Enacting Laws

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

Uchiha Itachi stopped moving and let the ninjas seize his arms. Then he raised his head and looked at Uchiha Kazuto as they took him away.

"Heh!"

Watching Uchiha Itachi disappear, Uchiha Kazuto chuckled.

If he hadn't just taken office and still needed to enact laws to solve his eyesight problem, he would have thrown Uchiha Itachi out on the spot. As for the reason, naturally, it would be that the former clan head's son had tried to assassinate him, the new clan head.

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

The first law.

Members of the Uchiha Clan, with the exception of Uchiha Kazuto, were forbidden from harming one another.

The second law.

Konoha's villagers were forbidden from killing people at will within the village.

One of these laws was enacted in his capacity as clan head of the Uchiha Clan; the other, in his capacity as head of the Military Police Force.

After enacting the two laws, Uchiha Kazuto's vision blurred, and the sight in his left eye suddenly worsened.

Enacting laws consumed ocular power. However, after it declined, he felt his ocular power slowly begin to grow.

The laws had taken effect.

He didn't announce the two laws to anyone, because neither Konoha nor the Uchiha Clan would permit them in the first place. The laws would function just fine without him actively enforcing them.

Unfortunately, he didn't yet have enough power. He hadn't reached the pinnacle of authority in Konoha, so he couldn't establish punishments. That would be difficult to explain and might expose the true nature of his Dojutsu.

Uchiha Kazuto then realized that the second law wasn't functioning quite as expected. A village was different from a clan. With so many people in the village, it should have provided him with far more ocular power. Yet the feedback from this law was about the same as from the first.

"Looks like I still have to become Hokage. Even though I'm the head of the Military Police Force and responsible for managing Konoha, I'm still not Hokage. I haven't reached the pinnacle of authority in the village, so I can't bring this law's effects to their full potential."

Uchiha Kazuto shook his head. Now that he had become clan head, he needed to consider how to become Hokage.

He already had a few ideas.

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

He wasn't the true Hokage.

And then there was the mess Danzo had left behind. Where had Danzo gotten the nerve to carry out those forbidden experiments?

Isn't that right, Lord Hokage?

"Father, is it true?"

Inside the Uchiha Clan Prison, Uchiha Itachi knelt on the floor and looked at Uchiha Fugaku, who sat on the ground in the cell with his head bowed. His voice was heavy as he asked the question.

Behind him, Uchiha Mikoto covered her face and wept softly.

"Itachi, leave. Follow the new clan head faithfully. You're no longer the clan head's son. Don't make the same mistake I did and commit such an unforgivable crime."

Uchiha Fugaku lifted his head, shook it, and waved Uchiha Itachi away as he spoke in a low voice.

Though his heart was filled with grievance and even anger, he knew it was pointless. Everything had already been settled. Even if he said he was innocent, it wouldn't matter. No one would believe him.

After all, criminals always claimed they were innocent. But were they really?

"H-how could this...?"

Pain showed on Uchiha Itachi's face. He rose unsteadily and stumbled backward, staring blankly at his father. He couldn't believe that his father—the man he had always admired—was truly a traitor, the mastermind behind everything.

But it didn't make sense. Why hadn't he noticed anything before? It was impossible!

"Go, Itachi. Leave."

Uchiha Fugaku lowered his head.

No, impossible!

Something had to be wrong!

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

The Uchiha Clan was an evil clan!

Uchiha Itachi etched those words into his heart. He had to investigate. There might be an even greater conspiracy hidden behind all this. Uchiha Kazuto...

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

What if everything was meant to lull the village into a false sense of security before launching a Coup?

Deep down, he simply couldn't believe that the Uchiha Clan had given up on the idea of a Coup. They had discussed it for so long. How could they just decide not to go through with it?

There had to be an even greater conspiracy!

He had to uncover it!

Uchiha Kazuto, what exactly are you planning?

Uchiha Itachi hadn't witnessed Uchiha Shisui's death, so he hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. And since he didn't particularly care about his biological father, Uchiha Fugaku's downfall and imprisonment hadn't awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan either.

Konoha Military Police Force.

The department's main duties were to maintain public order and stability in the village and to arrest people with criminal tendencies. It had been established by the Second Hokage to keep the Uchiha Clan in check.

"Loyalty, sir!"

"Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!"

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

"Good. You're full of spirit."

Uchiha Kazuto nodded.

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

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

Uchiha Tekka and the others picked up the batons, stood at attention before Uchiha Kazuto, and listened to his explanation.

Afterward, Uchiha Kazuto announced that the Military Police Force would recruit new members.

This time, the recruits wouldn't come from the Uchiha Clan. They would be recruited from across Konoha.

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

"Clan Head, why?"

Uchiha Yashiro looked at Uchiha Kazuto and asked in confusion. The other Uchiha had the same question.

Why? Of course it was to launch a Coup!

Uchiha Kazuto needed a great many people. Naturally, he couldn't say that he planned to launch a Coup—not to the Dove Faction members of the Uchiha Clan, at least. He had just said he didn't want to launch a Coup, and now he was saying he did. That sort of thing... Heh...