Chikage stood up.
He set the teacup in his hand on the desk.
A few drops of tea splashed out onto the newspaper on the desktop.
Yashiro's expression had already changed.
He had just assured Chikage that he would never let any nonsense bother the deputy captain.
Yet barely had the words left his mouth before a commotion broke out in the hall.
It was a slap in the face to him as squad captain.
Chikage ignored Yashiro's embarrassment.
With both hands in his pockets, he walked out of the office at an unhurried pace.
Yashiro hurried after him.
The two walked down the corridor, one behind the other, and arrived at the Second Squad's office hall.
The atmosphere in the hall had turned icy.
Dozens of police officers from the Second Squad had formed a circle.
One person stood in the middle.
Shisui Uchiha.
He wore a green Anbu vest, with a short sword strapped to his back.
In his hand was a black leather money chest.
The chest looked quite heavy.
Shisui stood there all alone.
Every police officer around him wore an angry expression.
Many already had their hands on the ninja tool pouches at their waists.
One spark was all it would take for a fight to break out in the hall.
Chikage stopped.
He raised an eyebrow at Shisui, surrounded in the middle.
What was this renowned Konoha prodigy doing getting mixed up in things at the Konoha Military Police Force today?
Shisui spotted Chikage emerging from the corridor.
His tense shoulders relaxed a little.
Even he felt pressured with so many of his clansmen surrounding him with hostile stares.
Holding the money chest, Shisui took a step forward.
The police officers immediately tightened their circle around him.
Their kunai were already halfway drawn.
Chikage waved a hand.
"Put your weapons away, all of you."
"What do you think you're doing, brandishing weapons in the Konoha Military Police Force Hall?"
Chikage's voice was quiet, but it carried plenty of weight.
Though the police officers still looked resentful, they obediently released their weapons.
The circle loosened a little as well.
Shisui breathed a sigh of relief.
He walked up to Chikage and set the money chest on the floor.
The chest landed with a dull thud.
"Deputy Captain Chikage."
Shisui's tone was polite, even slightly deferential.
"I'm here on the Third Hokage's orders to complete the handover procedures with the Konoha Military Police Force."
Chikage glanced at the chest on the floor, then at Shisui.
"Handover procedures?"
"What sort of procedures require the Anbu to come here in person?"
Shisui took a deep breath.
He knew what he was about to say would anger his clansmen.
But he had no choice.
"This is Shimura Ken's fine and compensation payment."
"350,000 Ryo in total, every last coin."
"Lord Hokage asked me to deliver it on behalf of Lord Shimura Danzō, the Hokage Advisor."
"He hopes that once the Konoha Military Police Force accepts this money, you'll close the case and release Shimura Ken as soon as possible."
The moment Shisui finished speaking.
The entire hall fell deathly silent.
That silence lasted less than two seconds.
Then a deafening roar of outrage erupted in the hall.
Uchiha Hikari was the first to leap forward.
She pointed at the money chest on the floor, her voice trembling.
"Shisui, do you even know what you're saying?"
"You're actually running errands for that old bastard Danzo!"
Hikari was so furious that her eyes reddened.
She had seen firsthand what Captain Yashiro had been reduced to by torture in the Root Dungeon yesterday.
Danzo did not even treat the Uchiha as human beings.
And now, the Uchiha Clan's greatest prodigy.
Was actually carrying a money chest over like some errand boy to clean up Danzo's mess.
It was nothing short of grinding the Uchiha's honor into the dirt.
Yashiro was trembling with rage as well.
He strode up to Shisui.
Less than half a meter separated them.
The whip wounds on Yashiro's chest still ached.
They were the humiliating marks left by Root's torture.
"Shisui!"
Yashiro sounded like an enraged lion.
"You're a descendant of Lord Kagami Uchiha!"
"You awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! You're the pride of our Uchiha Clan!"
"What are you doing now?"
"Acting as a dog for Danzo, the man persecuting our own clansmen?"
Yashiro's words were harsh.
But not a single police officer around him thought he had gone too far.
They chimed in one after another.
"Shisui, have you forgotten your own family name?"
"Don't you know what Danzo did to Captain Yashiro yesterday?"
"And you actually have the nerve to come pay his fine for him!"
"Do you have any Uchiha pride left at all?"
Accusations and curses poured toward Shisui from every direction.
The police officers pressed closer, step by step.
They surrounded Shisui, their eyes filled with the fury of betrayal.
As far as they were concerned.
Shisui was wagging his tail and begging the higher-ups for favor.
He was trading the Uchiha's dignity for their trust.
That was harder to stomach than having him stab them outright.
Yashiro raised a hand and pointed right at Shisui's nose.
"Take your money chest and leave!"
"The Konoha Military Police Force follows the rules! Shimura Ken must serve the full fifteen days!"
"If Danzo thinks he can throw money at us to get his way, he can forget it!"
"If you still consider yourself an Uchiha, get out right now!"
Yashiro's spit sprayed onto Shisui's face.
But Shisui did not even dare wipe it away.
He stood rooted to the spot.
He looked at the angry faces surrounding him.
His heart was filled with pain and helplessness.
How could he not know about Danzo's hostility toward the Uchiha?
How could he fail to understand his clansmen's grievances?
But what could he do?
The Third Hokage had summoned him privately.
He had told Shisui that unless this matter was settled quickly, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha would spiral completely out of control.
Danzo was already on the verge of snapping.
If the Konoha Military Police Force really kept Shimura Ken locked up for fifteen days.
Root would certainly resort to extreme retaliation.
Then bloodshed would be unavoidable.
He had accepted this errand not to curry favor with Danzo.
But to give both sides a way to back down.
To protect the Uchiha Clan, and to preserve peace in Konoha.
"Captain Yashiro, everyone, please hear me out."
Shisui tried to explain.
There was a pleading note in his voice.
"I'm not acting as Danzo's errand boy."
"I'm doing this for peace between the village and our clan."
"Lord Hokage has already promised to rein in Root's actions from now on."
"As long as we accept this money and release Shimura Ken, this can be resolved peacefully."
"Continuing this standoff won't do anyone any good."
"Please calm down. Don't let anger cloud your judgment."
Not only did Shisui's words fail to quell their anger.
They were like a ladle of cold water thrown into boiling oil.
Emotions in the hall spiraled further out of control.
"Peace?"
"You call this peace?"
"They arrest our people and smash up our shops, and now tossing us some money counts as peace?"
Uchiha Hikari shouted at Shisui.
"We don't need your kind of peace, where all we ever do is give ground!"
"Even if the Hokage himself comes here today, Shimura Ken is serving the full fifteen days!"
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