Military Police Force Enforcement

"Arrest him! And thoroughly search the house behind him. There might be more recently abducted children inside!"

"Yes, Captain!" In an instant, two Uchiha rushed forward and tied up the criminal's upper body with rope, even carefully checking whether he had a poison sac in his mouth.

Everything proceeded with remarkable efficiency, fully demonstrating the Military Police Force's current professionalism.

Several other Uchiha violently kicked open the main door behind the pig merchant, warily scanning the interior one by one in case there were accomplices inside.

The remaining Uchiha kept the villagers outside the cordon.

Their initial shock and disbelief had turned into anger as they nervously watched the Uchiha Military Police Force enter the house to search it.

Yet not a single person dared barge through the cordon the Uchiha had set up. After all, disrupting law enforcement meant three days in solitary confinement, and those who had returned spoke of that punishment as something terrifying.

Under the Sharingan's powerful and meticulous observation, the Uchiha quickly discovered that something was wrong with the room.

One Uchiha delivered a heavy blow to a section of wall where the seams looked slightly off. A large hole was instantly smashed through it, exposing a concealed secret room.

"Shadow Clones go in first!"

"Yes!"

The two Uchiha swiftly formed hand seals, and four Shadow Clones rushed into the secret room.

The secret room was dimly lit. Several iron cages over half a meter tall appeared before the clones, each containing children of various ages—no fewer than ten in total—all asleep.

"Something's here! We found hostages!" the clones shouted toward the outside of the secret room.

The Uchiha no longer hesitated and quickly rushed inside.

Before long, ten children of varying ages, still inside their iron cages, were brought out before the villagers.

At that moment, the crowd could no longer contain their anger and began cursing the pig merchant owner, who had been gagged and bound off to one side.

"Bastard! Isn't that the Yamashita family's boy who was playing nearby just now? I thought the child had left!"

"Laizi, that's my Laizi! Didn't I tell her to go home? How did she end up here? Sir, please, give me back my daughter..."

Some of the children's parents fell to their knees and cried out.

For a time, the scene descended into chaos.

The Military Police Force captain frowned slightly at the sight. "Enough! The situation has been confirmed, and the evidence is conclusive. If any parents or neighbors recognize the children in the cages, bring sufficient proof to the Military Police Force to claim them. Squad, move out!"

The Military Police Force did not immediately hand the children over to their parents and relatives, instead requiring them to go through the proper procedures at the Military Police Force.

First, to strengthen the authority of the Military Police Force.

Second, to prevent them from being abducted and sold again.

The Uchiha of the Military Police Force promptly lifted the cages and prepared to escort the criminal back to the Military Police Force.

Intimidated by the Uchiha's strict enforcement over the past half year, even the most anxious parents did not try to charge into the Military Police Force's formation.

Instead, they hurried home to find proof that the children were theirs, along with witnesses.

However, not long after the Uchiha team had left, a group of Anbu ninja wearing cat-faced masks blocked their way.

The leading Anbu ninja stepped forward.

"Hand over the person in your custody. We suspect he is a spy from another village."

The commanding tone of the Anbu ninja clearly touched the Uchiha's pride, and someone immediately retorted.

"Why should we? The Military Police Force arrested him, and we caught him red-handed. You say he's a spy, so he's a spy? Then why didn't you arrest him earlier? You want to snatch someone from the Uchiha now? Keep dreaming!"

The atmosphere between both sides instantly grew tense.

The Anbu captain pulled a Kunai from his waist. Pale blue Chakra coated its blade, while a fierce killing intent spread from his body.

"What are you trying to do? Do you Uchiha have some unspeakable connection to this spy?"

The Uchiha Military Police Force captain sneered. "Who are you trying to scare? Anyone who isn't blind can see that we're arresting a human trafficker in the village."

"You Anbu think you can pin a crime on the Uchiha with nothing but empty words? Are you here as a joke? Who gave you the nerve to obstruct the Uchiha Military Police Force's lawful enforcement? Konoha's laws shall not be desecrated!"

With that, dozens of Uchiha clansmen simultaneously revealed their Three-Tomoe Sharingan, set down the cages, and drew their swords.

An even more powerful aura bore down upon the Anbu ninja like an overwhelming tide.

For this operation, in case anything went wrong, Uchiha Retsuyō had arranged for an entire team of clansmen with Three-Tomoe Sharingan to carry out the mission.

No amount of caution was excessive when it came to the young clan leader's orders.

There were even two clansmen with Mangekyō hidden in the shadows. Even so, Uchiha Retsuyō was not entirely at ease. If he had not had more important follow-up matters to handle, he would have led the team himself.

The Anbu captain felt a wave of fear. Since when had the Uchiha gained so many Three-Tomoe Sharingan? The Hokage Building had not received even the slightest word of it.

"Move aside! If later investigations prove that this man is a spy from another village, we will naturally transfer him to the Anbu. But right now, the Uchiha are enforcing the law. Anyone who obstructs us will be treated as an accomplice. The dignity of the law shall not be violated!"

After saying that, the Uchiha captain advanced directly toward the Anbu captain with his sword in hand.

The members behind him followed closely.

As the Uchiha formation drew closer and closer, the Anbu captain felt an unprecedented pressure.

There were more than ten Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan! How could his small Anbu squad possibly deal with them?

"This is an order from Lord Hokage!" the Anbu captain shouted in desperation.

"The Military Police Force is an independent department and not directly under the Hokage's command. If Lord Hokage wants this man, then follow the village procedures. Now, move aside! We need to bring the criminal back for interrogation, and so many parents who have lost their children are waiting for news from the Military Police Force.

"As the law enforcement department responsible for maintaining Konoha's public security, how can we allow child trafficking to occur again and again? Such incidents happening in the village are a desecration of Uchiha pride.

"I'll warn you one more time. The Military Police Force is carrying out lawful enforcement. Should anyone interfere with it, we will treat them as accomplices as well."

"Besides, you Anbu are all wearing cat-faced masks. How do we know whether criminals are hiding among you? If the criminal dies or escapes halfway through, how are we supposed to answer to the people of Konoha?"

The villagers who had not yet left all nodded in agreement upon hearing the Military Police Force captain's words. The Uchiha's rigorous enforcement over the past half year had gradually earned the Konoha villagers immense trust.

Every crime reported to the Military Police Force had been solved without exception; it was only a matter of time. Compared with the previous attitude of doing nothing, the Uchiha still made the villagers feel fearful and distant, but when it came to cases, the villagers had gradually begun to trust them. Every violation would be investigated—this was the attitude the Uchiha now showed the village.

"Yeah! Yeah! What right does the Anbu have to demand someone out of thin air? Maybe there are accomplices among them," one of the parents who had lost a child shouted at the crowd.

"That's right! That's right!"

"Over the past half year, it's not like the Military Police Force hasn't uncovered ninja crimes before. They arrested them all the same. Even if it was only something like peeping, it was still a crime. We trust the Military Police Force. At the very least, they take law enforcement seriously!"

The crowd became increasingly agitated. During this time, many parents who had lost children had not only caused trouble at the Military Police Force, but had also gone to the Hokage Building. Yet the ninja at the Hokage Building would only say that the matter fell under the Military Police Force's jurisdiction.

Now that the Military Police Force had finally found a lead, the Anbu came chasing after them to demand the suspect. What was going on was obvious to anyone with eyes.

The Military Police Force was now the only hope for these parents who had lost their children.

Quite a few ordinary ninja who had gathered around learned the full story from the civilians and also looked at the Anbu ninja with hostility. They despised this kind of credit-grabbing behavior the most.

For a moment, the Anbu ninja felt immense pressure. Seeing the Uchiha's blades nearly reach their masks, the Anbu captain could no longer endure it.

He shouted at the members behind him, "Move aside!"

The Anbu ninja immediately made way.

Watching the Uchiha captain pass before him, the Anbu captain coldly said, "I hope you'll be just as tough when you explain yourselves to the Third."

"Haha! The Third? We're enforcing the law properly. Tell me, which Konoha law have we violated? Even if the Third comes, that is exactly what we'll say!"

With that, the Uchiha captain ignored the Anbu ninja, whose face seemed ready to devour someone, and hurried toward the Military Police Force with his teammates, carrying the children in their iron cages.