Naruto Uzumaki

Near the Memorial Stone in Konoha Village.

A young man with a head of white hair and one eye covered by his forehead protector arrived before a grave carrying a bouquet of flowers.

He first replaced the withered flowers, then stood there lost in thought.

"Rin..." he murmured.

His voice was filled with emptiness and pain. He looked like a wandering ghost, utterly lifeless.

He was Kakashi Hatake, disciple of the Fourth Hokage.

At this time, Kakashi was still serving as captain of an ANBU squad.

Because ANBU authority had undergone some changes, he only had time to come here while on leave.

The nearby patrol guards were already quite familiar with him and found nothing unusual about it.

Kakashi would leave when night fell anyway, so they did not interfere.

There was a very large park near the Memorial Stone.

It had trees, fountains, and slides—everything one could want.

Many young children liked to play here.

"One, two, three, freeze!!"

"One, two, three, freeze!!"

"You've already gone down the slide twice. It should be my turn!"

The children's voices filled the place with joy and youthful energy.

Yet a yellow-haired child hid in a corner, most of his body covered by the shadow of a building. He was about five years old, sallow and thin.

Who knew how long it had been since his clothes were washed? They were covered in grime.

It was hard to imagine that even in a major village like Konoha, there could be a child who looked like a beggar.

He was Konoha Village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the son of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.

His hand clenched tightly against the base of the wall, and longing and hope filled his eyes.

"Whew..."

"Hah..."

Naruto took two deep breaths, then shuffled two steps forward.

He asked the children playing one, two, three, freeze, "I..."

"Can I play with you?"

The children stopped their game and turned toward Naruto, their eyes filled with confusion. "Who are you?"

Naruto forced out a flattering smile. "My name is Naruto."

"You're a monster!" one of the children suddenly shouted.

Naruto's face stiffened. Waving his hands awkwardly, he backed away. "I... I'm not a monster!"

"Is he the Demon Fox!?"

"The one who ate my mom!?"

"Beat him to death!"

Naruto's greatest fear had come true. Once again, he had run into people who called him a monster.

"Whoosh!"

The children playing one, two, three, freeze picked up rocks from the nearby flowerbeds and hurled them at him.

"Thud!" Naruto felt a sharp pain in his head, followed by something hot running down his face.

But he had no time to cry out in pain. Clutching his head, he ran toward the Memorial Stone.

"Stop!"

"Beat him to death!"

When the children saw Naruto get hit, they cheered and swarmed after him.

His face smeared with dirt and blood, Naruto ran outside while panting heavily, stumbling twice along the way.

At last, he reached the Memorial Stone and dropped to the ground on his butt.

When the children chased him to the Memorial Stone, the nearby patrol guards immediately stepped forward, their faces dark.

"What are you doing!?"

The children looked somewhat frightened and said shakily, "We came to beat up a monster!"

As they spoke, they pointed at Naruto.

The guard glanced at Naruto, then turned away expressionlessly.

"This isn't a place for you to fool around. Get lost!"

The children were somewhat afraid. They spat at Naruto. "You got lucky!"

Then they scattered and ran off.

Watching the children leave, Naruto revealed a smug smile.

"Ha ha... I'm still the smartest..."

A patrol guard walked up to him. "This isn't a place for playing around. Leave at once."

Naruto wiped the blood from his forehead and carefully said, "I understand. I'll leave right away."

Naruto slowly walked away. The smugness vanished from his face, leaving behind only calmness and loneliness.

He limped as he walked, and the setting sun stretched his shadow long behind him.

Naruto's small figure brushed past Kakashi.

Kakashi caught sight of that golden figure from the corner of his eye, but he did not turn around.

As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha Village had a very large population.

Any government decree would be posted on bulletin boards at the earliest opportunity.

To accommodate those who could not read, people were even assigned to read them aloud.

Not long after the meeting ended, news of the Police Force's expansion had already appeared on the boards.

Although it did not mention "village internal defense coordination authority."

The Police Force's expansion alone was enough to stir up a storm of public discussion.

"The Police Force is expanding again?"

"Oh no, there are going to be even more of those violent maniacs!"

"Damn it, I'll have to be more careful when I go out from now on."

It had to be said that the Uchiha's innate pride meant that when commoners made mistakes, they would not be treated kindly.

Combined with Konoha's propaganda, the Uchiha had largely become synonymous with savagery and violence.

Still, they were all villagers, and the Uchiha would not actually kill people, so they were often complained about.

Now that the Uchiha were expanding, the villagers' first reaction was worry rather than celebration.

At the same time, inside the Police Force.

Zhengye was also at the Police Force headquarters, delivering an important speech to its members.

"Most of you already know me, so I won't introduce myself."

"I am now the clan's Fourth Elder, primarily responsible for all of the Uchiha's external political negotiations and guiding the Police Force's operational policies."

The Police Force was also organized into three-man squads, twelve-man companies, and forty-eight-man battalions.

Those standing before Zhengye now were all company and battalion commanders.

Shisui was among them as well, but he was only a company commander. After all, putting someone as soft-hearted as him in too high a position would be a disaster.

After Zhengye spoke, everyone's eyes shifted to Fugaku beside him.

Fugaku cleared his throat. "I've said before that I will gradually transfer the clan's authority."

"As for everything concerning the Police Force, I will also follow Zhengye's orders."

"Yes, Clan Head."

Once it was confirmed that even authority over the Police Force had been delegated, everyone waited for Zhengye's instructions.

"Some well-informed members have probably already learned that the Police Force will be expanding."

"I'll confirm it here. It's true."

"The new members are people I invited from other ninja clans, such as the Hyuga Clan and Ino-Shika-Cho."

After Zhengye said this, those below merely exchanged looks. Overall, they remained calm.

"Of course, at the same time, our Police Force has also gained 'village internal defense coordination authority'!"

"After these people join the Police Force, Clan Head Fugaku will split them up and assign them to your units."

"Village internal defense coordination authority means..."

When the clan members below learned that their Police Force could actually seize authority from ANBU, none of them could keep their composure. Their faces were filled with excitement!

"This is great!"

"Our Police Force is finally no longer just managing public security!"

Seeing how happy the clan members were, Zhengye deliberately waited a few minutes before clearing his throat and quieting them down.

"Since the Police Force has village internal defense coordination authority, whenever any conflict occurs in Konoha from now on..."

"Our Uchiha are not to mediate at all. After one warning, arrest them immediately!"

"As for whether that person is guilty, bring them all back to the Police Force for trial."

"Don't care whether anyone files a complaint. That is not something you need to consider."

"The Police Force clan members' code of action is this: arrest people directly. Anyone who dares resist will be forcibly suppressed!"

"As long as you don't kill them, it doesn't matter if you break their arms or legs!"

"When trying these villagers or spies, do not use our Uchiha. Let people from the other ninja clans handle it."

The clan members below all shuddered, then revealed delighted expressions!

The Uchiha were all battle-loving people. They did not fear hardship or pain, but they feared having their hands tied.

Before, when they served as public security officers, they could neither beat nor kill villagers. Even if they hit too hard, they would be complained about.

Now, the clouds had parted and the sun had emerged. At last, they no longer had to endure such frustration!

Shisui's eyes filled with doubt when he heard this.

Wouldn't this intensify the conflict between the Uchiha and the villagers?

But out of trust in Zhengye, he swallowed his question and prepared to ask later.

"Alright. Clan Head Fugaku, arrange the newly arrived members of the other clans at the Police Force headquarters for now."

"Shisui, take me to familiarize myself with the Police Force's patrol routes. Dongyou, Junxia, you two come as well."