Tyrannical Uchiha, Forcefully Suppresses Villagers

The lights in the Hokage's Office remained on deep into the night.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure looked somewhat blurred amid the curling smoke.

After Itachi left,

the words, "His ocular power is stronger than mine," echoed repeatedly in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.

Another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

And it had appeared in the hands of Uchiha Yao, someone Hiruzen Sarutobi could neither control nor see through.

This was no longer a threat.

It was a sword hanging over Konoha's head, one that could fall at any moment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his throbbing temples.

His gaze unconsciously fell upon another dossier on the desk, one Danzo had submitted.

Eliminate him.

Perhaps Danzo's method was the simplest and most effective.

But that thought had barely surfaced before Hiruzen Sarutobi forcibly suppressed it.

No.

He could not do that.

Uchiha Yao was now the spiritual pillar of the Uchiha Clan. Touching him would be the same as directly igniting the entire Uchiha Clan.

That would be a civil war Konoha could not bear.

He had to find another way.

The next day.

Konoha's streets were as bustling as ever.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering dappled patches of light across the ground.

Yet there was a strange undertone in the air.

"Did you hear? That newly appointed Uchiha Elder, Uchiha Yao."

"I heard his ambitions are huge. He wants to make the Uchiha leave the village!"

"That's not all! I heard he was involved in the Nine-Tails' attack! The Uchiha Clan has wanted to rebel for a long time!"

Outside a ramen shop, several housewives gathered together. They lowered their voices, but the excitement on their faces was impossible to conceal as they animatedly gossiped.

Uchiha Mitsuki, a member of the Uchiha Police Force who was out on patrol, happened to pass by and overhear them.

Mitsuki's face instantly turned livid.

"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Uchiha Mitsuki strode over and roared.

Elder Yao was the hero leading the Uchiha toward strength.

He, Uchiha Mitsuki, would never allow these ignorant villagers to slander him like this.

The women were startled by the murderous aura radiating from Uchiha Mitsuki, but the stout, middle-aged woman at the front quickly recovered.

Relying on the fact that they were in the center of the village, she planted her hands on her thick waist.

"Oh? What did I say? We were just chatting. Your Police Force wants to control the heavens and the earth—now you want to control this too?"

"You are spreading rumors! You are slandering an elder of our Uchiha Clan!"

"Spreading rumors?"

The woman's voice suddenly rose, drawing the attention of even more passersby.

"Who doesn't know what you Uchiha are like? Every last one of you has your eyes on top of your heads! That Uchiha Yao, isn't he just throwing his weight around because he has some strength? I think he's the Nine-Tails Demon Fox in human form!"

"You!"

The One-tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Mitsuki's eyes emerged uncontrollably.

"What? You want to hit me?"

Not only was the woman unafraid, she even thrust her face forward, looking completely fearless.

"Come on! Let everyone see! This is how you Uchiha bully ordinary villagers!"

The surrounding villagers pointed and whispered among themselves.

Hostile gazes turned toward Uchiha Mitsuki one after another.

Humiliation.

Fury.

Helplessness.

It made Mitsuki think of someone.

Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

Hadn't that former hero of Konoha been driven to death by rumors just like this?

Was Elder Yao going to follow in his footsteps too?

No.

Absolutely not!

Just then, a cold, steady voice came from behind the crowd.

"What is going on?"

The crowd automatically parted, opening a path.

Uchiha Yao walked over at an unhurried pace, with the expressionless Kenji and Shunichi following behind him.

The moment Uchiha Yao arrived, an invisible pressure blanketed the entire scene.

When the Police Force member saw Yao, it was as though he had found his backbone. He immediately stepped forward and reported the entire matter exactly as it had happened.

After listening, Uchiha Yao's expression did not change in the slightest.

His gaze fell upon the woman, who still stood with her hands on her hips and a provocative look on her face.

"You said Uchiha Yao is the Nine-Tails Demon Fox in human form?"

The woman felt a chill in her heart, but her words remained stubborn.

"I... I did, so what? I don't believe you'd dare..."

Before she could finish,

Uchiha Yao tilted his head and issued an order to Kenji behind him.

"Arrest her for publicly defaming a Konoha jonin and an elder of the Police Force, as well as spreading rumors that endanger the village's stability and unity."

"Sentence her to fifteen days in the Military Police Force prison."

The entire scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone thought they had heard wrong.

"Y-You... what did you say? You dare arrest me?!"

Kenji's figure flashed, and he was already behind the woman, a cold kunai pressed against her neck.

"This way."

"Ah—! Murder! The Uchiha are murdering people in broad daylight!"

The woman let out a pig-like shriek, attempting to incite an even greater disturbance.

Uchiha Yao frowned slightly.

"Too noisy."

Shunichi stepped forward and precisely struck the back of her neck with a knifehand chop. The pig-like shriek came to an abrupt stop.

Kenji dragged the unconscious woman away like a dead dog.

Uchiha Yao's gaze swept over the stunned villagers around him.

He recalled the fate of Hatake Sakumo from his previous life.

Konoha's White Fang had abandoned a mission to save his comrades' lives, only to be condemned by both villagers and comrades alike. In the end, amid endless slander and vilification, he chose to take his own life.

How tragic.

How laughable.

To place one's fate in the hands of a mob of ignorant fools to judge.

That was the behavior of the weak.

And I, Uchiha Yao, never place my hopes in the understanding or charity of others.

"Reputation is the shackle of the weak."

In less than half a day,

more than a hundred villagers causing trouble had gathered outside the Military Police Force headquarters.

At the front were the woman's family members, accusing the Uchiha's "atrocities" at the top of their lungs.

Among the crowd, Root spies were also constantly fanning the flames, trying to escalate the situation completely.

"Down with Uchiha tyranny!"

"Give us justice!"

"Uchiha, get out of Konoha!"

The crowd was filled with righteous indignation.

Several Police Force members tried to step forward and maintain order, only to be shoved around by the enraged crowd.

Inside the Military Police Force building,

an Uchiha jonin reported to Uchiha Yao with a grave expression.

"Elder Yao, the people outside are extremely agitated. There are quite a few unidentified agitators mixed in with them. They are probably Root operatives."

"Should we... take a step back first? Release the woman and calm things down?"

There was a trace of hesitation in his voice.

This was the Uchiha's habitual way of thinking when facing the village over the years: compromise and concession.

"Step back?"

"That word does not exist in my dictionary, Uchiha Yao's dictionary."

Uchiha Yao stood and walked to the window, looking down at the clamorous crowd below.

"They think that just because they are loud, they are right?"

"They think that because the law cannot punish everyone, I can do nothing to them?"

"How naive."

"Kenji. Shunichi."

"Here!"

"Lead the Elder Guard and arrest every ringleader causing trouble below, along with every suspicious agitator."

"Leave none behind."

"Yes!"

Twelve figures shot out of the Military Police Force building.

Below, the rioting crowd was still shouting.

The Elder Guard charged into the crowd with an almost tyrannical bearing.

The ringleaders were subdued almost instantly.

In the blink of an eye,

more than twenty people were effortlessly dragged out by the guards and thrown onto the steps of the Military Police Force.

The crowd that had been roaring moments ago instantly fell silent.

Uchiha Yao appeared at the entrance.

"Who else has an objection to my decision?"

No one dared answer.

Not a single person dared shout again. They did not even dare meet Uchiha Yao's eyes.

"Remember."

"In Konoha, the Police Force is the law."

"Whoever dares provoke us will end up like this."

With that, he did not spare them another glance and turned to walk back into the building.

This scene caused fervent worship to blaze in the eyes of those young Uchiha clansmen.

This was the leader they wanted!

Powerful! Tyrannical!

Someone who could defend the clan's dignity in the most direct way possible!

"Long live Elder Yao!"

No one knew who shouted first, but soon afterward, thunderous cheers erupted.