Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Obito Uchiha, who had been leaning against the wall, finally spoke up, "Although Konoha has defeated Kirigakure and Kumogakure in succession, there are actually many internal conflicts within the village. Due to some lingering issues from the past, the Uchiha clan has always been in a bad situation in Konoha. Uchiha Munen is currently working to reverse this situation."

"Furthermore, we spent most of last year fighting. Even though we won, the losses were significant. There is a growing war-weariness within Konoha right now. Even if Uchiha Sogen were the Hokage, he wouldn't be able to organize a large force to launch a surprise attack on Amegakure at this time, let alone just being an assistant to the Hokage."

"Moreover, and most importantly, I'm not prepared to give him any chance to cause us trouble!"

"Uchiha Obito said firmly."

Pain looked over in confusion. "Madara, didn't you say that Uchiha Sogen was troublesome and that it wasn't a good time to confront him head-on?" Although he had mocked and ridiculed this man who called himself Uchiha Madara for losing to his own descendant, he also agreed with the decision not to confront Uchiha Sogen directly for the time being.

He firmly believed that the Rinnegan was invincible.

However, his true form is slow to move due to the irreparable injuries to his legs, which is an indelible weakness. Until he can extend the distance he controls Pain's Six Paths far enough, his true form may still be affected by large-scale offensive ninjutsu or forbidden techniques.

“I didn’t say I wanted to confront him head-on; I just wanted to give him something to do.”

Obito Uchiha reminded him, "Pain, as I mentioned before, besides Sasori of the Red Sand, we have two other targets. One is Orochimaru, and the other... to be honest, he can't compare to Orochimaru. He's inferior to Orochimaru in both strength and reputation. However, this person is no less valuable to us than Orochimaru, and might even be more so."

"who is it?"

Payne became interested.

"The Twelve Guardian Ninja, Pain, have you heard of this title?"

"The Twelve Guardian Ninjas... I think that's the collective name for the twelve ninjas responsible for protecting the Fire Daimyo?"

"That's right. The Twelve Guardian Ninjas are twelve elite ninjas responsible for protecting the Fire Daimyo. They are the Fire Daimyo's private force, and their members come from diverse backgrounds, including ninjas from Konoha, ninjas from some small clans in the Land of Fire, and monks from the Fire Temple."

"The target is one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja?"

Payne understood.

He vaguely understood what Madara Uchiha wanted to do.

"Are you planning to use this to sow discord between Konoha and the Fire Daimyo?"

"Yes."

Obito Uchiha nodded. "The relationship between the Fire Daimyo and Konoha seems harmonious, but in reality, the power struggle between the two sides has never stopped. As far as I know, there are ideological differences within the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Some people believe that the system of one village per country is the most suitable for the current situation of the ninja world, while others firmly believe that the Fire Daimyo is the supreme leader of the Land of Fire, and that the command of the Konoha ninja should not be handed over to the Hokage, but should belong directly to the Fire Daimyo, and not just be a nominal leader."

"I see... So there is indeed an opportunity to take advantage of this."

Payne nodded in understanding.

Back then, Hanzo of the Salamander was not only the leader of Amegakure, but also practically the one who directly controlled the government of the Land of Rain. The Rain Daimyo was just a figurehead. After Pain killed Hanzo of the Salamander, he not only took over Amegakure, but the entire Land of Rain fell under his control.

"So, are you planning to go to the Land of Fire next?"

"This is a great opportunity, and I don't intend to miss it. If I miss this opportunity, it will be very troublesome when Uchiha Munegen unites Konoha and even the Land of Fire into one solid block. Believe me, my descendant is no pushover. He may really have a chance to accomplish what I couldn't do back then because of Hashirama's interference."

Obito Uchiha has now fully embraced the persona of Madara Uchiha, and his every word and action has become increasingly smooth and natural, leaving no trace of his true identity.

[253. Chapter 252 Is there no way to have the best of both worlds?]

The undercurrents in the Land of Rain have yet to show any impact on the future of the ninja world. The Akatsuki organization has chosen to maintain the status quo, quietly laying low and developing, waiting for the time to make a name for itself. However, it is not only the Akatsuki organization that is diligently practicing internal strength. Without the Third Hokage and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha, having stopped its endless internal strife, is also recovering its strength at an extremely rapid pace.

The police department's reforms are still in their early stages, but signs of progress are already evident.

After a large number of non-Uchiha ninjas entered the police department, even though the power of the police department was still firmly in the hands of the Uchiha, the equation 'police department = Uchiha' was gradually becoming blurred in the minds of the villagers. It was at this time that Sogen received a report from the team that Kabuto Yakushi belonged to.

Police Department

Minister's Office.

"Why is it Daming Prefecture again?"

Zongxian shook the report in his hand, a strange smile on his face.

He had previously caught a thief, which led to the exposure of some shady dealings among high-ranking officials in the Daimyo Prefecture's Treasury Department. He was thinking of using that information to make a fortune and solve the financial crisis facing the police department, but he hadn't made any progress on the matter yet!

New cases have now been discovered.

The disappearances in the newly built district are suspected to be related to the Daimyo Prefecture's special envoy to Konoha, and this investigation result is indeed quite troublesome.

"Zongxian, this matter needs to be put on hold."

Uchiha Arashiyama frowned. "First, we interfered in the internal strife of the Daikyo Province, and then we investigated the Daimyo's special envoy to Konoha. This will definitely give people the impression that we are targeting the Daimyo. This will not do any good for the village or the clan."

"But we're not the ones who committed the crime; we were just doing our job, weren't we?"

"Ah!"

Uchiha Arashiyama let out a sneer, "Clan leader, investigating missing persons cases is our duty, but interfering in the internal strife of the Ministry of Finance is not our job. Or are you planning to abandon your money-making plan?"

"...Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds?"

"How could that be possible? I certainly don't have that ability."

Uchiha Arashiyama spread his hands, his face showing an expression that said, "You're deliberately making things difficult for me."

Zongxian sighed. This matter was indeed a bit difficult to handle. In any case, the Fire Daimyo was the nominal supreme leader of the Land of Fire. Even the Hokage's status was lower than that of the Fire Daimyo. This was a fact acknowledged by the First Hokage. Even though the later Hokage did not really accept it, the Fire Daimyo had never successfully interfered with the succession of the Hokage.

But we still have to save face.

The legitimacy of the one country, one village system has gradually evolved over the past fifty years into a universally accepted consensus. Konoha Village's high degree of autonomy is legal, reasonable, and justifiable, but the Konoha Daimyo is also the supreme leader who is beyond question in terms of law and reason.

If the harmony between the Daimyo's mansion and Konoha is shattered, the Uchiha clan's and the police department's hard-won reputation may plummet again.

"Let's put that matter in the Ministry of Finance on hold for now!" After some deep thought, Zongxian made a decision. No matter how discreetly he intervened in the internal strife of the Ministry of Finance, he would inevitably leave traces and give others leverage over him.

Moreover, if we set aside the purpose of transferring money, this matter is not actually in a hurry. As long as we have evidence of shady power-money transactions between Kado Shipping Company and high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Finance, delaying it a little will not have any impact.

In contrast,

Zongxian decided to deal with the missing persons case first.

Let's see what the final investigation results are.

After all, the report submitted by Kabuto's team only mentioned that they were related to the Daimyo's special envoy stationed in Konoha, but there was no evidence to prove that the real culprit in the missing persons case was this special envoy. Perhaps someone was just using the special envoy's name to do evil... Of course, this is just an optimistic idea.

And most importantly,

As the head of the police department, his job is to safeguard the order and stability of Konoha. Knowing that there are criminal activities in the village and not doing anything about it would be a moral imperative for him.

"Tell the pharmacist team to go ahead and do their job, as long as they always keep the work rules in mind and don't use excessive force!"

"What about the money? What should we do with the money?"

Uchiha Arashiyama frowned. "I had the Finance Department recalculate the income and expenditure. The department's current funds are only enough to pay salaries for two months. If there are any work-related injuries that require compensation or subsidies, we won't be able to last two months."

"I'll go ask the Hokage for a solution. If that doesn't work... I'll send the Special Task Force to collect the bounty."

Zongxian racked his brains and came up with a crooked idea.

"Huh?"

Uchiha Arashiyama was a little confused.

Earn bounties?

What bounty... Could it be a rogue ninja?

"You mean send a special operations force to capture those rogue ninjas?"

As the saying goes, "A large forest has all kinds of birds." Konoha Village has tens of thousands of ninjas, and naturally, not all of them are exemplary ninjas who have inherited the Will of Fire. Many of them have committed serious crimes for various reasons, such as harming comrades, maliciously injuring others, betraying information, stealing secrets, and other unforgivable evils. After being discovered by the police or the Anbu, they had no choice but to defect.

"Let's not talk about S-rank rogue ninjas. A-rank rogue ninjas are all quite valuable. B-rank rogue ninjas are a bit cheaper, but they're also quite valuable in large quantities!"

The more Zongxian thought about it, the more he felt that it might not be impossible.

The classification of rogue ninjas is based on the mission level. Anyone who is capable of successfully defecting from the village must be quite skilled. Therefore, the lowest rank for rogue ninjas is B-rank. Moreover, given the difficulty of capturing rogue ninjas and to encourage those with ability, the bounty for a B-rank rogue ninja is at least several times that of a regular B-rank mission.

Orochimaru's bounty is ridiculously high; the reward for completing twenty S-rank missions might not even be as high.

"Rogue ninja aren't so easy to catch."

Uchiha Arashiyama, however, felt that it wasn't very reliable.

If rogue ninjas were so easy to deal with, they would have been captured by the Anbu long ago. However, the reality is that these rogue ninjas have become increasingly difficult to deal with through repeated pursuits by the Anbu. Every single one of them who has managed to survive for more than three years without being captured is a slippery eel that has been rubbed into the ground.

"Give it a try! To be honest, there aren't many opportunities for the special operations unit to be deployed in the village. Instead of just sitting around and getting fat, it's better to go out and get some exercise." The so-called special operations unit's function is to deal with Jonin-level criminals. The entire unit consists of only twenty people, divided into five teams. The team leaders are all elite Jonin, and the three team members are all Special Jonin.

Such a force

To be honest, it doesn't seem to be of much use in the village.

Konoha has always had good public security. Whether in the past or present, the Uchiha clan has never failed in its responsibilities. In the past, hunting down rogue ninjas was the work of the Anbu and had nothing to do with the police department. Uchiha Arashiyama obviously thought of this as well.

"Zongxian, isn't this overstepping your authority?"

"How could that be? There's no rule in the village that forbids the police from arresting rogue ninjas. On the contrary, the village supports and encourages those with the ability to arrest rogue ninjas." This is a gray area. It can only be said that some members of the Anbu are professional rogue ninja hunters, but the other ninjas in the village are actually allowed to earn the bounty.

Otherwise, how can we expect the Cloud Ninja and Sand Ninja to earn this kind of bounty?

It's good enough that they don't associate with rogue ninjas.

As for the ninjas from those small ninja villages and clans, it's not that we underestimate them, but we really can't think highly of them. Expecting them to capture rogue ninjas that even the Anbu finds troublesome is asking too much of them. After counting, the only ones who really have the ability to earn this bounty are our own people.

"Fine! You're the minister, you call the shots. Anyway, the special countermeasures unit is your direct subordinate. Speaking of which... you didn't actually have this in mind from the beginning, did you?"

A hint of doubt appeared in Uchiha Arashiyama's eyes.

"How could that be? You think too highly of me. I didn't think that much. I just felt that as a minister, I couldn't possibly have to relay every little thing I did down the chain of command. That would be too much of a hassle."

"Is that so? Fine! I'll take that as it is. Is there anything else?" Uchiha Arashiyama took two steps toward the door, turned his head to look at Sogen sitting behind the table, and asked, "If there's nothing else, I have a ton of work to do!"

"That's all, you can go now! Remember to tell the Kabuto team to get to work and resolve the missing persons issue as soon as possible. I also need to go out for a bit."

As they were speaking,

Zongxian also stood up and scratched his hair with his fingers while facing the glass window.

Where to go?

As Uchiha Arashiyama opened the door and walked out, he casually asked, "Going to Naka Shrine? Speaking of which, you seem to be going to the shrine quite often lately? What are you doing there?"

In the past, the Uchiha clan members liked to hold gatherings in a secret room beneath the Naka Shrine because they were ostracized by the village. However, although they haven't completely integrated into the village yet, they no longer need to hold gatherings as frequently as before. To be honest, there are hardly any people going to the shrine now if they don't hold gatherings.

"We're not going to the shrine, we're going to the Hokage Building. Let's see if we can get some funds!"

Sogen denied Uchiha Arashiyama's speculation, but did not explain what the shrine was up to.

"Songxuan? At the shrine?"

Uchiha Arashiyama's doubts deepened.

"You don't need to worry about things at the shrine. They've mainly set up a laboratory there to do some research. Akitaro and Chihaya are keeping an eye on things. You just need to focus on managing the police department. If I give you any more responsibility, I'm afraid you'll really break down."