Act first, report later-the captain authorized it! A midnight raid to arrest a Hokage Advisor!

After hearing Uchiha Genya's reply, Kakashi did not linger. He vanished from the entrance of the dumpling shop with the Body Flicker Technique and headed straight back to the Hokage Building to report.

It was already late at night.

The villagers of Konoha had long since returned home for dinner and rest after a busy day. Only the Hokage's office in the very center of the village still had its lights on.

Ever since the Fourth Hokage died and Hiruzen Sarutobi took that seat again, he had kept an iron grip on the real power in his hands.

Even now, he could not forget the helplessness he had felt when forced to step down.

Once someone had lost what they held, they became especially possessive when they got it back.

When Minato Namikaze was in office, he could still give orders from behind the scenes, but having someone between him and the seat of power had never felt satisfying.

Now that he held all the power, he could only rest easy after personally looking into every matter in the village, large or small.

Even if he had to stay up past midnight reviewing documents every day, the old man felt content.

"Was that really his answer?"

Behind his desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed away at his pipe, looking grimly at Kakashi standing before him.

Kakashi nodded, his voice completely flat.

"Pay more."

Two simple words that sounded utterly unreasonable.

Kakashi could not be bothered to puzzle out all the twists and turns, but he knew very well that today's incident was not as simple as it appeared.

Put plainly, it was a transaction.

The Third Hokage had sent word that it was a misunderstanding, making it clear that he intended to protect Mito Qingteng.

After all, Mitokado Homura was a senior advisor to the village. If word spread that his own son had betrayed them by selling secrets to an enemy village, the reputation of the entire Konoha High Command would be trampled into the dirt.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to cover it up, suppress the matter, and settle it privately.

But Uchiha Genya refused to give him that courtesy.

Want to cover it up? Fine, pay up!

Xuanye did not care how rotten the village became, but he had to receive tangible benefits, and he was demanding them openly!

To Hiruzen Sarutobi, those two words were practically a slap in the face.

The old man's eyes turned cold.

Since regaining power, this was the first time anyone had dared speak to him with such an attitude.

Was Uchiha Genya so arrogant because of his own abilities, or because the entire Uchiha Clan stood behind him?

Had the Uchiha Clan endured for three years and now sent a young man out to test the high command's limits?

A man who had spent his whole life playing political games had a dirty mind and saw conspiracies everywhere.

Had Xuanye known how many thoughts were racing through the old man's head, he would certainly have laughed aloud.

The Uchiha Clan?

Even if the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, stood before him right now, he could not order him to take a single step.

When he asked for money, he meant exactly that.

If they refused to pay, he would plaster every street and alley in Konoha with Mito Qingteng's thumbprinted confession first thing tomorrow morning, tear away the high command's dignity and stomp on it a few times, then chop off Mito Qingteng's head in public.

"Other than demanding benefits, did he make any other statements or take any action?"

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and pressed further. He had to establish whether this was Xuanye's personal greed or a scheme by the entire Uchiha Clan.

"He didn't say much else."

Kakashi reported calmly, "But he did take one action, if having your son locked up in the Konoha Military Police Force's jail counts."

"Just now, Xuanye ordered Asuma handcuffed and taken away for harassing a woman in the street. The Konoha Military Police Force should be questioning him about whether he's Mito Qingteng's accomplice by now. After all, as you know, Asuma is usually quite close to Mito Qingteng."

Bam!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned livid with anger, and he slammed his palm heavily onto the desk.

His son behaving like a street thug? Utter bullshit!

The old man instantly connected everything in his mind.

This was blatant extortion and intimidation!

By detaining Asuma, Uchiha Genya was clearly warning him, the boy's father, that if he wanted to write this off as a misunderstanding, he would have to cough up a hefty sum without fuss!

Those Uchiha bastards were pushing his limits as Hokage, step by step!

His face dark, Hiruzen Sarutobi forcibly swallowed the angry words rising to his lips.

Having occupied the Hokage's seat for so many years, he still possessed the ability to control his temper.

Watching the old man's shifting expression from where he stood before the desk, Kakashi could more or less guess what the Third Hokage was thinking.

After hesitating for two seconds, Kakashi nevertheless offered an explanation:

"Lord Hokage, I don't think Xuanye arrested him to threaten you, nor could it really be called retaliation."

"Because the woman Asuma was harassing in the street just now... happened to be Xuanye's girlfriend."

Girlfriend?

Just a jealous fight over a woman?

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at Kakashi without saying a word.

Too naive!

This boy Kakashi was still far too simple-minded. He could not see the political maneuvering beneath the surface at all!

But on second thought, Hatake Sakumo had been so powerful back then, yet a few rumors in the village had driven him to draw his blade and kill himself. It made perfect sense that his son would lack an instinct for political intrigue.

Drive the father to his death, then take the son into the Anbu as a useful blade.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was very satisfied with the current outcome.

Not understanding conspiracies was good. It meant he was simple-minded and easy to control, and proved all the more that the boy's methods fell far short of his own.

At that thought, much of Hiruzen Sarutobi's frustration dissipated, and even his gaze toward Kakashi became considerably gentler.

While the old fox indulged in wild speculation in his office, he had no idea what was happening outside.

The two things Xuanye had done today really did not have that much deeper meaning.

In the afternoon, he had arrested an official's son who was forcing people into transactions. That evening, he had dealt with a pest harassing his woman.

As the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, did he really have to submit a report and seek the Hokage's permission before maintaining public order and arresting a few criminals?

He always acted according to his mood. He did not need anyone to teach him how to do things.

Just like now.

Outside the gates of Mitokado Homura's residence in Konoha's central district.

After sending Kakashi away, Xuanye first told Kurenai Yuhi to be good, return to the large residence on her own, wash up, and wait for him. Then he blew his whistle and led a large contingent of the Konoha Military Police Force straight here.

"Kick the gate open and bring Mitokado Homura out in cuffs!"

Standing outside the courtyard, Xuanye gave the order directly.

"Who's there?! Have you people in the Konoha Military Police Force gone mad? You even dare break into a Hokage Advisor's residence?!"

"Is your Uchiha Clan trying to rebel?!"

The gate guard had barely begun shouting in shock and anger when Deputy Captain Uchiha Shanyang rushed forward and delivered a resounding slap, knocking him straight to the ground.

The Police Force members behind him surged forward, and the arrest operation officially began!

The quick-witted Uchiha Cong's eyes darted around, and he immediately leaped onto a high spot. Facing the large crowd of villagers and ninja from various clans who had been drawn over by the commotion, he straightened his back and shouted:

"The Konoha Military Police Force is conducting an investigation! Everyone uninvolved, stand back!"

"The parasites the Anbu don't dare arrest, our Police Force will arrest!"

"The things Lord Hokage finds difficult to handle out of personal consideration, our Police Force will handle!"

"Act first, report later-the captain authorized it!"

"Let me make this clear tonight: even a Hokage Advisor who breaks the law will be punished just like an ordinary villager!"

The deafening shouts echoed beneath the night sky. The watching crowd instantly fell silent, their scalps tingling at the sight.

Everyone could see that, with this show of force, the Konoha Military Police Force meant business tonight!