Outside the headquarters of the Konoha Defense Unit, Chinya, the newly appointed captain of the Konoha Defense Unit, was giving his first address. Yet, Chinya's forceful tone during the speech unsettled both Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
However, even though Chinya knew they were uneasy, he didn't care in the least. After all, he was the captain now. Let's be real—even the Hokage needed his permission before interfering with the unit.
Chinya began explaining the responsibilities of the Konoha Defense Unit to the villagers gathered around.
"First and foremost, we are responsible for establishing village regulations. In other words, every one of you must abide by the rules set forth by the Konoha Defense Unit. All previous regulations established by the Konoha Military Police Force have been abolished. However, there's no need for concern—although all previous regulations have been abolished, most will remain in effect under the Defense Unit. This means a simple transfer of enforcement authority from the Military Police to the Defense Unit, and your daily lives won't be significantly affected.
Secondly, arresting ninja with criminal tendencies is quite self-explanatory. Except for those directly under The Fourth's command, all other ninja fall under the jurisdiction of the Konoha Defense Unit. If we discover any ninja about to commit crimes or who have already committed crimes, the Defense Unit has the authority to arrest them immediately!"
Once the ordinary villagers heard that their lives wouldn't change much, they saw no reason to care about any other changes. For them, as long as life carried on as usual, nothing else really mattered.
But some ninja among the crowd had already realized this situation wasn't simple at all. On the surface, the Defense Unit only possessed two basic powers—but these two powers alone essentially elevated the Defense Unit's status within Konoha far above that of the Military Police Force.
In effect, the Konoha Military Police Force had practically lost all real authority. The ninja who recognized this issue were deeply shocked—had the Uchiha Clan truly approved of this?
Chinya hadn't finished speaking yet. He continued, "Since you're all gathered here today, on my very first day as captain, I'll take this chance to announce a new regulation on behalf of the Konoha Defense Unit!"
Upon hearing Chinya's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, and Shisui Uchiha's expressions instantly changed.
Though Chinya was the captain—and did have the authority to make such rulings—the decision should've been discussed first. The Konoha Defense Unit did have a vice captain after all: Shisui Uchiha. By acting unilaterally like this, Chinya was effectively treating the Defense Unit as his personal dictatorship, completely disregarding Shisui's existence.
Minato whispered only loud enough for Chinya to hear, attempting to stop him: "Chinya, let's discuss this new regulation later before making any decision."
Chinya looked at Minato with a half-smile and replied, "The Fourth, this new regulation will bring tremendous benefits to Konoha. For the sake of Konoha's growth and prosperity, it is my solemn duty. Moreover, weren't previous regulations always issued solely by the head of the Military Police Force, Captain Fugaku Uchiha? Then why shouldn't I do the same?"
Minato narrowed his eyes. "That's because the Konoha Military Police Force only has one commander. Chinya, in the Defense Unit, besides you as the commander, Shisui Uchiha is the deputy commander! When creating regulations, you two must discuss and agree on them together before submitting them to me. Only after I approve can they be implemented. It shouldn't be your unilateral decision!"
Chinya suddenly understood and said, "Oh, I see! I originally thought I could make decisions on my own. But Fourth Hokage-sama, I've already announced it publicly, and so many villagers are waiting to hear. Stopping abruptly would seem inappropriate.
How about this—I'll just announce these rules first, and then you can decide whether to approve or not. Everyone is already here anyway."
Minato's face darkened. He stayed quiet for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
Since today was Chinya's and Shisui Uchiha's first official day on duty, he had to show them some respect.
Chinya smiled slightly and announced, "I propose adding a new regulation—starting from today, ninja captured by the Konoha Defense Unit who have committed non-serious offenses should be allowed to pay bail according to the severity of their crimes. Those who pay bail will be released from prison.
Of course, this rule applies only to non-serious offenses. If the crime exceeds the scope of bail, this regulation won't apply.
A portion of the bail money will be allocated to the Defense Unit for operational expenses, and the rest will be submitted to the Fourth Hokage-sama for Konoha's development.
This regulation helps conserve resources, ease prison overcrowding, generate income, and promote Konoha's development. It seems like a win-win situation.
The authority to decide on this regulation lies with the Fourth Hokage-sama. So, Fourth Hokage-sama, what do you think of this proposal? Will you wholeheartedly support it?"
Minato stayed deep in thought with a serious expression.
The concept of collecting bail money seemed advantageous to Konoha at first glance, but its flaws were also quite obvious—like the lack of checks and balances, and unclear eligibility rules.
Minato glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was also thinking carefully.
Suddenly Orochimaru spoke up, "I think Chinya's proposal makes perfect sense. The Military Police arrests people who've already committed crimes or show criminal tendencies and simply throws them into jail. Konoha spends enormous sums on them every year. Many don't even need imprisonment.
Rather than wasting resources like this, we should instead use these people to benefit Konoha. Chinya's rule really does help Konoha's development."
Orochimaru directly supported Chinya's idea.
Meanwhile, the Konoha villagers listening in only knew that such a rule seemed beneficial to them and immediately began discussing enthusiastically.
"Lord Chinya's rule is great! Using criminals' money to develop Konoha—why wouldn't we wholeheartedly support that?"
"Yeah, those criminals get locked up, yet we still have to pay taxes to feed and take care of them."
"That's not as good as following Lord Chinya's regulation. Not only can we save a significant amount of money, but we can also profit from these criminals. Isn't that much better?"
...
The surrounding discussions left Minato Namikaze in a difficult position. Given the current situation, even if he didn't want to agree, he had no choice but to accept.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded at him, signaling Minato Namikaze to accept the proposal.
Minato Namikaze sighed softly. After being completely outmaneuvered by Chinya today, Shisui Uchiha, as deputy captain, had clearly been overshadowed.
Minato asked pointedly, "Shisui, I think Lord Chinya's regulation is quite good. What do you think?"
Shisui Uchiha understood the situation well. Although unwilling, he could only nod and say, "I agree."
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