First Day at the Military Police Force

Hane heard the +3000 Gratitude Points chime in his mind and felt a surge of delight.

He turned to look at Itachi and Uchiha Retsuyō, who were staring dumbfoundedly, a faint smile curling at his lips. "Let's go! It's time to go home!"

The two finally snapped out of their daze and nodded.

"Hane, aren't you going to say anything else to me?" Shisui hurriedly asked as he watched Hane turn to leave.

Hane looked back at Shisui. "There's really nothing more to say. Big Brother Shisui, just keep doing what you used to do and gain as much trust from the Third and the others as possible. Pass some information to me now and then. That'll be enough."

"Fine. So you want me to be a double agent in the village?" Shisui said with a bitter smile.

"Haha, Big Brother Shisui, you're joking. What you're doing is still the same as before. The only difference is that your heart is now with the clan. Isn't that also a bridge between the village and the clan? It's just that the sacrifice will no longer be us Uchiha clansmen, but Konoha's rotten sludge!"

Shisui stood there blankly for a long time. Only after Hane and the others had completely left did he helplessly shake his head.

"Hane, is that truly what you think? That really is cruel... But if things really turn out as you said, getting rid of a piece of Konoha's rotten flesh might be another kind of rebirth."

Shisui shook his head with a bitter smile. He suddenly felt that he had been far too naive before. Political struggles had always been a matter of life and death.

Yet there was still a trace of softness in his heart. "Lord Third, I hope you aren't as Hane described." With that, Shisui's figure vanished from the chaotic battlefield as well.

When Hane returned home, he found his mother and father sitting at the dining table, quietly waiting for him and Itachi to return.

The moment she saw Hane and Itachi, Mikoto's face lit up. "Looks like the two brothers have made up!"

"Itachi! Hane, come eat!" Mikoto said gently.

Fugaku remained silent, merely giving the two brothers a quiet nod.

Sasuke, on the other hand, crawled out of the crib beside them. Chuckling happily, he came over to the two brothers, tugged on Hane's clothes, and tried to climb into his arms.

Hane quickly picked Sasuke up.

"B-Brother! Welcome home!" The little guy still stuttered a little.

Hane teased Young Sasuke with a finger. Sasuke seemed like he would be three years old in just a few months. Time really flew.

Hane sighed inwardly before handing Young Sasuke over to the eager-looking Itachi.

Like a mother, Itachi held Young Sasuke constantly, gently bouncing Young Sasuke as he sat down at the dining table.

Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Hane's lips.

Soon, the family finished dinner amid a peaceful atmosphere.

After helping his mother clean up the dishes as usual, Hane was called into Fugaku's room.

"Hane, why did you come back so late tonight?" Fugaku asked in a deep voice.

Hane was briefly stunned before replying, "Nothing much. I just taught a lesson to someone who keeps leading Itachi astray every day."

Fugaku's expression twitched. A few seconds passed before he understood what Hane meant.

"You fought with Shisui?"

Hane looked at his father in surprise. It seemed this father was not as indifferent to their interpersonal relationships as Hane had imagined. Fugaku understood the moment Hane mentioned it.

"Mm." Hane nodded lightly.

"Was it because of Itachi? Your mother told me about the matter between you two today. Itachi's thinking may be somewhat extreme, but as his older brother, you need to be patient too," Fugaku said, his expression softening slightly.

Hane rolled his eyes at Fugaku. "While Shisui certainly bears responsibility for that extreme way of thinking, you, as his father, aren't much better!"

Fugaku looked embarrassed and hurriedly coughed twice. "Cough, cough! All right, remember to report to the Military Police Force on time tomorrow. Go get some sleep."

Hane nodded without saying anything further and headed straight for his room.

A lot had happened today, but the gains had been outstanding as well.

He had gained nearly sixty thousand Gratitude Points in just one day. That absurd number made Hane want to stay this busy every day, but he knew this only happened at the beginning. Once the initial excitement and gratitude faded, the clansmen's emotions would settle down.

On a good day, he would only gain around ten thousand points. On a bad day, it would probably hover around a few thousand. Besides, Hane could not meet all the grateful clansmen every day. He could only harvest them at set intervals.

Hane looked at his status panel and, without hesitation, added all his Gratitude Points to his cultivation.

In an instant, invisible spiritual energy began surging toward Hane. He felt completely refreshed, and his slightly weary mind was instantly filled with vigor.

Cultivating immortality really was the greatest joy.

Hane watched the "Azure Nether Art" under the Spirit Refining Chapter in his technique column change directly from Yellow Rank +2 to Earth Realm, and excitement surged through him. If he had a few more explosive gains like this, would he be able to break through directly into Refining Spirit into Void?

However, Hane also knew that some opportunities were hard to come by and could not be forced.

The next day, Hane followed Fugaku to the Military Police Force early in the morning. He sent one of his incarnations to the Ninja Academy with Itachi and Izumi.

His other incarnations began refining pills, while Uchiha Retsuyō went to the private gathering place and began setting up the Formation Art.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

If he had not obtained the External Incarnation technique, Hane really would not have dared to spread himself so thin all at once.

After passing through several streets, Hane spotted a building in the distance that looked adorably silly.

It was entirely earth-yellow, with a round yellow cat's head.

The blue semicircular glass windows on either side looked like the cat's eyes. The slightly protruding section in the middle resembled its nose, while the two doors below formed its mouth.

The building looked old, but it had to be said that Konoha's otherwise serious Military Police Force headquarters had been built rather cutely.

However, when Hane entered the building with Fugaku, he felt somewhat stifled.

Although the clansmen occasionally greeted Fugaku and Hane, nearly all of them wore expressions as stiff as corpses.

At the first-floor service desk, every face seemed to say, "Don't bother me if you have a problem. Coming to me won't help either." Their arrogant expressions were cold and distant, keeping everyone at arm's length.

Hane sighed softly at the sight. He understood the clansmen's feelings. There was only one chief in the Military Police Force, perhaps one deputy chief, and six captains and vice-captains. Altogether, there were only around a dozen leadership positions.

Yet the Uchiha had twenty or thirty Jonin, far more than enough to fill those posts. To make a living, some Jonin had no choice but to lead street patrols or stand guard at the Military Police Force.

How could that not breed resentment among the clansmen? In smaller ninja villages, Jonin were either the Kage or the Kage's second-in-command.

But in Konoha, they could only serve as ordinary patrolmen or guards, doing work normally handled by Genin and Chunin. It was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

That alone would have been bad enough, but they were also expected to bow and scrape before civilians. How could that be possible? Of course they could not be happy.