The Uchiha Police Force

"Young Lord, if you become Hokage someday, you must keep the Education Department firmly under your control."

"Clan Head, I understand."

After greeting the clan members they encountered, the two had nearly covered the entire clan compound.

As they left the compound, Uchiha Shikata also told him about the rather modest Medical Department;

the Analysis Team, which was mainly run by the Yamanaka Clan and searched through the memories in enemies' minds;

and the Interrogation Department, which questioned enemy-nation ninja.

When they discussed the Education Department, Uchiha Takeyasu asked about this year's Ninja Academy graduates.

"Did you ask because you want to be a Jonin instructor, Young Lord?"

"If I have the energy for it, I'd indeed like to take on three students."

Uchiha Takeyasu thought back to the Konoha Sannin from the original story: Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. He could do without Jiraiya and Tsunade, but Orochimaru—the future world-renowned biologist and great scientist, who could be of immense help to the Uchiha Clan as a whole—had to be secured!

Uchiha Takeyasu planned to shape young Orochimaru into an Uchiha while his worldview was still taking form.

Judging by how things had gone in the original story, there was a good chance of success.

Early on, Orochimaru still had a warm heart. What mainly cooled it later was witnessing too many people die, realizing how fragile life was, and going astray.

At his core, Orochimaru was actually a good person. He was simply too self-centered and stubborn, and his feelings ran too deep. If he'd been born into the Uchiha Clan and witnessed the deaths of his close friends and family, he'd have awakened a Mangekyo at the very least.

"Your status doesn't yet qualify you as an active-duty Jonin, Young Lord. But the Police Force is ours to command. Once you become its chief, you'll automatically receive Jonin status."

"When the Ninja Academy graduates in a few days, either I or you can go straight to Mito Uzumaki and ask for the students."

This was also one of the bones Senju Tobirama had tossed the Uchiha Clan, meant to keep its Clan Head or Young Lord quietly settled in Konoha.

The Police Force's main job was to maintain order and stability within Konoha, establish rules related to public safety and order, and arrest people and ninja with criminal tendencies. But its authority had limits. For instance, it couldn't interfere in matters involving Anbu.

In theory, aside from the Hokage and Anbu, anyone else could be arrested on the grounds of "looking like a criminal." The force had the power to make and enforce its own laws—an absurd amount of authority.

In practice, though, it turned the Uchiha Clan into a role that everyone hated, like a gang of petty city enforcers.

Anything involving ninja was a major matter, and major matters fell under Anbu's jurisdiction.

All the trivial squabbles of ordinary civilians were dumped on the Uchiha. And with the Uchiha's innate pride, did they mediate disputes?

You dare cause trouble and make work for your Uchiha betters?

They'd use a Sharingan Dojutsu Technique right in front of a crowd, forcing you to confess every last detail. It was crude and simple, but it left you thoroughly humiliated.

As civilian children began attending the Ninja Academy, they absorbed their parents' disparagement of the Uchiha Clan. Over time, the Uchiha's reputation was utterly ruined.

Meanwhile, amid the daily tangle of trivial tasks, the Uchiha's fierce, warrior spirit was inevitably worn down.

In Uchiha Takeyasu's view, this was also one reason the Uchiha Clan later wavered back and forth over whether to rebel. A scholar's rebellion never comes to pass, even after ten years.

As they walked, they reached Konoha's Police Force headquarters, not far from the Uchiha Clan's compound and close to the village's central district. A prominent emblem was displayed above the entrance: a giant shuriken, with the Uchiha Clan crest—the Flame Fan—engraved in its center.

"Clan Head. Young Lord."

The well-lit lobby was filled with Uchiha Police Force members who had been waiting. When the two arrived, they greeted them in unison.

"Mm."

Uchiha Shikata surveyed the members' spirited appearance and nodded with satisfaction. "The four squad leaders, come with me."

Everyone headed to the meeting room upstairs. Uchiha Shikata added a chair beside the seat of honor and invited Uchiha Takeyasu to sit with him.

Uchiha Takeyasu looked at the four Uchiha seated below them. He could sense that all four were quite strong, each roughly at the threshold between Elite Jonin and Kage Level.

Working together, the two of them could fight an ordinary Kage-level opponent to the death if they were willing to pay any price.

Uchiha Shikata began the introductions, while Uchiha Takeyasu listened attentively.

The Police Force had 69 members in total, and its organization was modeled on Anbu. Its highest position was chief; unlike Anbu, it had no deputy chief.

It was divided into four squads—east, south, west, and north—with 17 members each. Every squad had a leader and four teams under it.

Each team consisted of four ninja: one team leader and three members.

Team members had to be at least Two Tomoe, while team leaders had to possess Three Tomoe. They were all active-duty Konoha Chunin or Jonin.

This was only a small part of the Uchiha Clan's strength, yet it was enough to cut a bloody path through the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans as they stood today.

Most of the Uchiha's remaining forces stayed in the clan compound. They were registered as clan ninja and, as far as Konoha's ninja records were concerned, might as well not exist.

It wasn't that the Uchiha didn't want to register their clan ninja as Konoha ninja. The problem was that Konoha Jonin had the right to participate in politics and policymaking. Under the Senju of the Forest's deliberate restrictions, the number of Jonin promoted from each ninja clan was determined by a set proportion.

At least, that was how it worked for the Uchiha Clan and the Senju of the Forest.

The two Senju Hokage hadn't wanted every Jonin meeting to find the room packed wall to wall with Senju and Uchiha. They'd held themselves to strict standards, leaving the Uchiha with no grounds for complaint.

This also meant the Uchiha had little influence among the higher-ups. If the others joined forces, they could easily disregard the Uchiha Clan's opinions.

With the ceiling on promotions right before their eyes, the Uchiha Clan had suddenly realized it was caught between a rock and a hard place. The way forward was the Hokage seat. As for retreat?

"Retreat" wasn't in the Uchiha Clan's dictionary.

And so, the desire to become Hokage took root deep in the heart of every Uchiha.

Once Uchiha Shikata finished explaining the Police Force's structure and duties in detail, the squad leaders below introduced themselves in turn, from left to right.

Before long, it was noon. Everyone ate lunch together, then Uchiha Takeyasu accompanied the four squad leaders as they spent the afternoon touring the districts under their respective jurisdictions.

They came across several brawls and thefts along the way. Uchiha Takeyasu didn't step in. He calmly watched his subordinates resolve the cases in an unmistakably Uchiha way: fast, precise, and ruthless.

He also experienced firsthand the fear the villagers nearby felt toward the Uchiha.

The clan crest on their backs seemed like the mark of a monster. As the Uchiha Young Lord, Uchiha Takeyasu found that rather irritating.

Reforming the Police Force was imperative. The Uchiha couldn't be left to shoulder all the blame.

Uchiha Takeyasu planned to model the force on the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department of his previous life. The Uchiha would be like career-track officers who'd passed the first-class civil service exam: their main duties would be punching the clock, checking in, and enjoying a comfortable retirement.

Members of the other ninja clans would be like the quasi-career-track officers who'd passed the second-class exam, responsible for bowing and apologizing to the public. Civilians would be the non-career-track workers, doing the grunt work and patrolling here and there.

That way, the Uchiha could escape their dull, loathed day-to-day duties and have more time to devote to training.

In Uchiha Takeyasu's view, the four squad leaders had definitely been held back by the Police Force. If they went out and fought their way through the battlefield, they'd have an excellent chance of reaching Kage Level.

In that regard, Senju Tobirama had undoubtedly succeeded.

One more Kage-level fighter meant the Uchiha Clan's deterrent power grew by another measure.

If someone below failed to do their job, then if the Police Force was at fault, they'd be fired and made to apologize—a complete package. The Uchiha wouldn't even have to show their faces.

If the fault lay with outsiders, the Uchiha's Sharingan would make short work of anyone who refused to cooperate—and they'd win over the public in the process.

The problem now is how to get the others to join the Police Force—and make them reluctant to leave.

The Police Force's rules need improving, too.

As dinner time approached, Uchiha Takeyasu returned to the clan compound. Just as he was forming a plan, the Clan Head and two elders brought him some good news.