Inside the ANBU assembly room, ten operatives stood in silence as Kakashi assigned the day's routine patrols.
Suddenly—bang.
The doors slammed open, cutting him off.
Eiya appeared in the doorway, face calm, voice level yet carrying a weight far beyond his years.
"Put everything down. The Hokage has issued an emergency order."
Everyone froze, eyes flicking to Eiya, then to Kakashi.
Kakashi studied Eiya for a breath. He knew Eiya had just met privately with the Third.
"Are we pushing the rumor investigation deeper?" Kakashi asked.
Eiya shook his head. "No. Mission change—quell the rumors directly. Immediate execution."
Kakashi paused, then turned to the waiting squad and nodded. "Move."
He didn't ask for details. At that moment, orders came first.
Suppressing their questions, the others fell in behind Eiya. The group slipped out of the base and sped across Konoha's rooftops.
"…Where are we going?" Itachi couldn't help asking as a familiar building rose ahead.
The Uchiha Police Force.
He didn't understand why Eiya was heading there, but he followed the team into the headquarters.
ANBU's sudden arrival drew every eye inside. Uchiha officers swung wary looks their way.
Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Inabi stepped up at once, blocking Eiya with open hostility.
"Stop," Tekka said, hand raised. "ANBU. State your business."
Eiya ignored them, sweeping the hall with his gaze. "Where is Uchiha Fugaku? Have him come out."
Uchiha Yashiro stepped forward. "The captain isn't here. What do you want with him?"
"Direct order from the Hokage," Eiya said evenly. "The Police Force will fully cooperate with ANBU for this operation. You have five minutes to muster."
Faces tightened all around. The word cooperate clearly meant you do the legwork.
"Why take orders from ANBU?"
"Our duty is maintaining public order."
"Sounds like you hit a wall and need us to clean up."
"If you want to go, go. I'm not going anywhere."
More officers crowded in, nearly hemming in Eiya and the ANBU team. Protests rose in jagged waves, hard stares sharpening.
Yashiro lifted a hand, forcing the noise down. "What exactly is the mission? We need to know what we're doing."
Eiya let his voice carry through the hall. "Someone has been maliciously spreading rumors, tearing at the village's unity. This operation will put them down, completely. It concerns the Uchiha and public order both. The Police Force has a duty."
There was a beat of surprise, then a ripple of fierce relief.
Good. At last.
They'd swallowed their anger for days as the lies multiplied, clashing with villagers more than once. If not for Fugaku's strict orders, they'd already have dragged the worst offenders off in chains.
Eiya glanced at Itachi.
Itachi understood and removed his animal mask.
A stir ran through the room. The clan head's eldest, acknowledged genius of the new generation—everyone knew him. Some had questioned his joining ANBU. Seeing him here to defend the clan's name, doubt and resentment faded from the task at hand.
Five minutes later, a hundred armed Police Force officers stood formed up behind the ANBU squad and poured out into the streets.
Heads turned everywhere they passed.
"Kakashi, take half to patrol the eastern district," Eiya ordered. "Don't leave a single target untouched."
"Understood," Kakashi said and moved out.
"The rest, with me."
Eiya led fifty Uchiha and several ANBU toward an entertainment strip, stopping at the tavern where he'd listened the night before.
Thud.
The wooden door exploded inward under a kick, shards skittering across the floor.
Eiya strode in. His people fanned out, locking down every exit in a breath.
The noisy room went dead still.
Eiya's eyes swept the crowd. He pointed. "You. You. You… Those ten—take them."
They were the loudest mouths from recent days, the ones who'd fanned every flame.
Police officers surged like wolves, hauling the stunned men out by force.
"Damn Uchiha…" someone muttered from a corner.
Eiya's ear twitched. His gaze snapped toward the shadows. "The one in gray in the corner. Bring him too."
Two officers yanked a pale, shaking man into the open.
Eiya didn't waste a word. His backhand cracked across the man's face.
The slap rang out. Bloody teeth sprayed across the floor. The man shrieked and crumpled, half his face ballooning.
Eiya's eyes were ice. "This man has maliciously spread lies, undermined Konoha's unity, and incited fear. I'd wager he's a foreign plant sent to destabilize the village."
"Wronged, I'm wronged," the man bawled, voice breaking. "I was drunk, it was just drunken talk…"
Eiya snapped his fingers.
Itachi stepped forward. The Sharingan turned.
The pleading cut off mid-sob. The man's gaze went glassy as he began to recount, like a puppet, how he'd strutted around for days, embellishing and smearing the Uchiha wherever he went.
Rage simmered through the room as they listened. Even Itachi's brows drew tight.
"Evidence confirmed," Eiya said coldly. "Take him. Lock him up and interrogate him."
"Yes, sir."
Dragged past the gawking patrons, the man vanished into the street.
Eiya lifted a hand. "Next place."
Members of the Police Force felt the knot in their chests finally loosen. They answered as one, energized.
Two hours later, guided by ANBU, the Police Force had arrested more than twenty malicious rumor-mongers with blitz tactics. Over a hundred minor spreaders were whipped and clubbed on the spot until they knelt and swore never to repeat the lies.
Konoha shook.