The Conflict Begins

Uchiha Fugaku was a cautious man by nature, and he didn't answer immediately.

Only Konoha's High Command knew the strength of the village's shinobi forces, but the Military Police was an influential department with the authority to investigate shinobi.

It was the only shinobi force made up of a clan, on equal footing with the Hokage's Anbu, paid by Konoha and tasked with patrolling the village.

From the shinobi identification numbers, Fugaku could roughly estimate the number of active shinobi in Konoha.

Then he could make a broad estimate of the village garrisons in each direction, consider how Shimura Danzō had practically become a laughingstock yesterday with his "request for troops," and factor in the watcher who had appeared out of nowhere last night...

It must be the shinobi force that went southwest. It's made the Konoha High Command, already short on troops and officers, truly nervous.

Fugaku turned the thought over in his mind and realized that the High Command's forces within Konoha had been greatly weakened. Sarutobi Hiruzen's direct forces numbered no more than two thousand.

Over eighty percent of them were Genin, and there were no more than twenty Jonin.

Under these circumstances, the clan naturally had to take a firmer stance and fight for greater initiative.

But they still had to get the balance right. They couldn't push the clan into opposition with both the Konoha High Command and the other shinobi clans.

"We have to know who our enemies are and who our friends are."

Uchiha Ren's words at the clan meeting came back to him. The compromises of daily life hadn't worn down his edge. Still young enough to dare and fight, Fugaku declared without hesitation,

"The Military Police has its own rules and procedures."

"Anyone suspected of endangering Konoha will be dealt with by the Military Police!"

His emphatic words rang through the room, and everyone smiled.

"I'll go to Ren's first. After that, please follow the clan's will."

Mikoto rose to her feet.

The afternoon sun shone warmly over Konoha's streets, where people came and went in peaceful harmony.

But the tranquility was soon shattered by hurried footsteps and a fierce, chilling presence.

Led by Uchiha Fugaku, two Military Police squads swept silently and swiftly through the streets, heading straight for several concealed positions around the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Behind him followed Uchiha Shisui, with keen eyes and nimble movements.

And Uchiha Tekka, his expression grim, barely containing his excitement and hostility.

"Move."

Fugaku's order was brief. His solemn face had turned openly fierce.

The Uchihas, who had already locked onto their targets, scattered in an instant, charging like leopards at the watchers who thought themselves perfectly hidden.

"What do you Uchihas think you're doing? We're—" A shinobi concealed in the treetops started to shout and identify himself.

But the next moment, he met Fugaku's cold, scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Sharingan: Genjutsu!"

The rest of his words died in his throat. His eyes glazed over, his body stiffening as though bound by invisible chains.

"Damn it!"

An Anbu cried out, followed by the clang of kunai colliding.

The dull thud of blows landing, and the occasional cry of pain cut abruptly short, sounded especially jarring in the quiet neighborhood.

But to the Uchihas, it was music to their ears.

Some of the watchers' animal masks fell off during the fight, or were forcibly torn away by the Uchihas, revealing faces full of shock and fury, unable to believe what was happening.

Some even shouted incoherently after their mouths had been beaten bloody.

"We're Anbu! We were ordered to watch you! So the Uchihas really are planning a rebellion?!"

The Uchihas answered with even fiercer, more enthusiastic attacks.

"Anbu? What Anbu?"

"All we see is a bunch of sneaky 'foreign spies' plotting to steal Konoha's intelligence!"

"Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and Senju Clans. The Senju are gone, so the Uchihas are Konoha's masters. What rebellion is there to plot?! And you think you're fit to spy on the Uchihas, you stinking gutter rats?"

Uchiha Tekka's mocking voice rang through the area. Shinobi nearby who had heard the commotion stopped in their tracks, all at once.

Everyone watched as Tekka crushed a fox mask underfoot, their expressions complicated.

Anyone with eyes could tell these people were Anbu. Attacking them meant provoking the Hokage.

It was obvious that the Uchihas and the Konoha High Command were at odds. Shinobi in the center of Konoha knew what was going on.

As long as they weren't personally involved and the situation remained unclear, they would wait and see.

There was nothing new under the sun.

In the fight, Shisui moved with blinding speed, every strike leaving his opponent unable to resist.

One blow to the mouth, two to the legs, and a third sent the opponent to his knees.

"These bastards are all that stand between the clan and Konoha. They deserve a beating!"

Shisui had yet to spend much time around Sarutobi Hiruzen. Faced with a choice between his clan and the village, he trusted his senior, Fugaku.

Once Konoha was rid of its festering corruption, the clan and the village would surely work together and usher in a brighter future.

Fugaku stood atop a streetlamp, arms crossed and expression cold. He seemed not to hear the "Anbu" shouting.

Others might not recognize them, but the Uchiha leadership knew them all too well—

These were rats wearing Anbu's tiger skin to swagger around. They belonged to Shimura Danzō's Root!

Every member of the Uchiha Police Force was at least a Chunin. To deal with two squads of Root shinobi, eight in total, sending an equal number of Uchihas was more than enough.

The real confrontation would come next, either at the Hokage Building or at the Military Police headquarters!

"Take them all in. If they resist, take whatever measures are necessary!"

Fugaku's order reached every Uchiha, and the Root shinobi heard it too.

Necessary measures...

The words gave the Uchihas even more "leeway" in how they handled things—

They made sure their opponents couldn't keep fighting or escape, while leaving them screaming in agony!

Soon, the one-sided fight was over.

Every Root member had their arms twisted behind their backs and was securely bound with specially made rope.

They were all bruised and battered. Some had joints dislocated, arms broken, or legs broken. Their muffled groans as they endured the pain blended together.

Several had been singled out for special attention after running their mouths. After their injuries healed, whether they could ever work as shinobi again was anyone's guess.

"Take them away."

Fugaku gave the order.

As more civilian and clan shinobi arrived, the Uchihas marched with their heads held high under the stunned, fearful, and thoughtful gazes of the crowd—

They strung the injured Root shinobi together with rope and paraded them through the streets, half-dragging and half-hauling them along like spoils of war.

The scene was like a giant boulder dropped into a still lake, sending enormous ripples through Konoha.

Fugaku walked at the head of the procession, his expression calm, his thoughts as clear as a mirror.

The struggle between the clan and the Konoha High Command had only just begun.

"Ren, I hope your... No, this is the clan's decision!"

"We can't be wrong!"