Situation Analysis

Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped through a thick stack of documents. Having long grown accustomed to rapidly reviewing paperwork, he quickly extracted the key information from them.

'Draft laws!' 'Arrest criminals!' 'Investigate spies!' 'Participate in war!'...

Hiruzen Sarutobi summarized each crucial point. With every additional one, his heart sank a little deeper.

After finally reaching the last page, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his office chair.

"Teacher Tobirama, what kind of monster did you unleash back then?!"

All Hiruzen Sarutobi could do now was hope that the Uchiha Clan could not comprehend the true power contained within these documents. Yet when he recalled how delighted Uchiha Yushu had looked at the time, he could not help feeling uneasy.

Still, though he was worried, it was not too bad. The reason he could so quickly grasp the meanings the Second Hokage had deliberately concealed was because nearly thirty years as Hokage had given him sharp insight.

No matter how talented that brat Uchiha Yushu was, his talent lay in combat. Perhaps he could vaguely see some of the meanings within them—no, he had probably already seen them. Otherwise, he would not have been so happy when he received that declaration.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi still had ample confidence. He would let Yushu learn what it meant for experience to triumph over youth.

However, as a native of the ninja world, he had clearly never read transmigration novels and had no idea that transmigrators existed.

Meanwhile, after Danzo returned to the Root base, he first contacted Orochimaru through secret channels and placed an order with him.

He then sent Root ninja to keep watch on Yushu at all times. Already aware of Yushu's strength, he did not blindly send his subordinates to their deaths. Instead, he chose an extremely low-profile method of surveillance. He did not need every detail, but he had to know Uchiha Yushu's general range of activity each day.

In Danzo's eyes, Yushu was a threat far greater than even Fugaku.

On the way back, Yushu kept apologizing to Fugaku.

After all, he had promised to help Fugaku deal with Itachi Uchiha's matter. But given the circumstances at the time, the Third Hokage had been on the verge of flying into a rage, and with Fugaku stopping him, Yushu had ultimately chosen to leave.

"You're being too serious, Clan Head. Today truly opened my eyes. I believe in your abilities, Clan Head. You will definitely resolve Itachi's issue properly. There's no need to rush."

Fugaku was in an excellent mood, and he addressed Yushu as Clan Head with complete sincerity. The title was also becoming increasingly natural to say.

Seeing that Fugaku truly had no major objections, Yushu could only nod.

Still, he reminded him, "Senior Fugaku, aside from spending time with your family at home, don't let your guard down around Itachi either. Hiruzen Sarutobi's brainwashing is extremely powerful. Deep down, Itachi may lean more toward the village."

Yushu had deliberately put it mildly. By his estimate, Itachi had already completely sided with the village in his heart.

"Clan Head, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Itachi."

Fugaku promised with great confidence. Years of serving as clan head had left Fugaku lacking in attention toward Itachi's upbringing, but now he was utterly confident that he could set Itachi back on the right path.

As long as you're happy. Yushu silently thought as he looked at the confident Fugaku.

After parting ways with Fugaku midway, Yushu returned to the Konoha Military Police Force.

Within the Konoha Military Police Force, the four squad captains were still discussing the specific plan. Yushu merely checked on their progress and did not join them.

Yushu's next goal was naturally to ensure that the Uchiha Clan could survive in Konoha. To achieve that, they needed to withstand the various forms of suppression imposed by the Konoha F4 centered around Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Yushu was not someone who would take beatings without fighting back. Besides, there were only thieves who stole for a thousand days, never guards who stood watch for a thousand days.

Yushu, who had decided to take the initiative, planned to first separate Konoha's upper echelon from Konoha itself.

After all, the Hokage was Konoha's Hokage, but Konoha did not belong solely to the Hokage.

The biggest problem now was that although the many ninja clans also swallowed their anger before the Third Hokage and the other higher-ups, compared to the Uchiha Clan, they were still more willing to align themselves with Konoha's upper echelon.

Part of that was due to suppression by Konoha's leadership, but the greater reason was the Uchiha Clan's own problems.

The Uchiha Clan was arrogant, conceited, and looked down on others. To be honest, no one was usually willing to deal with the Uchiha Clan. The only exception was during wartime.

Yushu divided Konoha's current forces into three groups.

First was the Hokage faction led by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Its primary leaders were the Konoha F4, while its main forces were the Anbu and Root. These were the enemies Yushu needed to deal with.

Next was the ninja clan faction, represented by the various ninja clans in the village. It was highly fragmented, with relationships among its members ranging from friendly to hostile. There were clans close to the Hokage, such as the Nara Clan and Akimichi Clan, as well as clans with poor relations with the Hokage, such as the Hyuga Clan and Aburame Clan. This was the group Yushu would try to win over.

Lastly came the largest group: Konoha's residents and the ninja villagers among them. Most had long been influenced by the Hokage's propaganda and were filled with hostility toward the Uchiha Clan. This was the group Yushu needed to fight hard to win over, and the one that best represented Konoha.

The Hokage faction was a mortal enemy and had to be eliminated by any means necessary. The ninja clan faction was powerful, but its members were scattered and disunited. Some could be won over, while normal connections could be established with the rest. As for the villager faction, the Uchiha Clan had to change its image, integrate into it, and unite its strength.

After clarifying Konoha's situation, the first thing Yushu needed to do was show goodwill toward the ninja clans and the villagers.

The rough plan had already been mostly formed in his mind, but as Yushu sat alone in his office, he felt as though something was missing.

He then took out the Konoha Military Police Force's personnel roster. After screening through it one name at a time, he finally circled a ninja.

As a warlike and arrogant clan, the Uchiha Clan generally disliked clerical work.

However, as a complete organization, the Konoha Military Police Force had its own system, including a dedicated archives department.

Yet in the enormous Konoha Military Police Force, the archives department had only five members. Their work was not as simple as collecting and filing documents.

The reports submitted by most Uchiha working in the field regularly contained a great many errors and omissions. Therefore, before filing them each time, the five members of the archives department had to carefully inspect them, correct discovered errors, and contact the relevant field personnel to supplement missing information. Their workload was quite heavy.

When Yushu arrived at the archives department, he made no sound and quietly watched the five of them work.

Most of his attention, however, was on a ninja in her early twenties who was using a Shadow Clone Technique. Together with her clone, she diligently sorted documents into categories.

This was considered a benefit of working in the archives department. Every member assigned there would be taught the Shadow Clone Technique on their first day.

He watched as she meticulously reviewed document after document, occasionally making corrections and notes. Unlike the other four, she showed neither impatience nor agitation, simply completing her work bit by bit.

Feeling that the time was about right, Yushu directly said, "Uchiha Mitsuba, come with me."

Mitsuba had known of Yushu for a long time. He was the clan's genius ninja and had joined the Konoha Military Police Force two years ago.

Mitsuba had always had an excellent impression of Yushu, because the reports he submitted while on field duty were the least troublesome documents she had encountered in her six years of work. Although she still reviewed them carefully every time, she had never found a single error or omission.

But when she first saw Yushu that morning and learned that he had become the new director, Mitsuba was astonished by his abilities.

At fifteen, she had just become a Chunin and had been fortunate enough to pass the assessment and enter the Konoha Military Police Force as a records clerk. Her entire family had been overjoyed at the time.

She could not imagine just how outstanding Yushu, who had become clan head and director at fifteen, must be. Then she saw Yushu mercilessly kill Uchiha Longtao before everyone's eyes, using methods more brutal than anything she had ever witnessed.

Thus, Mitsuba followed behind Yushu in fearful apprehension all the way. After entering the office, she carefully closed the door.

Then she heard the words that would change the rest of her life.

"Uchiha Mitsuba, become my secretary."