After Seiryu became clan leader and vice-captain of the police force, due to time constraints, he only got a very simple office—just a desk and a shelf, nothing more.
This time, while he was away on a mission, the police force gave his office a small makeover.
The furniture was replaced, the files were organized, and on one side a display shelf with a set of exquisite tea sets was placed. On the other side, an antique-looking sword rack stood ready for his sword.
Seiryu placed his ninja blade on the rack and looked at the wall behind his chair—the spot he liked most.
The wall was simply decorated, with just a calligraphy scroll reading: "Clean Politics, Harmonious People."
Seiryu sat down. Soon, Fugaku sent someone to deliver the recent complaint reports.
Seiryu picked out the most frequently reported individuals and had them and their team captains brought to his office.
Soon, the office was filled with people.
Seiryu looked over the main targets of complaints—most were fresh graduates from ninja school, some even younger than him.
It made sense. The older ones knew how to protect themselves, but these new kids, filled with the Will of Fire, just did things by the book and naturally got reported by the villagers who always wanted to take advantage.
The team captains, all Uchiha, felt helpless. Under Seiryu's command, they always reminded their teams to smile and follow protocol, but the complaint rate stayed high.
Seiryu placed the complaint files in front of them.
"Vice-captain Seiryu, it's not their fault. They've all been fair and followed the rules. These complaints are all malicious," one team captain explained.
"I know. I've reviewed all your records," Seiryu said. "I'm not here to punish anyone."
He looked at the civilian ninja and asked, "How's work been these days?"
"Reporting, Vice-captain! Work's been smooth. We're honored to work for the police force!" a brave young man replied.
"Tamura Aranosuke," Seiryu checked his file, "Very good. In three days, you handled three incidents of illegal street vending and caught seven drunken troublemakers."
"Just doing my job!" Tamura said proudly.
"But your complaint rate..."
Before Seiryu could finish, Tamura's head drooped, looking dejected.
"Why the long face?" Seiryu suddenly smiled. "Here, complaints are not counted in your evaluation."
"Huh?" Tamura looked up, confused. Honestly, he had been prepared to be scolded. With a salary and bonus, and even an advanced C-rank jutsu on his first day, a little scolding was nothing. But Seiryu's words stunned him. The vice-captain wasn't here to scold them?
"Our job will always be misunderstood, but serving Konoha means we endure some grievances. Remember the Will of Fire; we are doing something great," Seiryu said, patting Tamura's shoulder.
Then Seiryu pulled out a thick red envelope and handed it over.
"Good work. This is a reward for your effort!"
He then handed out red envelopes to everyone in the room.
After finishing, he returned to his desk and continued, "I hope you'll all keep working hard to make Konoha better!"
The civilian ninja were moved, and Tamura even saluted, "Salute to Vice-captain!"
"Salute!"
After they left, Seiryu called in the next group and repeated the process.
By noon, everyone in the police force had received a red envelope. The Uchiha were used to their generous new leader, but the civilian ninja were overjoyed, and their previous frustration was swept away.
Seiryu then settled in for tea. The bonus—20,000 for captains, 10,000 for team leads, and 5,000 for regular members—cost less than three million. For the now wealthy Seiryu, it was nothing, but he knew this was only a temporary fix. To truly solve the problem, there needed to be an opportunity for these civilian ninja to vent their grievances.
As for villagers' satisfaction? Seiryu never cared about that. The policy and complaint box were just for show. Don't like it? A beating would fix them.
"Hope those two old guys don't keep me waiting," Seiryu thought as he sipped tea.
Just then, his office door was knocked.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Seiryu saw who it was and smiled.
"Shisui, just in time. I was about to look for you. Here, take this red envelope. Everyone in the police force gets one."