Fugaku couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Yusuke really is a genius."
"How does he come up with such unconventional ideas?"
Yusuke's answer was simple in his heart.
I grew up under a red flag and completed nine years of compulsory education—of course I can come up with this.
…
That afternoon, the Military Police's newly introduced jury policy was officially put into use.
Coincidentally, Konoha had a case that same day—a violent brawl between two Chūnin that ended in bloodshed.
Yusuke personally presided over the hearing while many Police Force members observed and studied from the sidelines.
For the jury, Yusuke selected twelve people at random from among the eyewitnesses.
Fights between shinobi were the most common—and the hardest—cases to judge.
Mouths clashed first, fists followed, and then both sides insisted they were right.
He said, she said.
During the entire process, Yusuke barely spoke.
The civilians participating in enforcement for the first time were driven by curiosity and unusually active.
They questioned the parties.
They gathered evidence.
They separated responsibility.
They voted on the verdict.
The case was resolved quickly.
Both instigators received punishment and were fined, the amount collected on the spot.
Neither side was satisfied.
But the resentment no longer had a place to land on the Uchiha.
After all—
The verdict had been decided by the jury.
What did it have to do with the Uchiha?
As they left the Police Force building, the two brawling shinobi glared furiously at the jurors.
Meanwhile, the jurors themselves walked tall, energized, as if they had performed some great deed.
I helped represent the Konoha Military Police today!
My life has peaked!
Sold, and still happily counting money for the seller.
That was the situation in a nutshell.
And just like that, the Uchiha changed public perception without spilling a drop of blood.
Everyone involved in the case walked away thinking—
The Uchiha weren't that hard to deal with.
They weren't even remotely as arrogant as the rumors claimed.
Under Yusuke's restraints and guidance, the jurors were deeply satisfied with the Uchiha-managed Police Force.
Being treated as honored guests by the famous Uchiha was not a privilege just anyone could enjoy.
…
Konoha Military Police Force Headquarters.
Uchiha members buzzed with amazement.
"The convicted didn't even spit at us!"
"For the first time in years!"
"So you can just watch the whole time and still handle a case like that…"
"I learned something today. I really learned something."
"Clan Head Yusuke is a genius!"
Staring after the departing jurors, several Uchiha were moved to the point of tears.
Then, as if that weren't enough, they rushed forward to praise Yusuke.
"Clan Head, your idea was brilliant!"
"Truly, the difference between people comes down to the brain!"
"As expected of the Clan Head—powerful in strength and unfathomable in wisdom!"
…
They were one step away from praising him like an endless river.
Hokage's Office.
One day later, the Konoha F4 gathered again.
Hiruzen let out a sigh and broke the silence first.
"You've all heard the news. Speak."
They had maintained constant surveillance of the Uchiha.
A reform of this magnitude was impossible to miss.
Cold light flashed in Danzo's eyes as he spoke in a low voice.
"Uchiha Fugaku… is truly useless."
He lost the Clan Head position, and now even the Police Force—once firmly under his authority—was allowing Yusuke to issue orders without resistance.
To Danzo, that was not restraint.
That was pure incompetence.
Homura and Koharu exchanged uneasy glances.
"Yusuke Uchiha harbors dangerous intentions. Hiruzen, you must not let down your guard."
Yusuke's actions created an invisible pressure that weighed on them.
In a single day, both the Clan Head's authority and the Police Force's real power had fallen into Yusuke's hands.
If this continued, what next?
Hiruzen's heart was bitter.
The Clan Head seat was one thing.
But why had the Police Force authority been handed over so willingly?
Was Fugaku under Yusuke's genjutsu?
The jury reform looked harmless to ordinary villagers.
But Hiruzen saw the true meaning at a glance.
With one "benign" policy—
The Uchiha's isolation had been shattered.
Danzo struck while the iron was hot, aiming his blade at the Uchiha again.
"Even the wisest will err."
"If you truly want to eliminate future threats…"
"Then the Uchiha must be erased."
Hiruzen shot Danzo an irritated look.
"I don't believe a word you say, you old fox."
The room fell silent.
The Uchiha problem had plagued them for a long time.
And from beginning to end—
They had never found a truly effective solution.
Without the Second Hokage's level of strength, they lacked the confidence to "tame" the Uchiha.
No matter how obedient the Uchiha appeared, the leadership could not sleep peacefully.
When Fugaku was Clan Head, at least the clan could be managed.
Now Yusuke had taken the seat—
And he clearly intended to change the game.
Their old strategy of isolating the Uchiha through public resentment had collapsed entirely.
And it had taken only one day.
What would happen next?
Even Hiruzen, a veteran of political storms, couldn't predict it.
Homura and Koharu began to argue again, voices sharpening.
"Cough."
Hiruzen cut them off with a small cough.
"Enough. I didn't call you here to listen to you quarrel."
He shook his head helplessly and took a deep drag from his pipe.
The advisors were annoyed.
And how could he not be?
He sat in the Hokage's seat—if the Uchiha issue was handled well, it was merely his duty.
If it was mishandled—
Danzo would seize it as an excuse to pressure him into stepping down.
Worse still, Yusuke's difficulty far exceeded his expectations.
Hiruzen had thought Yusuke was simply a powerful, combat-oriented shinobi.
He hadn't anticipated that Yusuke's political instincts would be just as sharp.
The jury reform was something Hiruzen couldn't stop.
Yusuke's slogan was fairness, transparency, and justice in law enforcement.
As Hokage, how could Hiruzen openly interfere with such a "positive" policy?
Hiruzen Sarutobi cherished his reputation.
That was exactly why so many people could not see through him.
If nothing unexpected happened, he wouldn't just allow the reform—
He would publicly praise it.
Even if it disgusted him inside, he wouldn't spare a single flattering word.
Without that kind of composure, how could he have remained Konoha's longest-serving ruler in practice?
He rejected Danzo's extermination proposal again—
Then turned to "educate" the two advisors with a fresh round of polished ideology.
When it came to talking—
Even all three of them combined couldn't match Hiruzen Sarutobi.
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