At night, the lanterns of Ichiraku Ramen swayed at the street corner.
Satoshi lifted the curtain, and a wave of hot air mixed with the aroma of tonkotsu ramen wafted out.
Teuchi tried his best to open his eyes wide, greeting him.
Satoshi scanned the area but didn't find Naruto. He probably got his living expenses and went to buy limited edition instant ramen.
Satoshi lightly tapped the counter and said, "Uncle, the usual. Double char siu."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
A few minutes later, the tonkotsu ramen was placed in front of Satoshi.
The moment Satoshi took his first bite of the ramen, his smile instantly froze. This made Teuchi break out in a cold sweat.
Could it be that his ramen skills had a problem, and he could no longer satisfy his customers' taste buds?
That would be terrible.
In fact, the ramen tasted very good. It was just that the various Anbu and Root members hidden in the shadows made Satoshi feel like he couldn't even take off his pants to go to the bathroom.
"Is there something wrong with the ramen? If it's not good, I'll make you another bowl."
"Today's char siu..." Satoshi deliberately drew out the end of his sentence. "...is still top-notch."
Teuchi breathed a sigh of relief and handed Satoshi a complimentary drink and side dishes.
Satoshi quickly finished his ramen, left the money, and swiftly departed the small shop.
Seeing Satoshi emerge, two teams from Root and Anbu followed closely behind.
When they saw him heading in the direction of Naruto's home, their excitement grew.
Torune was even considering whether to first break Satoshi's hands to prevent him from using strange Ninjutsu to endanger Konoha's safety.
Of course, his eyeballs could also be gouged out, Danzo-sama needed those.
Just as he was about to organize his men to ambush Satoshi, Satoshi suddenly changed direction and went to the neighboring small shop to buy a few skewers of dango.
And then… he just leisurely walked back.
"Tsk, that brat."
Torune was quite annoyed. Even though he was confident that his surveillance skills were superb and Satoshi absolutely couldn't have discovered him, he still felt like he had been played.
To take such a long detour just to eat a skewer of dango, are you trying to die?
High up in a tree more than ten meters away, Kakashi and Tenzo swallowed their dinner for the day, a foul-tasting military ration pill.
If all is well, then that's for the best.
When the time comes, clock out on time.
Nothing happened tonight, just listen to the sounds of the red-light district.
No.
Just eat some late-night snack and go home to rest.
Over the next few days, Anbu and Root conducted 24-hour, comprehensive surveillance on Satoshi.
As long as he stepped out of the Uchiha compound gate, he would be targeted by these masked individuals.
Satoshi felt annoyed just thinking about it. He kicked a small stone on the ground.
The stone drew a graceful arc and then hit Inaho, who had just finished his patrol.
"Damn it, who was that?"
Inaho, who was scolding a vendor for obstructing the road, suddenly turned around, the Konoha Military Police Force's emblem gleaming coldly in the setting sun.
Satoshi quickly went up to him, saying with an embarrassed expression, "I'm really sorry, Inaho-senpai, are you hurt?"
Inaho was about to curse, but seeing who it was, he immediately put on a smiling face.
"It's nothing." Inaho said, putting his arm around Satoshi's shoulder. "Let's go eat yakiniku tonight, my treat."
Satoshi was a very principled person. If the meal was free, he would definitely go. If the food was good, he would even pack some to go.
"Then Inaho-senpai, you're too generous."
Soon, the two arrived at the yakiniku restaurant, where someone was already waiting. He looked fierce and was also wearing the Security Department's uniform.
"Tekka-senpai."
"Sit down, order whatever you want to eat, don't save me money."
Satoshi scratched his white hair. You guys said that, so don't cry later.
This was the most expensive yakiniku restaurant in Konoha. Eating a full meal here would probably bankrupt Satoshi on the spot.
In a short while, all the yakiniku was served.
The fat from the yakiniku dripped onto the charcoal fire, making a pleasant sizzling sound.
Watching Satoshi devour the food like a whirlwind, Tekka and Inaho both swallowed their saliva.
This child, Satoshi, was he usually living too miserably?
"Inaho, didn't the elders ask you to give Satoshi some money? Did you embezzle it?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I only covet the money of rich people."
"Then what's going on? Satoshi looks like he hasn't eaten in eight lifetimes."
Inaho scratched his head. It didn't matter, he would find an excuse to get reimbursed by the clan head later.
Time passed bit by bit.
Satoshi single-handedly devoured the yakiniku.
Inaho and Tekka, on the other hand, ate the complimentary side dishes and drank sake sip by sip.
After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, Satoshi had eaten enough and began to listen to Inaho and Tekka, the two working stiffs, complain.
"The Police Force's work is getting harder and harder. It's clearly these people causing trouble in groups, and in the end, we still get blamed."
"This month, because of issues with violent enforcement, we don't even know how many complaints we've received."
At this point, Inaho lowered his voice and looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping before continuing.
"Some guys have already complained to Hokage-sama, and clan head Fugaku was even invited for a talk."
"It is said that several small ninja clans who wished to remain anonymous jointly suggested the establishment of a Police Force Oversight Committee."
At this, the two sighed in unison, then raised their cups and drank them dry.
All three of them knew clearly that "invited for a talk" meant being held accountable.
At this moment, Satoshi suddenly asked, "Then what did clan head Fugaku say?"
"The clan head said to trust Hokage-sama, that he would definitely investigate the matter thoroughly. He also reminded us to be 'warm' when enforcing the law and such."
Satoshi said, "Oh."
This indeed sounded like something the wavering Fugaku would say.
If he had been more decisive, the Uchiha wouldn't have fallen to this point today.
Tekka scoffed, "What's this about 'warmth'? Those villagers were operating on the street, obstructing traffic. I went to stop them, and he punched me twice."
"As soon as I was about to draw my sword, the brat lied on the ground playing dead, insisting I beat him."
"What can I do?"
Inaho shook his head helplessly. "And those who steal, those who rob. When they get caught, they bite us back, and those tricky people who lost their belongings don't even say a word for us."
"That arrested scoundrel even said we forced a confession."
Tekka and Inaho spoke one after another.
They were mainly talking about one thing: the Police Force's work was simply impossible.
Usually, they put in a lot of effort, only to end up pleasing no one.
Later, the Police Force became less dedicated, leading to increasingly severe security problems in the village.
[As the one who established the Police Force, you should protect the villagers of Konoha. This is the duty of a Hokage.]
[Side Quest: Resolve the current problems faced by the Police Force as soon as possible and eliminate the village's security risks.]
Hearing the prompt, Satoshi pondered for a while.
Aside from getting personally involved, there didn't seem to be any suitable method.
Moreover, the Police Force also bore the heavy responsibility of patrolling.
With this reason, wouldn't it be reasonable to go anywhere?
Thinking this, Satoshi leaned closer to the two clan members, who reeked of alcohol.
"I want to join the Police Force."
Upon hearing this, Tekka and Inaho looked at Satoshi with the gaze one would give an idiot.
Are you okay?