Naka Shrine

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

News that Uchiha Jin had refused to give the Hokage face and adamantly insisted on killing Sarutobi Shōtarō soon spread through the clan.

The Hawk Faction of the Uchiha Clan found it immensely satisfying.

They had long wanted to resist the village leadership, but the clan head and the other moderates had held them back.

Their long-accumulated frustration vanished completely when they learned that Jin was determined to kill the Hokage's nephew.

Everyone felt fantastic!

Of course, where there was approval, there was also opposition.

The Hokage was the village's highest leader.

The Uchiha Clan was already being targeted by the village leadership, and offending the Hokage would only make things worse.

They might as well do Hiruzen Sarutobi a favor. Perhaps it could improve the clan's situation in the village.

The two sides argued fiercely.

Uchiha Jin paid no attention to the voices of praise and opposition within the clan.

Although relations between the clan and the village were not that bad yet, with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō intervening, combined with the clansmen's refusal to back down, the conflict between the two would only intensify.

Whether he offended the Hokage actually made little difference.

His strength had hit a bottleneck, and the system's appearance had filled that gap perfectly.

He only needed to crack down on criminals in the village to grow stronger.

He could not possibly show a murderer mercy just because he was Hiruzen Sarutobi's nephew.

Hiruzen Sarutobi alone did not have the final say in Konoha.

If the Third Hokage dared abuse his authority to forcibly release the murderer, someone would surely take the initiative to expose it.

After all, a certain someone had coveted the position of Hokage for decades.

"Jin, are you all right?"

Uchiha Kazuna looked at her son, worry written all over her face.

Although she had told Jin to enforce the law impartially, this matter seemed a little too big.

It involved the Hokage's nephew.

Whatever the final outcome, Jin would be thrust into the eye of the storm.

He might even displease the Hokage.

What was the clan head thinking, letting a newcomer who had just joined the Konoha Military Police Force Troops handle a case like this?!

At that moment, her dissatisfaction with Uchiha Fugaku reached its peak.

"Don't worry, Mother. I've been taking my law enforcement duties seriously."

Uchiha Jin saw his mother's concern, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he gave her a reassuring look.

Uchiha Izumi did not understand what had happened. She looked at her worried mother, then at her composed older brother.

She had only gone to school for a day. How had she ended up completely in the dark?

She wanted to ask what had happened.

But it felt a little inappropriate.

Forget it. I'll ask my brother after dinner.

If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken the fat cat to school today. If I'd left the cat with my brother, I wouldn't know nothing about what happened.

The black cat, busy gulping down cat food, caught sight of Izumi's huffy expression out of the corner of its eye and tilted its head in confusion.

Who upset my little mistress now?

Forget it. Never mind. Back to eating.

After dinner.

Uchiha Izumi was just about to ask her brother what had happened.

A clansman of the Uchiha Clan wearing a Jonin vest appeared at their door.

"Uchiha Jin, the clan head wants to see you."

"Mother, I'll be back soon."

After saying goodbye to his mother, Uchiha Jin rubbed his little sister's head.

"Train hard. No slacking off."

With that, he left with the Uchiha Clan clansman.

"Jin, you've really got guts!"

This Jonin of the Uchiha Clan was called Tekka, and he was a staunch member of the Hawk Faction in the clan.

He had long been unhappy with the village leadership, but had never had a chance to retaliate.

What Uchiha Jin had done lifted his spirits.

"What does the clan head want with me?"

"The clan head is holding a clan meeting. The elders and all the Jonin have to attend. It's most likely about Sarutobi Shōtarō."

As Uchiha Tekka spoke, his expression suddenly turned solemn.

"Jin, you must stand your ground. We'll definitely support you!"

At present, the moderates far outnumbered the Hawk Faction in the clan, and their clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, had little resolve of his own.

If the moderates all demanded that Sarutobi Shōtarō be released to win the Hokage's favor.

That would not be good news for the Hawk Faction.

As long as Uchiha Jin stood his ground, the Hawk Faction clansmen would support him unconditionally!

"What's there to discuss? A murderer pays with his life."

At those words, a gratified smile immediately appeared on Uchiha Tekka's face.

Looks like this kid is in the Hawk Faction too!

There are more and more members of the Hawk Faction in the clan. Sooner or later, we'll be able to suppress the moderates.

Then we can start resisting the village leadership.

Naka Shrine.

It stood in the deepest part of the Uchiha Clan Compound, and all the clan's major secret plots and leadership meetings took place there.

Free from the surveillance of Konoha's leadership, it served as the clan's underground council chamber.

Inside the meeting room.

Uchiha Fugaku sat upright at the head of a rectangular conference table.

The elders of the Uchiha Clan sat on either side, seven in total, all white-haired old men.

Several dozen other Jonin of the Uchiha Clan stood behind them.

Uchiha Jin walked calmly into the meeting room under gazes of disgust, admiration, and gratification.

Among the crowd, Shisui Uchiha gave him a look filled with conflicting feelings.

Some time ago, Lord Hokage had invited them to join the Anbu and serve the village.

But Uchiha Jin had refused without a second thought, then turned around and joined the Konoha Military Police Force Troops.

That in itself had not been much of an issue.

Although Shisui did not understand why Jin would pass up a perfectly good place in the Anbu to become a police officer, there did not seem to be much to say about it. Everyone had their own aspirations.

Who would have thought that, on only his second day in the Konoha Military Police Force Troops, he would catch a murderer who turned out to be the Third Hokage's nephew?

And he had adamantly demanded the death penalty, leaving no room for discussion or compromise.

This had sparked fierce arguments within the clan.

In truth, Shisui Uchiha felt that Jin had done nothing wrong.

Someone who committed a crime should pay the price, even if he was a relative of Lord Hokage.

But the arguments within the clan and the compromise the Hokage had proposed began to shake his resolve.

The Third Hokage's request was simple.

Sarutobi Shōtarō's crimes against civilians were indeed too numerous to recount, but he was, after all, a reasonably capable Chunin.

Killing him outright would be too much of a waste.

They might as well send him to another country as a spy, letting him gather intelligence on an enemy nation to atone for his sins.

That did not seem wrong either.

After all, the dead could not be brought back. From the village's perspective.

Sparing Shōtarō and sending him out as a spy would yield the greatest benefit...

"Clan head, what did you want to see me about?"

Uchiha Jin ignored the gazes of the clansmen around him and looked at Uchiha Fugaku at the head of the table.

"Take a look."

In response to Jin's question, Uchiha Fugaku said nothing else and pushed the infiltration mission document on the table toward him.

The meeting room fell silent.

More than a dozen Uchiha Clan elites waited for his reaction.

After reading its contents, Uchiha Jin casually tossed the document onto the table.

"I refuse."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was being far too optimistic.

He was trying to use this method to spare Sarutobi Shōtarō the death penalty.

Once he left Konoha, he would be free to go wherever he pleased.

As for the supposed undercover spy mission, that was merely a nicer way to phrase it.

Everyone knew that perfectly well.