They Feared Power, Not Virtue; They Observed Small Courtesies, but Not Great Principles

The moment he opened his eyes, Kei understood everything.

Brave little Kei feared no hardship. He'd just get on with it.

His face split into a hearty grin. Now that he had a way to deal with things, Kei tossed all his worries aside and called to Fire Fly.

"Fire Fly, notify everyone. We're going out on patrol today!"

"Yes, sir!"

Fire Fly didn't ask why. With a Body Flicker, he went straight to find his husband, Uchiha Maru, and then notify everyone.

That was the good thing about Kei's paper-doll subordinates: they carried out every order he gave without asking questions.

Of course, that was because of what Kei had done over the past two years. He had earned their trust.

He had reconciled the differences between the Koga and Iga, brought together lovers from two countries whose people had once kept their distance, given those whose secret love went unreturned a place to belong, and given the tools a better pursuit in life.

Watching the busy crowd, Kei's rundown base began to feel lively.

But Kei shook his head and sighed.

"We're really running out of room. The Red Eye Clan will be here before long, and then things will get even more cramped. It's time to find a new place!"

Though Kei's move was a sudden whim, he had already made plans for it.

Unlike the times when only a few dozen people went out, he usually kept most of his forces at home to ensure the safety of their base and himself, while sending small groups of elites out to handle various tasks.

But the moment he announced that everyone was going out, Plan One—one he had settled on long ago—would be put into action.

No one knew when that moment would come, but when it did, everyone knew what they had to do.

Aside from the orphans who had once shared Kei's hardships, every member of Uchiha Kei's faction sprang into action.

Secrecy brought success; carelessness brought failure.

Those orphans who had once shared their food with Kei and stood behind him in support could no longer be trusted.

Even though every Uchiha and every person in Konoha considered them part of Kei's faction, and thought them an indispensable part of his family,

even though the several dozen of them thought so themselves,

in Kei's heart, those orphans who now basked in the Hokage's sunshine and were full of hope and longing for Konoha had long since parted ways with him.

At Kei's command, nearly two hundred Uchiha immediately got to work. Like soldiers preparing for war, they packed their weapons and supplies, discarded every unnecessary ornament, and kept only what they could easily carry.

They gathered, traveling light.

In the next moment, a disciplined force stood in the square before the Uchiha compound.

Their Shinsengumi uniforms had a distinctive style, yet still carried the imposing air of a disciplined force. They were expertly tailored and fitted, most cinched at the waist. The Uchiha were all handsome, with long limbs that made them natural clothes horses.

The outfits made them look even more imposing.

Aside from a few special Purple Card ninja whose techniques had changed their physiques—some, like Josuke, were either bloated or gaunt, and were considered exceptions—the rest of the Uchiha were all fit and robust.

Their disciplined lives showed in their bearing, lending them an aristocratic elegance. Their high level of education and artistic refinement also revealed their meticulous nature.

They were almost too perfect.

Their troublesome clan leader always criticized the uniforms, calling them flashy clothes with no use beyond making their wearers look good.

But what did that bumpkin know? Strength was just a matter of adding a patch; looking good was a lifelong matter.

The Uchiha Shinsengumi in their uniforms had drawn countless admiring, envious looks from young people.

Even the Hokage had to admit that ninja dressed this way embodied the spirit of Konoha's Will of Fire: powerful and elegant.

Unfortunately, the Hokage was short on money. His budget was too limited to outfit tens of thousands of ninja in matching uniforms.

And it was a shame that the people who embodied the Will of Fire were Uchiha.

Now they had assembled here, and just two hundred people had managed to create such an imposing spectacle.

Konoha had tens of thousands of villagers and over ten thousand ninja, yet the sight of these mere two hundred brought the whole village to a standstill.

At Kei's single command to move out, two hundred ninja marched off with the might of an army.

All of Konoha was thrown into chaos.

Ordinary Uchiha who didn't know what was going on began cheering. They didn't care what these newcomers were going to do. They just looked so impressive, and made the Uchiha proud.

The elders of the other Uchiha branches, who had been huddled in the compound plotting something, heard the news and immediately grew flustered and cautious.

The villagers of Konoha were even more on edge. In recent years, they hadn't been afraid of ordinary Uchiha in the Military Police Force enforcing the law.

No matter what public-order or traffic violation they got into, if they clashed with an Uchiha, Konoha's Anbu would always take the other side.

If this happened all the time, until it became the norm, who would fear the Military Police Force?

Everyone would only find them annoying, and their authority would vanish.

The Uchiha were helpless, too. The Military Police Force was the last bit of power they had left. They had to hold on to it and do their duty.

But the Uchiha higher-ups were evasive, which made the officers afraid to let disputes with Konoha's Anbu escalate.

That left the already unpopular Uchiha in the Konoha Military Police Force in an even more awkward position. And that awkwardness only made them more hesitant.

But the Shinsengumi were different. Once they started enforcing the law, they didn't care who the offender was. As long as the person wasn't an Uchiha, they wouldn't ask questions. They'd flip the table, slap the Anbu who came to break things up, kick the family dog, and tear up the child's finished homework.

If two civilians clashed, they'd just give both sides fifty lashes. But if you clashed with an Uchiha, you could consider yourself out of luck.

The Anbu might take sides, but at least they kept up appearances.

The Shinsengumi, however, blatantly abused their authority to protect their own.

They didn't care how long you'd lived in Konoha, what the dispute was about, or who was right or wrong. They'd immediately suspect you of being a spy hiding in Konoha and tell you to come with them.

There was no point arguing, because they didn't care about reason.

The banner that read "Family before fairness" hung openly in the entryway of the Military Police Force's Imperial Prison.

Once you went inside and saw those words, even the dumbest person would understand: they'd been had.

They could only accept their bad luck, spend fifteen days cooling off, and then pay a sum of money for their family to get them out.

What if they had no money?

Heh. Plenty of people who'd never left the Imperial Prison had no idea which black kiln they were living in. Did anyone really think Konoha would pick a fight with the Shinsengumi over a few civilians?

The villagers had seen through things over the past two years. Acting shamelessly might work on the Military Police Force, but when dealing with the Shinsengumi, they had to learn to be civil and polite.

They had to admit their mistakes and learn to pay compensation.

There were no just judges who would see that justice was done for them. Even Shisui of the Uchiha Clan and the eldest son of the Sarutobi Clan, who had long upheld justice, had taken plenty of beatings.

The Shinsengumi truly showed no one any respect.

In the eyes of Konoha's High Command and the Uchiha elders, this was behavior that sowed conflict and division, undermined unity between Konoha and the Uchiha, and could not be tolerated.

But in the eyes of the Uchiha on the ground, this was what the Uchiha Clan's Military Police Force was supposed to be.

So when the Shinsengumi assembled, they didn't interfere. They began cheering of their own accord.

Who cared where they were going? They were having fun, and that was enough. Someone who'd offended the Uchiha was bound to get what was coming to him.

The villagers of Konoha were even more nervous. The streets were practically deserted.

The villagers who had been playing with their children hurried home. Shopkeepers didn't dare close their shops, afraid the Shinsengumi might take it the wrong way.

They tidied away the clutter outside, then stood deferentially at their shop entrances with their whole families, not daring to straighten up until the Shinsengumi had left.

They looked ready to give the Shinsengumi no excuse to make trouble, and utterly servile.

Seeing this, the Uchiha elders could never understand why.

Why were the Uchiha, who were strict with themselves and lenient toward others, always opposed, while the Shinsengumi, who acted like bullies, were so respected?

They clearly didn't know that "they feared power, not virtue; they observed small courtesies, but not great principles" described a certain people.

The common folk of Konoha were just like that.

Too bad the elders didn't understand.

Too bad Uchiha Kei did.