"Why didn't you ask Senior Orochimaru to teach you? Isn't he your teacher?"
Orochimaru had taken Nawaki on as his student two years ago. Now that the Wood Release Plan was over, if Nawaki wasn't going to keep receiving surgeries from Orochimaru, he shouldn't be so busy anymore.
Why couldn't he even find time to spare for Nawaki's training?
Nawaki paused, then shook his head with a sigh. "I want to find Teacher Orochimaru, too, but I almost never see him around. I even wonder if he's gone out on another mission."
"I just trust you more, Qingguang."
Nawaki gave an embarrassed smile and scratched his head.
He couldn't exactly say that Itsuki's training was too strict, Senior Kosuke's explanations made him sleepy, and he didn't want to learn from either of them.
"All right, but I still have patrol duty with the Police Department these days. I can only spare a few hours in the afternoon to teach you."
"We'll train at your family's training ground. I still have to keep patrolling, so I'll see you later."
When Qingguang agreed to his request, Nawaki jumped for joy, beaming as he waved goodbye.
"Yes!"
"See you later, Qingguang!"
He vanished in a flash.
Yashiro was responsible for escorting the drunk from earlier back to the Police Department's detention room.
Before the man could be locked up in Konoha's jail, he had to be questioned again, and Minister Fugaku had to sign the paperwork himself.
After Yashiro left, Inabi gave Qingguang a thumbs-up.
"Qingguang, you've finally come to your senses. When dealing with guys like that, you have to let them feel the full force of the Police Department's iron fist."
"'Compassionate enforcement, a forceful baton'—that's a great way to put it!"
He'd thought Qingguang would keep acting like the nice guy he'd always been. But Qingguang had moved swiftly and decisively just now, and that had genuinely surprised him.
Sure enough, deep down, Qingguang was just like him: a passionate, battle-loving Uchiha, a Hawk Faction Uchiha by nature.
Qingguang smiled. "Inabi, kindness is how we treat good people. When we face criminals, of course we have to show them our fierce side."
"Let's keep patrolling for now. We can talk after we're done."
"All right. We'll talk after."
Over the next few days, Qingguang trained in Wood Release in the mornings and went to Nawaki's home in the afternoons to teach him the Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
At night, he went on patrol with the Uchiha. His days were packed.
Meanwhile, Qingguang's title as the "Smiling Executive Officer" kept spreading.
When disputes arose from misunderstandings, Qingguang first separated the two sides to take their statements, then carefully observed them to get to the bottom of things.
He settled big problems before they grew and nipped minor ones in the bud.
If some troublemaker deliberately picked a fight, he didn't hesitate to put his baton to use.
Even some children had started playing make-believe, scrambling to take on the role of Qingguang, the "Smiling Executive Officer."
They fought over it so fiercely that they even gave names to Qingguang's statement-taking and baton-wielding routines.
They called them "Gentle Record" and "Swift Baton."
The half-month deadline Fugaku had given Qingguang soon came to an end.
When Qingguang stood before Fugaku again, Fugaku looked surprised, but there was also a deep note of confusion in his expression.
He'd once tried being gentle for a while himself. Why had his results been so different from Qingguang's?
Could it be because Qingguang was a little better-looking than him?
"Minister Fugaku, how many complaint letters did I get over the past half-month?"
Qingguang couldn't wait to ask how his reputation had fared during that time.
Fugaku took out a few complaint letters and set them on the table. There were only a handful.
"You've certainly taught me a lesson. I thought you'd fail just like I did back then."
"There are only four. Ever since you locked that guy up, you haven't received another complaint."
"Other officers on duty, on the other hand, have received plenty. People even compare them to you and say they hope they'll handle things like you do."
Fugaku had never expected this.
What surprised him even more was that when the Police Department officers learned they were being compared to Qingguang, almost none of them seemed upset.
It seemed that if they were being compared to Qingguang, they really did fall short.
"Is that so? I guess I focused too much on standing out and overlooked how everyone else felt. That was my fault."
Qingguang looked full of remorse, as if he'd committed some terrible mistake.
"Hey, don't say that."
"No, Minister Fugaku, you don't need to comfort me. I know I must have caused a lot of trouble for the others."
"Maybe I'm just not suited to working for the Police Department after all. Perhaps I should..."
Qingguang's reaction left Fugaku at a loss. He hurriedly spoke up. "Stop!"
"Qingguang, do you trust my judgment?"
"Of course I trust you, Minister Fugaku. Otherwise, I wouldn't have joined the Police Department." Qingguang forced an awkward smile.
Seeing that he'd managed to stop Qingguang's negative feelings from spiraling further, Fugaku finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After racking his brains, he came up with a way to keep Qingguang in the Police Department.
"Qingguang, since the villagers want the others to handle patrols like you do, why not teach them?" Fugaku asked tentatively.
Qingguang looked startled and pointed at himself. "Me? Teach everyone?"
"But I..."
"Don't rush to refuse. I won't force anyone to learn from you."
"How about this: I'll put out an announcement tomorrow. Anyone interested can volunteer to patrol and learn alongside you."
"During the shift rotation on weekends, you can hold group lessons for them. It might be a bit tiring, but what do you think?"
Qingguang considered whether the plan was feasible.
"It shouldn't be too much trouble."
Hearing that, Fugaku immediately slapped the table and declared, "Good! Since you're willing, Qingguang, I'll leave this difficult task to you!"
"If you can really change the villagers' impression of and attitude toward the Police Department, you'll be a credit to the Uchiha Clan!"
"I wouldn't go that far. I'm one of the Uchiha, and I grew up being raised by the whole village. This is only what I should do."
Qingguang smiled and nodded, finally agreeing without hesitation.
At that moment, a thought occurred to Fugaku—one that surprised even him.
If he could be like Qingguang, wouldn't the clan have become much more harmonious long ago?
But that thought felt like a betrayal and a sign of disrespect toward the guidance his father had given him over the years.
Cold sweat broke out across his back.
He didn't want to be lectured by his father.
The day after the announcement went out, Qingguang was getting ready for his night patrol when he saw at least a dozen people gathered outside the Police Department. He didn't know what to make of it.
"What are you all...?"
Before you continue