Reorganizing the police force, winning over civilians

"If he was supposed to be dead, that's all the more reason to investigate openly."

Sasuke reached out and pressed the Sealing Box shut again, keeping the photograph from being fully exposed.

The Third Hokage stared at the box. Calling his expression grim no longer did it justice.

Mitokado Homura, however, seemed to have seized an opportunity. "This concerns Lord First! It must be handed over to the Hokage's office and sealed away! The Uchiha have no right to handle it!"

Sasuke turned, his gaze sweeping over the civilians, ninja, and Uchiha clansmen in the square.

"Did you hear that? When something goes wrong, the Uchiha take the knife. When evidence turns up, suddenly the Uchiha have no right to touch it."

"Stop stirring up public opinion!" Mitokado Homura snapped.

Sasuke raised a hand and pointed toward the Konoha Military Police Force.

"Tonight, three moles sold out our patrol routes. Root could come and go through the old well, and test subjects could be slipped into the dungeon. That means the village leadership and Root had already riddled the police force with holes. Unfair enforcement, chaotic accounts, civilians being bullied, clansmen being turned against one another-all that rot grew out of these old rules."

Several civilian ninja in the crowd raised their heads.

Someone called out quietly, "Then what happens now? Won't the Uchiha still have the final say in the police force?"

Sasuke looked at him. "What's your name?"

The civilian ninja flinched. "Yamada Naoto."

"Yamada Naoto, starting today, you can apply to join the police force."

Those words sent the square into an uproar.

Even Takaya froze. "Clan Head?"

Sasuke took the police force's old recruitment regulations from Shikaku and tore them in half before everyone.

The scraps fell onto stone slabs where the blood had yet to dry.

"The old regulations are abolished. The police force will no longer recruit only Uchiha. Civilian ninja of Konoha, retired ninja, Chunin and Genin without clan backgrounds-anyone who passes the screening can join."

The Third Hokage's hand tightened around his pipe.

Utatane Koharu spoke urgently. "The police force is the Uchiha's responsibility! Opening recruitment on your own authority will cause administrative chaos!"

Sasuke countered, "The leadership has kept it closed all these years. Has that made it any less chaotic?"

Utatane Koharu choked on her words.

Mitokado Homura sneered. "You're trying to use the police force to buy people's loyalty."

"Yes."

Mitokado Homura had not expected Sasuke to admit it outright. His eyelid twitched twice.

Sasuke looked at the people in the square. "I intend to win over people willing to work for the village. Some people use the village's military budget to fund Root, buy moles, and gouge out eyes. I use money to pay ninja allowances and compensate the families of those injured or killed. Is there a problem with that?"

Someone in the crowd of civilian ninja immediately shouted, "No!"

"If you really pay compensation, I'm signing up!"

"My little brother died at the border! His compensation's been held up for three years!"

More and more voices joined in.

Standing to one side, Shikaku paused with his pen above the scroll. He looked at Sasuke's back, his fingers tapping lightly against the scroll's edge.

This child had opened the doors to recruits the moment he finished killing the moles.

The blood on his blade had not even dried, and he had already drawn the civilians to his side.

"Sasuke," the Third Hokage said gravely, "expanding the police force requires funding. You can't move village funds with a few words."

Sasuke held out his hand.

Takaya immediately passed him the inventory of Root funds seized earlier.

Sasuke opened the inventory. "From the illegal Root funds we seized—the Gold Notes, ninja tools, and off-the-books funds—allocate half first, based on the inventory sealed by all three parties. Establish a police recruitment allowance, a dedicated fund for compensation for injuries and deaths in the line of duty, and a fund for appeals on old cases."

Mitokado Homura's face twitched. "The audit of Root's assets isn't even finished, and you dare distribute them?"

"Root's assets include appropriations for the Konoha Military Police Force, compensation for fallen ninja, and mission payments withheld from various clans. Give it to the victims first. If there's a problem, let the Daimyo's Residence ask me."

Sasuke slapped the inventory onto the desk. "Lord Third, you already agreed to seize Root's assets for compensation. Now I intend to carry that out."

The Third Hokage's lips moved slightly.

He could find no reason to stop it.

If he objected, he would be standing against the civilian ninja and the victims' families.

If he agreed, the police force's loyalty would shift entirely into Sasuke's hands.

Shikaku coughed. "Lord Hokage, establish a temporary dedicated fund first, jointly overseen by the elders, the police force, ANBU, and clan representatives. Officially, it will still be a village allocation. That should satisfy the procedures."

The Third glanced at Shikaku.

Shikaku did not back down.

Hiashi spoke as well. "The Hyuga are willing to send people to help screen applicants' backgrounds, to keep Root remnants from slipping in."

Fugaku added, "The Uchiha will handle the retraining of the existing police force. New and old members will be mixed into teams of three to supervise one another."

Sasuke looked toward the civilian ninja. "Applicants should register first. Those who helped guard the Hokage Building, the police headquarters, or the hospital tonight will receive priority screening. Anyone with relatives killed in war whose compensation remains unpaid should bring their old documentation and register for back payments."

Yamada Naoto was the first to step forward.

He took off his forehead protector and set it on the temporary registration desk. "I'm signing up."

A middle-aged ninja beside him followed. "Me too. I didn't approve of how the Uchiha enforced the law before, but I respect what you did to Root tonight."

A retired ninja with a bad leg pushed through the crowd. "I can stay off the front lines. Clerical work, auditing accounts-that should be all right, shouldn't it?"

Sasuke looked at Shikaku.

Shikaku spread his hands. "Don't look at me. We really are short on clerical staff."

Sasuke nodded. "Register him."

A line soon formed in front of the Hokage Building.

The civilian ninja who had been watching the spectacle moments earlier now willingly wrote their names, addresses, and ninja identification numbers onto scrolls. The Uchiha clansmen were uncomfortable at first, but seeing Sasuke show no hesitation, they could only take up the rosters and begin screening applicants.

Takaya asked quietly, "Clan Head, are we really letting them in? The police force won't answer only to the Uchiha anymore."

Sasuke watched the registration line. "A police force that answered only to the Uchiha nearly got gutted from within by Danzo tonight. Letting them in isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Takaya wanted to say more, but Fugaku spoke. "Do as the clan head says."

Takaya lowered his head. "Yes."

Sasuke added, "Every team must have an Uchiha, a civilian, and a third-party recorder. All enforcement actions must be documented, and all confiscated property deposited that same day. If anyone pockets even a single copper coin, I'll cut them down myself."

As those words spread, the civilians in the registration line actually felt more reassured.

Someone muttered, "If he dares cut down his own people, he'll dare cut down anyone stealing money."

"Better than before."

Hearing those remarks, Mitokado Homura looked as though his face had been blackened by smoke.

Utatane Koharu hurried over to the Third. "Hiruzen, we can't let him keep expanding like this. Once the police force brings in civilian ninja, we won't be able to keep the Uchiha's prestige in check."

The Third did not answer.

He watched Sasuke assign personnel at the registration desk and listened to the civilian ninja address him as Lord Clan Head. The embers in his pipe were nearly at the end of the tobacco.

Shikaku walked over to Sasuke and picked up a copy of the new regulations. "That was a ruthless move."

Sasuke looked at him. "Does the Nara Clan Head disapprove?"

"I wouldn't say I approve." Shikaku turned to the last page. "But I understand it. You're using Danzo's money to support the people Danzo harmed. Anyone who objects takes the abuse in Danzo's place."

Sasuke pulled the regulations out of his hand. "As long as the Nara Clan Head understands."

Shikaku stared at him. "Aren't you afraid the police force will become harder to control once civilian ninja join?"

Sasuke looked toward Yamada Naoto, who was registering. "They want wages, compensation, and a path upward. They'll listen to whoever provides those things. I trust account books more than loyalty held together by blood."

The corner of Shikaku's mouth moved, but no smile emerged.

"You're eight. Hearing you say things like that is genuinely unsettling."

"Then get used to it."

The temporary registration outside the Hokage Building continued well past midnight.

The seized Root Gold Notes were counted by the three parties, and the first batch of overdue compensation claims was registered on the spot. Several relatives of ninja killed in war knelt before the desk, clutching their back-payment certificates. Sasuke had people help them up.

There were no unnecessary words of comfort.

Only stamps, signatures, and records.

That worked better than any fine speech.

When the reorganized police force's roster was posted on the Hokage Building's outer wall, the civilian onlookers voluntarily helped the Uchiha maintain order for the first time.

Watching that scene, the Third finally spoke. "Sasuke, that's enough for today. A Cell will be jointly guarded by ANBU and the police force. The questioning will resume tomorrow."

Sasuke did not press further. "Fine. But Kakashi and I will jointly approve the guard roster. No adviser may interfere."

Mitokado Homura seethed. "You..."

Sasuke looked at the half of his sleeve that remained. "You are still recused pending investigation, Adviser."

Mitokado Homura's voice caught.

The Third waved a weary hand. "Do it."

Deep underground, in an unmarked secret base, a cane knocked a candle to the floor.

Glass vessels shattered across the floor. Medicinal fluid spread over the ground, and the malformed embryo that had been soaking in it rolled over before quickly falling still.

Danzo stood in the shadows, his right arm wrapped in bandages, his chest heaving.

The Root ninja kneeling on the floor did not dare raise his head. "Lord Danzo, the police force has already been reorganized. Two of Root's outlying bases have been searched, and Adviser Mitokado Homura has been forced to recuse himself."

Danzo lashed his cane across the ninja's shoulder.

The Root ninja was knocked over, but he did not dare cry out.

"Useless."

Danzo's lone eye was bloodshot. "An eight-year-old brat dares use my money to buy off Konoha's dogs."

Another Root ninja offered several freshly printed sheets. "My lord, the leaflets are ready, as you ordered. They directly accuse Sasuke Uchiha of being possessed by the Nine-Tails, orchestrating the night of the massacre, and bewitching the villagers."

Danzo took one and scanned the words.

Nine-Tails chakra running rampant, Uchiha returning from the dead, an eight-year-old child commanding genjutsu, killing for pleasure in front of the Hokage Building.

Every phrase was chosen to terrify civilians.

Danzo crumpled the leaflet in his hand, a vicious gleam finally appearing in his lone eye.

"Cover the village with them before dawn."

The Root ninja hesitated. "If the police catch us..."

Danzo looked down at him. "Then die. Make sure they see the leaflets on your corpses, too."

The candlelight flickered again.

Night had yet to lift from Konoha's streets when several dark figures slipped away along the walls.

As the first rooster crowed in the distance, an anonymous leaflet appeared on the notice wall beneath Hokage Rock, its paste still wet.

The first line stood out in stark black.

"Sasuke Uchiha, possessed by the Nine-Tails, is the true scourge behind the night of the massacre."