The First Major Test of the Observation Period

Word that two relief sites had run short of medicine at the same time arrived that afternoon.

The western relief site was short on hemostatic medicine.

The temporary medical tent to the south was running out of both fever medicine and bandages.

Both had sent people to press for supplies.

Both claimed their need was more urgent.

But the medicine depot only had enough readily available stock that day to resupply one of them first.

Uchiha Toru's expression changed as soon as he heard the report.

"Aren't they forcing us to choose?"

Uchiha Ryo frowned too. "If we supply the west first, the south will say we don't care about them. If we supply the south first, what happens to the wounded bleeding out in the west?"

Uchiha Gen stood before the map without speaking right away.

This was Danzo's new trap.

Not rumors.

Not falsified records.

A choice.

As long as the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force made a choice, the other side would inevitably be dissatisfied.

If that side suffered casualties as a result, a single accusation would override every record.

The Uchiha controlled dispatch, yet saved the wrong people.

"Don't dispatch the medicine yet."

Uchiha Gen spoke.

The logistics ninja who had delivered the message grew anxious. "If we wait any longer, it'll be too late!"

"I'm not saying we won't send it."

Uchiha Gen looked at him.

"We need to make the criteria public first."

Everyone froze.

Uchiha Gen picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote three lines beside the map.

First, the severity and urgency of the injuries.

Second, how long existing supplies would last.

Third, the nearest viable transport route.

He turned toward the medical ninja.

"The medical ninja will decide which side gets the medicine first, based on medical priority. The Konoha Military Police Force will only carry out the decision, not make it alone."

The medical ninja's expression was grave.

"You want to hand the decision over to us?"

"I'm not handing it over to you."

Uchiha Gen said, "I'm putting professional judgment back where it belongs."

He looked at Uchiha Makoto next.

"Put it in writing for everyone to see. Both relief sites are short of medicine. The Konoha Military Police Force will not allocate supplies according to clan preferences. The medical ninja will assess the injuries, the Transport Squad will confirm the routes, and the Konoha Military Police Force will carry out the deliveries."

Uchiha Makoto immediately began recording it.

"Shisui."

The moment he spoke, Shisui appeared in the doorway.

"Should I go check both sites?"

"You're the fastest."

Uchiha Gen nodded.

"Count the wounded suffering blood loss in the west, and those with high fevers or infections in the south. Just numbers, no judgments."

Shisui understood what he meant.

They could not let Shisui decide alone.

His job was to bring the information back.

The decision had to remain with the medical ninja and the public procedure.

Shisui vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Uchiha Gen then looked at Itachi in the corner.

Itachi had come to the Konoha Military Police Force with the clansmen Fugaku had sent.

Originally, he had only been helping check the missing-person register.

Now he raised his head and waited quietly.

"Itachi, you'll record both sides' requests."

Uchiha Gen said, "Only record facts. Medicine types, quantities, numbers of wounded, witnesses. No judgments."

Itachi nodded.

"Understood."

Uchiha Toru pulled his mouth into a grin.

"What about us?"

"Execution."

Uchiha Gen pointed at the map.

"Toru, take two people and prepare the western route. Ryo, take two and prepare the southern route. Once the priority is decided, leave immediately. The other side must organize alternative medicinal supplies and recover bandages at the same time. No sitting around waiting."

Uchiha Toru paused.

"No sitting around waiting?"

"Right."

Uchiha Gen said, "Even the side that doesn't get the medicine first must see the Konoha Military Police Force doing something."

It was a pragmatic statement.

And an important one.

Much resentment came not from failing to receive help.

It came from feeling abandoned.

Half a quarter-hour later, Shisui returned.

He was so fast that even the Hokage's Anbu could not help giving him a second look.

"In the west, four severely wounded patients are bleeding, and twenty-three have ordinary external injuries. Their hemostatic medicine will last another half hour."

"In the south, nine children have high fevers, and six wounded patients have infections. The fever medicine is already gone. Bandages can be unwrapped and washed as a temporary substitute, but there's no substitute for fever medicine."

Itachi quickly wrote it down.

After reading the record, the medical ninja gritted her teeth. "Send fever medicine to the south first."

The logistics ninja from the west went pale.

"We have severely wounded people too!"

The medical ninja immediately replied, "You still have half an hour's worth of hemostatic medicine. The south has no fever medicine left. Children with high fevers can't wait."

Uchiha Gen did not speak on her behalf.

He simply had Uchiha Makoto write down what she had said.

"Reason for decision: the south has no fever medicine remaining and nine children with high fevers; the west has enough hemostatic medicine left to last half an hour."

Then he looked at Uchiha Toru.

"Toru, southern route."

"Understood!"

Uchiha Toru grabbed the medicine case and rushed out with his team.

"Ryo, the alternative plan for the west. Organize clean cloth, boil water, apply pressure to stop bleeding, and have the Transport Squad prepare the next batch of medicinal supplies."

"Understood."

Uchiha Ryo turned and left.

Shisui did not stop.

He went back and forth between the two routes, relaying information.

Itachi sat at the desk and entered every report into the record.

For the first time, the three formed a subtle sort of coordination.

Shisui handled speed.

Itachi handled information.

The young Uchiha clansmen handled execution.

Uchiha Gen ensured every choice fell within public rules.

This was not an official squad.

But the outline of one was already there.

By the time the fever medicine reached the south, several children were already delirious with fever.

The medical ninja immediately took over.

Uchiha Toru was drenched in sweat, but he did not enter the medical tent. He stayed outside and had Itachi record the handover time.

"The hour of the dragon... no, three quarters past the start of the hour of the goat."

Itachi looked up and corrected him.

Uchiha Toru paused, then laughed and cursed. "You little brat, you're even stricter than Makoto."

Itachi did not smile. He simply finished writing with care.

In the west, the alternative measures Uchiha Ryo had organized temporarily stabilized the wounded by stemming their bleeding.

When the second batch of hemostatic medicine arrived, some people complained that the Konoha Military Police Force had gone south first. But after the medical ninja posted the injury records and the reasons for the dispatch decision, the complaints, though not silenced entirely, did not erupt either.

The crisis had passed for now.

No one had died.

Neither side had spiraled completely out of control.

But as Uchiha Gen looked at the records sent back from the two relief sites, his expression did not ease.

Root's objective was not necessarily to make them fail completely that day.

Sometimes, creating a new controversy was enough.

Sure enough, new talk began circulating toward evening.

"Why does the Konoha Military Police Force get to decide where medicine goes first?"

"Do the Uchiha control supply allocation now too?"

"Today they say the south is more urgent. Will they say the Uchiha Clan Compound is more urgent tomorrow?"

When Uchiha Toru heard it, he nearly smashed the medicine case in anger.

"The medical ninja made the decision!"

Uchiha Gen looked at the dispatch records posted on the wooden board.

"They won't mention how the decision was made."

"Then what do we do?"

"Keep making everything public."

Uchiha Gen said, "But we also have to acknowledge that this incident exposed a new problem."

Uchiha Ryo frowned. "What problem?"

"The more the Konoha Military Police Force participates in dispatch, the easier it becomes to accuse us of holding power we shouldn't have."

Standing nearby, Shisui said quietly, "So they don't just want us to make the wrong choice."

Uchiha Gen nodded.

"They also want everyone to start fearing that the Uchiha are becoming indispensable."

Those words silenced everyone.

[Uchiha new-generation collaboration arc unlocked.]

[The collaborative relationship between Shisui, Itachi, and the young clansmen of the Konoha Military Police Force has shifted slightly.]

[Mission progress: 57%.]

The system notifications sounded.

But Uchiha Gen showed no sign of joy.

Because at that same moment, beneath Root headquarters...

Danzo was reading the cross-region dispatch report.

"No one died."

The Root ninja lowered his head. "Correct. But both relief sites have begun questioning whether the Konoha Military Police Force holds too much authority over supply allocation."

Danzo nodded slowly.

"That's enough."

He closed the report.

"Bring this issue before the third leadership meeting."

"The Konoha Military Police Force Reform is no longer a question of relocation."

Danzo's voice rang out from the shadows.

"It is a question of whether the Uchiha are using the observation period to expand their power."