Uchiha's personal opinion

Akimichi Torifu asked again, "Didn't you used to hold onto power so tightly that you wouldn't give me and Kagami any chance to participate? Why have you suddenly become so generous?"

The leaders of the three tribes—pig, deer, and butterfly—remained silent.

They didn't know how to respond to that.

We can't just say that the pressure from the alliance between Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo was too great, and that we had no choice but to compromise with you, sir, can we?

Besides, when Akimichi Torifu was "forced into retirement," the younger generation of the three clans did a lot of work to persuade him.

"Forget it... anyway, you've all been brainwashed by Hiruzen's Will of Fire, so you won't get anything out of me!"

Akimichi Tokifu snorted coldly.

He was also one of Tobirama Senju's students, so he naturally understood the true meaning of the Will of Fire and was even more aware of what the higher-ups, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, had injected into the Will of Fire.

"As long as you don't forget that family is the foundation, it doesn't matter what you believe in!"

Akimichi Torifu swallowed a large hamburger in one gulp and grumbled, "Fine, I'm too lazy to make things difficult for you juniors. Just go back and tell Hiruzen I agree!"

"Yes, sir! Senior Feng, I shall take my leave!"

The three clan leaders, Pig, Deer, and Butterfly, felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and left after repeatedly bowing in respect.

“Village…family…”

Suddenly, Akimichi Torifu sprang up and swept all the dishes on the table to the ground.

"A person who has forgotten his roots!"

"Humph!"

Chapter 177 The Beginning of a Giant

Uchiha Tokumitsu's speech at the reform meeting spread throughout Konoha in a short time, which earned him a large number of admirers among the senior Chunin.

In the context of Konoha, the term "veteran Chunin" refers to a group of cannon fodder Chunin who are reasonably strong but have no way to advance in rank. Most of them come from wartime and survived on the battlefield by luck or personal will, earning the Chunin rank through their battle merits. However, due to limitations in their own aptitude or resources, their strength cannot continue to improve, and they can only make a living by performing low- to mid-level missions.

Uchiha Tokumitsu's speech, in which he proposed the "three major responsibilities," deeply touched a chord within them.

The police preparatory school's open attitude towards the spread of ninjutsu during its educational phase also indirectly confirms that Uchiha Tokumitsu's statement was not entirely a false pretense.

In terms of identity and group characteristics, they are exactly the same as the pseudo-middle class in their previous life—possessing certain skills but not indispensable, having certain strength but no opportunity to further improve, and having a certain status but unable to pass it down through generations.

Even the slightest mishap, such as being injured and forced to withdraw from active duty during a mission, being taken away by Root for investigation due to overly radical remarks, or offending a junior ninja from a powerful clan, could severely impact their lives.

Therefore, the senior Chunin of Konoha are very anxious.

But at least Uchiha Tokumitsu's words gave them hope, a hope to maintain their lineage and even have a chance to go further.

And the most expensive thing in the world is hope.

Having lived a life in finance in his previous life, Uchiha Tokumitsu naturally knew which groups of people his scythe could harvest.

Originally, the forces under Sakumo Hatake's command were a large and chaotic group. After the reorganization, with certain rules and regulations in place, the composition of the group was at least "purified" to some extent. Moreover, the Reform Association adopted an application system for membership, meaning that almost any Konoha ninja could apply for membership after understanding the Reform Association's rules. This also facilitated the rapid expansion of the Reform Association.

This gave Uchiha Tokumitsu a perfect opportunity to intervene.

The Jonin of the Reform Society were Sakumo Hatake's core base, and these people only needed to be maintained in a positive manner without much contact; however, the large number of Chunin were people who could be recruited.

The logistics escort work for the smuggling business that Uchiha Tokumitsu had promised to give to Hatake Sakumo was tailor-made for these people.

However, winning people's hearts is not something that can be done overnight, so Uchiha Tokumitsu patiently laid out his plans and quietly waited for the day when he would reap the rewards.

……

Within Konoha, the controversy surrounding the 30-year-old proposal for a thorough investigation is growing.

Many ninja families have even begun petitioning the Hokage Building, claiming to be "victims of Root," demanding an investigation into the darkness within Root, causing the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, considerable distress.

He also felt extremely frustrated!

"Yan! How's the establishment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs going?"

Enraged, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, convened a meeting with Homura Mitokado, who had been entrusted with establishing the Department of Internal Affairs.

"The personnel have only been in place for a short time, but there haven't been suitable locations for secret sites and safe houses yet. The police department has far too many informants..."

As a special mission agency, the Ministry of the Interior, in addition to training facilities, also needs to set up special institutions such as detention centers, interrogation rooms, and intelligence analysis and processing centers.

However, since the Internal Affairs Department is essentially an organization that is unrelated to the other departments of Konoha and is nominally "illegal," its offices and premises cannot have any connection with Konoha departments such as the Anbu.

After the reforms, the police department established three major police stations in Konoha, further limiting the Ministry of Internal Affairs' options for choosing a location.

"If all else fails, let's set it up in the Forest of Death..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also had a headache.

After all, following the police department's reforms, even the operations of the undercover units are now subject to various forms of intentional and unintentional surveillance and spying by the police administration.

"I understand……"

Although setting up the secret location in the Death Forest had many inconveniences, Mitokado Yanagi knew it was the best option at the moment.

"There's another reason I called you here. I need to investigate those ninja families who made illegal petitions. Is there someone maliciously instigating and colluding behind them...?"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said with a gloomy face.

The reason for using the Ministry of the Interior, whose mechanisms were not yet fully developed, was that it was really difficult to mobilize the secret service under the very nose of the Ministry of Police.

Moreover, he hasn't yet figured out how to get rid of those second-generation veterans in the Dark Division, so he can't guarantee the "purity" of the Dark Division team.

"...I secretly sent mountain ninjas to hypnotize a few people."

Mitomon Homura replied in a deep voice, "They felt that the village's control had become too lax, so they started petitioning on their own initiative."

"spontaneous……"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was taken aback at first, then gave a wry smile.

"Danzo did go a bit too far in some of his actions..."

Mitokado Yan added a sentence without saying a word.

"understood……"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took a few vicious puffs of his pipe.

"Hiruzen, what are your plans for handling the review proposal?"

Mitokado Hōrō lowered her eyelids. "I'm afraid we can't delay any longer..."

"The Daimyo will send a special envoy to announce a general amnesty for all past offenses!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained silent for a while before speaking softly.

"what!"

Mitomon was terrified.

He had no idea that this matter was actually related to Da Ming.

"Hiruzen! The village's ninjas are extremely resentful of the daimyo interfering with the ninja village! Aren't you...?"

"Do you have any other good ideas?"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, interrupted Homura Mitokado, "Do we really have to investigate? If we investigate thoroughly, are we really going to find out nothing wrong?"

"even so……"

Mitokado Homura was a bit overwhelmed. "Hiruzen, you should have discussed this with us..."

"No!"

The third generation head shook his head. "This time, it was the daizami's minister who took the initiative to propose it, and the special envoy is the daizami's eldest son..."

"The eldest son of a daimyo..."

Mitokado Yan was also somewhat stunned.

This is equivalent to the next Daimyo arriving in Konoha to personally resolve the proposal controversy.

"Although it might damage one's prestige, it's still a solution, isn't it..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sighed.

Seeing his exhausted appearance, Mitokado Yan didn't say anything more.

After Mitokado Homura left, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stared blankly at the office door.

There was one more thing he hadn't told anyone: the Daimyo had secretly commissioned the Sarutobi clan to train so-called "servant ninjas," which were essentially guardian ninjas with a different title, and they were to be secretly granted the status of Konoha ninjas.

This kind of thing is like Pandora's box; once opened, it will inevitably cause trouble.

If a daimyo possesses a well-organized ninja force, the conflict with the ninja villages will inevitably escalate.

But he has already agreed.

The alliance between Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo was putting immense pressure on him...

……

Upon learning that the Fire Country's special envoy would arrive in Konoha to announce the "mediation" proposal, Uchiha Tokumitsu merely snorted and dismissed the matter with a "making a mountain out of a molehill."

After receiving the notification from the Hokage Building, Hatake Sakumo sat in the Jonin team office for an entire afternoon, and no one knew what he was thinking or doing.

At the same time, the Hokage Building also sent a notice to the commanders of the other three border armies, asking them to return to their villages to attend a meeting.

Public opinion in the village shifted once again, from whether a thorough investigation was necessary to whether the daimyo's mediation was legal, and the two opposing factions of ninjas began attacking each other again.

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu firmly believed that verbal criticism was no match for the clash of weapons, so he did not get involved in the village's public opinion debates. Instead, when the daimyo's special envoy convened a mediation meeting, he once again put on his battle vest and carried the great sword Samehada to show his stance.

Hatake Sakumo was also wearing a combat vest and carrying the White Fang short sword that made him famous, but it didn't look as eye-catching as Samehada that Uchiha Tokumitsu carried.

The reason why Uchiha Tokumitsu carried Samehada to the meeting was to "show off his martial arts skills".

Uchiha Himon and Mimura Yoru followed behind the two, while Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the newly appointed commander of the Northern Border Army, stood on the other side, simply watching the four of them huddled together.

……

In the Hokage Building conference room, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, introduced the commanders of the various border armies to the special envoy of the Land of Fire and the eldest son of the Daimyo.

"Jonin Sakumo Hatake, the Jonin Class Leader and Chairman of the Reform Association!"

"Commander of the Eastern Border Defense Forces, Senior Assistant Chief of Police, and Director-General of the Reform Association, Jonin Uchiha Tokumitsu!"