Arrival (Part One)

(I posted the wrong chapters yesterday. I put out chapters 92 and 93 as 90 and 91. My head was spinning.)

Konoha's main gate towered above the road, its massive doors standing open.

The entire Konoha Military Police Force stood in orderly ranks on either side of the gate. Anbu Ninja also hid in the shadows of the buildings lining the street, quietly watching their surroundings.

The Joint Chunin Exams were a major event. To keep the village secure, Konoha had recalled every Ninja out on assignment except those needed at the border. Every available hand had been put to work, including the Uchiha.

Even the village's regular mission assignments had been suspended.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had initially wanted to object. They still harbored prejudice and misgivings toward the Uchiha. All of the Konoha F4 did, though to varying degrees.

But the Uchiha already commanded the Konoha Military Police Force and were responsible for maintaining order in Konoha. How could the village hold the Joint Chunin Exams without involving them?

With the village plainly short-handed, what would it look like to leave so many Uchiha idle? Even a fool could see the leadership was singling them out.

The Uchiha's reputation in the village was hardly good, but if the leaders insisted on excluding them, the other clans would begin to lose faith. After all, when the rabbit died, the fox grieved.

The two Advisors had been deeply influenced by those accursed old Senju men and had their own objections to the Uchiha. But their temperaments and positions kept them from being as ruthless and extreme as Danzo. They leaned instead toward Hiruzen Sarutobi's approach: conciliation and checks on the clan's power.

After deliberation, they ultimately brought the Uchiha into the operation.

Noon sunlight spilled over the village, yet