Konoha Military Police Force, Director's Office.
Despite the late hour, Jin Uchiha, who normally lounged around whenever he could, had actually stayed behind tonight.
He sprawled on the guest sofa, casually sipping tea as he chatted with Fugaku.
That was right.
Catching a thief was no big deal, but the notice Jin had ordered posted had stirred up quite a storm.
Once Fugaku heard the news, he could hardly sit still.
Jin had no intention of hiding anything from his Clan Head.
In just a few sentences, he laid out the whole story, his calculations, and his backup plans.
There was no helping it.
Since he had committed to putting on an act with Shisui and would also have to cover for Kazama Nara later, he had to do a proper job now. It was all so he could lounge around with greater peace of mind in the future.
"Isn't this approach a little too risky, Jin?" Fugaku's brows knotted together. "You're slapping the Hokage right in the face. If anything goes wrong, we won't even have a way out."
"Why don't we give it some more thought?"
"I'm sure there's a safer way."
Yes.
Fugaku had lost his nerve.
He was indecisive to his core. After hearing Jin's entire plan, the fact that he hadn't immediately slammed the table and tried to stop him was already quite generous.
He didn't want to gamble. All he wanted was stability.
"Clan Head, you're overthinking this." Jin let out a leisurely sigh. "How do these little moves of mine even count as provocation?"
"Besides, I doubt you have any real grasp of just how much weight the Uchiha carry."
"It's already a fight to the death between us and those higher-ups. Can't you see that yet?"
"The Uchiha stand out too much."