"Shinichi, shouldn't you leave first?"
Seeing that Shinichi was about to finish off his late-night snacks, the Third Hokage finally lost patience and reminded him.
"But I'm not in a hurry! You two go ahead and talk. Don't mind me."
Shinichi kept calmly sampling the snacks as though no one else were there. "Tsk, these taste awful. Who bought them, anyway? They have no taste at all..."
Goddammit!
The Third Hokage nearly exploded with anger. Eating my snacks is one thing, but complaining about them too?
Yet he still had to maintain the magnanimity expected of a Hokage and couldn't lash out.
So he shot Fugaku a meaningful look.
Surely someone as shrewd as Fugaku would understand that he wanted Shinichi gone.
Besides, Fugaku had almost certainly come to discuss the Uchiha Clan, so he naturally wouldn't want an outsider listening in.
"In that case..."
Fugaku looked as though he understood and said earnestly, "Lord Hokage, there's no need to worry about Shinichi, then. That's just how he is."
"???"
The Third Hokage was utterly dumbfounded.
Was this really the Fugaku he knew?
No, you clearly understood me just now! Why else would you make that face? Were you deliberately messing with an old man like me?
The Third Hokage could have racked his brains forever without realizing that Fugaku had indeed understood-just not him. He had understood Shinichi.
"Never mind."
Seeing this, the Third Hokage stopped insisting and asked helplessly, "Fugaku, what exactly did you want to see me about?"
After all, Shinichi was a potential successor he thought highly of. There was no real need to hide these matters from him.
Besides, if Fugaku himself didn't mind, what more could he, the Hokage, say?
"Lord Hokage, I intend to reduce the Uchiha Clan's positions in the Konoha Military Police Force by seventy percent. I hope you'll personally assign the vacant positions to other ninja."
With a deeply respectful expression, Fugaku made a startling declaration. "Even if you assign them to civilian ninja, we Uchiha have no objections."
"What did you say?"
A sharp gleam flashed through the Third Hokage's eyes, and his grip on the Smoking Pipe unconsciously tightened.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Fugaku had come specifically to surrender some of the Uchiha Clan's power within the village.
True, over the past few years, the Konoha High Command had consistently targeted the Uchiha. Their various policies had all been aimed at reducing the clan's power, preventing them from harboring malicious intentions and harming the village.
But now they were voluntarily relinquishing their authority. Had they lost heart and finally decided to stop resisting?
"Lord Hokage, our Uchiha Clan is really no different from the other major clans. We're all simply people of Konoha."
A bitter smile appeared on Fugaku's face as he said softly, "If the authority of the Konoha Military Police Force invites jealousy and resentment, then we'll simply give it up. After all, we only want to live peacefully in the village. I hope you can understand, Lord Hokage."
"But will your clansmen agree?"
The Third Hokage took a deep breath and asked pointedly.
He knew Fugaku had always treated him with great respect and wouldn't deliberately deceive him.
The real issue lay within the Uchiha Clan itself. Fugaku alone might not be able to speak for every clansman.
"I've already suppressed their opposition by force. Even if they don't understand now, in time they'll realize that my approach was right."
Fugaku said solemnly, "The Uchiha belong to Konoha. That was true in the past, it is true now, and it will remain true in the future. As long as you accept my proposal, Lord Hokage, I will take full responsibility as clan head for resolving our internal problems."
His expression was utterly sincere, without a trace of pretense.
"Fugaku, you..."
The Third Hokage was finally moved.
He felt Fugaku's resolve and no longer harbored the slightest doubt.
Little did he know that Fugaku truly hadn't lied to him. He had merely left a few things unsaid.
The Uchiha would always belong to Konoha, but Konoha wouldn't necessarily belong to the likes of you in the future!
"Good! I accept your proposal. Give me some time, and I'll send you a list of replacements to arrange."
The Third Hokage smiled, looking immensely pleased.
To him, Fugaku's actions today were practically a voluntary pledge of allegiance. As long as he kept the Uchiha clan head firmly under his control, he could respond immediately even if something truly did go wrong within the clan.
In a sense, the Uchiha Clan's problems were already more than halfway resolved.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Fugaku expressed his gratitude.
Clap, clap, clap!
Just then, a brisk round of applause rang out from Shinichi, whom both men had been ignoring.
"Senior Fugaku, you really do see the bigger picture!"
Shinichi grinned, showing his white teeth. "I can feel your loyalty to Konoha. It's truly moving! No, we absolutely have to become sworn brothers today. From now on, we'll each use whatever title we like. I'll call you senior, and you'll call me big brother..."
You bastard!
Even at a time like this, you're still trying to get one over on me!
Fugaku remained expressionless, but inwardly he had already cursed someone up and down.
"Ahem!"
The Third Hokage cleared his throat twice and interrupted, "Shinichi, stop fooling around."
He didn't want Shinichi, who never played by the rules, to ruin the perfect arrangement that had finally fallen into place.
"Lord Hokage, you really don't understand me. Do I look like someone who enjoys fooling around?"
Look like one?
You're practically the definition of fooling around, a walking disaster who does nothing but cause trouble!
The Third Hokage and Fugaku couldn't help grumbling inwardly at the same time.
"I was just thinking, if Senior Fugaku really dismisses those clansmen currently serving in the Konoha Military Police Force, filling their vacant positions will be easy enough. But what are those people supposed to do afterward?"
Stroking his chin, Shinichi smiled with ill intent. "We can't just leave them sitting at home living on thin air, can we? The village only receives so many missions each year, and there are quite a few Uchiha clansmen. Won't it be hard to find enough work for them?"
As soon as he finished, Fugaku's expression remained unchanged, while the Third Hokage fell silent.
The Third Hokage hadn't expected this fellow to occasionally say something so constructive.
Indeed, they couldn't dismiss those Uchiha clansmen only to leave them idle at home without any income.
If they truly did that, the Uchiha Clan's dissatisfaction and resentment would only deepen, perhaps growing several times worse than before.
"Shinichi, do you have any suggestions?"
With his head aching, the Third Hokage instinctively looked toward the relaxed Shinichi.
He had a feeling the brat had only spoken up because he already had a solution. He was keeping it to himself merely to enjoy watching the Third Hokage struggle.
"What brilliant suggestions could I possibly have?"
Shinichi shook his head with a smile and said casually, "Even the two kids at my house know how to solve something this simple! If someone takes over a position in the Konoha Military Police Force, won't their old position become vacant? Naturally, someone will need to fill it."
If someone took your job, you could simply take over their old one!
Put simply, the two sides would swap positions.
"Well..."
Hesitation appeared on the Third Hokage's face.
There was no denying that this was a viable solution.
But could the Uchiha clansmen, who had always been shunned and isolated by the villagers, really handle those duties?
"Lord Hokage, how about I tell you a joke first?"
Seeing the Third Hokage's inner conflict, Shinichi winked mischievously and smiled. "Once upon a time, a man kept lots of horses so he could win prize money from horse races. But he was so stingy that he only gave them a tiny bit of fodder each day. The horses ended up running slower and slower, and some even died of exhaustion. In the end, he lost everything, then kept cursing the horses for being useless..."
"Don't you think that man was just a little too clever?"
Wanting horses to run fast without letting them eat-wasn't that just plain idiotic?
Fugaku remained expressionless, but inwardly he was holding back laughter.
The Third Hokage: "???"
Where are your manners?
Why do I feel like you're taking a dig at me?
Before you continue