Uchiha Fugaku had never set foot in the Joint Affairs Bureau before. Even during the last Five Kage Summit, the Military Police Force's security jurisdiction hadn't extended this far.
The police force and the Joint Affairs Bureau rarely interacted. There were no direct lines of cooperation, neither with the main office nor with any of the sub-branches.
So his visit today was not to see his son, Itachi.
He would never come here for something like that.
He was here because the village had assigned an important mission that required the police force headquarters to coordinate directly with Kakashi.
The noise in the lobby—the constant footsteps, overlapping voices, and hurried movements—gave Fugaku a more concrete sense of the place.
When he finally saw Kakashi, he was genuinely surprised.
He remembered Kakashi as a young prodigy, and he still recalled how he had personally suppressed the clan's objections to an outsider possessing a Sharingan back then.
In the few times they had met since, Kakashi had always seemed much the same.
But now, the silver-haired jōnin's skin beneath his eyes was swollen and bruised, and his exposed right eye was shot through with red veins.
Was his visual prowess on the verge of evolving further?
The thought rose unbidden in Fugaku's mind.
There were two other people in the room. Jiraiya sat off to the side, unusually solemn. Fugaku's eldest son, Itachi, stood straight-backed behind a desk by the window.
"Welcome, Fugaku-san. Thanks for coming so quickly," Kakashi said.
"It's my duty," Fugaku replied evenly as he took the seat Jiraiya indicated.
"Time is short, so I'll get straight to the point."
"Iwagakure's representative, Fūga, sent urgent intel an hour ago," Kakashi said. "It's about the area west of the Land of Earth. You should be familiar with it."
Fugaku was, of course, familiar with it.
Beyond the Land of Earth's western border stretched a barren, desolate mountain region—no proper towns, no recognized ninja villages. Only bands of rogue-nin, wandering rōnin, and criminals wanted in various countries. It was the shadow zone of the ninja world.
For decades, the great nations had been locked in war, leaving them no time or energy to hunt down the filth that escaped beyond their borders. Iwagakure controlled the main routes leading into that region. Officially, it was "to maintain border security." In reality, they extorted tolls from passing wanderers and occasionally hired them for unsavory jobs.
In recent years, they had even allowed some rōnin to enter their own battle arenas.
The kind where people died.
"In the past few days, the movements of the wandering ninja in that area have been abnormal," Kakashi went on. "At first it was just the usual skirmishes, but then they started moving in a more organized way."
"Iwagakure's border patrol, which has been searching the western sector for any trace of the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki, came into contact with several of those groups."
"Verbal disputes turned into standoffs, and the standoffs eventually escalated into open conflict."
"The conflict itself isn't surprising," Jiraiya said. "No matter how tightly Iwagakure tries to leash them, they're still wandering ninjas."
"What's abnormal is the scale and the way they're reacting. According to Fūga's intel, the wandering ninja have been resisting unusually fiercely. They've even started deliberately charging through and bypassing the checkpoints and surveillance points Iwagakure set up."
Kakashi slid a simple map across the table toward Fugaku. Several locations were circled in red, arrows drawn out like veins.
"Iwagakure had to send more personnel to reinforce control over those key passes," he continued. "But even so, reports suggest a significant number of wandering ninja have slipped away by sea."
"And there's movement coming from the direction of the Land of Snow as well," Jiraiya added. "Intelligence indicates activity there too."
"So the village believes this isn't an isolated incident," Kakashi concluded.
Fugaku's gaze moved over the red arrows. "Is Konoha the target?"
"Can't confirm," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "But there's definitely a possibility they intend to interfere with the Joint Conference. Representatives from the various ninja villages have already arrived. Any chaos could be used against us."
Fugaku fell silent.
He thought back to the border sweep mission carried out jointly by the police force headquarters and its branches just last month. It had been routine: a plan, personnel deployment, a dragnet search, and a few petty border-crossers dragged in.
Everything had gone so smoothly it was almost dull. The Land of Fire was peaceful. For the incidents in Takigakure and the Village Hidden in Hot Water, Konoha had dispatched Anbu or jōnin squads directly, leaving no room for the police force to get involved.
Headquarters' elites were restless, itching for real action, but never given the chance. Meanwhile, the Venue District Branch was run ragged with daily security patrols, screening incoming personnel, and handling disputes—busy but satisfied.
"Right now, the village's most elite mobile force is the police force," Kakashi said, clearly referring to headquarters.
"Therefore, the Hokage's Office has decided: from today until the Joint Conference ends and all village representatives have safely departed, Police Force Headquarters and the Joint Affairs Bureau will establish a direct command and coordination link."
"To ensure efficient communication and timely decisions, Lord Jiraiya will serve as special liaison between the Hokage's Office and the Bureau and will also handle direct coordination with Police Force Headquarters."
"All intelligence summaries, mission orders, and support requests will be relayed through him or confirmed by him."
Jiraiya nodded at Fugaku, the sternness in his expression easing slightly.
"The situation's special this time, Fugaku. For a while, I'm afraid we'll be asking you to run around a lot."
Fugaku rose to his feet.
The hem of his dark blue police captain's coat swayed lightly.
"Mission scope and specific procedures?" he asked.
"Supporting the defense of nearby small ninja villages," Kakashi replied. He pulled a bound booklet from the stack of documents and handed it over. "The villages listed here are all outside the Land of Fire's borders. They're small, poorly defended, and very likely to be used as forward bases for wandering ninja attacks or infiltration."
Fugaku flipped through the list, his eyes skimming the names.
"I understand. Headquarters will complete formation within two hours. The vanguard squad will depart before evening."
He headed straight for the door. As he passed Itachi's desk, his pace never slowed, and Itachi didn't look up, his brush moving steadily over the paperwork.
When the door closed behind him, Kakashi sank back into his chair. He didn't avoid Itachi's presence as he spoke.
"Having the police force headquarters in charge of defending the outer villages... I wonder if that'll cause conflict."
Jiraiya walked over to the window, watching Fugaku's figure grow smaller in the street below.
"I'll be overseeing it myself," he said. "Besides, having the military police force follow regulations and maintain order is what they're best at."
"When they operate inside the village, they have to worry about everyone's reactions. It ties their hands."
"But outside the village, when they're facing clear enemies and clear objectives… with the Uchiha clan's abilities and style, it's actually easier for them to get results."
He turned, looking at the quiet figure seated at the desk by the window. "I apologize for saying all this in front of you, Itachi."
Itachi finally lifted his gaze.
"What Lord Jiraiya and Kakashi-senpai said is correct."
"Anbu has limits on how many people it can recruit and train. It can't just expand endlessly."
"And the police force headquarters really has gathered a considerable number of elite combatants. Letting them sit idle for too long would be a waste of the village's overall strength."
"Over time, that could even lead to internal problems. If we direct that power toward external defense missions, we can ease the pressure at the borders and also create a new path for advancement for those ninjas at headquarters who want to rise."
Kakashi and Jiraiya exchanged a look but said nothing more.
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