Hiruzen Sarutobi: Uchiha Kazuto's Unwavering Loyalty

The next day, Uchiha Kazuto wrote an application form, then went to the Hokage's office and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Staring at the budget request on the form, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly sat up from his chair, his face filled with disbelief at the number of zeros written on it.

"Kazuto, are you sure you didn't fill this out wrong?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked again, holding the application in his hand.

"Lord Hokage, there's no mistake. Lord Hokage, this is all for the village. As you know, the Military Police Force has recently recruited some ninja from within the village. The Police Force shoulders the great mission of protecting the village—it's very important and very dangerous. Originally, this was the Uchiha Clan's duty. Now, to ease the rift between the clan and the village, I've changed the Police Force's traditions and brought in ninja from the village, putting their lives at risk to take on the dangerous responsibilities that should have been ours as the Uchiha Clan. For the sake of my wish, I've dragged everyone in the village into a dangerous situation. My heart is truly uneasy, so the only way I can repay them is through their salaries!"

Uchiha Kazuto nodded, locking eyes with Hiruzen Sarutobi, speaking with a righteous tone. Then, a deeply guilty expression spread across his face—so much so that even he himself believed his own words. Yes, paying such high wages was absolutely not about winning people over or making it easier for those ninja to pledge loyalty to him.

It was for the village's safety, to compensate them, and that was why he was offering such high salaries. Absolutely. If someone were to put Uchiha Kazuto under a lie detector right now, they'd find that everything he said was true—pure heartfelt emotion.

Uchiha Kazuto, whether before or after his transmigration, was just an ordinary person. But he was very honest, very sincere. In all his life, he had never told a lie, because to him, every word he spoke was true—at least, that's what he believed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his pipe, staring at the application in his hand. He could feel the sincerity in Uchiha Kazuto's tone and the guilt on his face—it definitely wasn't faked. That meant Uchiha Kazuto genuinely thought this way.

This guy really believed that bringing village ninja into the Police Force was dangerous for them. In his mind, the Konoha Military Police Force was truly an organization that protected the village's safety, was loyal to the Hokage, and safeguarded the Hokage himself.

If only Fugaku had had such awareness back then.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked, sighing inwardly. He felt a little reluctant to tell Uchiha Kazuto that the Police Force wasn't nearly as dangerous as he imagined. Over all these years, the Konoha Military Police Force had hardly suffered any casualties—it was an extremely safe department.

But that was when the Police Force was estranged from Konoha. Now, the Police Force's commander was Uchiha Kazuto—this incredibly sincere, kind, and deeply Will of Fire-abiding good citizen of the Uchiha Clan. He was different from the other Uchiha.

Under his leadership, the Police Force members might actually face danger. After all, a proactive leader and a leader who was inactive—or even plotting rebellion—were completely different!

Take Uchiha Fugaku, for example. That guy was full of sinister schemes. He cracked down hard on the villagers, but when real trouble came, he'd shrink back like a turtle to preserve his strength for the coup.

But Uchiha Kazuto was different. Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that, given Kazuto's personality, if real danger arose, he would definitely lead the Police Force charging in. Under Uchiha Kazuto's command, the Police Force truly was in danger!

But...

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the application again. Too much, far too much—it exceeded even the Anbu's budget.

"Kazuto, having such thoughts is good, but you know the village isn't exactly well-off. The salaries you're giving the Police Force are too high. Cut them down a bit."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, placed the application on the desk, then picked up a pen and crossed out several zeros from the requested funds.

"This... Lord Hokage..."

Uchiha Kazuto looked up, his face showing a flustered expression, as if he had no idea his request was so excessive.

But then, as if he suddenly understood something, he quickly composed his expression.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. I was too rash. I only thought of myself and neglected the village's difficulties, neglected your difficulties, Lord Hokage. I'm sorry!"

Uchiha Kazuto, imitating the bowing masters, bent over to apologize to Hiruzen Sarutobi, as if he truly believed he was wrong. Anyway, no matter what, apologizing first was the way to go.

As long as I bow, then no matter what I've done, it can be forgiven.

Seeing Uchiha Kazuto like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. Now this—this was what an Uchiha should be like. Talking to Uchiha Kazuto was just so pleasant—he was sensible, and he admired him. If Uchiha Kazuto weren't from the Uchiha Clan, he might have even taken him as a disciple.

What a pity—he was still an Uchiha. When he stepped down, he could hand Uchiha Kazuto over to the next Hokage. Uchiha Kazuto would be Konoha's good dog for controlling the Uchiha Clan.

Looking at Uchiha Kazuto, Hiruzen Sarutobi sometimes even thought Danzo's death was a good thing. If not for Danzo and Fugaku's conspiracy, how would he have known that the Uchiha Clan had such a good citizen as Uchiha Kazuto?

No other ninja clan would do something like using their own family's interests to train ninja from the village.

If it were the old Uchiha Clan, how could they ever recruit Police Force members from the village? If it were the old Police Force, how could they train their members to shout slogans like "For the village!" and "For the Hokage!"?

The current Police Force made him very happy. Since he took office, no one had ever organized a group to march around Konoha shouting things like "For the Hokage!" So Hiruzen Sarutobi had a very high opinion of the current Police Force.

If Uchiha Kazuto hadn't requested so much funding, he probably would have approved it outright, instead of crossing out a few zeros first.

If someone came to Hiruzen Sarutobi now and said that Uchiha Kazuto had ulterior motives, or even that training the Police Force was to launch a coup, Hiruzen Sarutobi would be the first not to believe it.

Look at those kids—shouting "For the Hokage!" and "For the village!" every day, so loyal, so devoted. How could they possibly start a coup?