Deep in Root's base, underground in Konoha.
The frigid air seemed frozen in place. Only the occasional crackle of a torch broke the silence.
Shimura Danzō sat upright on a stone chair, his single eye glinting in the shadows like a lurking viper.
Standing respectfully before him were his two most capable confidants: Aburame Tatsuma and Yamanaka Fu.
"Uchiha Ling..." Danzō's voice was low and hoarse, thick with undisguised disdain.
"That boy is becoming more and more of a nuisance. He joined the Police Force, won over his clansmen, and even dared to meddle at Root's doorstep. Hiruzen's indulgence has made him forget who he is."
Aburame Tatsuma pushed up his glasses and analyzed the situation calmly. "His standing in the Police Force is growing, especially after the way he handled that dispute last time. Many clansmen and villagers have started to see him in a new light. If he's allowed to continue, he could become a serious threat."
Yamanaka Fu nodded and added, "Besides, he seems genuinely intent on improving relations between the Uchiha and the village, which runs counter to our policy of 'keeping the Uchiha a controllable threat.'
"We have to strike before he's fully established. Ideally, we'll remove him from the center of power or... eliminate the threat altogether."
Danzō narrowed his eye and tapped his fingers lightly against the back of the chair. "Acting directly would be too risky. It would be difficult to explain things to Hiruzen and Tsunade. We need a subtler method—one that makes him slip up and lose people's trust."
Danzō pondered for a moment, and a sinister plan took shape in his mind.
"Tatsuma, you have a subordinate skilled at disguises and infiltration, codenamed Hui'an, correct?" Danzō asked.
"Yes, Lord Danzō. Hui'an excels at creating 'accidents' and framing others," Aburame Tatsuma replied.
"Excellent." A cold smile tugged at the corner of Danzō's mouth.
"I hear there's a small ninja tool warehouse on the edge of the Uchiha Compound, run by the more hardline Uchiha. Its security is lax. Have Hui'an take care of something there.
"The target is a batch of newly arrived, specially numbered restricted Explosive Tags. Make sure the job is clean, but leave behind a subtle clue—something that might point to certain Uchiha who resent the village, without making it conclusive."
Yamanaka Fu immediately understood. "You want to stage an incident where 'Uchiha insiders steal restricted ninja tools from their own warehouse'?
"Then we 'accidentally' uncover the clues and steer the Police Force, especially Uchiha Ling, into investigating? No matter whether he solves the case, he'll be caught in a dilemma."
"Exactly." Danzō nodded in satisfaction.
"If he can't solve it, he'll look incompetent, and suspicions that he's covering for his clan will linger.
"If he investigates under pressure and even harshly punishes his own clansmen to prove his innocence, he'll provoke a fierce backlash within the Uchiha, destroying the reputation he's only just built.
"Either outcome benefits us. Fu, find a suitable 'informant.' He must seem reliable and be able to 'provide' a key clue at the right moment, one that points to someone Uchiha Ling wants to protect."
"Understood!" Aburame Tatsuma and Yamanaka Fu answered in unison. Their figures quietly melted into the darkness as they began carrying out Danzō's plan.
Several days later, in the dead of night.
A shadowy figure silently slipped into the target warehouse.
Hui'an was highly skilled. He deftly avoided the less-than-vigilant guards and located the restricted Explosive Tags with precision.
He didn't take them all, only a small portion, making it look as if an insider had been stealing them in small amounts over time.
Before leaving, he deliberately left a small scrap of cloth in an inconspicuous corner. It had been carefully worn down, but still bore the faint impression of one corner of the Uchiha Clan Crest. He also left behind a trace of pine resin, a scent commonly used to maintain the Uchiha family's ninja tools.
Once everything was done, Hui'an vanished like a specter.
The theft was discovered the next morning.
The warehouse manager reported the incident in a panic. He said he'd heard clansmen complaining about the village's unfair treatment near the warehouse a few days earlier, and "remembered" seeing a hardline young Uchiha loitering nearby.
The warehouse was in the jurisdiction of the Uchiha squad.
"Lord Ling, something about this feels off. The timing of the theft, the tip, and the villagers' unusual interest—it all feels like a trap aimed at us."
Uchiha Yashiro keenly identified the key points.
Uchiha Ling nodded, his gaze sharp. "They've made their move. Yashiro, have your men conduct a standard investigation in the open. Interview the manager and carefully examine the scene. Don't overlook any details, but don't express any opinions about what happened.
"Tekka, select brothers we can trust absolutely and have them keep the warehouse manager under constant watch for the next twenty-four hours. Also, check everyone suspicious who appeared near the warehouse before or after the theft. Don't alert anyone."
Yashiro led the public investigation. He and his men carefully searched the warehouse and, sure enough, found the "accidentally" abandoned scrap of cloth and the faint scent of pine resin.
The manager seemed cooperative when answering questions, but his eyes kept darting about, and the details of his story didn't hold up under repeated questioning.
Yashiro silently took note of it all, showing no reaction.
Uchiha Tekka handled the surveillance in secret.
The straightforward Uchiha threw himself into the mission with absolute focus.
Tekka's patience paid off. On the second night after the theft, he saw the manager sneak out of his house late at night and meet a cloaked figure in a back alley behind a tavern. The manager accepted a small scroll from him.
Tekka suppressed the urge to rush over, memorized the stranger's appearance and the direction he went, then tailed him. In the end, he confirmed that the stranger had entered an Underground Exchange branch with extensive ties to Root.
Hah, Danzō, is this all you've got? Using public opinion and stirring up the people to shove me and the Uchiha Clan back into opposition with the village?
A cold smile curved Uchiha Ling's lips. There was no anger in his eyes; instead, he looked as composed as a hunter watching his prey walk into a trap.
Too bad you miscalculated. You've probably forgotten who first established the Police Force's authority and just how much independence it was granted.
Uchiha Ling slowly rose and walked over to a filing cabinet along one side of his office.
It held copies of every regulation and statute issued since the Konoha Military Police Force was established, including many documents left over from the eras of the First, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
He precisely pulled out a scroll made of unusual material, its edges slightly yellowed.
He untied the cord and spread the scroll across the desk. Its clauses had been written in thick ink, and the seal of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, stood out clearly at the bottom.
This was the Special Public Security Maintenance Regulations of the Konoha Ninja Village, personally drafted and enacted by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
It explicitly stated that the Konoha Military Police Force had nearly independent authority to enforce the law, investigate, and make temporary arrests when maintaining order and fighting crime within the village.
It also stated that when investigating "suspected acts that endanger the village's security," the Force had the right to require any department or individual to cooperate and, when necessary, to take "extraordinary coercive measures."
These regulations had granted the Uchiha Clan immense power at the time, while also, to some extent, keeping them outside the core of Konoha's power.
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