Shindai handed over the business to Hikaku Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi. Although Hikaku hadn't agreed yet, it was fine—sooner or later, if she kept pestering Hikaku long enough, she would eventually say yes.
Shindai arrived alone at his lab.
"Huff," he exhaled. "Next, I'll continue researching magnetic fields. Last time, when the positive and negative magnetic fields attracted each other and made contact, the resulting power was quite impressive. If studied further, it might even serve as a method for dealing with the Nine-Tails..."
Without delay, Shindai dove into his research. Time waited for no one.
Inside Shindai's Dream Workshop.
Hikaku Uchiha was lying around like a couch potato, her head resting on the table.
Something felt... off.
She was supposed to be observing the Uchiha clan, but come to think of it… truthfully, she hadn't actually observed them at all so far.
It was all Shindai's fault—she'd completely forgotten about her duties because of her.
Well, whatever. She'd observe them later when she had time. It wouldn't matter much either way for now.
Meanwhile, at Minato Namikaze's house.
To better take care of Kushina Uzumaki, Pakura had taken some time off.
After all, ever since Minato became Hokage, he'd been working regular nine-to-five hours, often with overtime sprinkled in—he simply couldn't take care of Kushina properly anymore.
And now that Kushina was pregnant, she definitely needed special attention. Leaving her home alone wasn't safe at all.
At this moment, Minato Namikaze was sitting in his office reading through intelligence reports gathered by Root.
Looking at these documents, Minato's brows furrowed tightly.
That explains why Hiruzen Sarutobi had said to let Danzo go this time. Without Hiruzen's words, Minato would've surely taken action against Danzo himself.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door.
"Come in."
The office door opened, revealing Fugaku Uchiha.
As Fugaku entered, he greeted the Fourth Hokage: "Fourth Hokage."
Minato placed the documents he was holding onto the desk and said to Fugaku Uchiha, "Fugaku, Root has already been disbanded."
Upon hearing this, Fugaku felt a surge of joy within him. With Root gone, Danzo was now powerless in Konoha. This meant no obstacles remained to improving relations between the Uchiha clan and the village.
Minato continued, "Therefore, reforms to the Konoha Military Police Force will begin next. Starting tomorrow, Fugaku, please arrange for Uchiha clan members willing to accept these reforms to begin their new assignments. I will assign them to various departments throughout Konoha, while also recruiting new ninjas into the police force.
When that time comes, please work closely with the deputy commander of the police force and avoid any unexpected incidents. As the saying goes, every beginning is tough. If serious problems occur early on, things could become very troublesome later."
Fugaku Uchiha solemnly replied, "Fourth Hokage, rest assured. I will absolutely keep them under control and ensure no incidents occur. May I ask, Fourth, who will be the new deputy commander?"
Minato Namikaze replied, "Originally, my first choice was Shikaku's, but since Root is undergoing disbandment and reorganization, setting up a new Anbu training division without a suitable leader yet, we've temporarily assigned Shikaku to that position. Therefore, as for the deputy captain of the Military Police Force, I'm planning to appoint Yamanaka Inoichi."
"Yamanaka Inoichi? That seems like a good choice."
During the Third Great Ninja War, Fugaku Uchiha had fought alongside the Ino–Shika–Cho trio, and he held very positive impressions of its three members.
Inoichi's personality was humble, gentlemanly, and easygoing. Fugaku Uchiha believed he could get along well with Yamanak Inoichi in the future.
After discussing some details with Fugaku Uchiha, Minato Namikaze left to make preparations.
...
Time passed quickly, and three months went by.
The reform of the Konoha Military Police Force had been preliminarily completed under the joint efforts of Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha.
The Konoha Military Police Force was no longer a clan-affiliated unit exclusively for the Uchiha clan; more than half of its members were now from other ninja families.
Fugaku Uchiha personally took charge of implementing the reforms within the police force. He told his clansmen that these changes were based on his own initiative and had been proposed to Minato Namikaze.
This way, the more extreme members of the Uchiha clan wouldn't blame Minato Namikaze for these reforms.
Meanwhile, if any Uchiha clansmen attempted to cause trouble, Fugaku Uchiha would deal with them using extremely strict disciplinary measures, showing not the slightest mercy.
After a period of reform within the Konoha Military Police Force, many Uchiha clan members had already noticed its benefits and came to believe Fugaku Uchiha's approach was correct.
Although the reforms were still in their early stages, the sense of isolation had already started to fade away.
Fugaku Uchiha was deeply pleased by this shift in his clansmen's attitudes.
However, there were still matters that troubled Fugaku Uchiha—some of the more extreme members of the clan remained unchanged and occasionally clashed with other ninja within the police force.
Still, under the firm control of Fugaku Uchiha as clan leader, their behavior had become significantly more restrained.
Currently, Fugaku Uchiha was preparing to gradually remove those extreme elements from within the ranks of the Military Police Force.
As for the Uchiha clan members who supported the reforms, Minato Namikaze had properly arranged placements for all of them, assigning them to various departments throughout Konoha where they performed exceptionally well.
The Uchiha clan was clearly moving in a positive direction.
The disbanded Root ninja posed certain difficulties, as these ninja lacked independent thought and remained loyal only to Danzo. With no alternative available, Minato Namikaze could do nothing but temporarily integrate them into the newly established Anbu training division.
As for the researchers previously affiliated with Root, they had joined the already established Scientific Research Division and became researchers under Orochimaru's command.
Orochimaru had already begun conducting research at the base of the Scientific Research Division.
However, Shindai chose not to go with them.
That was because the experiment he was currently conducting could sometimes get quite loud—sudden explosions were common occurrences. Therefore, Shindai stayed behind in the former underground lab to continue his intense research.
Over the past three months, Shindai had been leaving home early and returning late at night. At times, he even stayed overnight in the lab for several days straight, until Hikaku Uchiha personally came to haul him back home.
Fearing that Shindai might collapse from exhaustion, Hikaku Uchiha worried he could suddenly fall ill in the lab.
Meanwhile, Pakura had been taking good care of Kushina Uzumaki, who was already five months pregnant; her belly was noticeably round by now.
As for Shindai's Dream Workshop, over the past three months, it had received occasional visitors but hadn't sold a single puppet.
Hikaku Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi were truly doing nothing more than guarding the shop. When customers arrived, at most Kabuto Yakushi would give a reluctant "Welcome."
As for offering explanations or introductions? That was completely out of the question—they still had their pride, after all. The automated speaker set up by Shindai, which repeated announcements nonstop, was more than sufficient.
Just as Hikaku Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi thought the day would pass like any other, a man skulked into the shop—he appeared to be around Shindai's age and wore dark glasses.
This person turned out to be none other than Ebisu.
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