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The next one chapter on webnovel will be uploaded in the next 2 days.
The next five chapters will be uploaded on Patreon in the next 2 days. (Chapter 97-102)
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Gollum.
Uchiha Kenzo swallowed hard, glancing nervously around the room.
He didn't know if he had interpreted Duan's meaning correctly, but he clenched his fists and forced himself to speak what was truly in his heart.
"I think… the Uchiha Police Department looks glorious on the surface—but in truth, it's the hardest labor in all of Konoha!"
The words struck like thunder.
But Kenzo wasn't speaking out of ignorance.
"No matter what ideals founded the department," he continued, "after ten years of working in it, I've learned it's nothing like I once imagined."
He looked directly at the patriarch.
Fugaku frowned, but gestured for him to continue.
Kenzo inhaled deeply and poured out the resentment he had buried for years.
"The members of our Police Department patrol from dawn till night, chasing thieves, detaining spies, settling villagers' disputes—every trivial quarrel, every brawl, we clean up after it.
After that, we still manage reports, interrogate prisoners, and file paperwork.
We work ourselves to exhaustion, yet what do we get? Not gratitude—only complaints."
He slammed his fist lightly against his chest.
"When we're strict, they call us tyrants abusing power.
When we're lenient, they say we're lazy and incompetent.
And when even one Uchiha makes a mistake, the entire clan's name is dragged through the mud. The villagers curse us all!
No matter what we do, we're the villains.
The Police Department's work is thankless! Completely thankless!"
He grabbed his cup, drank it dry, and spoke more heatedly.
"Worse still, the Third Hokage's Anbu constantly meddles in our affairs. They interfere with our jurisdiction, take credit for our successes, and leave us to bear every failure.
Whenever a spy is captured, the glory goes to Anbu. But when something goes wrong, the villagers blame the Police Department!
Tell me—why should we carry the weight of Konoha's filth while being spat on for it?
To me, this so-called 'honor' is nothing but a shackle on Uchiha's neck!
I, Uchiha Kenzo, would rather fight and die on the battlefield than live another day chained to that desk!"
When he finished, the hall was silent.
It wasn't just a complaint—it was a declaration that denied the Police Department's very existence.
His words were dangerously bold.
Sure enough, Fugaku's brows tightened into a deep "川" crease, and for a moment it looked like he might reprimand Kenzo and strip him of his post.
But before he could speak—
Clap, clap, clap.
Duan suddenly began to applaud.
Everyone turned as the curator of the Body Reform Hall slowly nodded in approval.
Kenzo froze—then, when Duan's piercing gaze softened with recognition, he felt relief wash through him.
"Well said," Duan said simply.
Seeing this, Yashiro—ever the opportunist—slammed his hand on the table and joined in loudly.
"That's right! I've long believed that our clan's position in the Police Department is nothing short of slow suicide!"
Since being humiliated by Duan earlier, Yashiro had been desperate to regain face. Now, seizing the moment, he raised his voice, letting his rhetoric flare.
"The Police Department drains Uchiha's time, talent, and spirit!
We're shinobi born for battle, yet we waste our strength chasing pickpockets and breaking up tavern fights!
We were once feared as Konoha's strongest clan—but now we've been tamed, domesticated, made to bow before civilians.
This must be a scheme by Konoha's leadership—to weaken us from within!
The only solution," he declared, "is exactly as the curator said: break free from this chain and cast off the Police Department once and for all!"
For all his hypocrisy, Yashiro's words had weight. They stirred the radicals, igniting whispers across the room.
Elder Setsuna, seated near the front, remained silent. His sharp old eyes gleamed with calculation.
He had already grasped Duan's intent.
So that's your game, Duan.
By proposing to abandon the Police Department, Duan would lull Konoha's leadership into lowering their guard—while simultaneously cutting off any path of retreat for the clan.
When the time came for rebellion, no one could hesitate.
He was binding the Uchiha's destiny to a single road—the road of no return.
Shisui and Itachi exchanged glances, both stunned.
Shisui's plan to reform the Police Department had taken days of recovery and thought. Itachi had supported it as the only peaceful solution.
Yet compared to Duan's suggestion…
To simply let go—completely—seemed like the one move that could dissolve all conflict between the clan and the village.
But both of them knew it wasn't that simple.
They couldn't read Duan's true intention—and that made them uneasy.
Meanwhile, Fugaku sat in silence, remembering the words he'd once spoken before the ancestral stone tablet—his vow to lead the clan toward a new chapter in Uchiha history.
At last, he lifted his head.
"Duan," Fugaku said solemnly, "explain yourself. Why should Uchiha abandon the Police Department?"
At those words, Duan finally rose.
He stood tall, his frame casting a long shadow across the tatami.
His eyes swept the assembly with quiet authority.
"Tell me," he said evenly, "what is Uchiha's greatest asset?"
The question hung in the air.
The Police Department? No—if he had to ask, that couldn't be the answer.
When no one spoke, Duan smiled faintly.
"Uchiha's greatest asset," he said, "is neither land nor title. It is our own flesh—and the eyes born from it. The Sharingan."
As he finished, his eyes turned scarlet, three tomoe spinning sharply.
The chakra pressure that filled the room made even seasoned jōnin stiffen in their seats.
His gaze locked with Fugaku's.
"According to the stone tablet beneath Naka Shrine," he continued, "we Uchiha are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths himself—our bloodline traces back to the progenitor of all shinobi.
The tablet, deciphered only through the power of the kaleidoscope, holds a message from the era of legends.
So tell me—should descendants of the Sage waste their lives writing reports and chasing thieves?
No.
We should follow the path of our ancestors—or surpass them."
His words fell like boulders into still water.
A tremor of disbelief rippled through the clan.
Descendants of the Sage of Six Paths?
For many, it was the first time hearing such a truth.
But coming from Duan, whose strength and conviction were unquestionable, it carried undeniable weight.
Excitement spread like fire.
To surpass their ancestors—what greater destiny could there be for the proud blood of Uchiha?
Join my Patreon to read advanced chapters.
Five new chapters uploaded on PATREON.
Currently at Chapter 97 on Patreon. Read at one go.
patreon.com/FrancisMW
The next one chapter on webnovel will be uploaded in the next 2 days.
The next five chapters will be uploaded on Patreon in the next 2 days. (Chapter 97-102)
patreon.com/FrancisMW