Nine Units

Something was wrong—very wrong. Especially with Uchiha Kazuto. It was as if he'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere; Uchiha Itachi had never heard of him before. The Evil Uchiha Clan had to be plotting some terrible scheme.

A scheme that might overthrow all of Konoha.

Everything happening now might just be to lull the village into a false sense of security!

The more Uchiha Itachi thought about it, the heavier his heart grew. He wished he could slaughter the entire Uchiha Clan to protect his beloved village, just like the great First Hokage. For the village's sake, he could kill anyone and everyone: if a clan threatened the village, destroy the clan; if his family threatened the village, destroy his family; if his friends threatened the village, destroy his friends; if the villagers threatened the village, destroy the villagers. Anyone who dared harm the village or its interests deserved to die!

The village's safety came before everything! Because that was the great Will of Fire!

As a prodigy who'd thought like a Hokage since childhood and understood the meaning of the Will of Fire, Uchiha Itachi was prepared to do just that. If that damn Uchiha Kazuto didn't have those legendary eyes, he'd already be figuring out how to wipe out the Uchiha Clan.

Of course, Sasuke was a good kid. He wasn't as extreme and evil as the other Uchiha in the clan, so he could be spared. After all, no matter what, Sasuke was his little brother, different from the other Uchiha.

Damn it. If only he had those eyes too...

Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath, lifted his head, and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as he listened to Uchiha Itachi, waiting for him to continue. He already knew what Uchiha Itachi was thinking. What a prodigy—to have thought like a Hokage at the age of seven.

If Uchiha Itachi didn't have Uchiha blood, he'd be the perfect replacement for Danzo.

"Lord Hokage, please let me investigate Uchiha Kazuto. I'll expose his conspiracy!"

Uchiha Itachi knelt on one knee and spoke to Hiruzen Sarutobi. His expression was utterly serious, as if he'd already determined that Uchiha Kazuto really was plotting something—which he was.

"Phew..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep puff of his pipe and shook his head at Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi..."

He reached out and gently patted Uchiha Itachi on the shoulder. A little while later, Uchiha Itachi left with a solemn expression.

"Phew. I hope the investigation doesn't turn up anything."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. If Uchiha Kazuto didn't have those eyes, and if he knew for certain whether Uchiha Shisui's eyes had been destroyed, he'd have had someone arrest Uchiha Fugaku and read his memories long ago. He wouldn't have cared about any Uchiha Clan secrets.

After all, Uchiha Kazuto had killed his Danzo!

Time passed quietly.

The Military Police Force's reforms soon spread throughout the village.

What did it mean that the Military Police Force was recruiting—and from within the village, no less? Anyone who met the requirements could join?

Wait, had they heard that right?

Hadn't the Konoha Military Police Force belonged exclusively to the Uchiha Clan ever since it was founded? It had never recruited outsiders before, and now it was opening recruitment to the whole village?

It was simply unbelievable.

"Lord Kazuto, here's the list of recruits. Please take a look."

At the Military Police Force office, Uchiha Inaho handed over the documents.

"Mm, let me see."

Uchiha Kazuto put down his book, took the list, and began reading.

The Military Police Force had recruited over two hundred people this time, mostly Genin and Chunin. There were even a few Jonin among them.

"Oh, there are Jonin too."

Uchiha Kazuto was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected to recruit any Jonin. But after looking through their files, he understood: they'd joined because they'd been injured and their strength had declined.

Still, it wasn't a problem.

Uchiha Kazuto didn't dwell on it. He set the files down and went to meet the new recruits.

For this recruitment drive, Uchiha Kazuto had specifically looked into how much a ninja could earn in a month, and how the monthly pay differed by rank. Then he roughly doubled the figures.

Unfortunately, even so, hardly any Jonin joined the Military Police Force. The few who did were disabled.

But it was still pretty good.

"Heh heh. Welcome to the Military Police Force, everyone. I'm the current clan head of the Uchiha Clan and the head of the Military Police Force, Uchiha Kazuto. The reason for this recruitment drive is..."

Uchiha Kazuto looked at the new members standing before him and nodded to himself. Good. They all looked spirited.

"In short, from now on, you're all brothers in the Military Police Force. As long as you do a good job, you'll have everything you need..."

Uchiha Kazuto delivered an impassioned speech, presenting himself as a Loyal Konoha Subject who did everything for the village and the Will of Fire.

"So the Uchiha Clan is actually like this? So this is what the Military Police Force is for? It's all for the village! We were wrong to blame the Uchiha Clan!"

"That's right. We were wrong about the Military Police Force."

"Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!!"

"Loyalty!!!"

After Uchiha Kazuto finished his speech, the Uchiha members of the Military Police Force led the way. The new recruits soon raised their hands and, following the example of their seniors, shouted "Loyalty" at the top of their lungs.

For a moment, the whole meeting hall seemed to be bathed in sunlight, dazzling and bright.

"For Konoha, for the Will of Fire—for loyalty!"

Uchiha Kazuto raised his hand.

Then he mixed the new recruits in with the Uchiha members and formed the Nine Konoha Peacekeeping Forces.

The First Unit through the Ninth Unit.

That was the largest number of units he could maintain for now. Any more would slow the accumulation of ocular power.

After arranging the nine units, Uchiha Kazuto began training them.

Once the ninjas were assigned to units, it would be easier for them to become loyal. And as long as he fed in a little more ocular power, he could improve their ability to learn.

Death Forest, First Unit.

"Attention!"

Uchiha Kazuto stood at the front of the formation and barked at the new members of the Military Police Force.

"Yes!"

The young ninjas quickly snapped to attention.

Uchiha Kazuto was just an ordinary person. He knew he probably didn't have much personal charisma—but he had the Mangekyō Sharingan. He had power now.

Although being assigned to a unit and becoming one of its members would gradually make them more loyal as the unit operated at the bare minimum, that process was very slow. Unless...