Orochimaru's rise to power went very smoothly.
The death of the Third Hokage was deliberately played down. Ordinary residents were too busy with their daily lives to care much, genin preferred Orochimaru because he could bring victories, and no one among the middle and upper ranks seriously pursued the matter of the Third Hokage's death.
At the Jōnin Council, Orochimaru received almost unanimous support.
Those who opposed him were treated like clowns.
In the Fire Capital, Tsunade accompanied Orochimaru.
After the daimyō cautiously confirmed that Tsunade supported Orochimaru, he immediately expressed one hundred percent approval.
There was no helping it.
To the daimyō, Tsunade possessed the natural bloodline suppression of an elder sister.
Even though the daimyō was two years older than Tsunade, when they met as children, he had been beaten by her more than once and had even been forced into accepting the role of her little brother.
Throughout the entire formal process of appointing the Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Yoru never appeared.
He focused all his attention on the Uchiha clan, dealing with the countless troublesome matters inside the family.
Logically speaking, Uchiha Yoru had already beaten Uchiha Fugaku into submission and become the strongest person in Konoha.
If he had simply followed the normal procedure and become clan head, there should have been no trouble at all.
But Uchiha Yoru had no intention of following the normal procedure.
The moment he returned to Konoha, he openly and unambiguously announced that he intended to carry out major reforms within the Uchiha clan.
Major reform meant touching everyone's share of the cake.
It meant changing the environment everyone was accustomed to.
Naturally, people became uneasy.
This was especially true for the direct-line families who controlled the overwhelming majority of the clan's interests.
They weren't familiar with Uchiha Yoru, so opposition remained quite strong.
Even the attitudes of Elders Uchiha Yūichirō and Uchiha Yūya, who had originally belonged to Yoru's faction, changed because of this.
They stood together with the final hardline elder, Uchiha Shihō, and opposed Yoru's large-scale restructuring of the clan system.
Then they learned what it meant for someone to be the strongest shinobi in Konoha.
It meant—
An irresistible force!
The three of them combined couldn't withstand a single glance from Uchiha Yoru.
Ever since being looked at once by those three interlocking rings of his Mangekyō Sharingan, all the objections in their hearts became impossible to voice in any situation.
Uchiha Yoru was not Uchiha Madara.
His attitude toward the Uchiha clan was relatively detached.
And toward the clan leadership in particular, he was outright unfriendly.
If you listened—
Then they could speak properly.
If you refused to listen—
Then you simply didn't need to speak anymore.
Besides, the reforms Yoru intended to carry out benefited more than ninety percent of the Uchiha clan.
The genuine opponents were only a tiny handful.
Behind those three elders, the only people who would truly lose benefits were their direct blood relatives.
Even their subordinates would gain considerable benefits from the redistribution.
And these benefits were systematically planned by the new clan head.
Everyone could receive them while standing upright.
There was no need to bow and scrape or beg for favors.
For Uchiha shinobi, who were proud to their bones, that was the greatest temptation of all.
The three elders, forcibly silenced, could only watch helplessly as their factions collapsed.
Their determination continuously weakened.
Eventually, even their youngest children and grandchildren began shouting slogans like—
"Restore the glory of the Uchiha!"
And joined Clan Head Uchiha Yoru's side.
After enduring more than a month of torment, the three elders finally gave in and accepted the clan head's reforms.
And at the very instant they genuinely admitted defeat in their hearts—
They discovered they could speak again.
That completely broke them.
Uchiha Yūichirō muttered,
"If Madara had possessed this kind of method back then, maybe he wouldn't have been driven out."
Uchiha Shihō sighed.
"Yeah."
"You really have no choice but to submit."
He was reading through the new rules governing the Elder Council.
The more he read, the more shocked he became.
And the more impressed he became.
Over this one month, Uchiha Yoru had completely redistributed the clan's financial resources, material resources, and manpower.
He had even divided up the clan head's authority.
The elders' collective authority had actually expanded considerably.
But because collective decision-making was strengthened, very little authority was concentrated in any single elder's hands.
Uchiha Yoru's own authority was also drastically reduced.
It was even far weaker than Uchiha Fugaku's had been two months earlier.
Above Yoru stood clan regulations that he himself had established.
An entire administrative team existed to constrain him.
His money was limited.
His authority was limited.
He even had to accept supervision from an annual clan assembly.
To put it bluntly—
Even without him as clan head, the Uchiha clan could continue functioning.
Uchiha Yoru's current authority depended on his personal strength, his wartime prestige, and the tremendous admiration the younger generation held for his way of doing things.
He had gone from being a clan head capable of managing every individual in the family—
To a clan head who could only passively serve the clan members.
Uchiha Shihō sighed.
"I really don't understand."
"What exactly is Uchiha Yoru trying to achieve?"
…
Uchiha Yoru heard the exact same question from Miwa Masayo.
He answered without hesitation,
"Obviously, I'm doing it so I can be lazy."
The calico cat tilted her head.
"Meow?"
Yoru laughed and asked,
"Rika-chan, you know me."
"What do I want?"
"I know, meow."
"You've been telling me for four years, meow."
The calico cat stretched out one white paw and counted one by one.
"Good food, good wine, safety, and immortality."
Yoru praised her.
"Exactly right."
"Which one of those requires political power?"
Miwa Masayo thought for a moment.
She raised one paw and tentatively answered,
"Everything except immortality, meow?"
"Meow!"
Uchiha Yoru covered the calico cat's head with his hand.
"Stupid cat."
"Can I be compared to those useless nobles?"
"Tell me, who can cook better food than I can?"
"Seems like no one, meow."
"Yoru's food is the best, meow."
"Then who can brew better alcohol than I can?"
"I don't know, meow."
"I don't drink alcohol, meow."
"Uh…"
"Then tell me, who in the shinobi world is stronger than me right now?"
"Seems like no one, meow."
"Exactly."
"What I need is merely enough authority to get people to help with errands."
"The authority I have now is more than enough."
"Any more would be useless."
"Instead of wasting time competing for even more power, I'd rather spend that time cultivating."
"Even playing with you would be better."
"Really, meow?"
"Then let's go play together, meow!"
"…"
"Not yet."
"I still need to reform the Police Force next."
"That's actually a pretty troublesome job."
"Then work hard, meow."
"But, meow…"
"I want braised fish tonight."
"Spicy flavor, meow."
"Lots and lots of chili, meow."
"Rika-chan, your tastes are getting heavier and heavier."
"You don't act like a ninja cat at all anymore."
"Is that really okay?"
"Yoru, you've checked me before."
"There's definitely nothing wrong, meow."
"…"
"You're becoming more and more human."
"Maybe that's a good thing."
…
The next day—
Uchiha Yoru gathered all of the Police Force's officers at headquarters and announced his reform plan.
The moment the Uchiha shinobi saw it, an enormous discussion erupted.
"Establish a Public Security Department, recruit ordinary shinobi and civilians, and register the entire village population?"
"My god, how much time will that take?"
"Establish an Intelligence Security Department dedicated to counterespionage and intelligence confidentiality?"
"That one's fine."
"Establish a Special Operations Department, select elite Uchiha shinobi, and make them responsible for dealing with violent resistance and infiltrators from other villages?"
"That's good!"
"Separate the prison section into an independent Prison Department and divide prisoners into incarceration and detention classifications?"
"I don't really understand it, but it sounds pretty good."
"But do we really need an Urban Management Division and a Traffic Management Division?"
"They're just managing street vendors and vehicles."
"We can handle that casually."
"Why establish dedicated units?"
"A Major Crimes Department specifically for murder, robbery, rape, and other serious crimes?"
"That needs to be separate too?"
"A News and Publicity Department responsible for external publicity, publishing Police Force regulations, personnel changes, and case handling?"
"Clan Head, is that really necessary?"
"Exactly!"
"We're the Uchiha."
"We can do whatever we want."
"There's no need to explain ourselves."
Uchiha Yoru ignored all of their discussion.
He waited until everyone had finished reading the proposal.
Then he lightly tapped the meeting table.
Instantly—
Everyone fell silent.
Yoru said,
"What I showed you is my decision."
"It is for you to execute."
"Not for you to debate."
"Do you understand?"
Under the suggestion Yoru had implanted through his Mangekyō, not a single Uchiha officer could open their mouth.
Their bodies even nodded involuntarily.
Their own bodies completely betrayed their wills.
Cold sweat immediately poured down the Uchiha shinobi's backs.
Yoru continued,
"Also, this is only the first version."
"Based on the actual results after implementation, I will continue modifying it."
"Everyone needs to stay informed and adjust according to my changes."
"Oh, right."
"Patrols are suspended starting today."
"Until the restructuring is complete, all patrol work is stopped."
"Patrolling is meaningless anyway."
"All it does is increase hostility between the Uchiha clan and the villagers."
Yoru couldn't be bothered explaining further.
He didn't believe he had the ability to explain it in a way they would understand.
Uchiha shinobi were emotional creatures.
They were not rational people.
Trying to reason with them was obviously useless.
They only believed in feelings.
Rather than explaining things to this group of inexperienced Uchiha shinobi, it would be better to force them to execute the plan.
Then—
They could experience the changes during implementation.
And through those facts, understand his intentions.
That was a hundred times easier than persuading them.
In truth, the Uchiha had long since grown tired and numb from patrol duty.
When they heard that patrols were being suspended, they were secretly delighted.
And it wasn't only the Uchiha who needed to be educated by facts.
The villagers of Konoha needed the same lesson.
They couldn't be allowed to enjoy the Uchiha's services while simultaneously believing the Uchiha were annoying.
The Police Force's work was abruptly put on pause.
The Uchiha patrol teams suddenly vanished from the streets of Konoha.
On the first day, the villagers were surprised and confused.
But they still didn't dare do anything too outrageous.
By the second day, they became convinced the Uchiha really weren't coming out to patrol.
Various acts of self-indulgence immediately began appearing.
At first, they were only small things.
Dumping garbage wherever they pleased.
Pushing street stalls a little farther into the road.
No one thought there was anything wrong with it.
In fact, everyone found it more convenient.
By the third day, rumors even began spreading that something had gone wrong inside the Uchiha clan and they were no longer capable of managing affairs.
But by the tenth day—
Garbage had begun piling up.
People could smell the stench.
It made them uncomfortable.
The streets also became increasingly congested.
Walking was no longer as smooth as before.
Travel times increased.
Minor disputes between neighbors had no one to mediate.
And without the Uchiha serving as their common target of resentment—
Arguments escalated into fights.
Minor injuries became serious ones.
Then theft began increasing.
People's sense of safety rapidly declined.
In only ten days, Konoha's villagers learned through their own experience that the Uchiha patrol teams had not been wandering around doing nothing.
Nor had they deliberately been looking for trouble.
They genuinely served a purpose.
But the Uchiha patrol teams still did not reappear.
And what Konoha's villagers did not know was—
They would never see an Uchiha patrol team on the streets again.
Only after more than half a month did some ordinary Konoha shinobi begin appearing on the streets.
They patrolled in pairs, handling theft, fights, and other public security matters.
But they ignored street congestion and garbage accumulation entirely.
A few days later, villagers who were not shinobi began patrolling in uniforms.
They managed illegal street occupation and littering.
And issued fines.
They also collected various management fees and garbage disposal fees.
Then they hired other villagers to clean up the garbage.
After roughly a month, the Police Force's functions had basically recovered.
But Uchiha Yoru had transformed it into a comprehensive public security and law-enforcement organization.
He subdivided every function and hired ordinary shinobi, even civilians, to carry out the work.
The Uchiha shinobi were completely liberated from routine duties.
From then on—
Ordinary villagers rarely saw Uchiha shinobi.
If they wanted to see them, they could only go to Police Force headquarters or the walls surrounding Konoha.
The only other times Uchiha shinobi appeared before ordinary villagers were during serious criminal cases, encounters with enemy spies, or armed resistance by hostile shinobi.
Then—
The Uchiha appeared in their true role as combatants.
As the saying went—
Distance created beauty.
Konoha's villagers no longer encountered Uchiha shinobi over trivial everyday matters.
They no longer saw them standing against their personal interests.
Nor did they see Uchiha shinobi suppressing powerless hoodlums and troublemakers.
Instead, the Uchiha they saw were seriously patrolling the borders—
Fighting courageously against enemies—
Or investigating murder scenes with sharp eyes and solving cases with astonishing precision.
The Uchiha clan's reputation improved rapidly.
As time passed and the villagers' old memories gradually blurred, their entire impression of the Uchiha clan was completely reversed.
Of course—
All of that happened gradually afterward.
One month after the Third Hokage's death, the changes in the Uchiha clan's reputation had only just begun.
At a time when only a few intelligent people could see where the trend was heading—
Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoru quietly met in secret, avoiding everyone else.
Orochimaru wasn't wearing the Hokage hat.
Nor was he wearing the Hokage haori.
Dressed in ordinary clothes, he appeared atop the Third Hokage's head on the Hokage Rock.
Uchiha Yoru had brought Miwa Masayo with him.
A lavish spread of food, snacks, and tea had already been prepared.
They had been waiting there for quite some time.
When Orochimaru appeared, he took a deep breath.
He praised,
"What a wonderful smell."
"Yoru-kun personally prepared everything?"
"Looks like I'm in for a treat today."
Yoru gestured toward the seat opposite him.
"Please sit."
"Everything today was specially prepared for the Fourth Hokage."
"I believe you'll be satisfied."
Orochimaru sat down without ceremony.
He casually tossed a pastry into his mouth.
After chewing a few times, he praised,
"As expected, it's delicious."
"And yes."
"It really was prepared specifically for me."
"It suits what I need right now perfectly."
Orochimaru lifted his tea.
He looked toward Uchiha Yoru.
"Today isn't suitable for drinking alcohol."
"So I'll use tea instead."
"A toast to you."
"Please!"
The two spoke at the same time.
A thoroughly satisfying feast continued until midnight.
Uchiha Yoru sent Miwa Masayo away.
Orochimaru cleaned up all the garbage.
Only then did the two people standing at the peak of Konoha's power begin their formal discussion.
Orochimaru was the first to complain.
"Yoru-kun, I really didn't expect you to reform the Uchiha clan this quickly."
"You actually completed the clan's internal integration several steps ahead of me."
Yoru smiled.
"Fourth Hokage, isn't my speed only natural?"
"The Uchiha clan may be troublesome, but it is ultimately only one clan."
"It can't possibly compare to something as enormous as Konoha."
"You're maintaining the war while simultaneously cleaning up all kinds of inherited problems."
"It would be strange if your progress weren't slower."
Orochimaru stretched lazily.
"Being slower is only a minor issue."
"What truly shocked me was what you did to the Police Force."
"After seeing your reforms, I finally realized the problem."
"I never expected the Second Hokage to have buried such an enormous time bomb inside the Police Force."
Orochimaru's expression became extremely serious.
He spoke sincerely.
"Yoru-kun."
"Some of the Police Force's functions must be separated out."
Yoru nodded.
"That's reasonable."
"The independent departments split away from it cannot exclude Uchiha shinobi."
"And no new regulations discriminating against the Uchiha may be introduced."
Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
"No problem."
"The other departments no longer have any explicit restrictions."
"As for the hidden ones…"
"I'll gradually remove those as well."
Yoru said gratefully,
"Fourth Hokage, thank you for the trouble."
"But please move as quickly as possible."
Orochimaru made another demand.
"The Tiger Unit needs to leave Konoha as soon as possible."
"From now on, only the Snake Unit can remain stationed inside the village."
Yoru answered without hesitation.
"I agree."
"But wherever the Tiger Unit is deployed, you must discuss it with me first."
Orochimaru asked directly,
"Which battlefield do you want them sent to?"
Yoru pointed southwest.
"The Land of Rivers."
"Uchiha shinobi have a greater advantage against Sunagakure than against Kirigakure or Kumogakure."
"I agree."
"…"
The two had an astonishing degree of tacit understanding.
Every request one of them raised had already been repeatedly considered by the other.
Almost all of them were accepted immediately.
And every additional condition was likewise approved on the spot.
In only one hour—
They reached complete agreement over the adjustment of power between the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
At the end—
Uchiha Yoru still looked relaxed.
Orochimaru, however, was utterly exhausted.
Sweat dripped continuously from his body.
He couldn't help mocking himself.
"Being Hokage really is a terrible job."
"I desperately want to go back to the laboratory and perform a few experiments to my heart's content."
Yoru could only comfort him.
"Fourth Hokage, keep at it."
"Once the war ends, things will become much easier."
Orochimaru suddenly asked,
"Yoru-kun."
"Can you personally step forward and end the war?"
"With your strength…"
"You should be able to suppress the world into an era of peace, just like the First Hokage did."
Uchiha Yoru smiled and asked in return,
"Do you really want that kind of peace?"
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