They Didn't Care

So Uchiha Yan intended to transform his image from the harshest father of Konoha's unruly civilians into a "kind father."

That was what he'd been laying the groundwork for all along.

What was a "kind father"?

The words were in quotation marks for a reason.

At his core, Uchiha Yan hadn't changed at all.

He'd simply replaced his former ruthless exterior with the image of someone who was still strict, but treated everyone equally and solved problems efficiently.

Uchiha Yan had been slowly changing ever since he'd come to his senses.

After all, a good person pretending to be bad had a lot to think about.

A bad person pretending to be good didn't have nearly so many reservations.

It was like those people who got into fights outside every day and ended up in jail as casually as if they were drinking water.

Then, one day, they suddenly stayed home and played computer games.

And they didn't go out looking for trouble.

Their parents' first reaction would be unease, wondering if their kid had caused some huge disaster.

But if a month went by and the person was still staying home and behaving themselves, even saying they wanted to go back to school—

Their parents would absolutely believe that a prodigal son who'd turned over a new leaf was worth more than gold.

Uchiha Yan intended to play the part of that prodigal son.

In the past, Uchiha Yan had been the type to grab a wooden stick, dip it in iodine, and beat the unruly civilians of Konoha whenever the mood struck him.

As for why he beat those unruly civilians of Konoha—

Come on. Those were the very people who'd cursed out Hatake Sakumo when they were young and bullied Kushina and Might Guy.

There were plenty of reasons to throw a punch if you wanted one. It was just that, back then, Uchiha Yan had treated Konoha's unruly civilians like an airborne unit during Chun Doo-hwan's era.

He wasn't paid. It was purely a personal hobby. He enjoyed the process of beating the unruly civilians of Konoha.

But after he came to his senses, he went from beating them for no reason to telling them why he was beating them before doing it.

That had even led many unruly civilians of Konoha to think that Uchiha Yan was actually a law-abiding member of the Konoha Military Police Force.

And personally capturing Orochimaru was the final step in Uchiha Yan's "turning over a new leaf."

Uchiha Yan escorted Orochimaru through Konoha's gates.

Kotetsu Hagane immediately said, "I'll go report this to the two advisors."

As Uchiha Yan escorted Orochimaru along Konoha's streets,

some of the villagers and ordinary shinobi working outside to deal with collapsed houses noticed the shinobi he was escorting and began to discuss him.

"Who's that? What did he do? Why is Uchiha Yan the one escorting him?" one villager asked.

At that moment, an ordinary shinobi stared intently at Orochimaru.

His voice trembled as he said, "That's Orochimaru. The person Uchiha Yan captured is the S-rank shinobi Orochimaru."

The Hokage Office, Hokage Building.

Utatane Koharu lay back in the chair that had once been Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal seat, her eyes narrowed.

She sighed. "I never thought that one day I'd get to sit in this seat."

Hearing Utatane Koharu's words, Mitokado Homura was filled with emotion as well.

Among the four of them—Konoha's F4—Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo had always been the most prominent.

The two of them had been rather ordinary.

That wasn't a comparison with Sarutobi Hiruzen. It was an objective statement of fact.

And the reason Senju Tobirama had taken them on as students in the first place was simple.

Senju Tobirama had always intended to train them for administrative work.

Thanks to Senju Tobirama, their benefactor, they had also been able to help their families prosper.

As the two of them reminisced,

a knock came from outside the door.

When Utatane Koharu heard it, she quickly got up from the chair.

She moved to the sofa and pretended to work on some documents.

Mitokado Homura said, "Come in."

Kotetsu Hagane entered.

He addressed them both. "Advisors, Uchiha Yan requests an audience."

He first paused to choose his words.

Utatane Koharu was already looking somewhat impatient.

"What's going on with Uchiha Yan? Just say it!"

"Is he dead?"

At that moment, Mitokado Homura smoothly cut in. "Don't rush. Take your time and think it through before you speak."

The two of them had perfected their good-cop, bad-cop routine.

Only then did Kotetsu Hagane react and say, "Reporting to the advisors: Uchiha Yan captured Orochimaru alive."

"What?"

Utatane Koharu slapped the table and said, visibly flustered, "How is that possible? He's just a green young upstart. What could he possibly—"

Watching Utatane Koharu's intense reaction, Kotetsu Hagane was confused.

Wasn't it a good thing that Uchiha Yan had caught the man who killed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Why was the advisor reacting so strongly?

Before she could finish, Mitokado Homura quickly interjected, "This is good news."

He saw that Utatane Koharu was about to speak again and hurriedly gave her a look to make her stop.

Utatane Koharu realized she'd lost her composure and quickly fell silent.

Mitokado Homura looked at Kotetsu Hagane and asked in a kind tone, "Where is Uchiha Yan now?"

Kotetsu Hagane replied, "Reporting to the advisor: he should be on his way to the Hokage Building."

Mitokado Homura nodded. "Understood. You can head back and get some rest."

Utatane Koharu added, "Don't neglect your work."

Kotetsu Hagane took his leave and turned to go.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura waited in the Hokage Office for Uchiha Yan to come and report.

One hour passed.

Then two.

Then three.

Uchiha Yan still hadn't appeared.

The two exchanged a glance, puzzled.

Mitokado Homura called in his trusted subordinate. "Tell him to find out what Uchiha Yan is up to."

The subordinate nodded and left.

Three hours earlier.

Uchiha Yan had been walking along Konoha's streets, waiting for word of his achievement to spread.

Once it was known, he changed course and headed straight for the Konoha Military Police Force.

He escorted Orochimaru straight into the prison.

As he released the barrier, Orochimaru sat on the floor and said hoarsely, with a hint of amusement, "The Konoha Military Police Prison, belonging to the Uchiha."

"I never thought you'd bring me here."

Uchiha Yan glanced at Orochimaru and said coolly, "Where did you think I'd take you?"

Orochimaru replied, "Naturally, to those old fossils."

Uchiha Yan scoffed at his answer. "I'm the one who captured you. Why would I hand you over so they could take the credit?"

Hearing Uchiha Yan's reply, Orochimaru sighed. "I never expected the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha to have grown so severe during the years I was gone."

Uchiha Yan said, "More accurately, Konoha has always had its hand around the Uchiha's throat, keeping them from breathing."

"The Uchiha are bound to fight back. The higher-ups in Konoha could settle everything simply by letting go, but unfortunately, they don't care—or they pretend not to."