Execute First, Report Later, This Is the Police Force!

Thud!

With a casual, careless kick from Uchiha Jin, a corpse with disheveled brown hair was sent sprawling right in front of Shisui.

Before Uchiha Shisui could even let out an angry roar, Uchiha Jin's mocking, sarcastic voice followed immediately after.

"Aren't you close with the Anbu? Don't tell me you can't even recognize 'your own people'!"

It was true.

While Uchiha Shisui was a member of the Police Force on paper, he had long since been bought by Sarutobi Hiruzen in secret. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this guy was essentially an off-the-books member of the Third Hokage's personal Anbu.

Well... a so-called temp worker!

And this fact was hardly a secret among the upper echelons of the Uchiha Clan. After all, Shisui had a grandfather named Uchiha Kagami.

It was precisely because of this that Shisui's position within the Uchiha Clan was extremely awkward, leaving him drifting on the fringes of the family for quite some time.

Yet, this had always been an unspoken understanding among everyone. Now, Uchiha Jin had torn through that veil of pretense in public, causing Shisui—who had been filled with rage—to suddenly feel a pang of guilt, finally snapping him out of his frenzied state.

What is this!

As Uchiha Shisui scrutinized the body, using the unique secret techniques of the Anbu to detect the residual chakra signatures, his eyes widened.

It was actually true!

The person before him really wasn't Anbu!

Shisui jerked his head up, staring at Uchiha Jin in astonishment. The surprise in his eyes seemed to reflect his disbelief that Uchiha Jin could have seen through the "spy's" ruse so quickly.

In this regard, he, Uchiha Shisui, was the legitimate Anbu member—even if he was just an unpaid, off-the-books one—so he shouldn't have made such a grave mistake.

Did I misjudge Jin?

Uchiha Shisui lamented that he must have been too anxious, causing him to fail to verify the intruder's identity immediately, which nearly led Uchiha Jin into a trap...

Wait, that's not right!

Just as Shisui was making excuses for Uchiha Jin, his years of Anbu logical training kicked in, and he suddenly realized more details he had missed before.

This brown hair...

This residual Yin-style chakra with that familiar aura...

And this even more familiar, detestable posture of someone pretending to be Anbu...

Ugh!

As Uchiha Shisui unearthed detail after detail, beads of cold sweat began to form on his face, and his shirt—hidden from view—was already completely soaked through.

This guy seems to be from the Yamanaka Clan...

Uchiha Shisui slowly raised his stiff head again, looking toward Uchiha Jin with a look of desperate pleading.

"They... they... they wouldn't be from Root, would they... Heh... hehe..."

By the end, Uchiha Shisui couldn't help but laugh, though anyone could see the sheer despair in his heart from that strange, grating sound.

It would have been better if they really were Anbu!

If the people dead before him were truly Anbu, Shisui believed there would still be room for negotiation with the benevolent Hokage. If Uchiha Jin were willing to pay with his life, perhaps the conflict between the clan and the village could be resolved.

But Root!

At the mere thought of Shimura Danzo's sinister, overbearing, and ugly face, Uchiha Shisui felt a wave of helplessness.

How many times...

How many times had Uchiha Shisui stood outside the Hokage Building and heard that detestable man inside sneer and shout about the "evil Uchiha"!

He was well aware that across all of Konoha, if Uchiha Jin was the extreme of the "Radical Faction" within the clan, then Shimura Danzo was the other extreme of the "Radical Faction" whose blade was pointed directly at the Uchiha.

Now that a squad of Root operatives had been slaughtered within Konoha under Uchiha Jin's orders, Uchiha Shisui didn't dare to imagine what would happen next.

"Oh, so it's Root, is it?"

Uchiha Jin feigned realization, but his performative expression and indifferent tone clearly showed he couldn't care less about the agony in Shisui's heart.

Uchiha Jin's attitude once again infuriated the near-broken Shisui. He stared directly at the man before him with his Mangekyo Sharingan and roared.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? You are dragging the entire clan into an abyss of sin!"

"Meh..."

Uchiha Jin nonchalantly picked his ear with his pinky finger. Ignoring Shisui's roar, he turned to look at Uchiha Habara, who was walking over.

"Elder Jin, the enemy 'spies' totaled eighteen. All have been eliminated!"

Uchiha Jin raised his right hand slightly, tapped his temple, and responded calmly.

"Mm, understood. Clean it up."

"Yes!"

Uchiha Habara cast a disdainful glance at Shisui before turning to direct the others to begin the cleanup of the battlefield.

"Did you hear that!"

Only then did Uchiha Jin finally look back at the somewhat bewildered Shisui, speaking with a casual expression.

"What?"

Uchiha Shisui had no idea what Jin was doing. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he roared at Uchiha Jin again.

"Those are members of Root! How are you going to explain this to the Hokage!"

Heh!

Uchiha Jin let out a light chuckle, then feigned confusion as he asked.

"Explain?"

Ptooey!

Following a thick glob of phlegm spat onto the face of the Root ninja's corpse lying before Shisui, Uchiha Jin suddenly continued with a look of feigned embarrassment.

"My apologies, my throat has been a bit uncomfortable lately!"

But this time, Uchiha Jin did not wait for Shisui's anger to erupt again; instead, he continued to ask rhetorically, lost in his own train of thought.

"Why would I need to explain?"

"My Uchiha Clan bears the heavy responsibility of the Police Force, and naturally, we must uphold all laws within Konoha!"

"Even if these unidentified fellows before us aren't spies from enemy nations, they dared to impersonate the Hokage's direct Anbu within Konoha and intended to commit foul acts against me, an elder of a Konoha ninja clan..."

Uchiha Jin's smile turned mocking as he reached this point, and he then snapped at Uchiha Shisui, his voice filled with killing intent.

"Even if they really were members of Root, my Police Force would kill them all the same!"

"To execute first and report later—that is the special privilege granted by the Second Hokage to the Police Force!"

"Do you have a problem with that!"

Facing Uchiha Jin's oppressive gaze, Uchiha Shisui couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation. He retreated several steps, pointing a finger forward while stammering.

"You... you..."

Behind Uchiha Jin, hundreds of elite Uchiha ninjas felt a spark of excitement ignite in their eyes. For the first time, they realized that their status in the Police Force brought them more than just trivial, restrictive chores.

As for Shisui, who was currently displaying such a 'pathetic' demeanor, they felt an increasing sense of disdain toward him.

What a small matter to make such a fuss over!

"Not bad!"

Surveying the expressions of the Uchiha clansmen around him, Uchiha Jin felt that his training over this period had not been in vain; the spirit of 'Jade Shatter' had begun to take shape.

As for Shisui?

Sensing that Shisui was on the verge of a breakdown, and worried that this guy might go dark and lose control before the plan was ready, Uchiha Jin sneered inwardly before speaking once more.

"Shisui, the ones who died here are spies from an enemy nation. I hope you can clearly recognize this fact!"

After scolding him in an unquestionable tone, Uchiha Jin slowly walked up to Shisui once again, leaned toward his ear, and whispered.

"Shisui, you wouldn't want Danzo to find out..."