Naruto: The Path of Cultivation
Chapter 43

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Watching the two men stand there in a daze, a smile couldn't help but tug at the corners of Yu's mouth.

If you were to ask whether commoners in his past life feared the local magistrate, the answer would be that they were scared to death.

But did they respect the magistrate? Heh, let's just say that if you weren't afraid of dying, you were free to call the magistrate a corrupt official.

Although the Uchiha could never wield the absolute authority of a magistrate, once they held the power to interpret the law, dealing with these ingrates would be a simple matter. When that time came, the villagers of Konoha would finally learn what it meant to fear the Uchiha.

"Fear the power, cherish the virtue"—this was the path Yu had found for the Military Police Force. As for how much affection he held for the villagers of Konoha, that was complete nonsense. Whether it was the anime from his past life or the world he lived in now, he had no fondness for this group of villagers.

They were a bunch of people who prioritized petty gains over righteousness.

"Will the Third Hokage agree to this?" Fugaku asked, finally regaining his senses and looking uncertain.

"Hmph! If we hadn't taken these matters upon ourselves, they wouldn't have been our responsibility to begin with. Besides, the Military Police Force was handed over entirely to the Uchiha by the Second Hokage; the Third has no reason to interfere in our internal adjustments. Furthermore, once we stop accepting these trivial tasks, the number of C-rank missions in the Mission Department will increase. It's a win-win situation; I don't think the Third will disagree."

Fugaku thought it over and felt it made sense. Initially, he had believed that the Uchiha needed to slowly integrate into the village, which was why he allowed the villagers' unreasonable demands. The results, however, proved that it had all been his own wishful thinking; his clansmen's attitude had only made the villagers despise the Uchiha even more.

"Then let's do as Yu says. I'll hold a meeting shortly to pass this down. From now on, aside from criminal disputes, murder cases, and actual crimes, the Uchiha Military Police Force will not accept any other miscellaneous tasks."

Seeing Fugaku make his decision, Yu breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had been worried his rigid father would still cling to his old-fashioned mindset. However, there was one more thing he needed to remind him of.

"Father, once we clear away all these trivial tasks and the clansmen have free time, they must thoroughly study Konoha's laws. We cannot give the Konoha higher-ups any excuse to use against us. Everything must be done with reason and evidence!"

As Yu finished speaking, Fugaku frowned. If he asked his clansmen to train, they wouldn't hesitate, but asking them to read books was a bit difficult.

Seeming to notice Fugaku's dilemma, Yu smiled faintly. "Father, why don't we recruit some civilian staff? Clansmen who don't want to study the law can work as guards in the future! Leave the case-solving to the younger, ordinary clansmen. I imagine this could also use public funds to greatly alleviate the employment issues within the clan."

Fugaku's eyes lit up. The reason the Military Police Force didn't recruit ordinary clansmen wasn't because of a lack of funds, but because the minimum requirement to work there was the strength of a Genin. Ordinary clansmen were naturally barred from entry. If not for the clan's welfare programs maintaining their basic living standards, there would likely be orphans starving to death by now.

Public funds couldn't be easily misappropriated, but if the Military Police Force recruited civilian staff, the problem would be solved. It would be justifiable to the Third Hokage, and as for the clansmen, if they didn't agree, they could go memorize the Konoha laws.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but look at Yu with renewed admiration.

The next day, the reform of the Military Police Force was posted on the bulletin board. At first, many civilians were indignant and gathered at the Military Police headquarters to cause a scene.

However, under the stern attitude of the police, these civilians could only disperse in embarrassment. Otherwise, those Uchiha who looked down on everyone would have arrested them for obstructing the normal enforcement of the law.

Sarutobi looked at the reform proposal on his desk. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what the Uchiha were planning, but he didn't disagree. The Military Police Force had originally occupied a large number of the village's C-rank missions; this reform would provide more missions for the Genin in the Mission Department, which was beneficial for the village's stability.

After all, so many Genin graduated every year, and they needed to make a living. As for the Uchiha adding civilian staff, Sarutobi thought about it and agreed—this expenditure was negligible!

It was just that the Uchiha, constrained by the village's suppression, hadn't dared to easily misappropriate public funds to subsidize their clansmen. After all, the Military Police Force didn't have many people, and the funding the village provided annually was almost considered an over-allocation. However, this was an amount set by the Second Hokage, and the Third hadn't found it easy to cut it early on.

The Third had actually been considering this recently, but now that he had agreed to this condition, it wouldn't be easy to cut the Military Police's funding in the future.

Thinking of this, Sarutobi sighed slightly. He prepared to call his old comrades over to ask about the situation.

Soon, the group arrived at the Hokage Office, took the documents Sarutobi handed them, and read through them one by one.

"Could it be that the Uchiha are cutting themselves off from the village?" Utatane Koharu asked, looking at the contents of the document in confusion.

"Heh! Isn't that perfect? Won't it be even easier to suppress the Uchiha once they've detached themselves from the village?" Danzo laughed coldly.

"But why would the Uchiha do this?" Mitokado Homura also expressed his confusion.

"Why else? That bunch of extremists must think that helping the villagers won't help them integrate into the village, so they've given up! They don't even consider how arrogant their own attitudes are!" Danzo said dismissively.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Haha, now the Uchiha have not only offended the village's populace but have also created friction with several other Konoha clans due to the central shops they received as relocation compensation. From this point on, the Uchiha clan is completely isolated from the center of Konoha. We have finally fulfilled the teacher's long-cherished wish!"

Danzo's cold face twisted into a hideous laugh. However, his sense of satisfaction didn't last long.

Not long after, those Uchiha shops opened for business, and the goods they sold made him green with envy.

At this moment, in the private courtyard Uchiha Lieyang had purchased, Yu watched the twelve clansmen who were crying and laughing in turns within the formation he had set up, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.

After consuming the elixir Yu had refined, each of them stepped into the formation with immense confidence.

They could clearly perceive their spirits being significantly enhanced, and they were only one step away from breaking through their ocular limits.

Those who originally only had Two-Tomoe could see the tomoe in their eyes spinning rapidly within the Heart Tempering Formation, and a third tomoe was faintly visible, flickering in and out of existence.

"Ah!"

With a painful roar, one of the youths suddenly opened his eyes wide, and the Three Tomoe in his eyes stabilized completely.

Tears of pain flowed involuntarily from the corners of his eyes.

Seeing this scene, Uchiha Lieyang clenched his fists in excitement.

"Young Clan Head! We succeeded!" Uchiha Lieyang said, looking at the calm Yu with exhilaration.

"Mm, not bad. Rest for a while. Once your chakra recovers, I imagine you'll be able to come back and attempt the breakthrough to Mangekyo," Yu said calmly.

"It is all thanks to the Young Clan Head's efforts." He had been by the Young Clan Head's side for these past few days and had seen with his own eyes how complex and exhausting the methods used to set up the formation were.

For the past few days, the Young Clan Head had been constantly repeating the cycle of setting up the formation and recovering.

Uchiha Lieyang hated himself for being so useless, unable to help the Young Clan Head share the burden.

"How is your spirit enhancement?" Yu turned his head and smiled at the flushed Uchiha Lieyang.

"Young Clan Head, that elixir of yours is truly too powerful. I have never felt my eyes feel as good as they do now; my ocular power has increased by at least one-tenth."

"Mm, when you have free time, go through the Heart Tempering Formation a few more times. Currently, the formation can be activated at most three times a day. After three times, you must wait two days for the spiritual energy to recover before it can be used again."

"Furthermore, this matter must be kept strictly confidential. You must not let your movements expose this location, and you must arrange for strict guards to be stationed here as well! Should you encounter any accidents or find yourselves outmatched, destroy the formation technique immediately!"

Yu instructed them with a grave expression.

"Yes! Young Clan Head!"

The youths, now fully recovered, answered in unison. At this moment, there was no longer any doubt in their eyes, only unwavering resolve.

End of Chapter
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