Uchiha Fugaku's words were like dropping a heavy bomb, instantly blowing up the crowd of Uchiha Ninja below.
"Why are the activities of the Police Squad being suspended? Is it because the Konoha higher-ups want to get their hands on the authority over the Police Squad?"
"Exactly who is going to be suspended?"
The Uchiha Ninja all voiced their doubts to Uchiha Fugaku; among them were Uchiha Chunin who had just joined the Police Squad not long ago, as well as Uchiha Jonin who had been working in the Police Squad for over ten years.
Even the Genin who hadn't yet entered the Uchiha Police Department couldn't help asking questions, believing this meant the Police Squad was about to be suppressed by the higher-ups.
Uchiha Fugaku looked at Shisui—this was how deeply the Uchiha Clan was now tied to the Police Squad. If one wanted to separate the Uchiha from the Police Squad, the Uchiha themselves would be the first to object.
Shisui nodded, stood up, and spoke: "Everyone quiet down for a bit and listen to me."
A large number of Uchiha shut their mouths and quietly looked toward Shisui.
Although Shisui wasn't very old, his strength and his deeds had given him a prestige within the Uchiha Clan no less than that of an Uchiha Elder.
There wasn't a single Uchiha who would dislike a powerful clansman who was wholeheartedly devoted to the clan.
"First of all, what's being temporarily stopped is only the activities of some Police Squad Ninja. It's just temporary, and not the revocation of their positions," Shisui explained.
"Secondly, this also isn't some attempt by the higher-ups to meddle in the authority of the Police Squad. It's that the Fourth Hokage has faith in the strength of the Uchiha Clan."
The Uchiha Ninja all looked at Shisui in confusion—how did this get dragged onto the Fourth Hokage, and if he trusted their strength, why suspend their activities?
"After the war, our Konoha received a large number of high-quality commissions. There are so many well-paying commissions that we can't get through them all, and Konoha's efficiency in completing them has dropped because of it," Shisui continued to explain.
"The Fourth Hokage believes that the Uchiha Clan's Ninja are very strong, and that in such a peaceful era, having them only responsible for internal village security is a waste of talent. So he decided to have a group of capable Uchiha Ninja temporarily suspend their activities here to go and complete those high-quality commissions, letting our clients witness Konoha's strength."
Once Shisui put it that way, those Uchiha who had been muttering about persecution from the higher-ups immediately quieted down, and the attitudes of the Uchiha Ninja shifted.
"Am I on the suspension list?" an Uchiha Jonin asked with confidence.
If it was about capable Uchiha, that was obviously him; if he didn't go, who else would?
Shisui nodded. For Uchiha Jonin, as long as they didn't behave too stubbornly, the chances of being selected weren't small.
Although Shisui's original intention was just to reform the Police Squad, the fact that Konoha was short on strong Jonin to carry out commissions was also very real.
Having received Shisui's confirmation, the Uchiha Jonin instantly straightened his back; now he was a powerful Ninja recognized by both the clan and Konoha's official side.
"Clan Leader, Shisui, am I on the list?"
Other Uchiha Ninja who considered themselves strong couldn't sit still anymore and all started asking the two of them.
Those Uchiha who got a yes showed confident smiles on their faces, while the Uchiha Ninja who got a no looked completely unwilling to accept it.
The scene made Obito silently amused; he felt these clansmen were really good at changing faces.
At the start they'd all been riled up, feeling persecuted, but after Shisui praised them a bit, they instantly flipped their attitudes.
"Those not on the list don't need to worry either. This is only the first trial run. If the subsequent results are good, we might pick even more capable Uchiha Ninja to help build up Konoha's strong image," Shisui reassured them.
He intended to completely separate the Uchiha from the Police Squad; in the end, the Ninja who remained in the Uchiha Police Department would definitely be a minority, so that people wouldn't get the impression that the Police Squad belonged solely to the Uchiha.
Just like that, in a harmonious atmosphere, all the Uchiha Ninja accepted the proposal to temporarily suspend the activities of some Uchiha Ninja.
The more observant Uchiha noticed that during this clan meeting, the higher-ups of the Uchiha Clan actually didn't have any disagreements at all, and all the elders expressed their support.
After the discussion was over, Uchiha Fugaku had Shisui and Obito, these two "commission experts," share their experience in completing various high-level commission missions.
"The atmosphere within the team is very important when carrying out a mission. If the team is united in mind, missions go twice as well with half the effort; if not, you'll put in twice the effort for half the result, and the process will also become more dangerous."
The Uchiha on the list all looked serious and listened attentively.
Obito and Shisui were younger than they were, but in this regard, they were indeed the seniors.
The next day.
Another big event happened in the Uchiha Clan: the Fourth Hokage actually brought the Hokage Assistant to the Uchiha Clan Land to inspect their work!
This was something rare. In the past, while the Hokage had certainly "paid attention" to the Uchiha, it wasn't this kind of attention—it was having the Anbu keep an eye on them.
"Fourth Hokage-sama!"
Many Uchiha Ninja greeted Mokgetsu with respectful expressions.
For this new Hokage, many Uchiha held a special sentiment; otherwise, they wouldn't have collectively cast their votes for Mokgetsu at the Jonin meeting.
"Hello, everyone. How has the work of the Police Squad been lately? Has it been easy, or tiring?" Mokgetsu responded with a smile.
"Not tired. For us Uchiha, this bit of work is nowhere near enough to be called exhausting!" a relatively young Uchiha Chunin answered loudly.
"If I'm not mistaken, your name is Inabi, right? Keep up this drive, and maybe this name of yours will spread throughout the Land of Fire." Mokgetsu encouraged him.
Uchiha Inabi's eyes widened; he hadn't expected Mokgetsu to call his name directly.
Overwhelmed, truly overwhelmed—there are thousands of Chunin in Konoha, yet this Fourth Hokage Mokgetsu actually remembered the name of an Uchiha Chunin he'd never even met.
"Every Uchiha who temporarily leaves the Police Squad to carry out missions has to be finally approved by me." Seeing Uchiha Inabi's confusion, Mokgetsu explained with a smile.
As he spoke, Mokgetsu also offered words of encouragement to the other Uchiha Ninja who were about to leave the Police Squad.
"Aomizu, you became a Jonin at such a young age. For Konoha to keep prospering, it relies on young, vibrant forces like you."
"Aomizu, you…"
Mokgetsu accurately called out the names of every Uchiha who was going to leave the Police Squad, and everything he said about their records was completely correct, without the slightest hint of putting on a show.
The Uchiha Ninja who were called were a bit emotional; they had been acknowledged by the Hokage.
"We must complete the commissioned missions seriously and excellently; we can't fail to live up to Lord Fourth's expectations!" the Uchiha Ninja thought in their hearts.
Everything Mokgetsu did made them feel how much he valued and respected the Uchiha, something they had never obtained during the administrations of the Second Hokage and Third Hokage.
For a moment, the atmosphere became incomparably harmonious; even the coldest Uchiha tried their best to show Mokgetsu a smile.
This enthusiasm surprised Namikaze Minato; was this really the same Uchiha Clan he knew?
"Lord Fourth, Assistant Minato, this is my clan's training ground. Countless Ninja of the Police Squad have trained here day and night, working hard to maintain Konoha's public order."
After the inspection officially began, Uchiha Fugaku led Mokgetsu and Namikaze Minato around the Clan Land.
"Very good. For Konoha to enjoy long-term peace and stability for so many years, the Uchiha Clan has rendered outstanding service." Mokgetsu praised as he surveyed the area.
The Uchiha Ninja all straightened their backs; that was exactly what they thought as well.
"We wouldn't dare to claim all the credit. The Uchiha have only done what we can and what we ought to do." Uchiha Fugaku said with a smile.
Right after, Uchiha Fugaku led Mokgetsu and the others to the Police Squad, and on the way they even ran into Uchiha Ninja diligently patrolling the streets.
At the end of the inspection, everyone returned to the Uchiha Clan Land again, and Mokgetsu delivered a concluding speech on the inspection work.
If the staff of the Konoha Newspaper were to write it up, it would be: "The Fourth Hokage highly praised the work attitude of the Uchiha Ninja, affirmed the Uchiha Clan's contribution to Konoha's public-security development, and expressed the hope that the Uchiha Ninja could play an even greater role in the new era and better build a safe, harmonious, and prosperous Konoha."
To put it more normally, it was Mokgetsu saying a few words of praise for the Uchiha Clan and publicly backing Shisui's speech at the clan assembly.
With internal consensus within the Uchiha and external support from Mokgetsu, the Fourth Hokage, this policy that was beneficial to both Konoha and the Uchiha was quickly put into formal implementation.
Some Uchiha Jonin and capable Uchiha Chunin temporarily left the Police Squad and were assigned by Mokgetsu into various teams to carry out commissioned missions.
"With these Uchiha Ninja joining in, the village's commission revenue will definitely increase by quite a bit. Achieving results like this in such a short time—if we raise new proposals, the advisors should have fewer objections."
Namikaze Minato said to Mokgetsu, his face full of joy.
Although he'd been very busy lately, Namikaze Minato was genuinely happy, because he could clearly feel that Konoha was moving in a better direction through their efforts.
This brought Namikaze Minato an immense sense of accomplishment. Under the impact of this huge sense of accomplishment, even a breakthrough in his Breathing Technique could no longer excite him.
Why had he become Hokage, if not for a better Konoha?
Now he was already walking on the road to realizing his dream; mere increases in strength could not compare to building Konoha.
"That's not necessarily the case. The village's revenues may increase, but the advisors' salaries won't go up." Mokgetsu shook his head.
Sometimes collective interests and personal interests are two different things. For example, Shimura Danzo often does despicable things that harm Konoha's interests to strengthen his own faction.
Mokgetsu didn't know what Shimura Danzo's subjective thoughts were, but objectively, that was the reality.
"It shouldn't be that bad… right?" Namikaze Minato was a bit unsure.
After becoming Hokage Assistant, quite a few of his filters regarding Konoha's upper echelons had indeed shattered, but he still felt that the higher-ups wouldn't do things that harmed Konoha's interests.
"Let's not talk about this for now. I'd like to trouble you to take me to Mount Myoboku." Mokgetsu said.
Celebi's power over time and space had already reached a proficient level, and his own strength was more than enough to protect himself; it was time to obtain Immortal Technique.
PS: First update of the day, National Day mass-update begins!
Asking for monthly tickets!
Also, there's an event in the comments section about monthly tickets and fan titles, everyone can check it out.