Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

After the Eighth Hokage of Uchiha sat down, Sogen turned his gaze to the other two.

The police department's main law enforcement force consists of three hundred-person squads, each commanded by a different captain. Uchiha Hachimoku is one of them, while the other two are Uchiha Naruto and Uchiha Yasuzaku. Uchiha Naruto is a middle-aged man with a serious expression and rarely smiles, making him a model of the Uchiha family men.

Uchiha Yasukuni, however, was a woman. Unlike Uchiha Naruto, who was cold and dignified, she had a gentle appearance and a kind and approachable temperament. However, it would be a great loss to underestimate her because of this. Women of the Uchiha clan were never much inferior to men. Uchiha Yasukuni was able to stand on equal footing with Uchiha Hachimoku and Uchiha Naruto, so she was naturally not someone to be trifled with.

"My situation is similar to that of the Eighth Hokage. I haven't been home for a week, and I've been sleeping in the office every day." If you look closely, you can see dark circles under Uchiha Naruto's eyes, and deep in his eyes, there is an undisguised weariness.

"I was preparing to go out to handle a case when I received the meeting notice."

Uchiha Yasutsu spoke softly, saying only one sentence, but that one sentence was enough to illustrate the severity of the situation. Even Uchiha Yasutsu, as the team leader, had to personally handle the case, which showed just how scarce manpower was.

"That sounds like a lot of pressure!"

Zongxian appeared relaxed, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"Narukami, how's the prison expansion project going?"

Uchiha Narukami is the younger brother of Uchiha Naruto and currently serves as the warden of Konoha Prison.

"There are too many people in the prison. Fortunately, most of the prisoners are ordinary people. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on so many prisoners with my limited manpower. Also, the expansion of the prison will take time. Right now, there are six or seven people in a cell, and three or four people in a cell... It's just barely managing."

The man who spoke bore an 80% resemblance to Uchiha Naruto, the only difference being that Uchiha Naruto had a long scar on his left cheek, a wound left during his battle with Kirigakure in the Third Shinobi World War.

After Uchiha Naruto finished speaking, he sat down.

Then Zongxian questioned the others, asking each one except for Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Arashiyama.

It is no exaggeration to say that the police department is currently facing enormous pressure. Not only are the frontline law enforcement forces understaffed, but the administrative and internal departments are also extremely busy. The entire police department is currently operating at overcapacity. It can barely hold on now, but the risk of collapse will increase over time.

Rectification and reform

Without delay.

Once the last person to be questioned sat down, Zongxian lightly tapped the table with his finger. "Did you all hear that? Right now, it's not just one of you, one department, or one team that's under immense pressure, but the entire police department is facing a challenge. You all know I just went to the Hokage Building, right?"

No one said a word.

Zongxian did not deliberately conceal his whereabouts, but no one likes to be watched all the time. Of course, none of the people present dared to say that they were spying on the clan leader's private life; they were just paying a little attention to the clan leader's movements.

"I'm not saying this to warn you guys, well! Although I really don't like having so many tails following me around... Anyway, that's not the topic today. I went to the Hokage Building to see the Hokage and made a small suggestion. Want to know what I said to the Hokage?"

No one spoke up, but the curiosity in their eyes was obvious.

"Don't you even know how to cooperate with your clan leader?"

Zongxian muttered something in a low voice.

Uchiha Arashiyama's lips twitched, but he still tried his best to maintain a calm demeanor.

No one cooperated, but Zongxian didn't mind. He continued, "The suggestion is simple: I think the current structure of the police department is too outdated and can't keep up with the village's rapid changes. It's about time to make changes, so... I've decided to recruit ninjas who are not from my clan into the police department."

His words were like a thunderclap!

Most of the people present looked astonished.

Rumors about Sogen's desire to reform the police department had been circulating internally for some time. After all, Sogen's actions were impossible to hide, and anyone with a keen eye would notice them. While the Uchiha clan was full of arrogant madmen, pride did not mean they were all ignorant fools.

They all knew that the clan chief wanted to reform the police department, and some even guessed that the sudden meeting was held today because of this.

But no one expected that the clan chief would actually plan to bring outsiders into the police department.

How can this be allowed?

This is utterly destroying the honor of the Uchiha clan!

"Clan leader, you mustn't do this! The police department is the police department of our Uchiha clan."

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha was the first to stand up and loudly object, his eyes turning bloodshot with emotion.

"The Second Hokage himself promised that the police department belonged to my clan."

"You're right, clan leader, please reconsider!"

After Uchiha Hachimoku spoke, two more people immediately stood up to show their support for him. They were not young, just like Uchiha Hachimoku; they were over forty and not yet of retirement age, but in this conference room, they were definitely old men.

"Yashiro-senpai, what do you mean by saying these things? The police department is our Uchiha clan's police department? Isn't it the village's police department? It's utterly ridiculous!" Shisui, who had been sitting silently next to Sogen since the beginning of the meeting, angrily retorted to what he considered absurd remarks by Uchiha Yatsushiro.

These elderly elders are all so short-sighted and incredibly foolish!

The conflict between the clan and the village cannot be simply attributed to either side. While the village has been putting increasing pressure on the clan, the outdated ideas of the elders in the clan are also a significant contributing factor to the escalation of the conflict between the village and the clan.

"Zhishui, what did you say, you brat?"

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha was furious.

Although the Uchiha clan believes in the supremacy of the strong, they cannot simply pretend nothing happened and remain indifferent when criticized to their faces by a junior.

"I've made myself very clear. The police department isn't just our Uchiha police department; it's the village police department too." Shisui was at odds with Uchiha Yatsuhoshi and the others. He was now a staunch supporter of Sogen. Although he had expressed concern in Sogen's office that this was too radical, when it came to this moment, he firmly stood by Sogen's side!

"Quiet!"

A sound, neither too loud nor too soft, echoed in the room.

Shisui immediately fell silent, and Uchiha Yatsushiro, who was about to speak, also shut his mouth.

Today,

Zongxian had already established unparalleled prestige within the clan.

Even the 'old folks' like the Eighth Hokage of the Uchiha clan behaved respectfully in front of Sogen and dared not disobey his orders in any way.

"I haven't even finished speaking, what are you all arguing about?" Zongxian's gaze swept over Uchiha Yatsushiro and the others.

"I'm sorry, clan leader, I was too impulsive."

"We were reckless."

Under Zongxian's icy gaze, the three members of the Uchiha clan felt their scalps tingle and obediently admitted their mistakes.

"Humph!"

Zongxian didn't say anything more, but turned his gaze to the others. "Besides Yashiro and the others, who else thinks the police department can't tolerate any outsiders?" It was a very simple question, but no one answered. The rest of the people remained silent.

Why isn't anyone saying anything?

Zongxian asked again.

A relaxed smile appeared on his face. "Or are you all willing to accept non-Uchiha ninjas into the police department? Then let me ask you a different question. Those who support recruiting non-Uchiha ninjas into the police department... please state your position!"

Then--

Another long silence followed.

Sogen wasn't surprised by this situation. There were definitely staunch opponents like the Eighth Hokage of the Uchiha clan, but he, as the clan head, was no pushover, and few dared to defy his will. However, to be fair, it was indeed a difficult thing to say to the police department that it would no longer belong to the Uchiha clan.

Zongxian wasn't in a hurry.

He waited patiently. Which of the Uchiha present wasn't a shrewd and intelligent person? They would understand what decision to make. What they needed was some time to convince themselves, and Sogen was not short of time!

Time passed by,

"Wouldn't it be great to have someone share the burden? I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to go for a beauty treatment. I really want to find a chance to take a good rest for a while."

Uchiha Yasukuni smiled and was the first to submit to the clan leader.

Once there's a first one, there will naturally be a second.

"The prison could recruit some sensory ninjas to make it easier to manage those scumbags," Uchiha Naruto earnestly suggested.

then,

One after another, except for the pale-faced Uchiha Eighth Hokage and his two companions, the rest of them all expressed their support for Sogen's plan. They couldn't fight against the big boss; all of them combined couldn't contend with the clan leader. These leaders knew better than anyone how much prestige Sogen held in the clan!

Unless the clan leader falls into the same predicament as Madara Uchiha did,

Otherwise, those few people wouldn't be able to shake the clan leader's authority!

Look at the current disheveled state of the Uchiha Eighth Hokage and his two companions. They are so dejected that they are like walking corpses. They are unwilling to accept this result, but they also know in their hearts that they are powerless to oppose the clan leader's decision, which is why they are so desperate!

“I understand that many of you are still not entirely convinced, but the police department has indeed reached a point where it has to make changes. Didn’t you all say before how much pressure you were under? But you also know that the clan cannot spare more people to support the police department.”

Zongxian spoke slowly and deliberately.

What he said was absolutely true. The Uchiha clan really didn't have any extra members to send to work in the police department. Many Uchiha clan members died in the war with the Cloud Ninja. Now, most of the young and strong members of the clan were in the police department. The only ones left in the clan were children, the elderly, and some clan members who were not ninjas.

This is, in fact, one of the reasons why the police department is now somewhat overwhelmed.

The police department has no other way to increase its manpower except by recruiting ninjas who are not from the Uchiha clan.

“It’s almost impossible for our clan to support such a large organization as the Police Department on our own right now, unless we’re willing to hand over the power of the Police Department to the Dark Guard for help,” Zong Xian continued, looking at everyone. “Are you willing to let the Dark Guard take away the power you hold?”

Before anyone could answer, Zongxian shook his head. "I'm not willing."

"Furthermore, I never said that the police department would no longer belong to the Uchiha clan! Are you afraid of being pushed out by outsiders? Do you have so little confidence in yourselves? If we are indeed pushed out, then it only means we deserve it. Incompetent people deserve to be trampled underfoot!"

"That's all for now. In short, this matter is decided. Arashiyama, send out the specific documents!" Zongxian tapped the table. He had said enough. It would be best if they could understand, but it didn't matter if they couldn't. As long as they didn't secretly cause trouble and obediently carried out his orders, he wouldn't bother to verify whether they sincerely supported his reform plan.

Judge things by their actions, not their intentions; if you judge by intentions, you will find no saint.

That makes sense.

"Yes, clan chief."

Uchiha Arashiyama stood up in response, holding the pre-printed documents and distributing them to everyone present, including Uchiha Yatsushiro and the others!

[Chapter 241. Kabuto Yakushi's Decision]

One day in early February, the villagers of Konoha discovered that a newly posted recruitment notice had been posted on bulletin boards throughout the village. The notice was simple, stating that the Konoha Police Department was currently understaffed and that in order to maintain the village's security, they were recruiting villagers who were willing to join the police department to protect the village's peace.

Such an announcement undoubtedly stirred up a huge wave in the village!

Is the police department recruiting?

Is this a joke?

In Konoha, unless you're a newly arrived resident or a newcomer to the business world, almost everyone knows that the police department is the exclusive domain of the Uchiha clan. They've never heard of any non-Uchiha clan member joining the police department... Wait, wait a minute, it seems like a seven or eight-year-old kid joined the police department last year.

but,

to be frank,

Nobody took it seriously. The gossiping people thought it was just a child and wouldn't affect the two sides of the same coin between the Uchiha and the police department at all.

Those who knew the details of Kaguya Kimimaro believed that the Uchiha clan was plotting to obtain the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit. Although, logically speaking, given the Uchiha clan's unparalleled Sharingan prowess, there was no reason for them to covet other bloodline limits, there seemed to be no more reasonable explanation.

In short, Kimimaro's joining the police department did not cause much of a stir at the time, since the war was still ongoing and most people's attention was focused on the war against the Cloud Ninja.