"What? Lord Chizumi is actually planning to expand the Police Force into the Land of Water?"
The moment the ninja cats under Kitsujiro brought back Uchiha Chizumi's plans, the entire Uchiha clan practically erupted like a pot of boiling water.
The Uchiha clan had once been deeply dissatisfied with the Police Force. In fact, the more radical members had always believed Konoha's Police Force was nothing more than a tool meant to keep the Uchiha in check.
But with Uchiha Chizumi's rise, and with Absolute Justice taking root in Konoha, the Uchiha were beginning to realize just how fortunate it was that they were Konoha's Police Force.
If not for the Konoha Police Force, the Uchiha might be having to think right now about how to follow Uchiha Chizumi.
"The news came back through Lord Chizumi's ninja cat. Uchiha Izumi has officially become the captain of the Land of Water Police Force!"
One of the three Uchiha who had previously been sent by Chizumi to deal with Gatō stood up, his face full of admiration and reverence.
For the Uchiha clan to step beyond Konoha—and not just that, to directly become the police force of another great nation…
Honestly, even in their wildest dreams, the Uchiha would never have dared imagine something like that.
Compared to that useless Fugaku, Uchiha Chizumi had surpassed him by far too much.
Even if Chizumi seemed not to care much about the Uchiha clan itself, wasn't this simply another way of carrying the clan's glory forward?
"No. Don't look at Lord Chizumi through the narrow lens of the clan!"
"Lord Chizumi's vision is beyond anything we can imagine. He's already set his sights on the entire shinobi world!"
"And he made it very clear—what he wants is a Police Force that believes in Absolute Justice, not an Uchiha Police Force!"
Another of the Uchiha who had gone on the Gatō mission spoke up calmly.
Even he felt his blood boil at Chizumi's vision, to the point that he wanted to fly to the Land of Water immediately and carry out Chizumi's orders. But he also knew that right now, the most important task was selecting those who were truly qualified to enforce justice.
"Open up the Police Force roster. Let every person in Konoha who is devoted to Absolute Justice join the Police Force!"
"If—if Lord Chizumi really has his eyes on all Five Great Nations, and wants Police Forces established in all of them, then the Uchiha clan alone will never be enough. Even if we multiplied our numbers tenfold, it still wouldn't be enough!"
"We need to bring in more like-minded people, even if they aren't Uchiha!"
"As for those who still obsess over the glory of the Uchiha clan alone, then marry them into those who join the Police Force!"
"The Senju clan merged into all of Konoha through intermarriage. Our Uchiha clan can merge into the entire shinobi world the same way!"
The last of the three Uchiha who had gone with Chizumi on the Gatō mission finally spoke.
Even he had to admit that when he first heard Chizumi's arrangement, the very first thought in his mind had been to use this chance to spread the glory of the Uchiha clan across the whole shinobi world.
But in the end, he had realized that if every police force in the shinobi world was staffed entirely by Uchiha, that might not actually be a good thing for the clan at all.
After all, just being Konoha's Police Force had already earned the Uchiha endless suspicion and resentment. If they became the police force of the entire shinobi world, then the Uchiha would probably become the common enemy of everyone.
"Let the Uchiha clan intermarry with every righteous member of the Police Force…"
"And through that, make the Uchiha clan and justice become completely one…"
It had to be said—once that Uchiha ninja spoke, the entire shrine hall fell silent.
It wasn't a bad idea.
After all, the Senju clan had merged into Konoha exactly that way, to the point where Konoha was practically the Senju clan, and the Senju clan was Konoha.
If the Uchiha did the same, then as long as there were still people in the world who upheld justice, the Uchiha clan would never truly be extinct.
The only real downside was that the Uchiha clan would no longer remain a single unified whole.
"Then let's do it!"
"If Lord Chizumi really can create a peaceful shinobi world, then even if the Uchiha clan disappears as a distinct whole, so be it!"
A highly respected Uchiha elder set the tone with those words, effectively giving approval to the idea of having Uchiha clan members intermarry with all future enforcers of justice.
After the meeting ended, the Uchiha clan immediately submitted a proposal to open up the Konoha Police Force roster and sent it straight to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"This is…"
Hiruzen looked at the proposal in his hand, and after seeing Uchiha Chizumi's idea, he fell silent.
By now, the Five Great Nations had basically all learned about the upheaval in the Land of Water. But no matter how much Hiruzen had anticipated, he had never imagined that Uchiha Chizumi would actually want to expand the Police Force into the Land of Water and turn it into the country's institution of justice.
"He's using this to express his dissatisfaction with you. Back when Tsunade proposed assigning medical ninja to the Konoha Police Force, you rejected it."
"And now Uchiha Chizumi has stepped beyond Konoha and directly taken control of the entire Land of Water."
"He still cares about the Uchiha clan!"
Koharu Utatane had seen the proposal the Uchiha submitted as well, but in her eyes, this only meant that Uchiha Chizumi had finally revealed his ambitions. She didn't see this as some spur-of-the-moment idea at all.
"No. What we should be thinking about now is what it would mean if Uchiha Chizumi leaves Konoha."
Hiruzen took a hard pull from his pipe. His face was hidden behind the smoke, making it impossible to read his expression clearly.
"Leaves Konoha?"
Koharu fell silent too. She suddenly realized that Uchiha Chizumi's position had changed yet again.
When he had still been in Konoha, no matter what he did—even if he supported Tsunade becoming Hokage—that was still, in the end, Konoha's internal affair, and he still had to take Hiruzen into account.
But now that Uchiha Chizumi effectively controlled the Land of Water, his will could, to a certain extent, represent the Land of Water itself—another one of the Five Great Nations, equal to the Land of Fire.
"If Uchiha Chizumi leaves Konoha, the current Uchiha clan will leave with him."
"And not just the Uchiha clan… even Naruto…"
Hiruzen felt deeply troubled.
Absolute Justice was really beginning to take root in the shinobi world. That should have been a good thing. But the moment he thought about how Uchiha Chizumi could leave Konoha at any time and leave behind an enormous mess, he couldn't help feeling lost.
"Go bring Tsunade to me!"
After a long silence, Hiruzen finally made his decision.
He might not be able to get Uchiha Chizumi himself to return—but if it was Tsunade, if it was about selecting Konoha's next Hokage, then perhaps that would be enough to bring Uchiha Chizumi back.