The moment all the Uchiha shops opened that morning, they discovered something strange—the patrolling Police Force had changed. The familiar Uchiha shinobi were gone, replaced by unfamiliar strangers.
These men all wore cold, expressionless faces, nothing like the approachable Uchihas.
The more well-informed shopkeepers soon found out the truth. These newcomers were former Root operatives, who previously patrolled the First through Fourth Streets.
"What's going on? Our Uchiha Police Force was doing perfectly fine. Why replace them?"
Some shopkeepers grumbled, and a few even went to lodge complaints with the Police Force office.
But they found that Hyūga Hizashi was nowhere to be seen. In his place was an older member of the Hyūga clan.
This elder seemed unfamiliar with Police Force affairs and clearly had no intention of explaining things to the common folk. With arrogance, he merely said, "This is a routine adjustment in the Police Force."
Then he waved his hand, dismissing them without another word.
The shopkeeper walked out fuming. How could this Hyūga be so arrogant?
On his way back, he ran into Hyūga Yūto.
Yūto had made himself known during the previous incident with Jiraiya, and many villagers now recognized him.
The shopkeeper grabbed him, complaining, "Why isn't Lord Hizashi in the complaint office anymore?"
"You have no idea how rude that old man inside was. He wouldn't even look me in the eye!"
Yūto quickly hushed him. "Keep your voice down—that's a member of the Main House."
The shopkeeper lowered his tone, whispering, "Why is a Main House Hyūga involved in the Police Force?"
Glancing around, Yūto muttered, "That's not for a branch member like me to say. Lord Hizashi has been recalled to the compound. The Police Force is now under Main House control."
The shopkeeper frowned. "Then when will the Uchiha be reinstated in the Police Force? You don't know how unsettling it is. These Root people—they're so cold and hostile, they don't look trustworthy at all."
Yūto could only spread his hands helplessly. "There's nothing I can do. Without Lord Hizashi here, my hands are tied."
Left with no choice, the shopkeeper stormed off angrily.
Meanwhile, across Konoha's Eighth Street, shopkeepers who had been brushed off at the Police Force office returned and opened their stores as usual.
The Root patrolmen began their rounds. At first, the Uchiha shopkeepers thought little of it.
But over time, they noticed something wrong.
The Root operatives circled constantly in front of Uchiha-owned shops, lingering and watching.
As a result, many customers avoided entering these establishments altogether, unwilling to deal with Root shinobi.
When shopkeepers tried to reason with the patrols, explaining that such heavy surveillance was unnecessary, they were ignored. Worse, any sign of defiance from an Uchiha shopkeeper resulted in immediate arrest.
From the shadows of the street corner, Danzō watched with a cold smile.
He had once dismissed these petty businesses as beneath him.
But after his agents reported the staggering profits these Uchiha-run eateries generated, he began to take them seriously.
If those shops became his, funding for his research would never run dry.
No more dependence on the Third Hokage for resources. No more restrictions.
Even if Hiruzen refused to approve Root's official revival, the title alone meant nothing—Danzō would already have everything he needed.
Which meant—every last Uchiha shop had to be his.
Today's move was only the first test. More methods would follow. He had plenty of time.
What he didn't know was that the Uchiha already had a countermeasure in place.
After receiving Hizashi's warning, and then the reports about the Police Force changes, Fugaku was quickly informed by Uchiha shopkeepers as well.
Within just a few hours, information from all channels reached him, and Fugaku had already made his decision.
Soon, in every Uchiha-owned shop, a clan member entered, exchanged a series of prearranged hand signals with the owner, and departed.
Moments later, Root operatives snooping nearby began to notice strange happenings. In every shop, something had suddenly broken—stoves failed, water pipes burst, supplies were spoiled.
The shopkeepers apologized profusely to the waiting customers.
"Dear customers, we're terribly sorry. Our kitchen equipment has been damaged, and we can no longer serve food today. We'll have to close for now."
Disappointment rippled through the crowd.
"What? I've been waiting in line for an hour just to eat your spicy crayfish!"
"Yeah! I came early in the morning just to try it. What exactly broke? I can fix it—please don't close!"
The shopkeeper bowed deeply. "As compensation, every customer still in line will receive a coupon for three catties of spicy crayfish, redeemable another day."
Three catties was no small gift—worth hundreds of ryō.
Though the customers complained, most accepted the coupons and gradually dispersed.
The villager who had offered to repair the equipment was pulled aside.
"Listen," the shopkeeper whispered. "Nothing is broken. We're closing because we have no choice."
The villager blinked. "You'd willingly turn away business?"
The shopkeeper merely jerked his chin toward the door. Outside, several Root operatives loitered nearby.
The villager caught on quickly. The shopkeeper gave him a knowing look, and he left quietly, coupon in hand.
Thus, under Root's watchful eyes, every Uchiha-owned shop shut its doors.
The villagers, denied their meals, shot suspicious glances at the Root shinobi.
The operatives noticed but dismissed it as unimportant. They dutifully reported the entire incident to Danzō.
Danzō waved it off coolly. "It's fine. They're businessmen. Eventually, they'll reopen. There's no rush."
But the Uchihas had settled in for the long game.
At first, Danzō assumed the shops would reopen within a day or two. He never expected that the wealthy, bustling establishments would remain closed for a full seven days.
Seven days of endless customers leaving disappointed, seven days of lost profits.
Danzō grew restless. The Hyūga Main House Elder grew even more anxious.
He had originally pushed Hizashi aside, taking over the Police Force position after Danzō dangled an honorary elder's seat as bait.
But what was meant to be a simple power exchange had spiraled into disaster. Every single Uchiha eatery had shut down.
Not only were their supplies blocked, but other problems loomed as well.
These restaurants had boosted commerce across the entire street in recent years. Even the Hokage himself had praised the prosperity of Eighth Street.
Now, with all Uchiha restaurants closed, the district's foot traffic visibly plummeted.
Before the Uchiha even spoke up, non-Uchiha shopkeepers on the street flooded the Hokage with letters of complaint.
The Main House Elder had stirred up trouble, and though people initially went to him to address their grievances, they were met only with scorn and insults.
In the end, they bypassed the Police Force entirely and lodged their complaints directly with the Hokage.
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