Uchiha's personal opinion

Meanwhile, the police chief and clan head, Uchiha Yomo, also felt various invisible pressures.

However, given their strength and status, they cannot use this as a reason to attack Uchiha Tokumitsu.

Left with no other choice, he had to organize a meeting at his residence with the elders of each branch of the family and high-ranking officers of the police department to discuss countermeasures.

"Gentlemen, the public opinion in the village is really unfavorable to our clan. If you have any countermeasures, please feel free to speak up."

After briefly explaining the reasons for the public opinion storm, the four clan chiefs posed the questions to the elders and high-ranking officials of the police department who were present at the meeting.

Although Elder Shasana attended the meeting, he kept his eyes closed and rested.

The Uchiha clan members present remained silent, only turning their gazes toward the perpetrator, Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"When did the Uchiha clan start to fear these rumors?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu stood up, looked around, and slowly spoke.

The radical members of the tribe nodded in agreement.

"The strength of our family is the foundation of our existence. What harm can the words of outsiders cause us?"

"As for those unpleasant words, haven't they been few and far between in the past few decades? Why are you so concerned about them now?"

"As long as the clan still has thousands of ninja soldiers, as long as they dare not bare their teeth in front of their clansmen, those opinions are nothing but the wailing of defeated dogs, so what is there to fear!"

"My seniors, please don't forget that only strength is the foundation of a ninja's survival!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu's words silenced all the clan members present.

"Besides, the existence of rumors can also help us better distinguish between enemies and allies!" Uchiha Tokumitsu said loudly. "Only those who still stand with the Uchiha under such circumstances and still advocate for the Uchiha can be considered our allies!"

"ally……"

An elder sighed.

The arrogant Uchiha clan made countless enemies, but had very few allies. Even after the rise of the ninja villages, they could only be considered allies among a handful of affiliated ninja clans with whom they had maintained kinship ties since the Warring States period.

"Unite those we can unite, and strike at those who threaten our unity. That's enough!" Uchiha Tokumitsu's words drew nods of approval from the radical clansmen once again.

Elder Sha Na also opened his eyes.

"But it's never good to always be like this. In order for the family to move forward, we still need to defuse the criticism from the public..."

The conservative elder, Michiyo, said weakly.

“Unfounded accusations cannot last long. In just a few days, the common people, busy with their livelihoods and tasks, will forget about it.”

Uchiha Tokumitsu patiently said, "As long as we don't change ourselves because of what others say, others will quickly adapt to us."

These words left Elder Michiyo somewhat dumbfounded.

Although it sounds baseless, upon closer examination, it does seem to make sense.

"Moreover, we can also throw out some bait to guide public opinion."

"Explain in detail!"

Elder Sha Na spoke for the first time.

"Recruit ninja trainees from other ethnic groups into the police force from the police training school."

Uchiha Tokumitsu offered his idea: "In this way, we can both downplay the Uchiha influence of the police department and allow civilians and minor ninja clans to see another path."

"That means following the Uchiha clan will definitely lead to a bright future!"

That's not entirely impossible; the influx of new genin-level recruits wouldn't affect the Uchiha clan, who hold power in the police department.

Although it will change the Uchiha clan's monopoly on the police department, it will also help alleviate the public opinion pressure the clan faces in the village.

The police department's top officials nodded in agreement.

After a moment's thought, Chief Uchiha Yomo also agreed.

"But in that case, the village's funding might not be enough. Will the extra funds be raised by ourselves or paid out by the family?"

Fugaku Uchiha raised his hand and asked.

"The police department is one of the village's departments after all. What's wrong with using family funds for expenditures!" Even the conservative elders couldn't sit still when it came to money.

"There are two ways to replenish the police department's funds—" Uchiha Tokumitsu stopped the argument, "fees and fines!"

This kind of topic was mentioned by Uchiha Tokumitsu at the first meeting on the reform of the police department, but the clansmen felt embarrassed at the time and simply put it aside.

But now that the police department is truly facing financial difficulties, the issue of saving face can be temporarily disregarded.

Are the fines and fees collected kept by the administrative office for its own use?

At the signal from his superior, a superintendent from the Eastern District Police Station raised his hand and asked a question.

"Absolutely not!"

Chief of Police Uchiha Yomo was furious: "All funds should be allocated centrally by the police headquarters!"

"Wouldn't that mean the police headquarters would be doing all the work for free?" said Uchiha Nakagen, the chief of the Western District Police Headquarters, with displeasure. "If we keep seizing power like this, our men below will have a lot of complaints!"

He was Uchiha Tokumitsu's father and a representative of the Uchiha clan's "father's status depends on his son's," so he didn't care about the authority of the clan head and chief.

“The revenue from fees and fines can be divided between the administrative offices and the headquarters. The funds collected by the administrative offices can be retained for their own use, and the remainder can be handed over to the headquarters for centralized allocation and use. This way, the revenue of each administrative office can be balanced…” Uchiha Tokumitsu quickly tried to smooth things over.

"But the issue of the profit-sharing ratio is..."

The Commissioner of the Eastern District Police Department couldn't sit still any longer.

"All right!"

Just as the conversation was about to escalate to the issue of dividing the money, Elder Shana had no choice but to speak up and stop it.

"What kind of decorum is this at a clan meeting! You can discuss the money distribution issue behind closed doors at the police station!"

Under the elder's imposing presence, the police department executives, who had been agitated, fell silent.

"In my opinion... radicals and conservatives are just empty titles; you're all just money-grubbers at heart!"

Elder Sha Na retorted mercilessly.

"Let's return to our initial topic..." Clan Chief Uchiha Yomo sighed, realizing that while he did have some authority, it was extremely limited. "Please, Tokumitsu-kun, continue explaining how to unite allies through the police department..."

"For example, matters like collecting fees and fines, which we just discussed, can actually be handled by new recruits in the police department. Our clansmen don't need to get involved in these matters..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu shared his thoughts: "Daily dispute mediation, neighborhood disputes, and so on can also be gradually handed over to newcomers. It is the best way for clan members to detach themselves from mundane affairs as much as possible and focus on training to improve their own strength."

"Wouldn't this cause the police department's power to fall into other hands?"

A police ninja muttered to himself.

This sentiment also reflects that of the high-ranking police officials present.

In the past, because the Uchiha clan had very little power to wield, the clan members placed particular importance on the power of the police department.

Even after the police department was restructured and its authority increased significantly, it still couldn't shake its stingy attitude in holding power anytime soon.

"Everyone, please don't forget that only strength is the foundation for the Uchiha clan's survival." Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed. "I'll say it again: if the clan can maintain the strength of over a thousand ninja soldiers, the power of the police department will never fall into other hands."

The clansmen present remained silent.

"In addition, the police department needs an operation to reverse the direction of public opinion and direct the blame towards those who maliciously attack us."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said again, "By taking decisive action to crack down on illegal activities within the village, we can shift the villagers' attention to them."

"The Hyuga clan's financial group engages in usury."

"The Shimura family's casino is very profitable and they also cheat!"

"The Nara family is hoarding medicine and driving up prices!"

"The shop owned by the dormitory supervisor is involved in forced buying and selling!"

Before long, everyone was listing the various misdeeds of the different ninja clans.

Compared to this, it seems that the actions of the Uchiha clan were not so excessive.

Why has public opinion in the past been overwhelmingly critical of the Uchiha clan and the police department?

"Then let's target the Nara family!"

Uchiha Yomo chose a target: "The price of medicine is also a topic of great concern to ordinary ninjas. Cracking down on the Nara clan's drug dealers will also help guide the public's attention."

"agree!"

The police chiefs nodded in agreement, while the elders remained noncommittal.

"Gentlemen..."

Elder Shana slowly spoke, "Please don't forget that only strength is the foundation for our survival. Don't pay too much attention to those idle gossips."

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed their heads in agreement.

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back now." Elder Shana stood up, bowed to the crowd, and scanned them one by one with his imposing eyes.

Everyone who looked at him bowed their heads in respect, except for Uchiha Tokumitsu, who seemed oblivious to everything.

"...De Guang-kun, would you like to walk with me?"

"Yes!" Uchiha Tokumitsu stood up and left with Elder Setsuna.

The two strolled slowly through the tribe's territory.

At night, the tribe's territory was quiet, and there were very few tribespeople walking around.

"You did a great job!"

Elder Sha Na broke the silence.

"Everything is thanks to the Grand Elder's guidance."

Uchiha Tokumitsu remained as respectful to the elder as ever.

"You should be given a position commensurate with your strength..." Elder Setsuna continued, "Don't forget, the position of Hokage is the goal of two generations of the family."

"……clear."

Uchiha Tokumitsu remained silent for a while before slowly replying.

"You're still young. Since you're willing to wait, it doesn't matter. So you can support whoever you want to take over, but remember to leave a place for yourself."

Elder Chan looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky.

The moon is beautiful tonight.