A minute later, Kamikaze and Kamimura arrived in front of Chiriko, who was explaining the functions of the various divisions of the Police Department to the public and to Takahashi.
"Big Brother Uchiha, after receiving your blessings, I have finally awakened my Will of Fire.
I, Kamikaze, request you to grant me this sacred task of recruiting ninjas for the Konoha Police Department.
I represent the Sarutobi clan and declare, in the name of Grandpa Hokage, that I will complete the recruitment process today."
"Yes, Big Brother Uchiha. I, Shimura Kamimura, have bullied men and women throughout my life. Today, seeing you enforce justice, my eyes were blinded by the holy aura you emitted.
The sins that corrupted my self were burned away by your justice. I declare, in the name of the Shimura clan, that I will help Kamikaze in this great cause, so that next time no thief dares to steal and no Takahashi-dono is troubled."
Hearing such righteous words almost made Chiriko cry. Such strong justice—if you had not said your surname was Shimura, I would have made you my sworn brother on the spot.
However, others in the crowd were not blinded by the justice of Kamimura and Kamikaze.
They knew that these two, representing the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, wanted to monopolize the Konoha Police Department.
To secure a seat against these two clans required not only background but also gifts. By now, a few people had noticed the missing dot in the fifteen million figure, but they would have been idiots to mention it.
Even if they managed to gain the favor of the Uchiha and secure a position in the Uchiha Police, they would offend half of Konoha, so they kept quiet.
It wasn't that there were no good people left in the ninja world—it was just that good people died too easily, leaving behind an evil world.
Chiriko, who clearly did not want more work, looked somewhat convinced and finally nodded. Seeing this, the civilian ninjas once again felt the sadness of lacking background.
"Alright, little brother Sarutobi. Here are the documents—"
As he spoke, Chiriko formed a hand seal and took out a sealing scroll. With another seal, a stack of documents nearly one meter thick appeared.
"These papers are the contract documents, personally guaranteed by the Land of Fire. You must sign twice—once at the beginning and once at the end.
After that, hand them to me.
Once I place my stamp, you will be officially considered a member of the Konoha Police Department."
Hearing this, Kamikaze looked at the documents and immediately searched for the Administration & Liaison Department contract, and he quickly found it.
With anticipation and nervousness, he opened it. When he saw that the amount was indeed fifteen million, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, Kamikaze had thought it would only be a verbal agreement and that there would be certain risks, but now, with a written contract, the Uchiha had no choice but to pay him.
In a hurry, Kamikaze signed twice in the two blank spaces of the thirty-five-page contract
"Hey, at least read the terms and conditions before signing the contract."
Hearing this, Kamikaze didn't care. Who would read thirty-five pages of terms and conditions?
What if, by that time, all forty seats were filled?
Just then, Kamimura snatched a contract as well and signed it quickly.
Seeing two seats disappear, the surrounding ninjas panicked—they also wanted a share.
"Shimura brother, my brother is jōnin Shikawa. Can you pass a document to me?"
"Sarutobi brother, do you remember when we used to play the ninja battle game?
Pass a document to me."
"Hey, you're a chūnin—why are you applying for a genin position?"
"Hey, bastard Kiwamuki, you're a special jōnin. Have you no shame applying for a genin position?"
Hearing this, the special jōnin wanted to reply—if doing a genin's job paid more money, only an idiot would miss such a chance.
On the other hand, Chiriko returned to his special chair and sat down, relaxed.
Every minute or two, ninjas came forward with their contracts to receive the stamp. After stamping them, Chiriko simply waited for all the seats to be filled.
---
Hokage Office
"Monkey, Sheep—take your squad and track the thief. Also, recover the goods as soon as possible.
We can't let the reputation of Konoha be mixed with mud because of the fault of the Uchiha"
"Yes."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his chair, smoking as usual. He had already heard about the Takahashi shop robbery.
He hadn't expected that, during a village emergency, thieves would take advantage of the situation and rob a jewelry store.
Don't let me find you.
Hiruzen thought with hatred. If the thief wasn't found, the village would have to compensate Takahashi with village funds.
"Hokage-sama, urgent news."
An ANBU appeared, panting slightly, as if he had been running for a long time. Seeing this, Hiruzen frowned.
ANBU were trained to suppress emotion and remain calm, so this behavior alarmed him.
"Say it."
"Yes, Hokage-sama.
The Uchiha clan is recruiting ninjas from outside the clan to fill the vacant seats in the Police Department."
Hearing this, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
Numerous possibilities surfaced in his mind after that single sentence.
Were they trying to integrate more closely with the village?
Or—
Were they forming allies for rebellion?
"How many people are they recruiting?"
"Hokage-sama, the total number is around one hundred, with the majority being genin and chūnin.
The recruitment contract is for three years, and the salary is much higher than that of ninjas of the same rank who do missions. It is roughly one-third of the original salary for that position."
Hearing that they were recruiting only a hundred people and learning about the salary, more thoughts surfaced in Hiruzen's mind.
This many people are only enough to cover one block of Konoha. Do they want to guard their D Block and show a contrast with the other blocks so their reputation rises?
It's a good plan, but for that, they would have to ask my ANBU whether they are willing to work or not.
Or—
Is it because of the salary? Those evil gluttonous Uchiha wouldn't be satisfied with one-third of their original pay.
Did they collectively resign, with Itachi acting as a spokesperson so the clan wouldn't lose face?
That is possible.
Heh, that coward Fugaku can't even manage his own clan splitting into two factions.
Just then, as if remembering something, the ANBU spoke again.
"Hokage-sama, there was a mistake in the salary written on the board. Instead of 1.5 million ryō, it was written as 15 million ryō.
When I checked the contract documents, the amount was still written as 15 million ryō."
Hearing this, Hiruzen frowned. How could they make such a rookie mistake? Was it because they were in a hurry?
That was possible. It had only been a few hours since Danzo's death. Mistakes could happen.
"How many seats are there for that position, and who has applied for it?"
"Hokage-sama, there are forty seats. Sarutobi Kamikaze and Shimura Kamimura have taken responsibility for recruiting all the ninjas in the name of Hokage-sama and the Sarutobi and Shimura clans."
"Good. Good. Good."
Hiruzen didn't mind the unauthorized use of his name or his clan's name. As long as it benefited his clan, even if Kamikaze cursed him, he would call it a good curse.
"All forty seats have been filled—sixteen from the Sarutobi clan, thirteen from the Shimura clan, and eleven from civilian ninjas."
"Hmm… were the civilian ninjas threatening them?"
Hearing about the loss of eleven seats, Hiruzen felt heartbroken.
11 × 15 = 165 million ryō.
Seeing more than a hundred million ryō slip away, Hiruzen became angry. To him, the Uchiha clan's mistake was a gift from the gods to the Sarutobi clan and divine retribution against the Uchiha.
Now some civilians had snatched his gift away—of course he would be furious.
"Hokage-sama, before the rest of the Sarutobi and Shimura clans arrived, some people relied on their connections with jōnin and other ninja clans to threaten the two of them. They were forced to hand over contracts."
"Waste
Trash is indeed trash."
Although Hiruzen said this, the ANBU did not respond. This ANBU was a death warrior of the Sarutobi clan, much like ROOT. If Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered him to die, he would do so without hesitation. Because of this, Hiruzen freely cursed Kamimura and Kamikaze.
"Go to the Sarutobi clan and order them to join the Police Department immediately."
"Yes"
With that, the ninja disappeared in a blur.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, smiled brightly.
"Uchiha, I don't know whether you wish to integrate into the village, gather allies, or improve your reputation—but in the end, you are helping me.
You will pay my clan members with your own money.
You cannot escape my control.
Alas… if only Danzo were alive to see this scene."
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Hiruzen continued smoking, surrounded by quiet distress and loneliness.