At these words, everyone present was somewhat shocked, but no one asked for details. They waited for Uchiha Sanzang to continue.
Sanzang glanced around and sighed softly.
"The position of Military Police Force captain will be taken over by Uchiha Nara. I have already informed the Third, and the appointment will be issued soon. Does anyone have any objections?"
The people below looked at one another.
It had already been decided and reported to the higher-ups. What good would an objection do? Raising one would only offend the new boss—and he was the head of their own clan, too. Everyone fell silent. Not a single person objected.
In practice, changing the Military Police Force captain was an internal Uchiha matter. The so-called report to the higher-ups was just a formality. Since the Third had taken office, he had never interfered with the Military Police Force.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Nara could no longer keep quiet. He cleared his throat and said mildly,
"It would be best to select the Military Police Force captain through a fair and open election. Anyone capable who wishes to lead the Military Police Force may run. Just as the Konoha Police Force and our Uchiha Clan have developed, anyone with the ability can participate in the election."
Nara had put on a show of humility. Even though the position was already as good as his, he still had to make some effort to disguise it. Otherwise, it would be too blatant, and that could create divisions within the Uchiha.
"No objections!"
"I support Lord Nara!"
"With the clan head leading us, we won't lose our way!"
Nara's show of modesty had the opposite effect. Everyone present voiced their support for Uchiha Nara, and some even went so far as to flatter him.
"Sure enough, once someone leaves, the tea goes cold. That precious son of mine really isn't modest," Uchiha Sanzang sighed.
Nara's humble words had originally led everyone to think he was signaling which side they should support.
Nara realized it, too, but there was no way to explain himself now.
"Nara, come sit up here. From now on, this will be your seat."
Sanzang pointed to the chair beside him. When Sanzang had taken over, he had also sat beside the previous captain. The two captains listened to the reports together: one was working his final shift, while the other learned the ropes in preparation for taking over.
"Yes!" Nara replied respectfully, taking the seat beside his adoptive father, Uchiha Sanzang.
"Now, let's hear the work reports." Though this was his final shift, Sanzang remained serious and attentive as he listened to the affairs of each squad.
Nara, on the other hand, had listened to a while of trivial matters before he started nodding off.
Since Nara was in direct charge of the First Squadron, he knew its jurisdiction inside and out. Public security, village management, and patrol duties had all gradually become more standardized, so conflicts with villagers were rare.
As for the petty matters from the Second and Third Squadrons, Nara really didn't want to hear any more.
Although the Second and Third Squadrons had tried to follow the First Squadron's approach, their abilities were limited, and they often couldn't sort things out.
Without a strong leader to oversee and keep things in line, they couldn't even manage something as simple as adjusting salaries, let alone assign responsibilities like the First Squadron.
It was his first day taking over, and the old leader was still there. Nara couldn't make any major changes yet.
Once I organize the meeting tomorrow, I'll start restructuring the squads.
The Military Police Force members were still giving their reports, while Nara was already thinking about reorganizing the Second and Third Squadrons.
As for the Criminal Investigation Division, most of the First Squadron's seventeen-man unit could be said to have little to do most of the time.
Nara planned to assign a single seventeen-man unit to the Criminal Investigation Division, responsible for major cases in Konoha, under a dedicated division.
The Public Security Division needed more people, since it dealt with many matters involving ordinary villagers.
Of the three former jurisdictions, he would leave one seventeen-man unit in each. Compared to the previous seventy, this would greatly reduce both personnel and expenses.
For the Village Management Squadron, Nara planned to assign one four-man team to each of the three jurisdictions. Four people would cover the areas previously handled by seventy. He would raise their salaries a little and have them recruit villagers to help manage affairs, assigning them non-ninja tasks.
Village management was bound to make enemies, so the fewer Uchiha involved, the better. But they wouldn't give up authority either. They would recruit villagers or civilian Genin to do the work.
As for the patrols at weak points in the barrier, they couldn't relinquish control. This involved Nara and his clansmen secretly leaving the village, as well as Shimura Danzō, who often slipped beyond the barrier to stay at his base outside the village. Nara planned to learn from the old man's methods.
The Military Police Force had three jurisdictions, with one squad of seventy people in each, for a total of two hundred and ten.
There were also fifteen weak points in the barrier that needed patrolling.
Fifteen teams would take turns standing watch. Each weak point would have four people working in three shifts, with one person on duty at a time. Sometimes the team leader would join the rotation, and occasionally two people would stand watch together. That made sixty people in total.
Konoha Prison had a staffing quota of sixty. Each shift had five teams of twenty, rotating across three shifts.
There were also twenty people in various administrative roles, such as clerks, secretaries, assistants, advisers, and support staff.
The entire Military Police Force had just over three hundred and fifty people. Patrol officers managing the jurisdictions earned an annual salary of six hundred thousand ryō, which was on the higher end within the force.
Many of the others earned very little. They had taken positions mainly to avoid leaving the village or going to war, and relied on the occasional mission during their time off or support from the Great Elder to get by.
A budget of one hundred and fifty million ryō really was too low. Konoha had many ninja and many departments. The Military Police Force received the lowest budget of them all.
The Anbu's funding, the Medical Corps' funding, and the commissions for regular ninja missions were all substantial. The lowest-paying S-rank mission paid a million ryō, and the highest had paid ten million.
Some Uchiha had indeed grown idle. In the past, when the clan elders assigned ninja to secret missions, they usually provided ninja tools, Explosive Tags, and Military Ration Pills, as well as mission pay. So clan members hadn't needed to worry much about making a living.
Now, nearly forty years after the Uchiha had joined Konoha, the elders and clan elders no longer had purses as full as they once were. Everyone's wallets had grown thin.
Because the Military Police Force existed, most clan members fought tooth and nail to get in and earn those meager salaries.
When the Ninja Wars came, people joined the Military Police Force even without pay, just to get a position that would let them avoid the fighting.
"Nara, what do you think about this?" Uchiha Sanzang suddenly patted Nara and asked.
"Huh? About what?" Nara had completely spaced out. He hadn't listened to a word of the petty matters being reported.
Sanzang looked displeased. "What do you think about some members feeling that their salaries are too low?"
"If their salaries are too low, why don't they take missions from the Konoha Mission Hall?" Nara asked, puzzled.
A ninja below, about thirty years old, frowned at this. "Lord Nara, our Uchiha are a distinguished clan of Konoha. Wouldn't taking D-rank missions like pulling weeds or catching cats damage the clan's dignity?"
Nara furrowed his brow.
Before you continue