Uchiha Military Police Headquarters
Inside the room, Hokuto watched the Uchiha shinobi seething with righteous fury, a faint, satisfied smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Quiet."
He raised a hand slightly.
The noise died instantly.
All eyes locked onto him.
The captain had received the news first and immediately summoned everyone. There was no way he intended to obediently accept Sarutobi Hiruzen becoming Konoha's Third Hokage.
Hokuto spoke calmly, his voice carrying clearly through the room.
"Konoha was founded jointly by the Uchiha and the Senju."
"The First Hokage possessed unmatched power—able to suppress the entire shinobi world with a single hand."
"The Second Hokage was brilliant beyond measure, wielding forbidden techniques as easily as breathing."
"These two deserved the position of Hokage without question."
A cold chuckle escaped his lips.
"But what is Sarutobi Hiruzen, exactly?"
"He bore the responsibility of protecting Lord Tobirama… and in the end abandoned Konoha's Hokage, fleeing back here in disgrace like a stray dog."
"He brings back Tobirama's so-called final order and shamelessly tries to crown himself the Third Hokage."
"Do you accept something this ridiculous?"
"No!"
The response was unanimous.
Letting such a man become Hokage would be nothing short of humiliation for Konoha.
"Good. Neither do I."
Hokuto nodded slightly.
In the original timeline, this outcome had been forced through by Uzumaki Mito's overwhelming authority and strength, crushing all opposition and compelling every clan in Konoha to swallow this rotten result.
Looking back, it was almost laughable.
Mito had refused to place her own son on the Hokage seat, yet chose Sarutobi Hiruzen instead.
Blind judgment.
And the price would eventually be paid in blood—Senju decline, Uzumaki destruction, and ultimately even the Uchiha's annihilation.
When the dead came knocking in the depths of night, would she truly sleep without fear?
Hokuto's gaze sharpened.
"Tetsuka, take your squad into your jurisdiction. Spread the story that the Shadow Guard abandoned the Hokage and fled for their lives."
"Inka, take your squad into yours. Spread the story that the Shadow Guard colluded with the Raikage and caused the Hokage's death."
"Temaki—"
One order after another flowed from Hokuto's mouth without pause.
True information blended seamlessly with deliberate fabrication. Once layered with rumor, exaggeration, and distortion, even Hokuto himself couldn't predict what version would ultimately take root across the village.
The Uchiha present stared at him in stunned silence.
You could do that?
This was practically shoving the returning Shadow Guard straight into their graves.
Once these stories spread, whether Hiruzen could inherit the Hokage seat would become the least of his worries. Preserving his own life would already be a miracle.
"Captain, that's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."
"You're even more ruthless than Lord Tobirama!"
Inka blurted it out without thinking.
The instant the words left his mouth, regret slammed into him. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at Hokuto.
"N-no, Captain, that's not what I meant. I was praising you—strategic, yes, strategic!"
Hokuto nearly punched him on the spot.
Ruthless?
This was strategy.
Did this idiot even understand what a public opinion offensive was?
Hokuto turned slowly toward Inka and offered a perfectly polite smile—one that didn't reach his eyes.
"I understand. I know exactly what you meant."
"Once this is finished, come find me at my place. I'll personally test how your training has been progressing lately."
Inka's face drained of all color.
"Captain, no! I was wrong!"
"Brother, say something!"
"Help me out here!"
He desperately tried to rope Tetsuka into saving him.
If the captain really beat him down, he'd be bedridden for half a month.
Tetsuka calmly took several steps away.
This idiot brother was beyond saving.
He had a talent for stepping on every landmine in existence. Better not let the blast radius reach himself.
"Inka, shut up. Everyone carry out the orders. Once you're done, report back to me."
"Don't make me come looking for you."
Hokuto shot Inka a warning glance and waved them off.
The room quickly emptied as the Uchiha moved to execute their assignments.
—
Before long, Uchiha patrols became active across every bustling district of Konoha.
Nearly every major street corner housed Uchiha-owned shops. Large stretches of surrounding land were also under Uchiha management.
Maintaining a clan of that scale was never easy.
Food, clothing, and housing could be handled internally—but cultivation was another matter entirely.
Ninja tools, jutsu training, secret medicines, chakra-enhancing resources… these expenses crushed ordinary clan members.
A typical D-rank mission paid roughly 500–1,000 ryō. Low risk, usually handled by genin.
A C-rank mission paid 2,000–10,000 ryō, often involving minor danger such as bandit suppression. For safety, a jōnin escort was often assigned—taking half the payout.
A B-rank mission carried significantly higher risk and required at least chūnin-level strength, usually involving protection or escort work. Rewards ranged from 50,000 to 150,000 ryō.
An A-rank mission was essentially wartime work—foreign intervention, large-scale suppression, or direct combat with powerful enemies. Rewards ranged wildly from 150,000 up to a million ryō depending on danger.
Most ordinary shinobi rarely touched missions above B-rank. Team operations could last days, weeks, or even months.
An average monthly income of forty to fifty thousand ryō was already considered respectable.
A single refined iron kunai cost 2,000 ryō.
Shuriken: 2,500 ryō.
Explosive tags: 5,000 ryō each.
After basic living expenses, very little remained for serious training investment.
Many lower- and mid-level shinobi emptied their savings just to equip a basic armor set, a few blades, and two or three explosive tags.
This was where the clan stepped in—subsidizing training costs to sustain overall combat capability.
Even now, civilian-born ninja accounted for less than one-third of Konoha's forces.
The backbone of the village remained the great clans.
—
Every time a Uchiha patrol entered a shop, a message quietly changed hands.
Clerks passed it along in casual conversation.
Merchants whispered it during transactions.
Within a single afternoon, the news of Senju Tobirama's death had already spread throughout Konoha.
As for the Shadow Guard abandoning the Hokage—
The rumors mutated wildly.
By the time the dust settled, the version that would circulate most widely—and persist for decades—was downright absurd:
That Senju Tobirama and Sarutobi Hiruzen had shared a forbidden romantic relationship.
That Hiruzen had repeatedly used his so-called "hooks" to curry favor with Tobirama, becoming his favored disciple.
That Tobirama had sacrificed his life solely to protect Hiruzen.
A scandal so lurid it eclipsed the tragedy itself.
And in the shadows of the spreading chaos, Hokuto leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the armrest.
The village had begun to stir.
The first stone had already been thrown.
Now—
It was time to see who would be crushed beneath the rising waves.
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