The World's Number One Ninja!

"Jin, what exactly are you trying to do!"

Uchiha Fugaku simply couldn't understand it. All they had done was organize an ordinary competition, yet the whole village was now on edge.

There was nothing shady about the event, but Jin had directly ordered the clan to cut off all contact with the village, sealing away every last bit of information.

But if you wanted to block communications, fine. What was the point of beating up the Root members inexplicably stationed outside the clan compound to keep watch?

Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Though the Root members had reached a high level of skill at infiltration, their opponents were still the Uchiha, the strongest family of ocular jutsu users.

Thinking of the Sharingan that had mysteriously appeared on the Nine-Tails back then, Uchiha Fugaku had a guilty conscience. All he could do was pretend not to know and "voluntarily" accept this "supervision" from the "village."

He just hadn't expected Uchiha Jin to invoke the Police Force's authority and, while escorting the summoned medical ninja back to the clan compound, beat half to death the "Anbu" ninja who'd come forward to question them, without even bothering to explain himself.

Tsk, tsk... That's right!

Before beating those few self-proclaimed "Anbu" ninja to a pulp, Uchiha Jin had actually rounded up nearly two-thirds of the medical ninja in Konoha Hospital!

Only after hearing this did Uchiha Fugaku abruptly realize something strange.

The Police Force, which had always been the reason the villagers disliked the Uchiha, actually wielded astonishing authority in the village.

Maintaining peace and order within Konoha Village, drafting the village's laws, and arresting people suspected of crimes—including ninja, but not Anbu directly under the Hokage—were all its responsibilities. It was even supposed to organize ninja to take part in the village's police work...

This information was recorded in a document personally issued by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the teacher of Sarutobi Hiruzen. Even now, copies were carefully preserved in the Police Force and in the Hokage Building's archives.

Ninja had never cared much for documents full of rules and regulations, and the Uchiha Clan, with their almost nonexistent political savvy, were even less interested. For more than twenty years, practically no one had bothered to look through them.

Fortunately, the archives were protected by Sealing Jutsu, and their preservation was excellent. Even after all this time without anyone paying them any attention, the documents remained in perfect condition, and the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's seal looked as fresh as ever.

It was only after receiving this handwritten document from the Second Hokage, which Uchiha Jin had tossed his way, that Uchiha Fugaku suddenly realized just how terrifyingly broad the Police Force's authority was. It was, after all, the force responsible for maintaining peace and order within Konoha Village.

Drafting laws! Arresting criminals! Summoning ninja!

In other words, as long as they weren't members of the Anbu directly under the Hokage, the Uchiha Police Force already had the authority to direct villagers and ninja in Konoha Village to take part in "police work," without notifying the Hokage.

Take this summons for medical ninja, for instance. Even if Uchiha Jin hadn't provided the ten million in recruitment fees, Sarutobi Hiruzen still wouldn't have been able to use his title as Hokage to question the Uchiha Clan about it later.

Unless!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was willing to defy the wishes of his late teacher!

The wishes of the teacher who had willingly given up his life to make it possible for Sarutobi Hiruzen to become the Third Hokage—the wishes of the Second Hokage of Konoha, Tobirama Senju!

If that really happened...

Uchiha Jin would probably laugh out loud!

When Uchiha Fugaku first heard all this, he had been completely bewildered and hadn't understood what made it so important. Not until Uchiha Jin had patiently broken it all down for him...

Well...

Uchiha Fugaku gave up. Basically, the Police Force had a lot of power, so even if Sarutobi Hiruzen reprimanded them, they could easily shoot back.

But was there really any need to let things get this bad?

The Uchiha Clan and the village were already on poor terms. Why fan the flames over something so trivial?

Uchiha Fugaku had never understood that. If it were up to him, he would have issued an announcement right away to prevent any misunderstandings. But Uchiha Jin had kept stirring things up behind the scenes, even deliberately picking a fight with the Root members outside the clan compound.

"Will the village and the Uchiha go to war?"

Uchiha Jin clearly had no intention of explaining himself to Fugaku. He left him with a teasing question, then turned and sauntered away.

"Fugaku, you're too timid!"

Uchiha Setsuna was thoroughly pleased with everything happening before him—especially with Uchiha Jin and his men beating the Root members outside the clan compound half to death. It was something Setsuna had always wanted to do, only for Fugaku to keep stopping him.

Uchiha Jin's actions were right up Uchiha Setsuna's alley. As long as those guys weren't killed outright—

He, the Uchiha Great Elder, had nothing to fear!

Uchiha Setsuna was fired up. His old, wrinkled face seemed to glow as he looked at Uchiha Fugaku with the smug superiority of a victor.

"Setsuna, I'm the clan head!"

Uchiha Fugaku snorted. He didn't know how to argue back, but did he, as the clan head, need a reason?

"Don't I?"

Uchiha Setsuna froze. A hint of hesitation flickered between his brows, but he quickly set his face and snorted in turn!

"Useless!"

Watching the childish exchange between the Uchiha Clan Head and the Uchiha Great Elder in the distance, Uchiha Jin couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh. He wondered what sins the Uchiha Clan had committed to keep producing "talents" like these.

As Uchiha Jin saw it, there were two kinds of Uchiha!

The proper Uchiha were powerful and hot-tempered. They never thought about the consequences, and only recognized the truly strong.

The mutated Uchiha were exceptionally talented, bright and precocious. They agonized over everything before acting, and foolishly yearned for the ideals they believed in.

Obviously!

Shisui, Itachi, Obito, Fugaku, and Setsuna all belonged to the latter group. There was no point trying to reason with these single-minded political fools. Naturally, Uchiha Jin preferred the former: the simple, proper Uchiha!

Though these proper Uchiha weren't much better at politics, and their ninja bloodline talent wasn't particularly outstanding, they still had an innate advantage over the other ninja in this world.

With proper training and development, they could grow into elite jonin. Reaching Kage Level wasn't out of the question, either.

And why had he gone to all this trouble over the past few days?

Hmph!

It wasn't that Uchiha Jin looked down on the political double act going on in the Hokage Building, the whole "I regret it, and now you do too" routine. No matter how wary they were of the Uchiha, there was no way they'd make a move at a time like this.

At most, he would make them nervous and work up a sweat, then let them put on their classic "I regret it, and now you do too" performance a few more times.

Once they decided it had all been a false alarm, Uchiha Jin would consider sending them a grand gift.

But right now, his top priority was to strengthen himself—and to strengthen the leek... the Uchiha Clan that could ultimately bring him greater power!

"Everyone, attention!"

With a spirited shout, the Uchiha who had just finished their matches, along with those who had watched intently, turned their attention to the enormous plaque up ahead.

There!

A handsome young man, as sacred and inviolable as a god descending to earth, stood beneath the blazing sun, radiating an aura of kingly dominance.

Uchiha Jin clearly had no intention of wasting words. With a few sharp swishes, he pulled down all three red cloths at once. Standing beneath the horizontal plaque above him, he revealed the words that instantly set the Uchiha's blood surging.

The World's Number One Ninja!