The Relationship Between the Village and the Uchiha!
"Why do you ask?" Fugaku's sudden change of subject left Koki momentarily frozen, unable to respond.
Looking his eldest son in the eye, Fugaku patiently repeated his question. "What do you think of the relationship between the village and us Uchiha? Do you think our Uchiha Military Police Force is a plum assignment, and that my position as head of the force is as respected as it appears?"
As he said the last sentence, Fugaku gave a mocking smile, as if poking fun at himself.
The conflict between the village and the Uchiha had a long history. Konoha could not trust the Uchiha, and the Uchiha found it difficult to gain the trust of the Konoha High Command, unless the high command took the initiative to negotiate with the Uchiha, resolve their mutual suspicions, and ease the conflict.
The Uchiha, however, could not take the initiative to move things forward. They were the weaker party, the ones under suspicion. No matter what they did, as long as that suspicion remained, it could be seen as a plot.
Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had established the Military Police Force and appointed members of the Uchiha Clan to key positions. At first, the Uchiha had rejoiced, believing it was a plum assignment, a good thing, a respected and safe position.
Over time, however, some of the cleverer Uchiha gradually realized that, though life outside the village was cruel, it offered an excellent chance to seize opportunities and grow stronger. If they stayed in the village, life was peaceful, but they were closely watched by Konoha and found it difficult to improve their strength.
As for managing the villagers, Uchiha ninja acted superior and threw their weight around.
Whether they enforced the law fairly or not, Konoha would always find an excuse.
Did the Anbu and Root really need a police force?
Moreover, the situation had grown worse since Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi took power. The Uchiha had not produced any geniuses for a long time. Though he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he could not hold things up alone, but Koki's birth had given him hope.
Koki did not understand why Fugaku had suddenly brought up the village and the Military Police Force. Had the conflict between the Uchiha and the village already become irreconcilable?
But he remembered that the night of the clan's massacre had happened after the Third World War, when Itachi was around thirteen or fourteen. That should still be more than ten years away. Had Fugaku already sensed the Uchiha's future fate?
On closer thought, the Konoha Military Police Force in the original Naruto was equivalent to modern society's police, urban management officers, and neighborhood committees combined. They handled disputes among the people and violations of the law. On a smaller scale, wasn't the Military Police Force just Konoha's security team?
Basically, they dealt with trivial matters and everyday squabbles.
In modern life, among such personnel, some enforced the law impartially, while a few took bribes and perverted the law; some were fair and just, while a few engaged in favoritism and fraud; some were gentle and courteous, while a few used violence to enforce the law; some noticed every detail and solved cases brilliantly, while a few were incompetent and could not solve cases.
Besides, in some disputes, both sides insisted they were right, leaving law enforcers able only to paper things over and satisfy neither side.
Yet in the world of Naruto, all those good and bad law enforcers bore the name Uchiha. What was more, every single person who had enforced the law within the village over the past few decades had been an Uchiha!
As a result, a collective impression had formed: at the slightest mistake, the people would inevitably blame the entire Uchiha Clan.
One rotten apple could spoil the whole barrel, so people would not look at the ninety-nine percent you did right. They would only seize on the one percent you got wrong and keep dredging it up.
As the saying went, the vast sea let fish leap, and the high sky let birds fly. Living in nature, they were bound to face danger.
But when humans shut birds in cages and kept fish in tanks, was it out of concern for their safety?
A bird kept in a cage for too long would lose the ability to fly because its wings would deteriorate. A fish kept in a tank for too long would die as soon as it was released into a river because it could not adapt to the environment.
The Konoha High Command kept the Uchiha penned up because they wanted to render them useless, grind away all their wildness, and leave them unable to survive outside Konoha.
The high command, especially Shimura Danzō, did not want the Uchiha to produce any strong members at all. What they hoped for was that none of them would awaken the Sharingan.
When they learned that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō and Kotoamatsukami, those high-ranking officials must have been scared to death.
When Itachi began to distinguish himself, those high-ranking officials' heads must have exploded.
Damn Uchiha, how come your family keeps producing geniuses one after another, while ours doesn't have a single one?
The conflict between the village and the Uchiha had accumulated over time, fanned by numerous clans and factions. Even high-ranking officials such as Shimura Danzō and Utatane Koharu had misread Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's intentions and were bent on wiping out the Uchiha Clan root and branch.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was weak and incompetent, allowing the situation to worsen while external threats abounded.
Within the Uchiha Clan, its members were conceited and proud, unable to tolerate being neglected by the village.
The matter of the Military Police Force brought them further misunderstanding and abuse from the villagers. Some radicals wanted to stage a coup, while others, influenced by the Will of Fire, believed the village came before the clan. The two sides argued endlessly, and the elders had also split into two factions, leaving the clan beset by internal troubles.
At that thought, Koki looked at Uchiha Fugaku across from him, who had been smiling with gratification because of his words, and could not help feeling for him.
Forget it. He had originally planned to handle the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha after the Third Shinobi World War, but now he wanted to lend Fugaku a hand.
Fugaku was really only a young man in his twenties now. As head of the Uchiha Clan, how many dangers and troubles, both internal and external, did he face every day? Even on the night Itachi massacred the clan, he told Itachi not to feel guilty. His only wish was for Itachi to take good care of Sasuke, and then he and Mikoto had gone to their deaths without flinching.
He had already done an excellent job to the very best of his ability!
With that in mind, Koki chose his words carefully. "Dad, I don't think it's a good thing for our Uchiha Clan to serve in the Military Police Force right now."
"How so?"
"By putting the Uchiha in charge of the Military Police Force, Konoha appears to value us, but that's not actually the case.
"Our people have always been proud and placed great importance on the clan's honor. They enforce the law fairly and impartially, but they inevitably hurt people's feelings. Those with ulterior motives use that to stir up the villagers, causing resentment to build over time.
"Working in the Military Police Force is even more frustrating for the Uchiha. They work hard but receive no understanding in return. They're even feared and shunned. For the proud Uchiha Clan, that kind of blow is no different from a fatal strike."
Koki paused, feeling a little parched. He took a sip of tea from the table before continuing. "Besides, to put it bluntly, the Military Police Force is just a law enforcement organization, and there aren't that many positions in it, are there? A lot of Jonin can only do Genin work, and all they do is handle unimportant little matters, while Genin are left without work. That will cause serious discontent among the clan. And as far as I know, none of our clan hold positions in the Konoha High Command or even in the Hokage's building. We can't reach any of Konoha's centers of power. That shows extreme distrust of our clan. Dad, I think the conflict between us Uchiha and the village is already irreconcilable, isn't it?"