In the fifty-first year of Konoha, midsummer.
The blazing sun poured down upon the Hidden Leaf Village without restraint, bleaching Hokage Rock white and warping even the air with heat. Yet something even hotter than the weather filled the village: a restless anticipation. Everyone knew that a long-brewing storm was finally about to descend upon the institution that had once symbolized Uchiha privilege and isolation, while bearing countless criticisms—the Konoha Security Department.
The plaza before the Security Department building was packed with people. Not only were all the Security Department members facing reform gathered there, but representatives from the major clans, civilian ninja, and even ordinary villagers had come after hearing the news. They crowded beneath the shade of trees along the edge of the plaza, craning their necks as their whispers buzzed like cicadas on a summer afternoon.
At the heart of the crowd stood the original Uchiha Police Force members. Most wore dark blue uniforms emblazoned with the Uchiha Gunbai on their backs. They stood ramrod straight, their faces bearing the Uchiha Clan's characteristic mix of pride and aloofness. Yet beneath that pride, closer inspection revealed barely concealed confusion, unease, and even a trace of offended anger. Their gazes kept drifting toward the platform at the front of the plaza, where the man deciding their fate stood.
Kyohaku Uchiha stood at the center of the platform, dressed in simple black shinobi attire beneath a dark haori that marked his status as clan head. The red-and-white gunbai on his back seemed more glaring than the sun itself. Beside him stood Fugaku Uchiha, slightly stooped and wearing a complicated expression, as well as the solemn Shikaku Nara, who had come on behalf of the Hokage's Office to oversee the restructuring.
Kyohaku's calm gaze swept over the familiar faces below, faces