One month later, at the Uchiha clan head's residence.
"Old man, did you remember what I told you?"
"Brat, I'm not senile yet!"
"It's called senile dementia. Looks like the old man really is getting old."
"Old? Where did you pick up such a term, brat!"
The usual father-and-son bickering kicked off again in the Uchiha house.
"Ahem, Darling, it's almost time," Aiko interrupted appropriately upon noticing the limited time remaining. Today was an important clan meeting hosted by the Third Hokage, and it wouldn't look good for Kazushi to be late.
"I'll deal with you when I get back, you brat!"
"Tch, old man, if you had the ability, why didn't you take my Crimson Lotus Twin Dragon Fists last time?"
Shen shrugged unconcernedly. "No problem. I'm friends with their little princess anyway."
Kazushi expressed his dissatisfaction. "Brat, weren't you desperately asking me to help settle things with the Hyuga before? And this is how it ends?"
"And exactly who ended up settling it? I never agreed to that engagement with the Hyuga!"
"What do you mean? If anything, blame yourself for not explaining clearly enough!"
"I did explain! But none of you believed me!"
As the two looked about to start fighting again, Aiko and Fugaku quickly separated them.
"Let's go, Darling."
"Let's go to the training ground, Shen."
Thanks to Aiko and Fugaku's intervention, the father-son showdown was nipped in the bud, though both kept grumbling as they parted ways.
In the meeting room of the Hokage Tower, the Third Hokage frowned while looking at the wall clock.
"The Uchiha and the Hyuga, what are they doing! If they don't come soon I'm leaving!" complained the head of a minor clan sitting in a corner.
The Third Hokage thought to himself, "Not much clout, but plenty of mouth. Seems like this meeting can conveniently resolve that issue too."
"Swish!" The sound of the door opening interrupted the Third Hokage's thoughts.
All the clan heads turned their heads to look as Meide entered the meeting room accompanied by two attendants.
"It seems Old Man Kazushi hasn't arrived yet," Meide said after scanning the room, but he got interrupted by a familiar voice from outside the door just as he intended to add something.
"Old relic, I'm here now aren't I?" Looking majestic in his Uchiha coat with his hair neatly combed back, Kazushi walked into the meeting room with attendants following behind him.
"Old man, you're late!" Meide sneered coldly.
Kazushi first glanced at the wall clock before countering, "Old relic, maybe your eyesight isn't good? Huh? Technically I only just arrived on time."
As the clock hands passed three o'clock, seeing the situation, the Third Hokage immediately stood up to announce the beginning of the meeting. "Alright, let's not waste time. The clan heads of all major families in Konoha are very busy."
"Hmph!" x2
After both men snorted at each other, they took their seats along with their attendants.
"I believe everyone knows the purpose of today's meeting. So then, how should we resolve the recent issues involving the Uchiha and the Hyuga clans? Everyone may speak freely," the Third Hokage continued hosting the meeting.
"What's there to discuss? They've caused such huge troubles for the village, they need to be slapped with the harshest punishment!"
A sinister voice filled the conference room — just from the tone, anyone could tell it belonged to a master schemer.
Kazushi glanced over and saw it was Danzo Shimura, head of the Shimura Clan. He remembered the conversations he'd had with his clan members and family over the past month: whoever went after the Uchiha first was most likely the killer of Kagami Uchiha!
So, keeping his cool on the outside, he stood up and took the floor. "Honorable Hokage, on behalf of the Uchiha Clan, I extend our sincere apologies to everyone present."
After bowing deeply, he continued, "As punishment, we, the Uchiha, will voluntarily relinquish our duties in Konoha's Police Force!" Seeing the clan leaders shocked by his statement, he quickly added, "Finally, to compensate for the losses suffered by each clan, I've decided to gift each one of you a shop on the Uchiha Commercial Street!"
The Third Hokage couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, 'Now that's a clever move!' First admitting fault, then seizing the opportunity to free the Uchiha from their burdens, and finally drawing these clans into the Uchiha's commercial network under the guise of compensation — this triple-purpose strategy was truly skillfully played!
"You old fox, that's quite a sacrifice! Have the Uchiha agreed to this?"
The decisiveness Kazushi displayed amazed Meide, who praised him inwardly but still wanted to tease him verbally.
"I am the head of the Uchiha Clan. Once my words are spoken, it means they have been approved by all clan members!"
After saying this, Kazushi recalled the fierce arguments he'd had with fellow clan members over the past month. Fortunately, in the end, he managed to sway them with financial incentives; otherwise, gaining consensus to let go of the Police Force would have been impossible.
"That's absolutely impossible! The duty of the Police Force was personally assigned to your Uchiha Clan by the Second Hokage himself! Are you trying to defy the orders of the Second Hokage?" After some contemplation, Danzo fiercely rejected the idea.
"Oh? So when the Uchiha voluntarily choose to give it up, Elder Danzo interprets it as defiance of orders? Could it be that the existence of the Police Force has always been viewed as an indirect punishment towards the Uchiha?" Kazushi pointed out the loophole in the other's words.
"The Police Force certainly isn't a form of punishment! Assigning such an important position to the Uchiha was a sign of trust in your clan!" Danzo quickly reacted and began spouting nonsense.
"If it indeed was trust shown toward the Uchiha, then recently the village must have felt rather disappointed in us. In that case, wouldn't taking back this trust serve as a suitable punishment for the village? Keeping the Uchiha in charge of the Police Force surely has left many clan leaders dissatisfied, hasn't it?"
Incredible! With these three questions, Kazushi both assumed responsibility and expressed willingness to relinquish power while simultaneously stirring the other clans' envy for the Police Department. From a moral standpoint, his argument was impeccable.
"You... You..." For once, Danzo found himself unable to retort.
"It seems Elder Danzo bears deep resentment against the Uchiha. Surely there's nothing our clan has done to offend you personally, has there?" Kazushi drove another rhetorical blow.
Though these words appeared directly aimed at Danzo, all the clan leaders in attendance understood that the matter regarding the Uchiha had now reached its conclusion. Continuing to pursue the issue might only invite similar questioning from Kazushi, which undoubtedly would prove counterproductive.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage could only make one decision: "Then I, as the current Hokage, accept the resignation of the Uchiha Clan. Does anyone else here have any objections?"
All the attending clan elders nodded in agreement.
The Third Hokage let out a sigh of relief. Unlike the Second Hokage, he did not have a tendency to suspect conspiracies everywhere. He would never look down on the entire Uchiha Clan just because of someone like Madara Uchiha — he understood perfectly how to tell the difference between an individual and the whole clan.
Moreover, the situation in Amegakure was still shrouded in mystery — the kind that could easily spark a war. At a time like this, maintaining peace and stability within the village was the most important matter.
"As for the duties of the Police Force, any clan interested may discuss them privately after the meeting. As of today, the Police Force will officially fall under the village's control. Does anyone present have any objections?"
All the clan leaders shook their heads at once, showing they had no objections.
"Excellent!"
The Third Hokage nodded satisfactorily.
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