that!" As soon as Zhang Miao finished speaking, Owl immediately nodded. "And to be precise, that Might Wei isn't an attendant. He's a household servant!"

Owl clearly remembered that when Might Wei had rushed over to attack him, he had shouted, "Master, watch out!" Based on Owl's judgment, the "master" Might Wei referred to should have been Zhang Miao.

In the shinobi world, attendants could not address their superiors as "master." Only household servants used that form of address!

"A household servant?"

Upon hearing Owl's words, the Leaf Village Security Force member's expression immediately changed.

He believed the Anbu before him could not be lying. Moreover, no family that could afford to keep household servants was simple. Even within the Uchiha Clan, no one had household servants.

More importantly, the Might Wei they had taken to the Security Department was clearly a shinobi. The only people who could make a shinobi serve as a household servant were likely the daimyo and great nobles of various nations!

Only then did the Leaf Village Security Force member finally realize why Zhang Miao could speak to an Anbu on equal terms. It was because his identity was extraordinary!

At that thought, the way he looked at Zhang Miao immediately changed, and his attitude became respectful.

"So that gentleman is your household servant. May I ask who you are?"

The Leaf Village Security Force dared to throw its weight around in Konoha, but it still did not dare casually offend the daimyo or great nobles of its own country, because they could not afford to.

A Kage could speak to a daimyo as an equal because he controlled a shinobi village.

A shinobi village provided military support to the country, while the country provided economic support to the shinobi village. Fundamentally, the two depended on each other, so even the daimyo of their own country would not easily fall out with a Kage.

But if an ordinary shinobi offended the daimyo or a great noble of their own country for some reason and caused the village to suffer losses, then the best possible outcome would be being thrown out as a scapegoat. This was not the first time such a thing had happened.

Therefore, when the Leaf Village Security Force member mistakenly believed Zhang Miao had a daimyo or another great noble behind him, his attitude changed at once.

Zhang Miao did not know what the other man was thinking, but since his attitude had changed, Zhang Miao was happy to save himself the trouble.

He immediately waved a hand at him.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense. Take me to the Security Department. Oh, is Fugaku Uchiha there?"

Zhang Miao's attitude was clearly somewhat rude, but to the Leaf Village Security Force member, it seemed perfectly normal.

How could someone from a daimyo's or great noble's household possibly be polite to a shinobi they regarded as a tool?

Especially after seeing Zhang Miao calmly call out the name of the Uchiha Clan's current head, the Leaf Village Security Force member became even more certain of his guess. He hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, yes. Our chief is in the Security Department's office right now. I'll take you there immediately. This way, please!"