They Were Them, and We Were Us!

As mentioned earlier, Sarutobi Sasuke was powerful, and even the Uchiha had to show him some respect.

What's more, he was the leader of the Sarutobi Clan. Even if the Uchiha privately looked down on them as "Senju lackeys," they still had to maintain a show of respect in public.

"Sarutobi," Uchiha Eisen said, his tone less than friendly. "What are you doing here? Does Lord Hokage have a mission for the Uchiha?"

Sarutobi Sasuke smiled again.

"Well, as a matter of fact, there is. Eisen, while Madara's been missing, the Uchiha Clan has stayed in order thanks to you."

Uchiha Eisen stared at him for a while before replying.

"If Lord Hokage wants to ask about the clan head's whereabouts, I'm afraid I have bad news. We've been searching with all our might, but still haven't found a trace of him. Lately... the clan has been considering choosing a new head."

Though Uchiha Madara was the strongest Uchiha and the clan's current head, he had long since gone down an extreme path.

Even among the Uchiha, a clan already known for being somewhat "single-minded," he had little support, and a deep divide had grown between him and his clansmen.

"That's not what I'm here about." Sarutobi Sasuke waved a hand. "Madara is powerful, and Lord Hokage isn't worried about his safety out there. I came today for something else.

"I'm sure you know that the village has many longstanding problems. We were too busy dealing with outside threats to address them before, but now we finally have the time to think about what to do."

"If you're here to talk about the Ninja Academy, the Uchiha's position is already quite clear," Uchiha Eisen said gravely.

"No, not the Academy." Sarutobi Sasuke looked at him, lowering his voice. "It's a completely new system Lord Hokage is planning. We call it... the 'Konoha Police Force.'"

At that, Uchiha Eisen's eyes flickered.

The Police Force? He'd heard about it some time ago. Apparently, the Hokage planned to establish a force dedicated to maintaining order in the village and handling serious incidents. Sarutobi Sasuke had suddenly shown up to bring it up now. The implications were certainly worth considering.

There was no question: once the force was established, whoever controlled it would hold a considerable share of Konoha's power. Did the Uchiha want power? Of course they did!

"What... do you mean by that?" Uchiha Eisen hesitated for a long while before finally asking.

Sarutobi Sasuke's lips curled into a knowing smile.

"Ahem... It's a long story."

Meanwhile, the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans weren't the only ones discussing the matter throughout the village. Other ninja clans, such as the Aburame and Inuzuka, as well as major clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha, were talking about it too.

The Hyuga Clan was one of Konoha's longstanding noble clans. Though they were currently somewhat weaker in power and influence than the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, they could claim to be the Shinobi World's foremost clan when it came to history and purity of bloodline.

So after the Uchiha were wiped out and the Senju declined, the Hyuga publicly declared themselves Konoha's strongest clan.

Why were they so confident? Because, according to legend, their bloodline could be traced back to Otsutsuki Hamura, the second son of Otsutsuki Kaguya.

By contrast, the ancestors of the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had only been two of the Sage of Six Paths' sons.

By that reckoning, the Hyuga Clan was practically the "younger uncle" of those two clans. Naturally, they considered themselves a cut above them.

However, unlike the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan had extremely strict rules and had upheld the system of the Main Family and Branch Family since ancient times.

Though the system had kept their bloodline going for thousands of years, it had also made the clan exceptionally rigid and old-fashioned.

Too many rules made it hard to get anything done. That saying could not have been more apt for the Hyuga Clan.

The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans and the Sarutobi Clan had already publicly declared their support for the Hokage's Academy, but the Hyuga were still arguing it out at a clan meeting.

Most of the elders thought they should wait and see. After all, the idea that the clan's interests came first had been passed down for generations and was ingrained in their bones.

Because of that, many even considered the Academy absurd and insisted they should oppose it outright.

Still, clans that survived for thousands of years often did so by embracing "moderation." So there were opponents and conservatives alike, and the situation was far from settled.

Even the current clan head had decided to wait and see how things developed before taking a position.

Perhaps that was why, in the future, the Hyuga Clan held a high position in Konoha but never truly made it into the inner circle of power.

Every Hokage could see the Hyuga Clan's rather serious flaw: they were slow to act, and they always put the clan ahead of the village.

Giving such a clan too much power would probably do more harm than good. Before long, all of Konoha might be "taking it easy" right along with them.

Unlike the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan had no intention of waiting and seeing.

Their bloodline was simply too exceptional, and they produced a genius every so often.

With the advantage of the Sharingan, they were famed for Fire Release in the Shinobi World, but they had also accumulated plenty of techniques in other elements, along with many secret arts outsiders had never even heard of.

So to them, the Ninja Academy was utterly pointless.

Training civilian ninja who leaned toward the clans? What a joke! The Uchiha had such noble blood. Why would they need civilians to pad their numbers? Their hands were too rough even to handle their shoes.

And as for learning other clans' techniques and basic knowledge? The scrolls in the Uchiha Clan's library were practically overflowing. Why would they need to learn those things elsewhere?

So in the Uchiha's eyes, the damned Academy offered them not a single benefit and would only take away their interests. Of course they had to oppose it with all their might.

Would their opposition anger the public...? Did the noble Uchiha need to worry about that? Of course not. A few civilians might grumble, but would they really dare to do anything?

So the Uchiha didn't give it another thought. They went straight to the Hokage Building and voiced their displeasure, strongly opposing the Academy. Their reasons were perfectly respectable, of course: it would supposedly upset the village's balance, introduce uncertainty, and undermine stability.

Inside the Uchiha estate, a crowd of ninja wearing the clan crest had gathered, their clamor nearly lifting the roof.

Most were fiercely criticizing the Academy, though a few young clansmen in the corner wore troubled expressions, as if they wanted to speak but didn't dare.

Every clan had people who could see the truth, and the Uchiha were no exception.

They were simply so intoxicated by their clan's strength and glory that they couldn't be bothered to look at anyone else. But after the village was established, some of the younger clansmen really had changed their minds and wanted to try fitting in with Konoha as a whole.

Unfortunately, being young meant having no say, so they couldn't change the clan's overall position. Perhaps their role would become clear in the future, but for now... there was no point in speaking up.

Just as the group was clamoring to go argue with the Hokage again, the door suddenly swung open.

A Uchiha ninja stood in the doorway. He looked at the room full of resentment and frowned, his face helpless.

His arrival drew everyone's attention. One of the elders immediately spoke up. "Kagami, didn't we send you to the Hokage Building to deliver our opinion? Why are you back?"

That's right, the person who had arrived was Kagami Uchiha—the only Uchiha Tobirama truly trusted.

Kagami Uchiha replied quietly, "Lord Hokage has made up his mind. The Academy plan is moving forward.

"Also, the Sarutobi, Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clans have all issued statements of support... The whole village is praising this decision. If we..."

"They are them, and we are us!" The elder's brow furrowed as he cut Kagami off sharply. "Kagami, don't you forget that you're a Uchiha!"

"Aren't the Uchiha part of Konoha too?" Kagami Uchiha shot back without yielding.

The room fell silent in an instant. The elder was so angry he nearly spat blood. That was all true, but did Kagami Uchiha really not understand what it meant for the clan?

Just as the room grew tense, a large hand reached around from behind Kagami and patted him on the shoulder.

"Kagami, you're still too young," the newcomer said with a genial smile. "You can't talk to your elders like that. Go take care of your business... Didn't Lord Hokage give you another task?"

Kagami Uchiha calmed down a little after hearing that. He turned to the man behind him, nodded, and said, "Lord Sarutobi, I've learned my lesson. I'll go take care of the task Lord Hokage assigned me."

After bowing slightly to Sarutobi Sasuke, he turned and quickly left the oppressive estate.

Only after Kagami Uchiha was gone did Sarutobi Sasuke stroll into the room, unhurriedly. He glanced over the roomful of Uchiha experts, smiling from ear to ear without the slightest discomfort.

After all, Sarutobi Sasuke was powerful, and no matter how arrogant the Uchiha were, they had to show him some respect.

What's more, he was the leader of the Sarutobi Clan. Even if the Uchiha looked down on these "Senju lackeys," they still had to show him proper respect in public.

"Sarutobi, what are you doing here?" The elder—Uchiha Eisen—looked up at him, his tone less than friendly. "Does the Hokage have another mission for the Uchiha?"

Sarutobi Sasuke smiled. "Well, as a matter of fact, there is. Eisen, while Madara's been missing, the Uchiha Clan has stayed out of trouble thanks to you."

Uchiha Eisen sized him up and replied leisurely, "If the Hokage wants to ask about the clan head's whereabouts, I'm afraid he'll be disappointed.

"We've been searching with all our might, but haven't found a trace of him... Lately, the clan has been discussing choosing a new head."

Though Uchiha Madara was the strongest Uchiha and the clan's current head, he had strayed far off course.

Even in a family as stubborn as the Uchiha, he had little support, and there was a deep divide between him and the other clansmen.

"That's not what I'm here about." Sarutobi Sasuke waved a hand. "Madara is powerful, and the Hokage isn't worried something will happen to him out there.

"I came today for something else... You've probably heard that now the village has put an end to outside threats, we can finally deal with the problems we didn't have time to address before."

Uchiha Eisen's brow twitched. "If you're here to talk about the Ninja Academy, the Uchiha's position is already quite clear."

"Not the Academy." Sarutobi Sasuke looked at him, his voice growing serious. "It's a new system Lord Hokage is preparing... We call it the 'Konoha Police Force.'"

At that, Uchiha Eisen's eyes flickered.

He'd heard about the Police Force already and knew the Hokage wanted to form a force to maintain public order in the village.

But Sarutobi Sasuke had suddenly come all this way to bring it up. That made him wonder what lay behind it.

There was no question: once the force was established, whoever controlled it would hold a considerable share of Konoha's power. Did the Uchiha want power? Of course they did!

"What... do you mean by that?" Uchiha Eisen hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

Sarutobi Sasuke's lips curled into a smile. He cleared his throat twice. "Well, it's a long story..."

As he spoke, he casually walked over to Uchiha Eisen and sat down cross-legged beside him. Uchiha Eisen didn't stop him; he even reached out to offer him a cup of tea.