"Uncle Fugaku, about the Police Squad reform—have you had any new ideas?"
In the study, Shisui brought up the Police Squad reform again.
Uchiha Fugaku rubbed his brow. He'd expected this, but now that Shisui was actually reopening the topic, Uchiha Fugaku still felt mentally exhausted.
He'd found that being too mature wasn't always a good thing. The more mature Shisui had his own views on the Uchiha Clan's development, while Obito was much more honest—he barely spoke even when he attended clan meetings.
Thinking things through is good, but Shisui was a bit too extreme—more radical than the radicals, coming in and immediately wanting to touch the Police Squad.
"Uncle Fugaku, I think you might have misunderstood me. We can move forward with reform slowly. At the start, we don't even have to change anything about the current Police Squad—we can just add a few non–Uchiha Clan Ninja members." Shisui continued.
Shisui knew there would be huge resistance within the Uchiha Clan to reforming the Police Squad, so he hadn't planned to make a big move right from the beginning.
After all, most Uchiha weren't actually malicious; they were simply lacking in awareness.
"This isn't something that can be decided lightly. We'd need to report to the Third and get his approval before we can proceed." Uchiha Fugaku shook his head and said.
As a special department, the Police Squad's captain, Uchiha Fugaku, had the authority to appoint and dismiss all positions within the Squad, but he did not have the right to create new positions.
The Police Squad is basically one rut for one radish; if you want more ruts, you have to apply to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Not to mention that Shisui's proposal also broke the rule set by the Second Hokage back then, which meant it especially needed the current Hokage's nod.
"So, Uncle Fugaku, do you think this idea is feasible?" Shisui looked calmly at Uchiha Fugaku and asked.
One way or another, Shisui was going to push the Police Squad reform. If he couldn't even take this necessary first step, there would be no talking about changing the entire Uchiha.
Even adding just one non-Uchiha Ninja to the Police Squad, in Shisui's eyes, would be hugely significant.
Because that would mean the Uchiha were relinquishing their monopoly over the Police Squad.
"It's not that simple. The elders will most likely refuse." Uchiha Fugaku shook his head and said.
Most Uchiha Ninja are easy to sway. As long as you put forward the argument that their current positions won't be touched, the majority of serving Uchiha Ninja won't oppose it.
But those Uchiha Elders are all old foxes. The slow-boiled frog approach might not work on them.
"Uncle Fugaku, if I'm remembering right, there's a clan assembly in a week, isn't there?" Shisui thought for a moment and asked.
Since Uchiha Fugaku felt this wouldn't be easy, Shisui planned to use the clan assembly to test exactly what they were dealing with.
As the current rising-star prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, Shisui had a lot of leeway, and plenty of chances to make mistakes and learn.
"There is. You're planning to bring this up at the assembly?" Uchiha Fugaku nodded as he answered.
"If it's at the assembly, I won't be able to speak up for you." Uchiha Fugaku reminded him.
As the Clan Leader of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku always acted as the final arbiter at clan assemblies.
He would weigh the Uchiha Ninja's support and whether the proposal benefited the Uchiha to decide if it passed.
"Uncle Fugaku, it's fine. I'll invite Obito to attend the assembly with me." Shisui said.
Because Obito didn't really like attending clan assemblies, apart from the first time, Shisui had rarely called him along.
Now that Shisui needed more backing from within the clan, even if Obito disliked the assembly's atmosphere, Shisui could only apologize to him and ask him to take action together.
They were fellow disciples, fellow clan Ninja, and also friends. If Shisui didn't make use of that and insisted on facing everything alone, then he really hadn't taken any of Mokgetsu's words to heart.
"Obito, huh. I hope everything goes smoothly for you two." Uchiha Fugaku nodded.
Obito, the runner-up of the Martial Arts Tournament, plus Shisui, who made the semifinals—two Uchiha super prodigies joining forces was definitely something to take seriously.
In fact, Uchiha Fugaku's thinking had already been altered somewhat by Shisui.
When Shisui first talked about reforming the Police Squad by having outside Ninja replace Uchiha Ninja, the first phrase that popped into Uchiha Fugaku's mind was "outrageous rebellion."
Now, Uchiha Fugaku's thoughts had become: if Shisui can really win support at the clan assembly, then he'll back the Police Squad reform.
It wasn't because Shisui was especially eloquent. It was Shisui's persistence that let Uchiha Fugaku understand one thing: Shisui was serious; this wasn't some impulsive whim.
Given how Shisui and Obito were doing now, saying they were the Uchiha's future wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Once the two of them grew up, they were bound to hold considerable sway within the Uchiha Clan. By then, with Shisui's stubborn resolve, he would definitely carry out the Police Squad reform.
Rather than waiting until Shisui was in power and then watching him make sweeping, drastic changes, Uchiha Fugaku would rather let the current Shisui demonstrate his abilities and reform the Police Squad step by step.
"Sorry to trouble you." Shisui stood up and thanked him.
"It's fine. If you run into problems, you can come talk to me more—and Itachi likes you a lot too." Uchiha Fugaku stood and saw him off with a smile.
When Shisui walked into the courtyard, Zorua was lying on the ground, having its belly rubbed by Uchiha Mikoto.
Noticing Shisui's gaze, Zorua flipped over at high speed and, acting as if nothing had happened, walked to Shisui's side.