Sarutobi Hiruzen forced a smile that wrinkled his face like a flower and said:
"Since everything's been cleared up, that's all for the best."
"But next time, make sure you have enough evidence before arresting someone. Otherwise, public opinion will be hard to manage."
"After all, you wouldn't want the people of Konoha to hate and shun the Uchiha, would you?"
Xuanye put on a look of mild surprise.
"Isn't managing public opinion something the Fourth Hokage should be thinking about?"
"The Konoha Security Division is only responsible for arrests and determining guilt."
"Even as the Former Hokage, you shouldn't overstep and handle the Fourth Hokage's responsibilities, should you?"
At that moment, even Fugaku stared at Xuanye in shock.
You're going to make an issue out of that too?
Sure enough, Hiruzen's gaze turned dangerous.
Xuanye might as well have pointed a finger in Hiruzen's face and accused him of clinging to power while doing none of the work.
Even a clay figurine had a temper, let alone Hiruzen, who had ruled Konoha for over a decade.
"Of course, this is the Security Division, and there are only three of us here. You needn't worry about anyone else hearing this."
Those words were a warning.
Xuanye's meaning was clear: the Uchiha no longer needed to curry favor with Hiruzen. They had someone else they could turn to.
Namikaze Minato might have beaten Uchiha Fugaku to the Hokage's seat, but in fairness, Little Sun was a decent man.
At the very least, he was a far better ally than people like Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
And with the support of the Uchiha, Konoha's largest clan, whether Minato would remain as firmly under Hiruzen's thumb as he was now was anyone's guess.
The Uchiha had never considered that path before because it would have wounded their pride.
But that did not mean the option was unavailable.
Hiruzen gave Xuanye a long look, then turned to Fugaku.
"Fugaku, the Uchiha have produced an outstanding clansman."
Fugaku gave no answer. He simply kept his fierce eyes fixed on Hiruzen.
Things had gone too far for the conversation to continue.
Hiruzen swept out of the room. Once he returned, he would have to think carefully about how to deal with an Uchiha as different as Xuanye.
The young man knew the rules inside out, and the moment a conversation began, he wasted no time pinning an accusation on his opponent.
Who could withstand that?
Pinning an accusation on someone before forcing them to pick a side had always been the Hokage Faction's favorite trick.
But now that it had been used against him, Hiruzen felt as though a mouthful of blood were stuck in his throat, too bitter to swallow.
After Hiruzen left, Fugaku took Xuanye straight to his office without a word.
Defensive barriers surrounded the Captain of the Security Division's office, effectively blocking all manner of Sensory Ninjutsu and attempts to peer inside with the Byakugan.
They could discuss matters there without fear of being overheard.
Fugaku shut the door and asked urgently:
"Did you really kill that man?"
Xuanye nearly spat out his tea.
He had anticipated plenty of questions from Fugaku, but not one so beside the point.
"I only just brought him in. Even if I wanted to burn and cremate him, I couldn't have done it that fast."
Of course, Xuanye was only saying he had not killed the troublemaker who had attacked the Konoha Security Division yet. That did not mean the man's fate would be pleasant.
Fugaku seemed to realize he had asked a foolish question and tried again:
"What exactly are you trying to do? Can you give me a straight answer?"
Only now did Fugaku realize that he seemed to have been drawn into a scheme.
Xuanye had told him just yesterday how to respond to challenges from the Konoha High Command. The very next day, Hiruzen had come straight to their door.
The cause was Xuanye stirring up trouble outside. As expected, his story had been so full of holes that it looked as though he had deliberately used it to lure Hiruzen here.
Xuanye said calmly, "Clan head, let me ask you something."
Fugaku nodded helplessly.
Xuanye had many fine qualities, but he insisted on answering questions by asking his own.
Every time, Fugaku ended up sitting straight-backed like a student.
I'm the clan head! Why don't you show me any respect?
And then there was Hiruzen. Fugaku did not know if he was imagining it, but Xuanye did not seem to regard the man as a Hokage at all.
Xuanye asked evenly, "Do you think the Security Division has been good or bad for the Uchiha?"
Without waiting for Fugaku to answer, Xuanye answered his own question:
"Because of their work in the Security Division, all the Uchiha Family's elite spend their time working inside Konoha. Outside their regular duties, most missions they take are only C-rank or D-rank. In other words, jobs that pay next to nothing."
"The village funds the Security Division, but compared with other Konoha Shinobi of the same caliber, our strongest Uchiha earn far less."
"Even compared with the other major ninja villages, the Uchiha's average earnings are quite low."
Fugaku did not understand why Xuanye had steered the conversation toward money.
"Is money that important?"
Xuanye gave Fugaku's guileless expression a speechless look.
"...You're the clan head, yet you don't know what it costs to keep a household running. What part of being a Shinobi doesn't require money?"
"With money, you can afford better medicinal baths to heal the damage caused by training. You can buy better ninja tools, even scrolls and summoning beasts."
"If the price is right, you can even buy techniques passed down through other clans."
"Being a Shinobi is a bottomless pit. Apart from Kekkei Genkai and a tiny handful of geniuses, the more money you pour in, the more strength you get out."
Money could not solve everything, but for a great clan, having none was disastrous.
Without money, they could not train more Shinobi. Without more Shinobi, they could not earn more mission fees... Keep that up long enough, and they would be trapped in a vicious cycle.
Fugaku had been removed from the struggles of ordinary people for too long.
Just look at Sunagakure. Because it lacked money, it could only afford to train a small number of elite Shinobi.
Did they train elites because they liked doing it?
No. They had been forced into it!
If they could overwhelm a target with numbers, who would choose a surgical strike?
After Xuanye criticized him for failing to understand the importance of money, Fugaku fell into thought.
It was true. His branch of the family had always held the clan leadership, and he had never had to think about money while training as a child.
After training, he had enjoyed the finest medicinal baths to relax and restore his body. He had even had people assigned to attend to him.
He had never lacked techniques, ninja tools, or training equipment either.
To put it bluntly, Fugaku had hardly ever worried about money in his life.