After the battle

Konoha Year Seven, autumn.

The smoke of battle had yet to clear from the Valley of the End, but the air in Konoha was already as taut as a fully drawn bowstring.

Inside the Hokage Building, the atmosphere was oppressive. Gravely wounded and unconscious, Hashirama Senju had been taken straight into the Highest-Level Medical Sealed Room. Outside stood guards from either the Medical Team or the Anbu; not even a fly could slip in freely. Naturally, all the Hokage's duties fell onto Tobirama Senju's shoulders. He sat behind the broad desk, his face colder than usual, his eyes behind his lenses scanning mountainous piles of reports-casualty counts, damage assessments, barrier repairs, border defenses, developments among the clans... every report opened onto shocking figures that made it hard to breathe.

Smoke swirled through the meeting room. Every prominent figure from the major clans who could attend had come. They sat stiffly upright, eyes lowered, none speaking first. The battle at the Valley of the End had been terrifying. Madara was dead, Hashirama had fallen, and the Nine-Tails had been sealed, but nearly a quarter of the village had also been devastated. Countless people were injured, and everyone was on edge. No one felt certain about what came next.

On the Uchiha side, Elder Xuan had stayed away because his "injuries had yet to heal." Yinglang attended instead. He sat in the Uchiha seat with his back perfectly straight, his young face expressionless. Only his eyes seemed a little too bright as they quietly surveyed the room through the curling smoke.

The meeting proceeded drearily, with Tobirama Senju doing most of the talking. He issued one order after another, arranging disaster relief, reassuring the public, strengthening security, and guarding against moves by other villages. Everyone agreed, raising few objections. At a time like this, stability took precedence over everything.

Just as the agenda was nearly finished, when some were already about to breathe a sigh of relief-

"Lord Tobirama, honored elders." Yinglang's clear voice rang out. It was not loud, but it carried distinctly through the quiet meeting room. Everyone looked over.

Yinglang rose and bowed slightly to Tobirama Senju at the head of the table, his manner respectful and his tone sincere. "Regarding the village's current public security and stability, I have a tentative idea I would like you all to consider."

Tobirama Senju raised his eyes and glanced at him, light reflecting off his lenses. "Speak."

"Although the powerful enemy was slain in the battle at the Valley of the End, the village suffered severe damage. Inevitably, petty criminals will exploit the chaos, and the people need reassurance." Yinglang spoke with ease, his expression as serious as though he were discussing the principles of ninjutsu. "The Konoha Military Police Force has a duty to maintain public order in Konoha. We cannot shirk that responsibility. But with our current manpower, covering the entire village, especially at night and in damaged areas, stretches us far too thin. For Konoha's stability, I propose-"

He paused, swept his gaze across the room, and said clearly, "Expanding the Konoha Military Police Force's authorized personnel. At minimum, doubling it."

The meeting room fell silent for a moment before low murmurs began. Expand the police force? The police force controlled by the Uchiha, at that? This...

As though he had heard none of the murmurs, Yinglang continued, "We must protect Konoha during the day. At night, crime and disorder are often even more prevalent, so protecting Konoha is all the more necessary! Doubling our personnel is therefore the baseline."

Someone frowned and started to speak, but Yinglang gave him no chance. Changing tack, he adopted a slightly "troubled" expression. "Of course, I also understand that making people work twelve hours a day guarding the village is too exhausting, somewhat inhumane, and detrimental to the condition of the ninja carrying out their duties. If something went wrong, it would defeat the purpose."

He looked at Tobirama Senju, his tone even more "sincere." "So, for Konoha's lasting stability, and out of consideration for our colleagues, I propose... expanding it another 'hundred million or so' beyond that initial doubling."

"A hundred million or so?" someone could not help repeating under their breath.

"Exactly." Yinglang nodded, counting on his fingers with an earnest expression. "We could run three shifts, or even four! That way, every man on duty would only have to work six hours a day! Refreshed and focused, they could protect Konoha better and eliminate every potential security risk! Wouldn't you agree, Lord Tobirama?"

The meeting room went completely silent. Double their numbers, then run three or four shifts? The actual manpower increase would be far more than double or triple! This would multiply the size of the Uchiha's police force several times over! They would be putting practically every young and middle-aged Uchiha ninja into it, and even recruiting personnel from the clan's outer circles!

This was no "proposal." It was a bid to expand the Uchiha's armed strength and effective sphere of control wildly in the name of "maintaining stability"! Under the banner of "police work," the Uchiha would extend their reach into every corner of Konoha, day and night without interruption!

Tobirama Senju's expression was difficult to make out behind his lenses, but his fingers tightened slightly around his pen.

As though oblivious to the frozen atmosphere, Yinglang added with an "honest" smile, "Of course, so many people and shifts, training, equipment, meals, allowances... the expenses certainly won't be small. Protecting Konoha is everyone's shared responsibility. So, to better protect Konoha, I believe the village-and especially you, Lord Tobirama, as the person managing its finances-should provide the Konoha Military Police Force with appropriate and sufficient financial support! Protecting Konoha isn't the Uchiha Clan's responsibility alone, is it?"

His true intentions were exposed. He wanted not just more personnel, but money! Vast amounts of money!

You could have heard a pin drop in the meeting room. Everyone looked at Tobirama Senju.

Tobirama Senju remained silent for several seconds, tapping his fingers lightly against the smooth tabletop with soft, measured clicks. Then he looked up at Yinglang and said evenly, "The Uchiha's concerns are not without merit. Postwar public security does need strengthening. Expanding the police force's authorized personnel is, in principle, open to discussion. Detailed regulations concerning the precise increase, the shift system, and the budget must be drafted and submitted for review."

He had neither agreed nor objected, resorting to bureaucratic language to delay the matter. But the words "in principle, open to discussion" already made quite a few hearts lurch. That amounted to tacit permission for the Uchiha to "negotiate"!

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Tobirama!" Yinglang immediately bowed, taking his gains without pressing further over the details, and sat back down. The almost imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth swiftly vanished.

The meeting dispersed amid a subtle atmosphere. Everyone left in turn, each occupied with their own thoughts.

Several days later, in Yinglang's study at the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Outside the window, autumn rain pattered against the eaves. Yinglang stood by the window, looking at the blurred compound through the curtain of rain. Yutian appeared silently behind him and said quietly, "My lord, we've swept the area. In the four directions-southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest-at least three concealed observation posts have been added in each. Both the intensity of surveillance and their concealment have improved. They should be Anbu elites. There are also two unfamiliar faces disguised as a peddler and a wandering craftsman, lingering around the compound's outskirts and trying to draw information out of our peripheral clan members."

Yinglang gave a quiet acknowledgment without turning around. "Understood. Dispose of them according to plan. Keep it clean. Use 'accidents.'"

Liuli, who had been quietly reading nearby, raised her head, her brows slightly knitted in unease. "Yinglang, those people... are still Konoha's people, after all. Killing them outright like this, wouldn't that..."

"Konoha's people?" Yinglang turned to look at her, his face showing surprise, as though he had heard something inconceivable. "Liuli, don't go slandering people. What sort of time is this? Lord Hashirama is gravely wounded, and Lord Madara has just passed away. This is a crisis when Konoha is at its weakest and most needs unity! How could the leadership possibly send people to watch and suspect the Uchiha Clan at a time like this, when we are fellow cornerstones of Konoha and have just proposed 'expanding the police force to protect Konoha'? That would be illogical, and it would violate the Will of Fire."

He walked up to Liuli, his tone "solemn." "Those skulking individuals are clearly spies sent by other ninja villages-Iwagakure or Kumogakure, for instance! They want to exploit Konoha's weakness to gather intelligence, sow discord, and even create chaos! Such intentions deserve death!"

Liuli opened her mouth, looking at Yinglang's face as he spouted nonsense in complete earnest. At a loss for words, she finally murmured, "You... you can actually put it that way?"

"Why not?" Yinglang shrugged, returned to his chair, and took a sip of his slightly cooled tea, his gaze indifferent. "They don't necessarily have to die openly by Uchiha blades. Accidentally biting their tongues while eating and choking to death on heavy bleeding; eating something unclean, getting diarrhea, and dying of dehydration before treatment arrives; going out for a night of pleasure and accidentally dying during sex; missing a step on a dark road and breaking their necks... accidents are unavoidable, after all. As for any Anbu markings or mission scrolls on them... those must be things the spies deliberately acquired for their disguises to mislead people. If our Uchiha ninja 'happen' to discover these suspicious individuals who died suddenly while on patrol, inspect them out of caution, determine that they're foreign spies, and report them to the village, isn't that perfectly reasonable?"

Yutian stood to the side listening, hands lowered, his face utterly expressionless. Only his eyes grew a little colder and harder.

Looking at him, Liuli suddenly felt a chill down her back. She realized that the depth of her nominal "husband's" scheming, the ruthlessness of his methods, and the thickness of his skin far exceeded anything she had imagined. Most importantly, he could present it all with such "righteous conviction," as though everything he did truly was to protect Konoha and eliminate spies.

"I... I'll go check on Father." Liuli put down her book, found an excuse, and left the study. She needed some quiet.

Only Yinglang and Yutian remained in the study.

"Get to work. Make the 'accidents' convincing, and leave 'just the right' clues. Have our people 'happen' to be the first to discover them," Yinglang instructed calmly.

"Yes." Yutian bowed and withdrew without a sound.

Yinglang looked back out at the rain, his gaze deep. Expanding the police force was an overt stratagem, a test, and a tangible seizure of power. Removing the concealed watchers was a warning, a counterattack, and a message to certain people that the Uchiha were not made of clay, much less something they could watch and manipulate at will.

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. Since Tobirama Senju liked playing dirty in the shadows, he would play along-and play more ruthlessly, leaving even less room for retreat.

Two days later, in the Hokage Office.

Tobirama Senju stared at a brief "submitted" by the Konoha Military Police Force concerning the "capture/killing of several suspected spies from other villages," his expression thunderous.

The brief was very "detailed": one spy had choked to death while eating, another had died of diarrhea, another had died suddenly while visiting a prostitute, and another had fallen from a building... the causes of death varied wildly, but the conclusion was the same-all were foreign spies attempting infiltration and sabotage during Konoha's unrest, fortunately discovered or caught in the act by the conscientious Uchiha Patrol.

And at almost exactly the same time, he had lost contact with more than ten Anbu stationed near the Uchiha Clan Compound! No sign of them alive, no bodies in death! No, there were bodies-they had all become the "spies" in the Uchiha's report!

Bang!

Tobirama Senju slammed his fist onto the thick solid-wood desk, which groaned under the strain. His chest rose and fell slightly, and behind his lenses, icy fury filled his eyes, almost tangible.

"Good... very good!" he forced out through clenched teeth, his voice slightly distorted by extreme anger. "Choking to death on food? Choking to death on water? Diarrhea until they died? Dying during sex with a prostitute? Falling down the stairs? And they've all become spies from Iwagakure and Kumogakure?!"

"Uchiha Yinglang... you're ruthless!"

He abruptly snatched up another document from the desk-the preliminary draft for expanding the Konoha Military Police Force's personnel and budget, which the Uchiha had already "eagerly" submitted through official channels. Looking at the severalfold increase in personnel and the enormous funding demands, then thinking of those dozen-odd Anbu elites who had "sacrificed themselves for their country" in such "perfectly reasonable" deaths, Tobirama Senju felt a surge of fury rush straight to his head.

This was more than provocation. This was grinding his face into the ground! And doing it in a way that left him unable to openly lash out for the moment! The other side had cloaked themselves in "protecting Konoha" and "eliminating spies," making everything "seamless"!

He gripped the draft so tightly his knuckles turned white, as though trying to crush it. The atmosphere in the office was frighteningly heavy; even the autumn rain outside seemed to sound dull and oppressive.

He knew that from this moment onward, the already paper-thin pretense between him and that young, deeply calculating Uchiha "acting elder" had been torn away completely.