Konoha Military Police Force.
Sakumo Hatake sipped his tea in small, unhurried mouthfuls while he took in the inside of the compound.
Not bad.
This was the organization the Second Hokage had built with his own hands, an institution created specifically for the Uchiha Clan. Its responsibility was internal order and public safety, with the authority to arrest criminal shinobi.
And right next door to the police headquarters sat Konoha Prison.
For most genin and chunin, unless something went terribly wrong, it was the kind of place they might never set foot in for their entire lives.
Fugaku Uchiha sat across from Sakumo, a document in his hands. His brows were knitted as he read line after line with care.
It was the plan for Konoha's new Patrol Unit, compiled from Hiruzen Sarutobi's instructions and written up by Sakumo himself.
"Well?" Sakumo asked, still drinking his tea. "Interested?"
His hand drifted toward the small plate of snacks by Fugaku's side like it belonged there. "Can I eat these? Kakashi only made a little pike this morning. I'm still hungry."
Inside, Fugaku's eye twitched.
This is the Konoha Military Police Force, not your personal dining hall.
And you're making your kid cook for you?
"Help yourself," Fugaku said anyway, face warm and polite. "Treat it like home."
Then, with a little pride he didn't bother hiding: "Try my wife's cooking."
Sakumo taking snacks like that was its own kind of friendliness, casual in a way that lowered the guard around him.
The problem was Fugaku still couldn't get a clean read on the White Fang.
A few days ago, on a rare rest day, Fugaku had gotten drunk with a couple friends and complained that Sakumo looked serious but was actually the type with a nasty streak of weird humor.
Yashiro had immediately piled on. "White Fang's the sharpest one of the lot. He tells people he uses a blade, then wraps Lightning Style around One Thousand Years of Death."
The moment Fugaku learned what One Thousand Years of Death actually was, the alcohol had evaporated from his head in record time.
What kind of sane person studies that?
And then adds Lightning Style?
"These three-color dango are amazing," Sakumo said after a bite, looking genuinely satisfied. "You've got a good wife, Fugaku."
"I'm glad you like them," Fugaku replied with a smile. He'd joked with Mikoto before that once their son was born, the kid would probably love these too.
He cleared his throat and finally steered them onto business. "This plan… it's the Third's idea?"
"Of course," Sakumo said, sounding honestly surprised. "Who else could adjust the village's security structure?"
Then he tilted his head. "It says it on the first page. Did you not read it?"
Fugaku felt his chest tighten.
He knew it was Hiruzen's call. He'd seen it in black and white.
It was just a line people used to end the small talk and get into the real conversation.
But Sakumo Hatake was the kind of man who took everything literally, down to the comma.
And that bit about "only the Hokage" being able to handle village security…
Fugaku couldn't shake the feeling Sakumo was hinting at something. He just didn't have proof.
"Overall," Fugaku said carefully, choosing each word, "this is good for the police force and good for the Uchiha…"
He couldn't find anything overtly wrong in the plan.
It simply encouraged Uchiha who'd taken injuries in war but still had plenty of experience, as well as members who held quieter positions in the police and had the energy to do more and earn more, to enter this new security system.
The part that made Fugaku uneasy was the part that didn't make sense.
One, it didn't cut into the police force's existing authority.
Two, it didn't reduce their funding.
Was that even real?
The document talked at length about Konoha's current lack of manpower in security. It mentioned the Kushina Uzumaki incident, but it didn't pin every problem on the police force's head.
Since when did the upper levels of Konoha act like this?
Was the sky really going to drop a meat bun into the Uchiha's hands?
Fugaku had spoken privately with Isshin Uchiha, the clan leader. They'd both thought Hiruzen emphasizing security so loudly in public was a prelude to putting the knife in.
They'd planned for it. If it came, they'd argue back with logic, force the blame onto other departments, dig up every flaw outside the Uchiha.
But now…
It was hard to even find a place to swing.
"Sounds like you're agreeing," Sakumo said with a light laugh. "Vice-captain Fugaku, go talk it over with your clan. No one's being forced into it."
Then his tone turned earnest. "The Uchiha are an important part of the village. You've got experience. Personally, I hope you'll join. The Third mentioned your importance more than once."
He set his cup down. "And the Patrol Unit's funding is money the Third donated to the village. He wants it to take care of Uchiha clansmen too."
Fugaku straightened, expression solemn. "Please thank the Third Hokage for his concern."
"Get me an answer soon," Sakumo said as he rose, extending a hand. "I'll keep a slot open for the Uchiha in every squad."
"I'm looking forward to the police force supporting the Patrol Unit."
Their hands clasped.
And the moment Sakumo left, Fugaku all but ran to find Isshin Uchiha.
The old man was the backbone of the clan, the pillar Fugaku and every Uchiha leaned on. People called him a living fossil, and not even as a joke.
After listening to Fugaku's description, Isshin fell into a long silence. Then, for the first time in ages, he pulled out his pipe.
Smoke spilled from his mouth in slow, heavy breaths.
"Clan leader," Fugaku said, unable to sit still, "stop smoking and say something."
"I didn't expect Hiruzen Sarutobi to be this poisonous," Isshin rasped, voice rough. "He's starting to look like that bastard…"
He stared into the smoke like he might find answers in it. "He's handing out money. Jobs. To our people."
Fugaku blinked, thrown off.
What are you even talking about?
Isshin's expression only grew heavier when he saw Fugaku's confusion. "Have I said it or not? Don't forget our history."
"When the police force was founded, everyone thought it was a good thing. Look at where we are now."
"You only see the benefits Hiruzen is offering," Isshin said, smoke curling around his face, "but you don't see the trap underneath."
"This so-called Patrol Unit, sure, it isn't squeezing the police force's authority right now."
He paused, then spoke quieter. "But later?"
"If these clansmen get new work, new money, and they start mixing with the side of Konoha that leans toward the Hokage… after enough time, will they still remember that the Uchiha should have a Hokage of our own?"
Fugaku frowned.
It sounded extreme.
But it also made a frightening kind of sense.
"And the ones who join the Patrol Unit," Isshin went on, "they're the vulnerable ones. The easiest to buy."
"They don't have much voice inside the clan… but they have relatives. Friends. One person can spread a message ten times over."
He let out a suffocating sigh. "And it's funded by Hiruzen's donation."
"Then we refuse," Fugaku said at once, voice hard. "We say the police force is too busy."
"Refuse?" Isshin gave a bitter laugh. "How do you refuse?"
"Our own people won't understand. Someone offers an olive branch and we burn it with Fire Style."
He leaned forward, eyes tired. "If we refuse this, the next time the village makes an adjustment in power, we won't even be able to open our mouths."
If we won't take part in something that's openly framed as benefits, and for the village, then what right do we have to claim a place in leadership?
Fugaku went still. "Then what do we do?"
"You're asking me," Isshin snapped, frustration cracking through the exhaustion. "Who the hell am I supposed to ask?"
In that moment, Isshin looked like he'd aged decades right in front of Fugaku's eyes. Even the wrinkles in his skin seemed deeper than they'd been a minute ago.
"I'm an incompetent clan leader, Fugaku."
"Every time I think about the leaders who came before… the great clan leader had power. The younger clan leader had wisdom. Even my older brother, Setsuna, had nothing but brute courage and still stood tall."
He laughed without humor. "What do I have?"
"Nothing. I have nothing."
His voice sank, hollow. "So I can only cling to the last words left by the younger clan leader, Izuna."
"Don't trust Tobirama Senju."
Isshin's shoulders slumped. "So many times, I've imagined… if Madara and Clan Leader Izuna had spirits watching us, could they be reborn into the clan and point us in the right direction?"
"Just once," he whispered, "I want to dream of them. Let them tell me two sentences. Anything."
Sometimes a man doesn't fall apart slowly.
Sometimes it happens in a single breath.
Fugaku understood that too well.
"Clan leader," he said quietly, careful like he was afraid a wrong word would shatter the old man, "please pull yourself together. We need you."
He hesitated, then asked, "So… what's the decision?"
"Join," Isshin said, drained. He waved a hand like it weighed a hundred pounds. "Do what Hiruzen said."
"After this, we hold clan meetings more often. Make sure our people remember we're one of Konoha's founders. We can't let them be blinded by scraps of profit."
"And we start dismantling what Tobirama Senju did," he added, eyes narrowed with thought. "Quietly. Carefully. I'll think about the right line to walk. Right now, stirring hatred doesn't help us."
He stared into the air, resigned. "This is all we can do."
"We wait for the right time."
Then Isshin looked at Fugaku again, and his tone softened, almost painfully. "Your child's due soon, isn't he? Raise him well."
"Maybe he'll be a genius like Clan Leader Izuna."
"I hope so," Fugaku said, bowing his head. "Thank you for your blessing."
But walking out of Isshin's place, Fugaku felt something cold settle into his bones.
For the first time, the clan leader's seat didn't look like honor.
It looked like a cage.
And at that very moment…
The "black-handed" Hokage Isshin had cursed as vicious and ruthless, Hiruzen Sarutobi, walked with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was on his way to inspect the first phase of Konoha's new pharmaceutical project.