Uchiha Yashiro had been Uchiha Yoru's captain back in the Police Force. He had started as a squad captain, later became a unit captain, and recently had caught the eye of the department head, Uchiha Fugaku, rising in one leap to become one of the four division captains.
He was only twenty-eight this year.
For an ordinary Uchiha shinobi, that already put him near the top of the ladder.
Of course, within the Uchiha clan itself, that still wasn't enough to mean much.
Back when Uchiha Setsuna had forced Yoru's dismissal, Yashiro had opposed it as strongly as he could, but it had accomplished nothing.
Even so, Yoru remembered the favor.
So when Yashiro came in person—even with Uchiha Ryota and Uchiha Taizo beside him—Yoru still received them respectfully, invited them into the sitting room, and served the best tea he had in the house.
"Captain Yashiro, what brings you here?"
Yoru knew Yashiro had a straightforward temperament, so he asked directly,
"Did something happen in the clan? Or is there some change in the Police Force?"
Yashiro took a polite sip of tea before answering.
"It's about the department. There are some things I just can't make sense of, so I had no choice but to come ask you in person."
"Of course. Ask whatever you want. There's nothing I need to hide."
"Heh. You've been out of the Police Force for more than ten days now. First, tell me—how have things been for you?"
"Oh, nothing much. After leaving the Police Force, I just went back to being a mission shinobi. I didn't have anyone I wanted to form a team with, so I started taking missions alone."
"There aren't many missions suited for one person, but at least I don't have to split the reward. The income's still decent enough."
"And your promotion to chunin? Did you find a way forward after leaving?"
"Mm. My old captain helped me apply for a promotion mission. I've already completed it. Once the paperwork clears the Third Hokage's desk, I'll officially become a chunin."
"Good. Very good."
After that, the two of them just kept drinking tea, each waiting for the other to speak first.
In the end, Yoru decided that no matter what, he was still only eighteen in this life. It wouldn't fit his image if he acted more composed than a man nearing middle age.
So he broke the silence.
"Captain Yashiro, what was it you wanted to ask me?"
Yashiro let out a quiet breath of relief, set down his teacup, and said, "You probably already guessed. After you left, the village's opinion of the Police Force took a sharp turn for the worse."
He sighed.
"Setsuna… really is…"
"Ha! Don't mention that old fool. There's no way he'd ever admit he made a mistake. I'd bet he even said something like: 'The villagers are all petty ingrates. The Uchiha protect them, and they still complain…'"
Seeing Yashiro stare at him blankly, Yoru burst out laughing.
"I guessed right? He really said that? Hah, figures. That old man would never admit fault."
He mocked Uchiha Setsuna without the slightest restraint.
As far as Yoru was concerned, Setsuna wasn't family.
He was an enemy.
More than once, Yoru had argued with the elder until the old man's face turned red and his neck swelled with rage. Once reason failed him, Setsuna would stop arguing altogether and start barking about duels like a sore loser.
If Yoru had possessed his current strength back then, he might really have stopped hiding it just so he could properly "reason" with the old man.
"Still lacking the fist of love…" he muttered under his breath.
"Yoru, what did you say?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about the details."
Then he asked, "I already told you before I left that the department's reputation would decline. I even left behind a response plan. So why did you still come to me personally?"
Yashiro let out a long sigh.
"I followed your plan. I picked several people I thought were suitable. But once they actually carried it out, the results were terrible."
Uchiha Ryota finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Your method doesn't work at all. I really did my best to help them, but they just refused to accept it."
Yoru frowned, rubbing his chin as he felt the short stubble beginning to harden there.
"Ryota. Tell me exactly who you helped, and exactly how you did it."
The younger man's expression darkened at once.
"You mean I'm an idiot?"
"I didn't say that—"
"Then why ask so many questions? I already told you, I did everything I could. I was sincere!"
"Uchiha Ryota!"
Captain Yashiro barked the name sharply.
"I brought you here so we could find the problem and find a solution, not so you could argue like a fool!"
"…Yes."
"Then answer Yoru properly!"
"Yes!!"
Though clearly unwilling, Ryota began recounting the details of everything he had done over the past ten days.
As he spoke, Yashiro and Taizo both frowned deeply. It was obvious they still couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.
But the more Yoru listened, the darker his face became.
This was exactly what a proper Uchiha looked like.
The kind of people who could turn a good deed into a bad one without even realizing it.
He looked carefully at Ryota.
Sure enough, in the Sharingan that had surfaced from anger, there was blazing indignation, wounded grievance…
And a pure, transparent stupidity.
"Stop."
Yoru finally couldn't take it anymore. He cut Ryota off and asked,
"Why did you give Amiko money?"
"…Huh?"
Ryota looked utterly baffled.
Yashiro and Taizo looked just as confused, turning to stare at Yoru.
So he had to ask again.
"Amiko's mother is sick. She needed money for medicine…"
Yoru shot back loudly,
"So you just handed her money?"
"Was that wrong?"
"Of course it was wrong! What's Amiko's surname? Uchiha!"
The three of them still looked completely lost.
In that instant, Yoru was struck by a deeply familiar feeling.
In his previous life, he had once helped his overworked mentor tutor a child. No matter how many times he explained it, the kid still insisted that four times eight equaled thirty.
That exact feeling.
The urge to kill.
Yoru raised both hands, fingers curling like claws, and for one terrible moment he wanted to strangle all three idiots on the spot.
But then he remembered—
He was still trying to rein in his own restless heart.
So he forced himself to endure it.
Explaining it patiently was impossible. These three didn't have the brains to understand an explanation.
So instead, he gave them an example.
Yoru suddenly pointed at Ryota and said,
"Getting misunderstood when you're trying to help feels awful, right? Fine. I heard you've been wanting the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu. I can give it to you. That should make you feel better, shouldn't it?"
He deliberately put on an arrogant, superior expression.
Ryota exploded instantly.
Even Yashiro and Taizo looked uncomfortable.
Ryota's eyes turned red as he shouted,
"You're insulting me?"
Yoru roared back even louder.
"And when you handed money to Uchiha Amiko, you think she didn't feel insulted?!"
"…!"
All three Uchiha froze.
The moment they experienced it through themselves, they finally understood where the problem lay.
"I repeated it again and again in the plan," Yoru snapped. "Pay attention to your methods. Adapt to the person. Consider the feelings of the one you're helping. Don't arrogantly assume that just because you mean well, there can't possibly be a problem."
"And not one of you read a single word past that!"
His voice grew colder.
"This is the root of every problem in the Uchiha clan."
"That self-righteous 'I'm doing this for your own good' attitude."
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