Tied Interests

Konoha Village, Hokage Building conference room.

The meeting continued.

"Authority to coordinate village defense!"

Zhengye's words swept through the conference room like a whirlwind, shaking everyone present!

The ninja clan representatives who had been delighted at receiving Police Force slots were now all stunned!

Village defense—that fell within the ANBU's responsibilities and was a power directly under the Hokage.

This was a direct attempt to seize power from the Hokage!

The Third Hokage stared fixedly at Zhengye, his eyes dark and grave as he asked in a low voice:

"What exactly do you mean?"

Zhengye raised a finger.

"Exactly what it says. The Police Force will have the right to participate in counterespionage patrols within Konoha, guard important facilities, and coordinate ANBU operations in emergencies."

The conference room fell utterly silent.

Utatane Koharu abruptly rose to her feet.

"Impossible! Village defense has always been the ANBU's responsibility. Your Police Force is in charge of public security—what right do you have to interfere?"

Yet Zhengye did not even look at her. Instead, he swept his gaze over the entire room.

"What right? Because we Uchiha have done the most for Konoha, yet received no corresponding reward!"

"Because during the Third Shinobi World War, the Uchiha sent the most people into battle and suffered the heaviest losses."

"Because during the Nine-Tails incident, we Uchiha were among the first to reach the scene. Thirty-three of us died, yet we were driven out of the village's central district."

"Because we suffered persecution from Konoha's higher-ups, yet still did everything we could to preserve Konoha's stability rather than start a war!"

Zhengye's words were steady and forceful, each one striking the crowd like a hammer blow.

Utatane Koharu's face turned livid. She was about to speak again when Mitokado Homura tugged at her sleeve.

Her old partner shook his head and lowered his voice. "This isn't the time for a direct confrontation."

The Third Hokage remained silent, seeming to weigh his options.

But Zhengye revealed a confident smile.

"This proposal concerns the safety of the entire village. Therefore, I hereby call for a vote among the senior council."

"Elders in favor of granting the Konoha Police Force 'authority to coordinate village defense,' please raise your hands."

Everyone jolted!

The heads of the Hyuga Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and other clans exchanged glances.

No wonder. No wonder the Uchiha had distributed Police Force positions to them!

Wasn't this effectively letting them share in the Hokage's power as well?

After only two seconds of silence, Hyuga Hiashi raised his hand.

Following him were Ino-Shika-Cho led by Nara Shikaku, the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan...

The ninja clans Zhengye had just granted Police Force positions to all raised their hands in approval.

On the Uchiha side, Fugaku and Zhengye did not raise their hands—they were not honorary elders of the village and had no voting rights.

But the situation no longer required them. There were twenty honorary elders in total, and each major clan had two honorary elders.

Seeing the major clans cast their votes, the representatives of the smaller clans followed suit.

The honorary elders alone had already cast sixteen votes!

The only ones who had not voted in favor were the Sarutobi Clan, Utatane Clan, Mitokado Clan, and Shimura Clan. Each had one vote.

Furthermore, the Hokage himself had two votes, while each advisor elder had one.

But it was useless. Even if they voted against it, Zhengye's proposal would still pass by an overwhelming margin!

"Very good! The votes have passed the majority. Hokage-sama, make the announcement."

Watching the Third Hokage's livid expression, Nara Shikaku sighed inwardly.

Impressive. Zhengye never intended to negotiate terms with Konoha's higher-ups.

He used the Danzo incident to ignite every ninja clan's distrust of the higher-ups.

Under the banner of compensation, he tied the Uchiha's interests to those of everyone else in the village, leveraging that to claim even greater benefits.

If the Third Hokage opposed it, he would be opposing more than half of Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had lost this round!

The Third Hokage looked around and found the major ninja clans all waiting confidently for his announcement.

If it had been just one ninja clan, he could have suppressed it. But they had now formed a massive alliance!

He gave Zhengye a deep look, suppressed the frustration in his chest, and slowly spoke.

"The authority to coordinate defense may be added to the Police Force."

"However, the ANBU answer directly to the Hokage. If the Police Force is to participate, a clear agreement delineating responsibilities must be signed."

"There must be written rules on which situations they may intervene in and which they may not."

The corners of Zhengye's lips rose slightly.

"Oh my, we Uchiha are all rough men and don't know much about these terms. I would like to ask Clan Head Shikaku and Clan Head Hiashi to help negotiate them."

Why would I need to step in at a time like this? Their own interests are involved now—wouldn't these ninja clans put everything into bargaining with the Third Hokage?

Shikaku suppressed the helpless smile on his face. Having already seen through Zhengye's intentions, he exchanged a glance with Hiashi.

"No problem. Leave these matters to us."

The Third Hokage had not expected them to kick the ball to Ino-Shika-Cho and the Hyuga Clan. Together, they essentially represented most of Konoha's ninja clans.

He was still facing more than half of Konoha.

After staring at Zhengye for several seconds, the Third Hokage turned toward Shikaku and Hiashi.

"The specific details will be drafted jointly by the ANBU and your clans within three days."

With those words, the matter was settled.

The weight in Fugaku's heart finally lifted as he sat in his seat, and then he could not help but grow excited.

The Uchiha, who had once only managed public security and could never reach Konoha's core of power, had finally torn open a massive breach beneath the heart of Konoha's power structure!

Compared to Zhengye's political ability, his own past ideas had been laughably naive!

It seems I truly wasn't suited to be clan head.

Fugaku looked at Zhengye with eyes full of admiration.

If Zhengye had been given power sooner, would the Uchiha have become better long ago?

No, it isn't too late now! Zhengye has already proven himself. From here on, I should hand over power with peace of mind.

While Fugaku was caught in a storm of thoughts, the meeting did not end.

Hyuga Hiashi suddenly spoke.

"Since the suspicions from the Nine-Tails incident have proven unfounded, I propose restoring the Uchiha's honorary elder seat!"

Shikaku raised his hand without hesitation. "Seconded."

Once he took the lead, Ino-Shika-Cho and the honorary elders who had just approved the addition of "authority to coordinate village defense" all raised their hands in agreement.

Zhengye nodded slightly and acknowledged everyone. He had given the other ninja clans so many benefits; it was only natural for them to return the favor.

Besides, the Uchiha now shared prosperity and ruin with them. Helping the Uchiha meant helping themselves.

"There have always been only twenty elder seats. If we add one for the Uchiha, who steps down?"

Mitokado Homura spoke, making one final struggle. But Shikaku replied unhurriedly:

"There have not been many matters requiring votes in recent years. One extra seat is no issue. When other honorary elders retire due to illness, we simply won't select replacements."

"But..." Mitokado Homura still wanted to say something.

The Third Hokage cut him off.

"That is enough. This matter was our responsibility to begin with. Then restore Uchiha Fugaku's status as an honorary elder."

But Fugaku stood up at that moment.

"Hokage-sama, I have already transferred authority over the Uchiha. Give the honorary elder position to Zhengye instead."

The Third Hokage nodded without surprise. "In that case, the letter of appointment will be delivered to the Uchiha clan compound shortly."

They were from the same clan, after all. It made no difference who received it.

He swept his gaze across the room. "Does anyone else have a proposal?"

There had been too much to take in today. Everyone's minds were essentially full, and no one raised another proposal.

"Then this meeting is adjourned."

Watching the Third Hokage on the dais, Zhengye's gaze darkened.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, our clash has only just begun.