The Blue of Wisdom · Familiar Complete

"Right. If outside merchants come in, they should be able to trade with them, but Uchiha members won't leave Konoha to do business."

Fugaku recalled Uchiha Gin's words as he spoke.

For example, the Nara Clan did business with outsiders, selling medicine. They owned their own forest, where they could grow medicinal herbs.

The Yamanaka Clan was responsible for making medicine, while the Akimichi Clan had businesses selling meat.

The other clans also had some kind of trade with outsiders, handled by ordinary members of their families.

Only the Uchiha had no such businesses. Their only work was in the Military Police Force.

"That's a reasonable request. I approve."

Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed. It really was difficult to refuse. After all, the Uchiha had made a concession, and Danzo's side was only going through the motions. They wouldn't actually do anything to target him.

But in his heart, he had already decided to have the upcoming Uchiha shop watched closely. He couldn't let the slightest clue slip by.

The discussion that followed was unremarkable. The others had hoped for some juicy gossip, but when they realized there was none, they quickly lost interest.

The Third Hokage would decide on the Military Police Force's personnel within three days. It would be a four-person squad.

After the meeting, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Shisui.

Only after carefully confirming that Shisui didn't know what had happened that day did Sarutobi Hiruzen let him leave.

"Am I a double agent now?"

"Or... am I just a puppet?"

After leaving the Hokage Building, Shisui looked lost.

Uchiha Gin knew what he was doing, yet had told him there was no need to hide anything and that he should report directly to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Shisui had kept his Mangekyo Sharingan a secret. He had originally wanted to use that information to earn the Third Hokage's trust.

He would have told him that if the Uchiha Clan truly staged a coup, he could use Kotoamatsukami to rewrite Clan Head Fugaku's will and stop it.

After meeting Uchiha Gin, he gave up on that idea.

"I am who I am!"

"I'll be the firewall between Konoha and the Uchiha!"

Shisui decided to keep protecting them from the shadows.

If either side crossed the line, he would use Kotoamatsukami to change the situation.

If Uchiha Gin knew what Shisui was thinking, he would definitely have struggled to hold back his laughter.

He had never considered persuading Shisui to use Kotoamatsukami to force Sarutobi Hiruzen out of office. That would be like taking a ridiculously easy shortcut in a game.

That kind of move could backfire. Who knew whether Shisui might use it against him later? Once the cycle of suspicion began, it would be impossible to stop.

The Uchiha Clan was full of trouble, so Uchiha Gin chose to develop slowly. Being strong himself was what really mattered.

The meeting caused quite a stir among Konoha's upper ranks.

Ordinary people, however, didn't feel a thing. They went about their business as usual, and their lives were basically unaffected.

People from the various clans thought Danzo had gone too far and suffered a backlash from the Uchiha. They thought this was the best possible outcome: both sides had taken a hit. They might not benefit from it, but they were happy all the same.

The Uchiha Clan's internal meeting was also full of heated arguments.

Many believed they shouldn't give up any of the Military Police Force's authority.

"If we don't give it up, are you going to take over patrolling the streets and getting yelled at by those old ladies every day?"

That one sentence from Fugaku settled the matter.

Once they learned that the squad sent by Konoha would be handling those tasks, no one objected.

The worst part had always been dealing with civilians. Ever since they'd been targeted, they couldn't use excessive force, either. The Third Hokage kept a close eye on them, and after a few incidents made the Uchiha's reputation plummet, they didn't dare lay a hand on anyone.

More importantly, they now had leverage. They believed Uchiha Gin's Sharingan could serve as a trump card, and they had also managed to get Danzo removed. That counted as a win.

After Uchiha Gin showed his good faith, Orochimaru began to make his move as well.

Now that he was the head of the Root Organization, he naturally had to reorganize it properly, getting rid of everyone who wouldn't cooperate with him.

After all, Root was a training division for Anbu. It was perfectly reasonable to say its members had graduated and send them directly into Anbu.

But there was no doubt that this was a slap in Danzo's face. Danzo had been subjected to a sham investigation for several days. It was a closed-door investigation; aside from extracting the memories from his mind, they had used pretty much every method.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been wary of Danzo, after all. In the end, they found no evidence that Danzo had worked with Uchiha Madara.

However, they did uncover a hint that Danzo had collaborated with Orochimaru on human experimentation. It couldn't be completely covered up, though it had nothing to do with Uchiha Madara.

After considering it carefully, Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted the restrictions on Danzo. He didn't return the Root Organization to him, though. No matter what, some time had to pass first.

After all, the Uchiha Clan had paid a price.

So when Danzo was free to return to Root, he discovered that all the men who belonged to him had been transferred to Anbu. He panicked at once.

"Orochimaru, are you going to make an enemy of me?"

Danzo glared at Orochimaru inside the base.

"This is the age of the young. My methods are different from yours, so anyone who doesn't fit has to be removed."

"Besides, I've already shown you consideration. Otherwise, I would have executed all your subordinates over the past few days."

Orochimaru spoke to Danzo with a chilling smile.

He was no kind soul. Back when Danzo controlled Root, he had indeed posed a threat to him.

But now Danzo was nothing more than a stray dog. Orochimaru could tell that his teacher had tacitly approved of this. Otherwise, why would his teacher have approved every one of the transfer orders he'd submitted?

The Hokage's main duty was to serve as the village head. Virtually every matter in Konoha had to be approved by him. Without his permission, it was illegal!

"Teaming up with the Uchiha was a terrible choice. They'll drag you into the abyss!"

Danzo wasn't stupid.

Though he had no evidence, he could tell that the Uchiha and Orochimaru had joined forces to bring him down.

Orochimaru didn't answer directly. He didn't want to leave anything that could be used against him.

"The prelude to a new era has begun. There's no ship left that can carry you. Just wait for it to sink."

Orochimaru's words made Danzo's eyes turn cold.

"I'll be back!"

After leaving those words behind, Danzo led the few remaining subordinates who hadn't been transferred away.

He had evidence of Orochimaru's human experimentation, but he was implicated in it too. Danzo didn't want to use it unless he had no other choice.

There would be plenty of chances to get revenge. He wasn't in a hurry!

Chapter 20: The Blue of Wisdom · Familiar Complete ### "These are your new colleagues from now on."

"Let's start with introductions."

For the first time since the Military Police Force had been established in Konoha, people from outside the Uchiha Clan had come to work there.

They held a meeting, and everyone who was free showed up.

"I'm Hyuga Himon, captain of the Fifth Squad in the Military Police Force."

"Nara Rikufu, Aburame Mizuki, Inuzuka Ichito."

The others introduced themselves without the slightest hesitation.

You could tell roughly what they were capable of from their names.

They were all experts at gathering intelligence. The Third Hokage made no effort to hide his intentions, though he had no reason to.

And their leader was from the Hyuga Clan. Both were dojutsu clans, complete rivals. People in the same line of work usually hoped the other side's whole family would die, so Sarutobi Hiruzen felt safe letting someone like him lead the squad.

Next came the introductions from the Uchiha.

"Uchiha Gin."

"Uchiha Shisui."

"Tekka Uchiha."

"Uchiha Yashiro."

Those were the four captains' introductions.

The Military Police Force didn't have many members. Only clan members who had reached Chunin rank were eligible to join.

Those at Genin rank, like Itachi, worked in teams to carry out missions.

That was why Uchiha Gin believed Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't escape responsibility for the Uchiha Clan's massacre. The clan had been wiped out so completely that Sasuke was the only survivor.

That would have been impossible without Konoha's support.

The Military Police Force's five squads had as many personnel as the village's Anbu, and there were also people assigned to the prison.

Quite a few retired old-timers were among them, too. In the story, the Three Tomoe Sharingan that Obito and Danzo had stockpiled had mostly come from these people.

"You've familiarized yourselves with the surroundings. Captain Himon, Tekka will show you where to patrol and what your daily duties will be."

Fugaku continued.

Hyuga Himon naturally had no objections. He knew what he'd been sent here to do, and letting personal grudges get in the way would make the job difficult.

He was also somewhat excited. He remembered all too clearly how the Uchiha Clan had thrown its weight around in the past. He couldn't believe that his turn had finally come.

He was already imagining the fearful looks people in Konoha would give him.

Then Tekka Uchiha took the new squad to familiarize them with their daily job of policing the streets.

Meanwhile, inside the Military Police Force, Fugaku and Shisui were summoned by Uchiha Gin.

"We're going to hold an exam for the clan. Everyone between the ages of ten and sixty has to take it. Here are the questions."

In Fugaku's office, Uchiha Gin produced a stack of paper about an inch thick.

Orochimaru had written the exam questions for him. They were meant to identify the smarter members of the Uchiha Clan.

Itachi was the deputy core for the Rinnegan's future evolution. With Sasuke around, it would be easy to keep that bro-con in line, so he wouldn't take much effort.

But they needed other capable assistants, too. And they'd need people for scientific ninjutsu as well. All of that required manpower. After all, strength didn't mean intelligence, and beating someone up was not the same as dissecting them.

"This is an exam?"

Fugaku picked up the test and glanced over it, his eyes widening.

What the hell was this supposed to say?

He recognized the characters, but once they were put together, he couldn't understand a thing.

Shisui frowned too as he tried to work through the questions. He found them difficult, and they didn't look like the sort of problems he could solve in a short time.

"Clan Head, I'll leave this to you. Arrange for suitable people to take the exam in batches. I'll grade it afterward."

Uchiha Gin said.

After speaking, he formed Hand Seals and created a Shadow Clone. He left the clone behind to work while his real body went home to train.

"Does Gin actually know the answers to these questions?"

"How impressive!"

Shisui exclaimed in surprise.

"Does he really know them?"

Fugaku asked doubtfully.

The questions looked like they were written in some kind of heavenly script.

Uchiha Gin couldn't solve them himself, of course. But Orochimaru had given him the answers, and he had already memorized them with his Sharingan to prevent them from leaking.

Now that everything was on track, he wasn't under as much pressure as before.