"What? Keizumi-sama is actually planning to deploy the Police Force to the Land of Water?"
After the ninja cats under Tachibana Jirō brought back Uchiha Keizumi's intentions, the entire Uchiha clan erupted like a pot of boiling water.
In the past, the Uchiha clan had been deeply dissatisfied with the Police Force. Some of the more radical members had even believed that Konoha's Police Force existed purely as a means to restrain the Uchiha.
But as Keizumi rose to power, and as Absolute Justice took root in Konoha, the Uchiha gradually came to realize—
Being Konoha's Police Force… was actually a very good thing.
If not for the Konoha Police Force, the Uchiha might already be thinking about how to follow Keizumi directly.
"The news was delivered by Keizumi-sama's ninja cats. Uchiha Izumi has officially become the captain of the Land of Water's Police Force!"
One of the three Uchiha who had been sent by Keizumi to deal with Gatō stood up, his face filled with admiration and reverence.
To lead the Uchiha clan out of Konoha—and even become the Police Force of another great nation…
Honestly, not even in their wildest dreams had the Uchiha dared imagine something like this.
Compared to that useless Fugaku, Uchiha Keizumi surpassed him by far!
Even if Keizumi appeared to have little concern for the Uchiha clan itself, wasn't this simply another way of elevating the clan's legacy?
"No—don't view Keizumi-sama through the narrow lens of the clan!"
"Keizumi-sama's vision is beyond what we can comprehend. His gaze is already fixed on the entire shinobi world!"
"And he made it very clear—what he needs is a Police Force that believes in Absolute Justice, not a Police Force belonging to the Uchiha clan!"
Another of the Uchiha who had carried out the Gatō mission spoke calmly.
Although he too felt his blood boil at Keizumi's vision—so much so that he wanted to fly straight to the Land of Water to carry out Keizumi's orders—he understood that selecting true executors of justice was the most important task at hand.
"Open up the Police Force's structure—let anyone in Konoha who believes in Absolute Justice join!"
"If… if Keizumi-sama truly intends to extend the Police Force across all Five Great Nations, then relying solely on the Uchiha clan will never be enough. Even ten times our current numbers wouldn't suffice!"
"We need to recruit more like-minded individuals—even if they are not Uchiha!"
"As for those who still cling to the narrow glory of the Uchiha clan—you can go and marry into those who join the Police Force!"
"The Senju clan integrated into all of Konoha through intermarriage. Our Uchiha clan can do the same—integrate into the entire shinobi world!"
The last of the three Uchiha who had followed Keizumi on the Gatō mission spoke slowly.
Even he had to admit—when he first heard Keizumi's plan, his initial thought had been to use this opportunity to spread the Uchiha clan's glory across the entire shinobi world.
But in the end, he realized—
If they filled the Police Forces of the entire world exclusively with Uchiha, that might not actually be a good thing for the clan.
After all, even serving as Konoha's Police Force had already earned the Uchiha widespread misunderstanding. If they became the Police Force of the entire shinobi world…
The Uchiha would likely become the common enemy of everyone.
"Have the Uchiha intermarry with all members of the Police Force who uphold justice…"
"Thus allowing the Uchiha to completely merge with justice itself…"
As those words were spoken, the entire clan hall fell into silence.
It wasn't a bad idea.
After all, the Senju clan had done exactly this—integrating into Konoha to the point that Konoha was the Senju, and the Senju were Konoha.
If the Uchiha followed the same path, then as long as there were people in the world who upheld justice, the Uchiha would never truly disappear.
The only drawback was that the Uchiha would no longer exist as a unified clan.
"Then let's do it!"
"If Keizumi-sama can truly create a peaceful shinobi world, then even if the Uchiha clan disappears, it won't matter!"
A highly respected elder of the Uchiha set the final tone, effectively approving the plan for intermarriage between Uchiha and all future enforcers of justice.
After the meeting, the Uchiha immediately submitted a proposal to Sarutobi Hiruzen—one that called for opening up the Police Force's structure in Konoha.
"…This is…"
Hiruzen looked at the report in his hands. After seeing Keizumi's plan, he fell into silence.
All Five Great Nations had already learned of the massive upheaval in the Land of Water.
But Hiruzen had never expected that Uchiha Keizumi would go so far as to deploy the Police Force there—effectively transforming it into the Land of Water's institution of justice.
"He's using this to express his dissatisfaction with you. Earlier, when Tsunade proposed assigning medical ninja to the Police Force, you rejected it."
"Now, Uchiha Keizumi has stepped outside of Konoha—and has even directly taken control of the entire Land of Water."
"He still cares about the Uchiha clan!"
Koharu had also read the proposal submitted by the Uchiha. But to her, this wasn't a sudden development—she believed Keizumi was finally revealing his true ambition.
"No… what we should be thinking about now is what it means if Uchiha Keizumi leaves Konoha."
Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe, his face obscured by smoke, making his expression impossible to read.
"Leave Konoha…?"
Koharu also fell silent.
She realized that Keizumi's identity had changed once again.
When he was still in Konoha, no matter what he did—even if he supported Tsunade becoming Hokage—it was still an internal matter of Konoha. He still had to take Hiruzen into account.
But now that Keizumi effectively controlled the Land of Water, his will could, to some extent, represent that nation—
A nation equal in standing to the Land of Fire.
"If Uchiha Keizumi leaves Konoha, the current Uchiha clan will follow him."
"And not just the Uchiha… even Naruto…"
Hiruzen felt deeply troubled.
Absolute Justice taking root across the shinobi world was, by all accounts, a good thing.
But when he thought about how Keizumi could leave Konoha at any moment—leaving behind a complete mess—he couldn't help but feel lost.
"…Go bring Tsunade to see me."
After a long silence, Hiruzen made his decision.
He might not be able to bring Uchiha Keizumi back himself—
But if it was Tsunade… if it was about appointing a new Hokage for Konoha…
Then perhaps that would be enough to make Keizumi return.