Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

He was promoted from acting Hokage to official Hokage!

After he became the true Fifth Hokage, his thoughts and feelings changed again. The Uchiha clan, as the most powerful clan in Konoha, suddenly became... displeasing to him. Even though reason told him that the rise of the Uchiha clan was unstoppable, he still decided to try to see if he could control the development trend of the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, in his view, Konoha was already doing very well. The victory in the war against Kirigakure and Kumogakure had earned him, the Fifth Hokage, enough reputation and prestige, and he didn't want to go through any more trouble to carry out any reforms.

After all, to put it bluntly, doing it well is just icing on the cake, but doing it poorly will become an indelible stain.

Of course, he didn't intend to suppress Uchiha Sogen by force. He just hoped that Uchiha Sogen could wait patiently for a few years until he stepped down from the position of Hokage. At that time, Uchiha Sogen could then fully display his talents.

only--

Sōgen had no intention of accepting Akimichi Torifu's idea.

"Lord Hokage, if I may be so bold, the overhaul of the Police Department is imperative. The problems with the Police Department now are not only the lack of personnel, but also the overly crude internal structure and the unclear division of powers. Moreover, similar problems are not limited to the Police Department; the Administrative Department, the Anbu, the Medical Department, the Interrogation Department, and other departments all need to be changed."

Zongxian said righteously.

He looked at Akimichi Torifu, who was about to speak, but did not intend to give the Fifth Hokage a chance to interrupt. He continued quickly, "Thanks to the Hokage's high regard, I have been granted the position of Hokage's assistant. Since returning to the village, I have been thinking about what I should do as the Hokage's assistant. After investigation and research, I have discovered that the biggest problem in the village is not outside but inside."

"The current structure of the village's six departments—Anbu, Administration, Police, Education, Interrogation, and Medical—originated from the Second Hokage and took shape during the Third Hokage's reign. Initially, this structure effectively organized and integrated the village's strength, playing its due role in the war."

"However, times have changed, and Konoha has changed dramatically. Yet the village's management structure remains the same. The most serious problem is not the police department, but the Anbu. In my opinion, the current Anbu is no longer the 'Assassination Tactics Special Forces' established by the Second Hokage. The current Anbu's functions are too bloated. It is responsible for assassination, protection, surveillance, patrol, training spies, tracking rogue ninjas, collecting intelligence, and so on. These complicated tasks have dulled the Anbu's edge."

"The leak of the spy list last year already proved the decline of the Dark Guard's capabilities. It's not just the Police Department and the Dark Guard; other departments also have their own problems, like the Interrogation Department..."

"Zongxian-kun, wait a minute, don't be in such a hurry."

Akimichi Torifu felt a headache coming on.

This is fucking...

What the hell is going on?

Wasn't this about the police department? Why are they dragging out the secret service for criticism? If he hadn't forcefully interrupted, the interrogation department, education department, and medical department would probably all have been dragged out and criticized one by one.

"You're being too radical! The village has finally settled down; this will only cause trouble."

“A serious illness requires strong medicine, and it just so happens that we have allied with Kirigakure and defeated Kumogakure. Iwagakure has also forged a deep feud with Kumogakure again, and Sunagakure has not yet recovered the strength lost during the Third Shinobi World War. This can be said to be the best time. We don’t need to worry about external threats and can focus on internal reforms.”

Zongxian's attitude was equally firm. He earnestly said, "Lord Hokage, I understand your concerns. Reform will definitely encounter many difficulties, and may even lead to violent conflicts. But as the saying goes, time waits for no one. If we miss this opportunity, we don't know how long we will have to wait for such an opportunity again."

Akimichi Tokifumi's face twitched.

I really want to get angry.

However, he couldn't find a reason to get angry, and reason kept telling him to calm down. As the Hokage's assistant, it wasn't unreasonable for Uchiha Sogen to bring up these things. Back then, Shimura Danzo, the Hokage's assistant, even established his own private armed force called 'Root'.

Hokage assists,

As its name suggests, its job is to assist the Hokage in handling all matters, big and small, in Konoha. There is almost nothing in Konoha that the Hokage's assistant cannot interfere with. Apart from the Hokage being able to control the Hokage's assistant, only the advisors and elders backed by the elders can barely contend with the Hokage's assistant.

"This matter is of great importance, involving the operation and stability of the village. I cannot make a decision on my own. I still need to consult the elders..." Akimichi Torifu remembered halfway through his sentence that the two advisor elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, were currently in jail!

In order to quickly erase the marks left by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura on Konoha, Akimichi Torifu, who was then the acting Fifth Hokage, launched a large-scale purge in the village. The elders were the main target of the purge. Now, without their leader, the elders were just a disorganized mess. To think that they could fight against Uchiha Sogen with such a disorganized mess was nothing short of wishful thinking.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

If only I hadn't been so ruthless towards the elders back then, but alas, there's no going back.

"You don't need to worry about the Anbu for now, Sōgen-kun. It's not advisable to make too many internal reforms. If you're really interested, Sōgen-kun, why not try it out in the police department first?" Akimichi Torifu took a step back. The Anbu was the Hokage's private domain, and he would never allow Uchiha Sōgen to extend his reach into the Anbu. In fact, the interrogation department, the education department, and other departments also did not want Uchiha Sōgen to interfere too much.

Since Uchiha Sogen is determined to cause trouble, let him go and cause trouble in the police department. After all, the police department originally belonged to the Uchiha clan. If Uchiha Sogen really wants to cause trouble in the police department, unless he breaks the mask and forcibly suppresses him with the Hokage's order, there is really nothing he can do about Uchiha Sogen.

A complete falling out with Uchiha Sogen... was a situation he desperately wanted to avoid.

Although he is the Hokage,

However, he didn't feel he could do anything to Uchiha Mugen at all; the difference in strength always made him feel a little less confident.

"That makes sense. The Hokage is right to think things through. Taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble. Let's use the police department as a testing ground to see what problems we will encounter during the reform process and what the results will be."

Zongxian readily agreed, praising the Hokage's wise decision.

He showed no trace of his previous tough attitude.

His goal from beginning to end was simply to overhaul the police department and completely transform Konoha's administrative structure... In other words, it was just talk, a means of negotiation, not some ingenious new method, just the old trick of 'opening a window or tearing off the roof'.

But the method doesn't have to be new or old; the key is that it works.

Akimichi Torifu's facial muscles twitched unnaturally as he struggled to control his expression and maintain his amiable demeanor.

The conversation then turned to some pointless chatter. The Hokage and his assistant, the nominal top two leaders of Konoha, talked aimlessly until Uchiha Shisui, who was immersed in the Book of Sealing, took a deep breath and interrupted their conversation.

"Shisui, how are you feeling?"

Zongxian looked at Shisui, who had a look of deep reminiscence on his face, and asked.

"...Hmm, very...impressive!" Shisui was clearly not fully recovered yet. His dazed and confused state took a few seconds to subside. He reached up and pinched his brow, using the stinging sensation to shake off his dazed state. "The Second Hokage was definitely a genius, a true genius! And the Fourth Hokage was too, he was a genuine genius!"

Zhi Shui's excitement was palpable.

He kept praising the two deceased Hokage, making Zongxian's head ache.

"Alright, Shisui, I know the Second and Fourth Hokage are both geniuses. What I want to know now is how you feel? Have you mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique?" Hearing Sogen's question, Akimichi Torifu also quietly pricked up his ears.

"It's still... uncertain. My mind understands what's going on, but whether my body can adapt still needs to be confirmed through practice."

This ambiguous answer is certainly not satisfactory.

However, Zongxian wasn't too disappointed. After all, unlike him, who immediately realized after reading the Book of Seals that he couldn't master the Flying Thunder God Technique yet, Shisui didn't deny that he couldn't master it. In other words, it was still possible for him to master the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Alright! Return the Book of Seals to Lord Hokage, we should be going now." Zongxuan put down his teacup and stood up.

"Lord Hokage, the Scroll of Seals is returned to you in its entirety."

Shisui, holding the Book of Seals, approached Akimichi Torifu and returned it to him.

Unlike Jiraiya, who liked to jump out of windows and take unconventional paths, Sogen and Shisui left through the front door. As Akimichi Torifu watched Sogen and Shisui's figures disappear outside the closed door, the gentle smile on his face slowly faded.

At this moment, Akimichi Torifu still had that same round figure.

However, unlike his previous amiable demeanor, which resembled that of a friendly neighbor, Akimichi Torifu now exudes a cold and aloof aura, making him seem more like a Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, the Hokage's assistant said he was going to reform the village's six departments, but that must be a lie." Nara Shizuku walked over and began tidying up the teacups on the coffee table, speaking softly as he did so.

"I know."

Qiu Dao took a deep breath and said in a muffled voice.

"His goal from the beginning has been to reform the police department and overhaul the six major departments. This is just an excuse to force me to back down. He doesn't bother to hide his methods at all." Uchiha Munen could have directly threatened to take action against the six major departments from the beginning, and then settled for only targeting the police department.

Such methods are not exactly covert either.

But at least it wasn't as blatant and obvious as before. Anyone with a sound mind could see through Uchiha Mugen's methods.

"If you don't want to argue with the Hokage's assistant, you can use the stalling tactic."

"It won't drag on for long. If Uchiha Sogen insists on going his own way, can I punish him for it? If it really comes to that, I, the Hokage, will be the one who loses face." Akimichi Torifu's voice was low and rather dejected.

The Nara salt water used to clean the coffee table was also speechless.

This truth is absolutely heartbreaking.

The rules and principles of ninjas are based on powerful force. Although Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure do not explicitly state that only the strongest can become 'Kage' like Kirigakure, most of the time the Kage of each village are the strongest in the village. Therefore, the Kage is the supreme leader of the village.

However, Konoha has encountered an unexpected situation. Akimichi Torifu obtained the Hokage position by chance. His personal strength is certainly not weak. As the pillar of the Ino-Shika-Cho triad, Akimichi Torifu's fighting strength is probably among the top ten in the village.

Such strength is certainly sufficient to support and protect the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, but it is somewhat insufficient for the position of Hokage.

Especially with the emergence of a freak from the Uchiha clan, such as Uchiha Sogen, whose martial prowess rivals that of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, the Hokage himself appears so lackluster in comparison to Uchiha Sogen.

"It's no use in the end! The gap in strength... can't be easily bridged by scheming." Akimichi Torifu muttered to himself, his mood extremely low. This invisible confrontation with Uchiha Sogen had ended in his defeat.

Lacking the confidence derived from military force

He couldn't display the imposing presence befitting a Hokage in front of Uchiha Sogen.

"Looks like I should just settle down and be a peaceful Hokage from now on!" After a minute or so of silence, Akimichi Torifu closed his eyes, leaned back in his large office chair, and uttered these words devoid of any ambition. "Fortunately, judging from Sogen's attitude, I can probably still be Hokage for another two years."

The surge of ambition that had been built up since becoming the actual Hokage after being promoted from acting Hokage was shattered.

Unable to win,

Can't win the argument

Continuing to fight will only bring unpredictable trouble to yourself and your family.

Without the Senju clan to restrain the Uchiha, the rise of the Uchiha clan is unstoppable. Even delaying them is wishful thinking. In the future... Konoha may become the Uchiha's Konoha. Let's hope that future isn't too bad!

but,

Uchiha Sogen and Uchiha Madara were, after all, different.

As for where Uchiha Sogen will lead Konoha, we just need to sit on the sidelines and watch!

[240. Chapter 239: Judging by Actions, Not by Intentions]

Upon returning to the police department, Zongxian immediately issued an order to convene a meeting of all the police department's leaders. He had already informed the Hokage about the reorganization of the police department, and he did not intend to spend any more time on preparations. In any case, there were no ready-made examples to refer to, and no matter how long he prepared, he would be feeling his way across the river.

After half an hour,

Zongxian and Shisui arrived at the conference room one after the other. The once empty conference room was now crowded with people, as more than ten police department leaders had been summoned.

"Chieftain!"

A group of people greeted each other in unison.

"Sit down, everyone! Don't just stand there like idiots." Zongxian waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down. He then took his seat in the main seat, with Shisui following behind him. Shisui sat down in the empty seat to the right of the main seat, flanked by Uchiha Arashiyama, who was sitting to the left. They were Zongxian's right-hand men.

"Chieftain, everyone has arrived."

Once Zongxian was seated, Uchiha Arashiyama spoke softly.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get straight to the point. I've suddenly summoned you all here because I have an important announcement to make." Zongxian glanced around the long table. Everyone looked solemn and there was no disturbance. He was quite satisfied. He turned his gaze to Uchiha Yatsuhoku and asked, "Yatsuhoku, five days ago you complained to me that the missions have been heavy lately and that the squadron you command is somewhat overwhelmed. I wonder how things are now?"

"Still the same as always."

Uchiha Hachiho stood up. This veteran Jonin, a well-known figure in the clan, wore a bitter expression and complained, "Since the New Year, the number of outsiders in the village has been increasing day by day, which has led to frequent incidents. Not to mention petty theft, there are almost murders every day. We are constantly running around trying to keep up. Everyone is just barely holding on, and when we can't hold on any longer, things will probably fall apart."

"I understand, Yashiro. Please sit down!"

Zongxian nodded.

These matters were all explained in the reports submitted by Uchiha Hachimoku earlier; Uchiha Hachimoku simply reiterated them briefly.

"Thunderclap, Night Sparrow, are you the same?"