Meanwhile, on the other side of the recruitment area...
The members of the Hyuga Clan included both Branch Family ninja and Main Family members.
A young jonin from the Hyuga Branch Family was chatting amicably with a Uchiha police officer.
A female ninja from the Hyuga Main Family was registering civilian ninja who had come to sign up.
Not everyone was happy about this, however.
At the edge of the crowd, several middle-aged ninja huddled together, their expressions dark.
"Have they lost their minds?"
A ninja with a scar on his face lowered his voice.
"They're actually letting the Uchiha expand the police force... and team up with the Hyuga..."
A tall, thin ninja beside him frowned and said grimly,
"Have they forgotten the Night of the Nine-Tails? Didn't everyone say the Uchiha Clan controlled the Nine-Tails?"
But the moment those words left his mouth, a young ninja beside him challenged him.
"Seriously, where's your brain?"
The young ninja didn't mince words.
"If the Uchiha really controlled the Nine-Tails, would the village tolerate the culprits who killed so many people staying here?"
"Do you know how many people died on the Night of the Nine-Tails? Would the Third Hokage let them off? Would Konoha's ninja clans let them off?"
The scar-faced ninja froze. He opened his mouth but couldn't get a word out.
Another middle-aged villager joined the discussion.
"All right, all right. Just keep what you know about that to yourselves. But that does remind me of something. Who first spread the rumor that the Uchiha controlled the Nine-Tails that night?"
The tall, thin ninja answered without thinking.
"Didn't everyone say that...?"
"Does everyone saying it make it true?"
The young ninja sneered.
"If the Uchiha were really powerful enough to control the Nine-Tails, they'd have taken over