Use your money to feed my soldiers

"Lord Hokage..."

Uchiha Itachi looked up, an expression of disbelief on his face as he stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Enough, Itachi. Withdraw. Kazuto cannot possibly be a problem!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised a hand, cutting off Uchiha Itachi's words.

"Lord Hokage!"

Uchiha Itachi lifted his head, fixing his gaze on the Hokage he so deeply revered. In that moment, it was as if Shimura Danzō had possessed him.

"You will regret this!"

Danzō?

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused briefly, then shook his head.

"That's enough, Itachi. Know your place. I am the Hokage! Get out!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, then pointed at the door.

"Forgive me, Lord Hokage. I was impulsive."

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, Uchiha Itachi calmed down, bowed, and left the Hokage's office.

Time passed quietly.

"Excellent! Full of spirit!"

Uchiha Kazuto looked at the members of the First Unit and nodded. Through today's obedience training, these shinobi—though they spoke of loyalty to the Hokage and the village—had begun in their hearts to acknowledge him, to obey him. In time, they would follow his orders completely, embracing his ideology from the bottom of their hearts, even daring to assassinate the Hokage if commanded.

If he didn't conduct obedience training, running a unit at minimum efficiency would take who knows how long before these shinobi became his loyal subordinates. By then, those damned aliens might have already descended before he'd even finished setting things up.

He intended to train a private army right under Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose—and get praised for doing it well.

"Alright, everyone's worked hard today. Let's go eat some barbecue!"

Uchiha Kazuto waved his hand and led the First Unit toward the barbecue restaurant. At the same time, the other units, guided by his Shadow Clones, also headed in the same direction.

The shinobi cheered. Though it was called obedience training, given the shinobi's robust physiques, Uchiha Kazuto pushed them to their absolute limits—draining every last ounce of stamina, crushing their will mercilessly, numbing their minds so that the loyalty planted within would burn all the brighter in that numbness.

In short, these shinobi were now exhausted and starving. Hearing they could eat barbecue naturally lifted their spirits, stirring their once-numb hearts back to life.

Feeling the increase in loyalty from these shinobi, Uchiha Kazuto nodded.

Indeed, this method worked. Train them ruthlessly, feed them well, pay them the most—this was the fastest way to raise loyalty.

"Lord Kazuto!"

At the barbecue restaurant, Uchiha Setsuna sat beside Uchiha Kazuto.

"Hm, Elder Setsuna. What is it?"

Uchiha Kazuto asked while eating his barbecue.

"Clan Head, the wages you've set for the Military Police Force are too high. They've already exceeded the department's budget. To cover the shortfall, I've had to use clan funds. But even so, given our clan's financial resources, this situation won't last much longer!"

Uchiha Setsuna spoke, feeling deep shame. Lord Kazuto was striving for the clan's sake, yet when the clan should be supporting him, it was useless and could only trouble him instead. Guilt—profound guilt.

"Oh? Out of money? Elder Setsuna, you've lost your head."

Hearing Uchiha Setsuna's words, Uchiha Kazuto frowned, then slapped the table and shook his head.

"Clan Head?"

Uchiha Setsuna was confused.

"Elder Setsuna, the Military Police Force is Konoha's Military Police Force, not the Uchiha Clan's private force. How can we use our own money to pay their salaries? Wouldn't that make us no different from that inherently evil Shimura Danzō, raising a private army? Unacceptable! If the Military Police Force has no funds, then apply to our great Lord Hokage. After all, we're doing this for the village!"

Uchiha Kazuto spoke with a look of utter loyalty.

After all, the Military Police Force was his force, and the Uchiha Clan was his clan. How could he use his own money to pay himself?

Lord Hokage, surely you wouldn't want to see your loyal Military Police Force disband for lack of funds, would you?

"I understand, Clan Head. I was mistaken!"

Uchiha Setsuna immediately stood and bowed to Uchiha Kazuto. Truly worthy of Lord Kazuto. Uchiha Setsuna knew exactly what Uchiha Kazuto was planning, which was why he had subconsciously treated the Military Police Force as the Uchiha Clan's private army, forgetting that the clan hadn't yet broken openly with Hiruzen Sarutobi. On the surface, the Military Police Force was still Konoha's—loyal to the Hokage.

The Military Police Force had every right and reason to request more funding from the Hokage. Brilliant, Lord Kazuto—using the enemy's money to support his own troops. That Hiruzen Sarutobi might even thank Uchiha Kazuto for it.

"Ah!"

Just then, a scream rang out from outside.

Uchiha Kazuto set down the barbecue in his hand.

Soon, he learned what had happened. Two drunkards were causing trouble.

"I see. So someone's making a scene. And what were you doing about it?"

Uchiha Kazuto nodded. The next moment, he picked up a club and laid into the shinobi standing before him without mercy.

"Ah!"

These several ninjas fell to the ground, clutching their heads, letting out miserable screams.

"What are you looking at? Don't forget, your current identity—you're members of the Military Police Force. I pay your wages, not for you to stand around gawking! Why haven't you arrested them yet?"

Uchiha Kazuto stopped swinging his baton and barked sternly.

These ninjas immediately scrambled up from the ground, frantically picked up their fallen batons, and charged toward the two drunkards.

"Damn it!"

These ninjas stared at the two troublemaking drunks, fury twisting their faces. They rushed straight in, raised their batons, and began beating the two drunkards without mercy.

Six strikes a second, beating the drunks so hard they sobered up instantly.

"Hit them! Give them a thorough beating! As long as you don't kill them, beat them senseless! How dare they cause trouble in Konoha? This is nothing less than disrespect toward the great Lord Hokage, an attempt to undermine the village's unity! The First Hokage once said—even if it's your own family, if they dare harm the village's interests, he would kill them without hesitation! Hit them! Beat them hard!"

Uchiha Kazuto watched the scene, nodded, and directly invoked Hiruzen Sarutobi's name. Everything was for the village, for the Lord Hokage.

By then, the Military Police Force members who had been eating had also walked over.

They watched the scene, a flicker of reluctance in their eyes at first—after all, not long ago, they themselves had been the ones beaten by the Military Police Force. But after hearing Uchiha Kazuto's words, their expressions changed.

That's right. It was all for the Lord Hokage, for the village, for Kazuto... In short, if someone dares to cause trouble in the village, aren't they just being disunited?

People like that deserve a thorough beating!

If you were truly loyal to the village, why would you cause trouble? Why would you undermine the village's unity?

Are you a spy? Do you lack the Will of Fire?