Ninja Cat Kozunmaru

Early morning.

Uchiha Nara woke up. He had discussed sealing techniques with Uzumaki Nao until late last night and had benefited immensely.

The Five Elements Seal and Four Symbols Seal, which he had previously found obscure, suddenly became clear under Nao's guidance, and he successfully performed them on the spot.

From now on, he only needed to practice more to master them completely.

After washing up, Nara walked into the courtyard.

Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram.

"Ninja Art, Summoning Technique!"

"Meow!"

"Kozunmaru, good morning."

The Ninja Cat Kozunmaru was a calico cat with two short swords strapped to its back.

Ninja Cats were the contracted summons of the Uchiha clan, and most Uchiha members held contracts with them.

Compared to combat-oriented summons, Nara preferred these Ninja Cats for their stealth, agility, intelligence, and expertise in gathering intelligence.

"Meow, Lord Nara, you really do practice diligently every single day, meow."

Kozunmaru looked at Nara with depressed eyes, helpless that his sleep was interrupted every morning.

"Haha, Kozunmaru, don't look so gloomy. Look, what's this?"

Uchiha Nara took out two dried fish and tossed them to the cat.

Kozunmaru's eyes lit up instantly. He leaped high, caught the fish with precision, and began to devour them impatiently.

"Meow-woo, these dried fish are delicious."

After finishing the treat, Kozunmaru couldn't help but squint his eyes, looking extremely happy.

"Lord Nara, that white-haired ninja you asked me to track, meow, he hasn't stepped out of his house for the past half-month, meow-woo."

Kozunmaru licked his paws and reported to Nara.

"Kozunmaru, that ninja's name is Hiruko. Please try to remember it."

Nara was speechless; after tracking him for over ten days, the cat still couldn't remember Hiruko's name.

"Right, Hiruko, meow-woo, I've been keeping it in mind, meow-woo, I was just half-asleep."

At this, Kozunmaru gave him another resentful look.

He hadn't come out in half a month? Nara rubbed his chin. Had Hiruko lost his mind researching ninjutsu? Researching forbidden techniques in his own home? He was a ruthless one.

No wonder Orochimaru wasn't discovered and expelled until the end of the Third Great Ninja War; Hiruko was being found out in mere days.

Judging by the enthusiastic demeanor of the Konoha villagers lately, and the rumors spreading by word of mouth about the Land of Wind—mentions of crushing defeats, peace treaties, great victories, and triumphant returns—Nara guessed that the Third Hokage and his cohorts were stirring up public opinion. The ninja troops sent to the front lines were likely about to return in triumph.

In Nara's memories, when the Sannin pursued Hiruko, they still looked quite young, so that must have happened within the last year or two.

Nara made up his mind. The Sannin hadn't returned yet, so it wasn't time to hunt Hiruko. Once they returned, Nara would lead a team to apprehend him.

Hiruko had spent over twenty years in seclusion to develop the Chimera Technique.

Given Hiruko's financial status and standing, he had to scavenge for experimental materials in secret, and lacking the funds to buy equipment, it was no surprise it took him twenty years.

If I were to support his research—providing money, equipment, and materials—wouldn't I be able to obtain the results of his forbidden research in just a few years?

"Kozunmaru, keep tracking him. Especially keep a close eye on where Hiruko goes!"

"Got it, meow!" With a puff of smoke, Kozunmaru vanished.

Uchiha Nara felt his strength was reaching a bottleneck; his Sharingan had grown to three tomoe, but it had shown no further progress.

At sixteen, Nara hadn't reached his peak yet, but he felt his room for improvement might be limited.

Gaining a bit more strength as he aged probably wouldn't make much of a difference.

Nara shook his head and decided to head to work. If he couldn't fulfill the promise he made to Uzumaki Nao regarding the Military Police Force quota, he would lose face.

After all, Nara still had a superior in the Military Police Force: Uchiha Sanzang.

Although Sanzang had promised to step down and yield his position once Nara was familiar with the work, nothing was set in stone until the handover was complete. Anything could happen.

Nara had a headache regarding the Military Police Force. The Uchiha clan's obsession with it was truly outrageous.

Nara wasn't sure what kind of impact reforming the force and recruiting from other clans would have on the Uchiha.

Lost in thought, he arrived at the Military Police Force building before he realized it.

"Lord Nara!"

"Lord Nara!"

"Clan Leader!"

"Hmm."

Naraku responded softly.

Those who called out "Lord Naraku" were members of the First Division; Naraku had emphasized that they should address him by his rank within the Military Police Force, not as Clan Head.

He wanted to avoid others thinking that the Clan Head was abusing his power to force his way into the Military Police Force for the sake of seizing authority. Creating the impression of being power-hungry was a very bad look.

Although Naraku had indeed come to seize power, he still had to pay attention to appearances.

The Criminal Investigation Squad of the First Division was very idle, as Konoha Village was shaped like a fan.

The First Division governed the top third of this fan-shaped area, which encompassed the Uchiha Clan Compound, the Senju Clan Compound, the Sarutobi Clan Compound, and the Hyuga Clan Compound.

There were basically no major cases or serious crimes, and even if there were, they were family matters of the ninja clans, which the Military Police Force found difficult to intervene in.

As for spies, the investigations conducted during this period had yielded nothing.

The Uchiha clan had Ninja Cats as a source of intelligence; most of the cats wandering the streets were scouts for the Ninja Cat clan, relaying information to the Uchiha.

Therefore, if the Ninja Cats hadn't uncovered any useful information, the spies must have been hiding deep enough.

"Where are your flak jackets?" Naraku asked, feeling a bit strange as he noticed some members of the Military Police Force wearing casual clothes instead of the standard Konoha flak jackets.

"Lord Clan Head, we are genin and haven't been issued flak jackets yet. Today is the monthly Military Police Force meeting, so our squad leader brought us along to attend."

Two young men dressed in black robes with the fan crest embroidered on their backs replied respectfully.

These two were not from the First Division; since it was the monthly Military Police Force meeting, all other divisions had to attend. Even the teams on duty had sent key personnel to participate.

Looking at these varied uniforms, Naraku frowned slightly.

Those two genin already possessed the strength of chunin, but Konoha was suppressing them and refusing their promotions. In their respective squads, they were the pillars of strength.

Perhaps I should set up a custom uniform for the Military Police Force, along with specific ninja flak jackets, to distinguish them from regular ninjas.

After the last meeting, Naraku had taken on the role of First Division Captain and had been leading the First Division ever since.

It was only upon attending this second monthly meeting that he noticed many members of the Second and Third Divisions were wearing plain clothes with the fan crest embroidered on the back.

This was practically inviting trouble for the Uchiha clan; if someone were beaten up by a Military Police Force member wearing plain clothes with a fan crest, they wouldn't hate the Military Police Force—the hatred would be directed straight at the Uchiha clan.

The reform of the Military Police Force was a long and arduous road!