The Military Police Force is Uchiha business!

"Me?!"

Uchiha Hui froze, his eyes widening as he stared at his "big brother" seated before him. Disbelief covered his face, as though he were asking, "Are you serious, Clan Head Fugaku?"

But Uchiha Fugaku remained calm, his expression composed, as though Hui's confusion came as no surprise at all.

"I'm only a Chunin. I don't have the ability..."

Uchiha Hui couldn't help shaking his head.

Becoming a captain sounded like far too much trouble.

He only wanted to quietly grow stronger, becoming a true "Sword God of Ten-Mile Slope" in some corner nobody knew about, rather than standing at center stage for everyone to see.

"Your strength goes well beyond a Chunin's."

Uchiha Fugaku cut off his younger brother's refusal. He lifted his teacup and took a sip, his eyes slowly narrowing. "The changes you've shown lately are enough to qualify you as a captain. And with your thoughtful nature, you could lead your subordinates in the right direction..."

"Hui, compared to who you used to be, you're now more than capable of shouldering greater responsibility!"

After saying his piece,

Uchiha Fugaku watched Hui's expression. Seeing his younger brother lower his head in apparent thought, he didn't rush him. He continued drinking his tea, his eyes full of anticipation.

The Uchiha had no shortage of fighting shinobi.

But most Uchiha shinobi had been blinded by their ancestors' glory. They were shortsighted and arrogant, and few could settle down and think things through.

Uchiha Hui had once been the same.

But now he had grown considerably.

In fact,

Uchiha Fugaku hadn't made this decision on a whim.

The grasp of the bigger picture that Hui had demonstrated was a key factor. Another was his rapidly improving strength, which had already reached the level of a Special Jōnin.

And becoming an official member of the Military Police Force

would also offer Hui greater protection, concealing the brilliance he was beginning to reveal.

"Was expanding the Military Police Force the Third's idea?"

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Hui found this puzzling. As he remembered it, the Military Police Force was something of a cage for the Uchiha.

On the one hand, it did grant the Uchiha considerable authority, giving them the power and status to oversee most of the village's public security. But in exchange, their role in the Military Police Force restricted them, preventing them from truly entering the village's inner circle of power.

That awkward, in-between position inevitably left the Uchiha in an uncomfortable spot.

"I'll report this to the Third, but regardless, the Military Police Force is the Uchiha's headquarters. As its highest-ranking officer, I do have the authority to add personnel."

Uchiha Fugaku answered with a soft chuckle.

But Hui knew this wouldn't be as simple as Fugaku made it sound.

Every member of the Military Police Force was an Uchiha shinobi. Expanding its ranks would therefore mean more Uchiha shinobi with law enforcement authority, which wasn't good news for the village.

Especially with so little time having passed since the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

Certain higher-ups were also wary of the Uchiha.

Getting this done would be extremely difficult, almost impossible.

Unless the Uchiha openly broke with those higher-ups and confronted them head-on. Otherwise...

"Will you become a captain? I truly have faith in your abilities, Hui. If you take the position, I believe you'll accomplish quite a few things that will make people see you in a new light."

Uchiha Fugaku seemed to know what Hui was worried about, but he didn't say it aloud. When it came to expanding the Military Police Force, he understood the situation better than almost anyone.

But so what?

Compared to what he intended to do next, adding personnel to the Military Police Force was a minor matter.

Just as Hui had said before,

completely changing the Uchiha's position in the village was impossible without paying a price. As clan head, Fugaku considered a few ups and downs along the way perfectly normal!

Listening to Uchiha Fugaku,

Hui stared at the teacup before him. Its still surface was like a mirror, reflecting two faces: one mature, one young...

Tap!

Something bumped the tea table. A moment later, ripples spread through the tea, circle after circle churning the reflected image.

"I'll go back and think about it."

Uchiha Hui withdrew his gaze, lifted the teacup before him, and took a small sip. The bitter taste began to spread through his heart.

The longer he lived here after transmigrating,

the more tightly his fate became bound to the Uchiha.

Unlike when he first arrived, when he had planned to find an opportunity to flee Konoha,

the current Uchiha Hui knew that someone with his identity could never sever his ties to the Uchiha. Either he died, or he killed those who wanted him dead.

There were only those two options.

"Give me your answer tomorrow. I'll be waiting at the Military Police Force building."

Uchiha Fugaku wasn't at all surprised that his younger brother hadn't agreed immediately. Yet his gaze remained firm, as though he was certain Hui wouldn't refuse the invitation.

"I'll leave the village tomorrow afternoon. The Third will probably head to the Daimyo's Palace within the week."

He continued with a smile.

His tone was calm, as though this were no major piece of news.

But Uchiha Hui abruptly raised his head at those words.

Was it about to happen?

Hui stared at Fugaku, trying to glean more information from his expression. Clearly, however, he had underestimated how deeply his "big brother" kept his thoughts hidden. All he could see was effortless composure.

"I only said that becoming the next Hokage would completely solve the Uchiha's problems. I didn't say you could take that seat just by eliminating your 'competition.' Don't do anything rash..."

Uchiha Hui didn't actually have much idea what Fugaku intended to do.

During their earlier conversation,

he had offered a direction, not a plan.

So hearing Fugaku say he was preparing to leave the village, then deliberately mention when the Third would leave as well, sounded wrong no matter how he looked at it.

Surely he wasn't planning to attack the Third outright?

To take advantage of Danzo's attack and put the final nail in the coffin of the Third, who was about to return to office?

"Ha ha!"

Seeing Hui's serious expression, Fugaku understood what he was getting at and burst into unrestrained laughter. He leaned back repeatedly, as though he had heard something hilarious. "Hui, have you misunderstood how strong I am? Or have you misunderstood how strong the Third is?"

"I'm only going to visit relatives. I won't have any dealings with the Third."

"Relatives?"

Uchiha Hui voiced his confusion.

"As Konoha's foremost clan, the Uchiha had many relatives outside the clan during the Warring States Period. Most of them now live in the Royal Capital. I plan to try getting in touch with them, then get better acquainted with the daimyo."

Uchiha Fugaku didn't elaborate.

But those few words still gave Hui a clearer picture.

"Is that so? Sounds like a good idea."

Uchiha Hui smiled and nodded.

As for Fugaku's earlier remark about misunderstanding his strength,

Hui was rather tempted to make a few pointed comments.

According to the anime-original storyline, Fugaku also possessed the Mangekyo, and his ability might even have been something akin to prophecy or seeing the future.

With strength like that,

if Uchiha Fugaku really did attack the Third, then honestly, that old man, already in his fifties, might not make it back.

But that would do the Uchiha no good whatsoever.

If the Third died outside the village,

well,

never mind anything else.

Even setting aside the possibility of another Shinobi World War,

Konoha would immediately plunge into civil war.

The Uchiha would either be exterminated or forced to defect from the village. There was practically no third option.

Of course,

Uchiha Hui didn't believe the Third would actually be that easy to kill.

The Third, who held so many titles,

was a powerful shinobi.

And right now, he was more than a decade younger than he would be during Orochimaru's invasion. His fighting strength hadn't declined nearly as drastically yet.

Even in his twilight years, the Third had been able to hold his own against the First, the Second Hokage, and Orochimaru together.

The current Third should still have no trouble taking on Uchiha Fugaku.