The Uchiha Police Force Needs a New Leader!

"One person, 12,000 Ryo?"

When Uchiha Fugaku heard that salary, his eyes nearly popped out. He could not help but marvel at it.

Uchiha Hanjō truly was generous.

12,000 Ryo per person. There were fifty or sixty people resting at the Merchant Guild alone, which came to seven or eight hundred thousand Ryo a month.

He was spending so much money just to support the Uchiha clansmen?

By that calculation, Uchiha Hanjō had indeed spent quite a fortune on these clansmen.

Uchiha Fugaku was not the only one shocked. Even the clansmen following behind him nearly had their eyes pop out. A salary of 12,000 Ryo, with food and lodging provided by the Merchant Guild.

Quite a few of them looked at the treatment their former colleagues now received, and their hearts began to stir. If only they could have come along with the main group back then...

Gulp. Gulp.

They could even hear the sound of people swallowing.

"Uchiha Hanjō, do you want me to pay 12,000 Ryo as well?" Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Hanjō and continued asking.

"Clan Head, I already said that they can take on Police Force work during their free time at the Merchant Guild. You can pay a little less—10,000 Ryo per person!" Uchiha Hanjō repeated himself. The meaning was already clear: as long as Fugaku could persuade these clansmen to help the Police Force in their spare time, they could go.

"10,000 Ryo is too much." Uchiha Fugaku was taken aback. Then his gaze passed over Uchiha Hanjō and fell on Uchiha Xia and the others. "You are free right now. You can make some contributions to the clan!"

That sounded more like a plea.

Fugaku had no other options now. He was asking them rather than ordering them.

"Clan Head, we have families to support too. We can lower it a little more—just pay us what the Police Force used to pay!" Uchiha Xia looked at Fugaku's somewhat troubled face and added, "The Police Force's base salary used to be 8,000 Ryo!"

8,000 Ryo?

Uchiha Fugaku was momentarily speechless. If fifty people went, at 8,000 Ryo each, that would be nearly 400,000 Ryo. They could not afford it.

Thinking of that, he shook his head. "8,000 Ryo is impossible!"

"Clan Head, do you want us to work ourselves to the bone for the clan? No—for Konoha?" Everything Konoha had done against the Police Force in recent days had been infuriating. They truly did not want to return to the Konoha Police Force.

Nor did they want to endure that kind of humiliation.

Uchiha Xia was even less willing to return to the Police Force. Ever since Uchiha Fugaku had made them apologize to those scoundrels, the Police Force had ceased to be what it once was.

If they had not backed down last time, apologizing and offering compensation to those punks, the Uchiha Police Force would not have fallen this far.

"Hanjō, you are also an Uchiha clansman. You cannot just stand by and watch the Police Force passed down through our clan decline, can you?" Uchiha Fugaku could not persuade those people, but he still said it.

He knew they simply could not come up with the money now. He could only appeal to Uchiha Hanjō's feelings and make him agree.

If no one else joined, the dozen or so remaining members of the Police Force would completely collapse.

"It is not that I will not help you. These clansmen simply do not want to work in the Police Force anymore!" Uchiha Hanjō looked at Fugaku and the dozen or so weak Police Force Members behind him and understood what a miserable ordeal they had been through. "If any clansmen want to go back, I have no objections!"

Those who had stayed here long enough probably did not want to return there to work either.

"Uchiha Xia, the clan is facing a difficult time now. Do you truly not want to care about the clan anymore?" Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Xia, his tone pleading.

Without these people, the Uchiha Police Force might truly collapse.

And the reason he had approached Uchiha Xia—

Was because, aside from Uchiha Hanjō, Uchiha Xia held the most prestige among these people.

"Clan Head, the nature of the Police Force has changed. With my temperament, I cannot stay in the Police Force anymore!" Uchiha Xia shook his head. He did not want to endure those grievances. But if those thugs provoked him, he would not be able to stop himself from acting.

After Uchiha Xia finished speaking, the other clansmen nodded in agreement.

None of them wanted to return to the Police Force.

"Hanjō, this matter can only rely on you now. If no one helps the Uchiha Police Force again, the Police Force will truly fall apart!" Uchiha Fugaku finally looked helplessly at Uchiha Hanjō. "The Police Force is the last foundation our Uchiha have in Konoha!"

Their last foundation!

Hearing that, Uchiha Hanjō frowned, visibly moved.

He was also an Uchiha clansman, and he had been raised with the Uchiha's proud ideals. Although he was angry that Fugaku had given away half of the Uchiha Police Force, he did not want the Uchiha to lose the Police Force completely either.

If that happened, it would be a disgrace to the Uchiha Clan.

Thinking of this, his resolve began to waver.

His eyes drifted toward his son Xuanyu. Just moments ago, he had firmly declared that he could not give them money, but now he was considering sending them people?

When Xuanyu saw what his father was doing, he inwardly cried out in alarm. His father had really been swayed by Fugaku. One misstep and they would be taken advantage of. If he truly agreed, those fifty people would become the Police Force's unpaid laborers.

And his father would be the one paying money and providing manpower.

He would be nothing but a sucker. Even after this matter was over, Fugaku and his son would not be grateful to them.

They absolutely could not agree.

But seeing that his father was clearly moved once he learned that this concerned Uchiha honor, and that even the ninjas behind them looked somewhat saddened, Xuanyu knew he had to think of a way.

"Dad, since Clan Head Fugaku has put it that way, we should agree!" Xuanyu rolled his eyes, tugged on Uchiha Hanjō's hand, and spoke in a childish voice.

As soon as he said that, Uchiha Hanjō and the clansmen behind him froze. Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, on the other hand, lit up, and he looked at Xuanyu with a little more appreciation.

At that moment, Uchiha Hanjō exchanged a glance with his son. He did not know what his son meant and called out in confusion, "Son?"

He truly did not understand what his son was thinking.

"Dad, I heard that the village gives the Uchiha Police Force 500,000 Ryo every month. As long as we ask Uncle Fugaku for 300,000 Ryo, we can send the Merchant Guild's currently free ninjas to work at the Police Force. The 300,000 Ryo can be evenly divided among everyone as bonuses!" Xuanyu held his father's hand and stated his terms.

"300,000 Ryo?" Uchiha Fugaku hesitated. To be honest, he really did not want to give them 300,000 Ryo.

Besides, he still owed the village quite a lot of money.

"Clan Head Fugaku, you do not agree? There are still a dozen or so people in your Police Force. The remaining 200,000 Ryo can still give each of them over 10,000 Ryo!" Uchiha Hanjō looked at Fugaku. If he would not even agree to this, there would be no point continuing the discussion.

The eyes of the ninjas who had come with Fugaku also brightened. This was the best option. If things continued like this, they might truly break down.

"I can give it to you, but it must start next month!" Fugaku took a deep breath and continued, "There are only three days left this month. Starting next month, I will give you 300,000 Ryo!"

At that moment, Xuanyu glanced at Uchiha Xia behind him, winked at him, then pointed at his father.

Uchiha Xia clearly understood Xuanyu's meaning and nodded at him.

Fugaku spoke then. "Xia, bring fifty people with you to the Police Force. The Police Force urgently needs manpower right now. You know what to do!"

"Clan Head, we can go to the Police Force, but we have one condition!" Uchiha Xia spoke on behalf of the others.

Fugaku frowned. He had not expected Uchiha Xia to make demands even after Uchiha Hanjō had agreed. "What condition?"

Uchiha Xia looked at Fugaku and said, word by word, "The Police Force needs a new leader. If there is no new leader, we do not want to go back!"