"First, from now on, I don't want to hear any talk of rebellion within the clan," Seiryu announced sternly.
"Eh?" The young Uchiha, who had just been full of zeal, was stunned. Shisui and Itachi, however, sighed in relief. At least Seiryu was still rational enough to know the clan couldn't rebel.
But the next moment, their hearts sank again.
"This village was originally founded by Madara and the First Hokage together. From a certain perspective, the Uchiha should be one of its rightful masters. What we need to do is reclaim our rightful power."
"That's right! This village should belong to us Uchiha too!" Inaho exclaimed fervently.
"Second, the Police Force is understaffed. Starting tomorrow, we will recruit civilian ninjas. Within a week, I want the number of Police Force members doubled. This civilian ninja will be paid at least at the D-rank mission level. Also, aside from Sharingan-related jutsu, all other clan jutsu and the spoils of war we've collected over the years will be used as rewards for outstanding ninjas." Seiryu dropped a second bombshell.
This caused an even greater uproar—even Shisui and Itachi were confused about his intentions.
If the previous matter was a nominal issue, this was cutting into their real interests.
"Quiet!" Seiryu waited until the noise died down, then said, "Most of you here serve in the Police Force. I'm sure you've all experienced this—no matter how fair we are, villagers still resent us. The Police Force seems powerful, but it's built a thick wall between us and the villagers. This is the trap the inherently evil Senju set for us!"
"If we want our power back, we must first bridge the gap with the villagers. As the First Hokage said, it's not about becoming Hokage to earn people's recognition—only with recognition can you become Hokage!"
"The Uchiha have been separated from the villagers for too long. Now, we must take the initiative to embrace them!" Seiryu's impassioned speech made even Shisui question if he had misunderstood him—wasn't this exactly what he wanted to do?
"Recruiting civilian ninjas is understandable, but aren't our jutsu too valuable to give away?" an elder asked.
"Our clan's foundation is our bloodline. As for these jutsu, they're just gathering dust in storage—better to use them as a bridge to the village," Seiryu replied.
"But Seiryu, have you considered that hiring so many civilian ninjas and paying them D-rank wages will quickly drain our finances? After all, we had to move from the village center six years ago..." Fugaku reminded him.
"Fugaku, don't worry about that. I'll get the clan the money we need," Seiryu said with a calm smile.
"As long as you have a plan. By tradition, the clan leader also serves as the Police Force captain..."
"No, no," Seiryu interrupted before Fugaku could finish, "Fugaku, please continue as Police Force captain. I have more important things to do."
"More important things?" Fugaku was puzzled.
"Of course—completing the mission the Third Hokage gave me," Seiryu smiled.
"Speaking of which, since you've taken on the investigation of Danzo and Root, shouldn't we start right away?" an elder asked.
"How can we start investigating right now?" Seiryu smiled meaningfully. "We need to give them some time."
Time to destroy evidence.
"Inaho, Zaito, starting tomorrow, you two will help me investigate Root," Seiryu said, naming the two who had always followed him.
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
…
Meanwhile, at the Root base, Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune were frantically overseeing the destruction of documents. Since they were ill-suited to fight the Uchiha, Danzo had left them at the base. They'd both had run-ins with Seiryu before and survived only by the skin of their teeth.
This time, however, they received news that Danzo was dead.
Thanks to years of brainwashing, the remaining Root ninja went about their task like machines, piling up confidential files and incinerating them with Fire Release.
After a night's work, as they were finishing up, they learned Seiryu was on his way to the base.
They exchanged a look, glanced at the still-unburned secret files, nodded, and headed outside.
Seiryu, with Inaho and Zaito, walked unhurriedly toward the Root base.
"This old turtle's den is pretty remote," Inaho grumbled.
Seiryu just smiled, then raised an eyebrow. "Speak of the devil—they're here."
With his words, blue lightning crackled around him. Insects of all kinds appeared and fell dead around them, the plants beneath their feet withering on contact.
Inaho and Zaito immediately drew kunai and took battle stances.
"Aburame ninja, didn't you learn your lesson last time? Your bugs don't work on me," Seiryu called out.
A volley of shuriken flew in response.
But as they neared Seiryu, they all stopped in midair, as if frozen.
With a bang, one of the shurikens burst into smoke—Aburame Torune appeared, kunai aimed at Seiryu's throat.