Konoha Year 51, Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
Uchiha Fugaku stood before his desk, his expression darker than the sky outside.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had just informed him that the village would rezone the Uchiha Clan Compound, and the entire clan would have to move to the outskirts of Konoha.
Officially, it was a coordinated relocation to improve their living conditions.
But Fugaku knew perfectly well that the area was far from the village center, with several elevated spots nearby ideal for surveillance posts.
Three years had passed since the Nine-Tails’ Rampage, yet the villagers' suspicions of the Uchiha had not faded. If anything, they had only deepened with time.
Meanwhile, the clan's young people were complaining about the restrictions placed on the Konoha Military Police Force, convinced that the village leadership had been suppressing the Uchiha all along.
Both sides felt wronged.
At this rate, something terrible was bound to happen sooner or later.
Before Fugaku could work out how to explain this to his clansmen, a snore came from beside him.
He turned to look, and his temple twitched twice.
Behind the clerical desk by the window, a black-haired boy lay slumped over a Case File, half his face pressed against a half-finished Patrol Record, with ink smeared near his mouth.
Uchiha Chikage, seventeen years old, was Fugaku's cousin's son.
His parents had died in the Third Shinobi World War. His talent as a ninja was only average, and after graduating from the Ninja Academy at twelve, he had drifted along for several years and remained a Genin. Later, his literacy and quick arithmetic had landed him a clerical position in the Konoha Military Police Force.
Fugaku walked over and rapped his knuckles against the desk twice.
"Get up."
Chikage raised his head, his eyelids still heavy.
"Uncle, is it time to clock out?"
Fugaku's expression darkened further.
"Address me by my title at work."
Chikage glanced at the clock on the wall, then at Fugaku.
"Honorable clan head and captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, there are still thirteen minutes until the end of my shift. Are you planning to let me leave early?"
"I'm planning to send you to the training ground for twenty laps."
"Then I'd rather work."
Chikage sat up straight and pulled the Case File out from under his face.
The ink had already bled across the page. What had originally read "South Street merchant dispute" was now nothing but a black blot.
Fugaku picked up the Case File and glanced through it.
"This is your work for today?"
"No."
Chikage took another, neatly organized record from his drawer and pushed it to the edge of the desk.
"That was a discarded draft I used as a pillow. This is the real one."
Fugaku picked up the neatly written report from the desk.
It was clear and well organized.
It even assigned a precise monetary value to the few tomatoes damaged during the merchants' fight on South Street.
He felt the vein in his forehead twitch twice again.
Compared with this young relative who cared only about clocking out on time, the troublemakers who shouted every day about restoring the Uchiha's glory almost seemed endearing.
Uchiha Yashiro had slammed the table at yesterday's meeting.
Uchiha Inabi had even shouted about teaching the Anbu a lesson.
They were impulsive, but at least they felt a fierce sense of belonging to the clan.
If the entire Uchiha Clan shared Chikage's attitude of coasting through life, then they truly would be finished.
Fugaku tossed the report back onto the desk.
He pulled over an office chair and sat down.
The wooden chair legs scraped across the floor with a piercing screech.
Chikage was putting the pens on his desk back into their holder one by one.
He did not even look up.
He showed none of the restraint a subordinate should have in front of his direct superior.
Watching him, Fugaku sighed inwardly.
The humiliation he had endured at the Hokage Building that day still rankled.
The Third Hokage had puffed on his pipe, spouting nothing but the Will of Fire.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had sat beside him, each statement more sanctimonious than the last.
Shimura Danzō had said nothing, but the wariness in his one eye was impossible to hide.
With a casually uttered "coordinated relocation," they wanted the Uchiha to abandon the roots their clan had put down in central Konoha over generations.
If the clan's hard-line elders learned of this, they would raise hell.
As clan head, he was caught in the middle, unable to satisfy either side.
Perhaps he should hear what this fellow, who normally cared only about everyday necessities, thought.
Chikage might be weak, but he was still a member of the Uchiha.
Besides, he spent every day handling street disputes and merchants' accounts. Perhaps he had a better understanding of what ordinary clan members cared about.
"Chikage."
"Hmm?"
"What do you think of our current Uchiha District?"
Chikage slipped the last pen into its holder.
"It's pretty good."
"It's close to the Dango Shop on South Street."
"Grocery shopping is convenient, too."
"Most importantly, it's only a ten-minute walk to work."
"I can even go home for a nap at noon."
Fugaku was momentarily at a loss for words.
He tried a different approach.
"You must have heard the rumors going around the village lately."
"It's been three years since the Nine-Tails incident, but people are growing more and more wary of us."
"When the Konoha Military Police Force patrols the streets, even the women out buying groceries steer clear."
"Some children even throw stones at our officers."
Chikage began sorting the scrap paper in his drawer.
"They don't know what's good for them. Those people need to be taught some manners."
"Without us keeping order, how could they do business in peace?"
"The leadership dumped all the thankless work of maintaining public order on the Uchiha. They never had good intentions to begin with."
Fugaku nodded slightly.
The boy might be lazy, but he saw things fairly clearly.
"The leadership also believes the conflict between us and the villagers has grown too deep."
"The Third Hokage spoke to me today."
"He said it was to ease these tensions."
"They're planning to rezone some of the village's residential areas."
Chikage's hand stopped as he was pushing the drawer shut.
He looked up at Fugaku.
"The village wants us to move?"
Fugaku froze.
All the careful groundwork he had prepared caught in his throat.
The boy really was sharp.
He had barely begun, without even mentioning relocation, and Chikage had already guessed the outcome.
"How did you know?"
Chikage rolled his eyes.
"Was there even anything to guess?"
"They think we're an eyesore, but they can't just kick us out of Konoha."
"So all they can do is banish us to the edge of the village."
"Out of sight, out of mind."
"And they can set up a few Anbu surveillance posts around us while they're at it."
"They'll call it protection, but really, they'll be treating us like prisoners."
Fugaku looked at his usually unremarkable young relative with a complicated expression.
He had not expected Chikage to anticipate even the surveillance posts.
"Then what do you think we should do?"
"The clan's hard-liners will explode if they hear about this."
"They'll see it as the village humiliating the Uchiha."
"They might charge straight into the Hokage Building and demand an explanation."
"It could even lead to bloodshed."
Chikage leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head.
"What good would demanding an explanation do?"
"Can they beat the Anbu? Can they beat the Third Hokage?"
"Even if they could, what then?"
"Leave Konoha and become a Rogue Ninja?"
"The location of the New Clan Grounds has already been decided. This probably isn't something we can change."
"If we make a big scene, we'll only give people like Danzo an excuse."
"We can't win against a stronger opponent."
Fugaku's expression darkened.
"Are we supposed to slink away just like that?"
"Uchiha pride won't allow us to be driven out like homeless dogs."
"If we can't even protect our own homes, how can we have the nerve to call ourselves Konoha's greatest clan?"
Chikage sighed.
"Uncle, can pride put food on the table?"
"Can pride give the clan's babies a little more milk?"
"If moving is all but inevitable, we might as well ask the village for something more tangible."
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