"Bullshit!"
At that moment, Mitokado Homura, dressed in a white short jacket and wearing glasses, walked out of the crowd.
He already knew the details of the fire.
Someone was stirring up trouble!
After all, it wasn't just that several places had caught fire at once; they were all department stores, too. It didn't take long for people to suspect who was behind it.
Especially after Uchiha White Dove showed up openly. That was all the more reason to be certain this was his revenge.
What no one had expected was that he would choose to act right in the village.
That was what dissatisfied Homura.
"What is it, Administration Department Chief?"
White Dove didn't even bother pretending anymore. He didn't call Homura a respected elder adviser, just the department chief.
Well, Homura ran the Administration Department, a position that had existed in the village for a long time. It wasn't one Sarutobi Hiruzen had made up, so White Dove naturally had no reason to deny it.
"You've got a lot of—"
Homura had just started to rebuke White Dove for his audacity when he suddenly realized something and swallowed the rest of his words.
Yes, he could see that White Dove was doing it on purpose.
He was clearly trying to provoke them.
If Homura let his anger drag him into this, he might fall straight into White Dove's trap.
So Homura chose to suppress his anger for the time being.
"Too bad!"
Seeing Homura rein himself in when he'd been about to blow up, White Dove sighed inwardly.
He had been doing it on purpose.
He'd wanted to provoke the two elder advisers into taking his side, then make them step in to protect these department stores at all costs.
That way, when they later found evidence of "collusion with another village," the two advisers would be implicated as well.
At least, that was how it would look to the villagers.
Even if they managed to clear their names later, tarnishing someone's reputation was much easier than restoring it.
Just look at the Uchiha.
No matter how much they tried to clear their name, all it took was someone whipping up public sentiment to blacken their reputation completely.
Now that White Dove had dropped the act, he naturally had to shoulder the banner of standing against the "village."
Building the New Uchiha didn't mean currying favor with the village.
On the contrary, he would keep opposing the village. He just wouldn't be as reckless and brainless as the current Hawk Faction.
The prejudice the village leadership held against the Uchiha had frozen solid over many years. It was practically impossible to melt.
So no matter how much he tried to please the village leadership, the only likely outcome was "when the cunning hares are dead, the hounds will be cooked."
Seek peace through struggle, and peace will endure!
As a transmigrator, White Dove understood that principle.
That was why standing up to the village himself was the Uchiha's only way out.
He didn't even need to win. He just had to look better than that "spineless" clan leader next door to earn the Uchiha's admiration and support.
This was all an act!
Unfortunately, Homura had apparently noticed something and hadn't taken the bait.
Just then, several figures rushed out of the department store, its walls blackened by smoke. The Uchiha at their head was holding a small wooden box.
"Oh no!"
Homura exclaimed inwardly.
He was also in charge of foreign affairs, so he knew the other shinobi villages well. When he saw the mark representing Kumogakure in the corner of the box, he recognized it at once.
The mark meant the box was connected to the Cloud Ninja, and the item had been found in a department store belonging to the Utatane Clan...
"Captain White Dove, while searching inside, we found this in a hidden compartment..."
The Uchiha Police Force squad leader handed the box to White Dove.
Normally, White Dove was only the Logistics Squad Captain of the Police Force, so he had no authority to direct these Uchiha.
But they respected and trusted him, treating him as their direct superior. That was why they handed the item to him instead of taking it back to the Police Force.
"Uchiha White Dove, the Police Force shouldn't handle this. Hand it over to Anbu at once!"
Homura spoke up to stop White Dove from opening the box.
If they opened it and found that the contents really were connected to Kumogakure, things would get complicated.
But White Dove had deliberately set things up this way. There was no chance he'd actually listen to Homura.
Click!
He opened the box.
A scroll!
The box contained an intelligence scroll.
"This is..."
White Dove's expression changed dramatically, as though he'd discovered something serious. He immediately piqued the curiosity of the villagers around him.
With acting like his, those pretty-faced young actors from before he transmigrated could practice for decades and still not measure up.
After all, being a ninja really did demand excellent acting.
There were no second takes, and one slip could mean a failed mission—and death. So it was no wonder every ninja was an award-winning actor from the start.
White Dove unfurled the scroll as though he wanted to confirm something.
Some sharp-eyed villagers standing nearby caught sight of words like "defense plan" written on it.
Whoosh!
White Dove quickly rolled the scroll back up, carefully returned it to the box, and closed the lid. Then he ordered the dozen or so Uchiha Police Force members who had just finished searching the place:
"Seal off this area at once. No one gets in or out. Seal off the other department stores that caught fire, too. I suspect this fire was set by spies from another village!"
His expression was grave and solemn as he gave the order, as if something serious had happened.
Life was like a play; it all came down to acting!
Just from looking at him, the villagers could tell that there was much more to this fire—and that it was a serious matter.
White Dove was doing it on purpose, of course.
If he didn't, how would his business rivals learn what it meant to suffer a painful lesson?
"Uchiha White Dove, what authority does the Police Force have to do this?"
After Homura warned Utatane Koharu that the situation was bad, she immediately spoke up, trying to stop White Dove.
The item had been found in her clan's department store. Even if the investigation eventually proved the store had nothing to do with it, its reputation would already be ruined by then. There would be no repairing the damage.
So Koharu had to stop things from escalating—and, more importantly, distance her clan's department store from the incident.
The best way was to take control of the investigation.
As an elder adviser of the village, she had the authority to speak up with confidence. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, had created the position and there were procedural issues, the power it granted was real.
"Of course we have the authority. The Police Force has the power to handle all internal affairs in the village. The Second Hokage himself granted us that power. Surely Department Chief Utatane knows that?"
White Dove picked up the box and prepared to leave with his people.
But neither Koharu nor Homura would let him take it away, so they stepped in front of him.
"Are you trying to obstruct the Police Force in the performance of its duties?"
White Dove looked angry as he accused them, but inwardly he was hopeful.
If they actually dared to say yes, then... that would be wonderful.
Even as elder advisers, if they openly obstructed the Police Force, they'd be saddled with the blame until they were sick of it.
Unfortunately, these two old foxes weren't ordinary people, so they didn't choose to use force.
"Of course not. But cases involving leaked intelligence have always been handled by Anbu. It has nothing to do with the Police Force, does it?"
Homura came up with an excellent excuse.
Yes, the Police Force no longer had the authority to handle spies and intelligence matters. That meant losing not only a great deal of power, but also the chance to earn credit.
At this point, the Police Force got almost none of the benefits, while all the trouble and headaches kept piling up.
Anbu and the other departments got the benefits; the Police Force took the blame.
After taking the fall for so many things, it was no wonder the Uchiha were constantly being complained about.
"Then Anbu can come to the Police Force to pick it up!"
White Dove planned to take the box away first and deal with the rest later.
As long as he got the item away, he could make up whatever story he wanted afterward.
As if they were the only ones who could spread rumors and smear people.
If it came to that, he was the expert. As a transmigrator who'd seen countless rumors and smears, he knew exactly how to play that game.
White Dove had even thought of the rumor's headline already. He'd guarantee it was one that would pique the villagers' interest.
Before you continue