Uchiha Itachi Gives Himself a Slap to the Face!

"Ah..."

Uchiha Fugaku let out a long sigh, looking as though he was in quite a difficult position as well.

"Third Hokage, you may not know this, but it isn't that the clan members are unwilling to fulfill the Military Police Force's duties. They're simply too exhausted."

"Too exhausted? How could they be too exhausted?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked puzzled. "The Military Police Force's salaries shouldn't be considered low, should they?"

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head. "Third Hokage, my Uchiha clansmen rise early and work late every day, serving the villagers with all their hearts. Yet all they receive are insults and complaints behind their backs. That is exhaustion of the heart."

"The clan members toil day and night, striving to uphold the Will of Fire and give what remains of their strength. They can barely attend to many clan matters, yet their treatment falls far short of that of Konoha Hospital and ANBU. That is physical exhaustion."

"The clan members care deeply for Konoha and have yielded time and again for its sake. When the Third Hokage ordered our clan to relocate, the clansmen were dissatisfied, yet they understood the bigger picture. They abandoned the clan grounds passed down for generations and moved to the edge of Konoha. That is exhaustion of the spirit."

"Exhaustion of the heart! Physical exhaustion! Exhaustion of the spirit! Third Hokage, do you think my Uchiha clansmen could possibly not be tired?"

Uchiha Fugaku stared directly into Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

The three-pronged barrage left Sarutobi Hiruzen instantly speechless, unable to say a word.

Beside him, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Uchiha Mirai's lips.

He had fed Fugaku that entire line of reasoning beforehand.

No matter what purpose Sarutobi Hiruzen had come with this time, once those words were spoken, he would immediately be placed at a disadvantage.

Unless he intended to directly provoke a war with the Uchiha.

Otherwise, he would inevitably have to make concessions in the negotiations that followed.

"Fugaku..." Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh full of sorrow. "I know the Uchiha Clan has had it difficult, but the village..."

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen about to launch into an Academy Award-level performance, Uchiha Mirai rolled his eyes and ruthlessly cut him off.

"Lord Hokage, weren't we discussing the Military Police Force? Why are you dragging things so far off topic?"

When Sarutobi Hiruzen was interrupted, he noticed Uchiha Fugaku's expressionless face. Realizing there was no point in making a fool of himself, he immediately reined in his expression.

The speed with which his face shifted from deeply emotional to gloomy was enough to fill a book titled The Birth of an Actor, leaving countless young idols in awe.

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Uchiha Mirai from the corner of his eye, an indescribable depth in his gaze.

Clearly, Fugaku's sudden change in attitude had to be connected to Uchiha Mirai.

He had not expected this fellow to cause such a huge stir the moment he emerged. If he had known, he should have been more ruthless back then...

Of course, he still did not know that Uchiha Fugaku had already relinquished the position of clan head to Uchiha Mirai.

If he knew, who knew what he would think?

"Fugaku, every member of the Military Police Force will receive a thirty percent salary increase, and the related benefits will also improve. But the Military Police Force must resume normal operations as soon as possible. How does that sound?"

Knowing his old tricks would not work, Sarutobi Hiruzen directly proposed improved treatment in exchange for the Military Police Force resuming normal work.

A thirty percent increase in benefits was neither here nor there for Konoha's finances. It was nowhere near his bottom line.

"Third Hokage, this isn't an issue of treatment."

Uchiha Mirai spoke calmly.

"Not an issue of treatment?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow furrowed slightly.

"You know what the Military Police Force does, Lord Hokage. It's nothing more than catching a few thieves and mediating disputes between villagers. With your wisdom, surely you don't genuinely think the Uchiha clansmen's temperament is suited for this work?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened.

He felt that Uchiha Mirai was insulting him under the table.

Uchiha Mirai smiled. "I think you've seen it too, Lord Hokage. Because of work that is completely unsuited to them, the Uchiha Clan's reputation is in shambles. Whenever villagers mention the Uchiha, they cannot help but frown in distaste."

"On the surface, the Military Police Force gives the Uchiha authority. In reality, it only drives the Uchiha and the village further apart."

"Third Hokage, you inherited the First Hokage's Will of Fire. You wouldn't want to see the Uchiha and the village become strangers, would you?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had never expected Uchiha Mirai to point out the flaws of the Military Police Force so bluntly, without the slightest attempt to hide it.

It made his expression incredibly ugly, as if he had eaten duck neck in the cafeteria at noon.

"What do you propose?"

Uchiha Mirai crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, a faint smile on his face.

"It's simple. The Military Police Force's authority must be expanded. It must be allowed to take in some ninja outside the Uchiha, and it must have the authority to supervise and manage ninja, as well as independently deal with any ninja who may threaten the village."

"No!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen barked sternly.

He might be able to tolerate recruiting some ninja outside the Uchiha, but the latter condition was absolutely unacceptable.

That was ANBU's responsibility!

If the Military Police Force took over that role, wouldn't that effectively weaken his authority as Hokage?

"Then there's nothing to discuss?"

Uchiha Mirai raised an eyebrow, folded his arms, and leaned back against the chair with a bored expression. The index finger of his right hand tapped lightly against his left arm.

The room suddenly fell silent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt the air around him rapidly thinning, an immense pressure continuously squeezing down on him.

A bead of cold sweat slowly slid down his forehead. His vigilance rose to its limit, chakra condensed within his body, and he secretly began tracing a summoning technique in his palm...

At that moment, this former Hero of the Shinobi World suddenly realized just how close death was.

Three years ago, Uchiha Mirai had already been able to suppress Namikaze Minato. How far would he have grown in another three years?

He began to feel that his decision to visit the Uchiha Clan Compound alone had been absurdly wrong.

"Hahaha, why are you so nervous? If word got out and the Hyuga Clan next door heard it, they'd think we Uchiha were planning to do something to the Hokage."

Uchiha Mirai suddenly clapped his hands and laughed. The oppressive force that had nearly frozen the air abruptly vanished.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's tensed muscles immediately relaxed. He let out a long breath, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Uchiha Fugaku also let out a breath. He had truly been afraid that Uchiha Mirai would disregard everything and simply kill Sarutobi Hiruzen.

If the Hokage died without explanation in the Uchiha Clan Compound, it would mean declaring war on all of Konoha, with no room whatsoever for reconciliation!

"The Military Police Force may be granted the authority to recruit ninja outside the Uchiha Clan. However, as for whether it can independently deal with ninja who endanger the village, I'll need to return and discuss it first."

After that roller-coaster ride, Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone had indeed softened considerably.

This was already the bottom line he could accept.

"Then we'll go with the Hokage's decision."

Uchiha Mirai replied indifferently.

Sarutobi Hiruzen rose to leave. When he reached the entrance of the residence, he suddenly saw a pair of pure eyes looking up at him.

"Itachi..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt somewhat at a loss. He did not know whether Uchiha Itachi had overheard his argument with Fugaku.

"Lord Hokage, in your eyes, is the Uchiha Clan really nothing more than a tool?"

Faced with those young, innocent eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know how to answer.

In a daze, the small figure before him suddenly ran away as if mad.

"Itachi!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen called out, wanting to stop him, but the small figure had already disappeared.

He let out a long sigh, knowing that Uchiha Itachi had truly severed ties with him completely.

Uchiha Shrine.

Uchiha Itachi knelt before the ancestral tablets, his hands clenched tightly against his thighs as he wept in anguish.

"Sure enough! Brother Mirai was completely right! The Will of Fire, doing it for Konoha—it was all nonsense fabricated by those people!"

"I actually... I was actually once deceived by that hypocritical petty man, the Third Hokage!"

Itachi did not dare to think further.

If he had truly been influenced by Sarutobi Hiruzen and accepted his ideology, what foolish things might he have done?

The more he thought about it, the deeper his guilt and pain became.

Slap!

A loud smack landed viciously on his own face.

As if that still was not enough!

Slap! Another smack followed, even louder than the last.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

After several strikes, Itachi's delicate face was bruised and swollen, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Sasuke, who entered from behind, witnessed this scene. The toy in his hand fell to the ground with a cracking sound.

"Dad! Big brother's brain is broken! Dad! Big brother's brain is broken!"

Only three years old, Sasuke ran around the courtyard like mad as he shouted.