The first thing Uchiha Gen did after returning from the Hokage Building was step away from the records desk.
Uchiha Makoto watched him place his usual charcoal pencil, templates, and filing scrolls in the center of the desk, stunned for a long moment.
"You're not writing anymore?"
"It's not that."
Uchiha Gen said, "From now on, I can't be the only one writing."
Several young clan members in the Konoha Military Police Force's main hall turned to look.
Uchiha Toru folded his arms and frowned. "What do you mean? They targeted you at the meeting, so you're backing down?"
"I'm not backing down."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"I'm dividing up the process."
As he spoke, he wrote several names on a wooden board.
Uchiha Makoto: primary recording and daily report transcription.
Uchiha Ryo: on-site operational verification.
Uchiha Toru: witness coordination and route escorts.
Shisui Uchiha: observation of suspicious individuals and rapid communication.
Uchiha Itachi: registration assistance; record facts only, with no independent involvement in assignments from the higher-ups.
Then came the final line.
Uchiha Gen: proposal compilation and procedural review.
Uchiha Toru stared at the board for a long while.
"You put yourself last?"
"Right now, I have to."
Uchiha Gen said, "Danzo has already painted me as the heart of the reforms. If everything still comes through my hands, at the next meeting, all he has to say is that Uchiha Gen controls the Konoha Military Police Force."
Uchiha Makoto paled slightly.
"So we'll do the writing?"
"You'll do the writing, and carry it out, too."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"A process can't depend on one person remembering it. One person can be targeted. A whole process isn't so easily cut off."
Uchiha Ryo said gravely, "But that means we'll be targeted, too."
"You will."
Uchiha Gen did not deny it.
Those words silenced the hall.
He continued, "So I'm not asking you to take the blade for me. Each of you will handle only your own part, and every part will be reviewed."
He pointed at the board.
"Makoto handles the writing, but whoever carried out the task must confirm the original record."
"Ryo handles on-site verification, but a witness must sign off."
"Toru coordinates witnesses, but he cannot write their testimony for them."
"Shisui observes suspicious individuals, but he cannot determine their identities on his own."
"Itachi only assists with registration. He cannot handle death lists or assignments from the higher-ups on his own."
"I compile the procedures into proposals, but I cannot issue them without going through the clan head."
With each sentence, Uchiha Makoto lowered his head and wrote it down.
By the time he reached the end, his writing hand was steady.
But his face was still tense.
An older clan member standing in the doorway finally could not hold back.
"You're pushing a bunch of youngsters to the front."
Uchiha Gen turned.
The clan member said coldly, "Before, you shouldered it yourself. Now you're making them share the burden. Call it distributing the process if you want to make it sound nice. Put bluntly, you're making them face Root and the higher-ups' scrutiny for you."
Uchiha Toru immediately moved to argue.
Uchiha Gen raised a hand to stop him.
"You're partly right."
The older clan member froze.
Uchiha Gen said, "They'll be noticed, and they'll face pressure."
"Then why do it?"
"Because they're already doing the work."
Uchiha Gen looked at Uchiha Makoto.
"Makoto has been keeping records for more than twenty days."
Then he looked at Uchiha Ryo.
"Ryo has been escorting the wounded in the Resettlement Zone and coordinating groups of elderly people and children."
Then he looked at Uchiha Toru.
"Toru was shoved and accused of hitting someone, but he never drew his blade."
He paused.
"They weren't pushed to the front today. They've been there all along."
The young clan members in the hall fell silent.
Uchiha Gen continued, "The only difference is that before, they did the work without any official role. If something went wrong, it was dismissed as individual recklessness. If they did well, people still claimed I was controlling them."
"Now we're giving them roles, boundaries, and oversight."
Fugaku emerged from the inner room just in time to hear those words.
"The Rotating Records Team."
His voice was deep.
Everyone looked at him.
Fugaku walked over to the board and examined the division of duties.
"Starting today, the Konoha Military Police Force will establish a Rotating Records Team. Uchiha Gen will no longer compile all observation-period records alone."
The older clan member frowned. "Clan head?"
Fugaku did not look at him.
"Young clan members will participate in the Rotating Records Team under adult supervision. Every daily report must bear four signatures: recording, execution, witnessing, and review."
Uchiha Gen bowed his head. "Yes."
Fugaku looked at him.
"You'll also be on the team, but you will not be its sole person in charge."
"Understood."
This was exactly the result he wanted.
The reforms had to pass out of his hands.
Otherwise, once he was pinned down, the entire system would be dismissed as Uchiha Gen's personal scheme.
That afternoon, the first Rotating Records Team roster was posted outside the Konoha Military Police Force.
Quite a few clan members stopped to look.
Some found it novel.
Some found it ridiculous.
Others began murmuring when they saw Uchiha Makoto's name.
"How old is he, anyway?"
"What if he makes a mistake in the records?"
"The Hokage Building will be watching, won't they?"
Uchiha Makoto stood beside the board, his face stiffening as he listened.
Uchiha Gen did not shield him from those remarks.
He simply handed Makoto a blank daily report.
"You're the lead writer today."
Uchiha Makoto looked up.
"Now?"
"Now."
Uchiha Makoto looked at the blank report and swallowed.
He knew he would be watched.
He also knew that if he made a mistake, Root, the conservatives, the higher-ups, and even his own clan would question the Rotating Records Team.
But he took it anyway.
"I'll write it."
Uchiha Gen nodded.
"Take your time. If you make a mistake, follow the correction procedure. Don't panic."
Uchiha Makoto said quietly, "I'll try not to make any mistakes."
"No."
Uchiha Gen looked at him.
"What you need to learn isn't how to never make a mistake."
Uchiha Makoto froze.
"It's how to keep others from defining your entire worth by one when you do."
Those words made Uchiha Makoto tighten his grip on the scroll.
The first trial run soon began.
A minor dispute broke out on the eastern side of the Resettlement Zone. A villager accused the Transport Squad of shorting him one pack of bandages.
Under the old approach, the Konoha Military Police Force only needed to establish what had happened and keep both sides in line.
This time, Uchiha Ryo reached the scene first to verify the number of supply crates. Uchiha Toru asked the Transport Squad and the villagers to provide one witness each, while Uchiha Makoto stood nearby recording the time, location, and both sides' accounts.
Uchiha Gen did not intervene.
He simply watched from farther away.
In the end, they discovered that the bandages had been diverted at short notice to stop another wounded person's bleeding. A medical ninja added a signed explanation.
It was a small matter.
But it allowed the Rotating Records Team to complete the entire process for the first time.
By the time Uchiha Makoto finished the final line, his forehead was covered in sweat.
Uchiha Toru patted his shoulder.
"Wasn't that hard."
Uchiha Makoto glared at him. "All you had to do was find people to sign. Of course it wasn't hard for you."
Uchiha Ryo spoke up, a rare occurrence. "More useful than arguing."
Only after hearing that did Uchiha Gen give a slight nod.
This was what he wanted.
Not earth-shattering results every time.
Just for even the little things to start following the process.
On a distant rooftop, a Root ninja silently watched the rotating roster posted outside the Konoha Military Police Force.
His gaze finally settled on Uchiha Makoto's name.
Recorder.
Young.
Under heavy pressure.
Eager to prove himself.
Easier to shake than Uchiha Gen.
That night, in Root's underground base.
A report was delivered to Danzo.
"Uchiha Gen has divided up the recording process and established a Rotating Records Team."
"Uchiha Makoto is serving as the first day's primary recorder."
Danzo looked at the name on the page.
"Good."
He said slowly, "Make him make a mistake."
The Root ninja bowed his head.
"It doesn't need to be a major one."
Danzo's voice was cold and flat.
"Leaving out one witness's name will be enough."
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