Enacting Laws

"I'll be watching you, Uchiha... Clan Head!"

Uchiha Itachi stopped moving, letting the several ninja grab his arms, then lifted his head to look at Uchiha Kazuto as he was led away.

"Heh!"

Watching Uchiha Itachi's disappearing figure, Uchiha Kazuto let out a light laugh.

It was just that he hadn't yet established laws to solve the problem of his eyes going blind, or else he would have disposed of Uchiha Itachi on the spot. As for the reason, naturally it would be that the former clan head's son had attempted to assassinate him, the new clan head.

After driving Uchiha Itachi away, Uchiha Kazuto finally decided what laws to establish.

The first law.

Members of the Uchiha clan, aside from Uchiha Kazuto himself, shall not harm one another.

The second law.

Villagers of Konoha shall not arbitrarily kill people within the village.

Two laws. One, he established as the clan head of the Uchiha clan. The other, he established as the chief of the Military Police Force.

After setting down these two laws, Uchiha Kazuto felt his vision blur before his eyes, and the vision in his left eye suddenly deteriorated.

Establishing laws consumed Dojutsu power. However, after the decline, he felt his Dojutsu power begin to slowly recover.

The laws had taken effect.

He hadn't announced these two laws to anyone, because they weren't permitted by Konoha or the Uchiha clan in the first place. He didn't need to actively enforce them; these two laws could operate well on their own.

Unfortunately, because his authority wasn't yet sufficient—he hadn't yet reached the apex of power in Konoha—he couldn't set up punishments. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain, and it might easily expose the details of his Dojutsu.

Then, Uchiha Kazuto noticed that the second law he'd established was operating a bit strangely. The village and the clan were different. The village had so many people; in theory, it should provide him with much more Dojutsu power. Yet, the feedback from this law was roughly the same as the first law.

"It seems I still need to become Hokage. Right now, I'm the chief of the Military Police Force, with the duty of managing Konoha, but in the end, I'm not the Hokage. I haven't reached the apex of power in the village, so I can't push this law's operation to its limit."

Uchiha Kazuto shook his head. Now that he'd become clan head, his next step was to consider how to become Hokage.

He already had some ideas.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was, after all, just an acting Hokage.

Not a true Hokage.

And on top of that, there was this mess Danzo had left behind. Where did Danzo get the nerve to conduct those forbidden experiments?

Don't you think so, Lord Hokage?

"Father, is it true?"

Inside the Uchiha Clan Prison, Uchiha Itachi knelt on one knee, looking at Uchiha Fugaku sitting on the ground with his head lowered inside the cell, his voice heavy with emotion.

Behind him, Uchiha Mikoto covered her face, sobbing quietly.

"Itachi, leave. Follow the new clan head properly. You are no longer the clan head's son. Don't make the same unforgivable mistake I did."

Uchiha Fugaku lifted his head, shook it, and waved his hand at Uchiha Itachi, speaking in a low voice.

Though his heart was filled with immense grievance, even rage, he knew it was meaningless. Everything was already settled. Even if he said he was innocent, it wouldn't matter. No one would believe him.

Because criminals always claim they're innocent. But in reality?

"How... how could this be..."

Pain twisted Uchiha Itachi's face. He stood up dazedly, stepped back, and stared blankly at his father. He couldn't believe that his father—the father he had always respected—was truly a traitor, truly the mastermind behind the scenes.

But it shouldn't be. Why hadn't he noticed anything before? That was impossible!

"Go, Itachi. Leave this place."

Uchiha Fugaku said, head bowed.

No. Impossible.

Something had to be wrong!

Uchiha Itachi shook his head, clenched his fists, lowered his head, and turned to leave. He still couldn't believe that his father had any conspiracy with Lord Danzo.

The Uchiha clan is an evil clan!

Those words were etched deep into Uchiha Itachi's heart. He had to investigate. Perhaps a greater conspiracy was hidden here. Uchiha Kazuto...

Uchiha Itachi didn't actually care whether his father was a traitor or had some scheme. What he truly cared about was still the village. What if everything happening now was just a smokescreen?

What if all of this was meant to lull the village into complacency, only to launch the Coup in the end?

Deep down, he simply didn't believe the Uchiha clan had given up on the Coup. After discussing it for so long, how could they just drop it?

There had to be a bigger conspiracy!

He had to uncover it!

Uchiha Kazuto, what are you planning?

At this moment, Uchiha Itachi, having not witnessed Uchiha Shisui's death, had not awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. And because he didn't care much about his biological father, he hadn't awakened it from Uchiha Fugaku's downfall and imprisonment either.

Konoha Military Police Force.

The primary duty of this department was to maintain the village's public order and stability, arresting anyone—civilian or ninja—with criminal tendencies. It was a department established by the Second Hokage specifically to check the power of the Uchiha Clan.

"Captain! Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!"

At that moment, a group of Police Force members were saluting Uchiha Kazuto.

"Mm, good. Full of spirit."

Uchiha Kazuto nodded.

"Starting today, you are the First Unit of the Police Force, under my direct command. These are the equipment prepared for you."

Uchiha Kazuto looked at these ninjas and had someone bring out steel batons wrapped in rubber.

Uchiha Tekka and the others picked up the batons, puffed out their chests, and stood at attention before Uchiha Kazuto, listening to his explanation.

Afterward, Uchiha Kazuto issued an order to recruit new members for the Police Force.

And this time, the recruitment was not limited to the Uchiha Clan—it was open to all of Konoha.

Besides the First Unit, he also planned to establish a Second Unit and a Third Unit.

"Clan Head, why is this?"

Uchiha Yashiro looked at Uchiha Kazuto and asked in confusion. His question was also the question on every other Uchiha's mind.

Why? To launch a coup, of course!

Uchiha Kazuto needed a great many hands for when the time came to stage the coup. Of course, that wasn't something he could say—at least not to these Dove Faction members of the Uchiha Clan. After all, he had just claimed he didn't want to start a coup, and now turning around to say he did... well... heh...