The Konoha Garrison Force, a department established by the Second Hokage.
Because all members of the Garrison Force came from the Uchiha Clan, the Garrison Force's symbol was a shuriken with the Uchiha Clan's emblem—the Fire Fan—inlaid within it.
"His methods are extraordinary!"
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at the Konoha Garrison Force's emblem and stepped into the Garrison Force building.
Seeing this department, which had deep ties to the Uchiha Clan, he felt no pride, only a profound sense of malice.
When the Second Hokage created the Konoha Garrison Force, his intentions were extremely sinister.
First, by binding and isolating all Uchiha in one department, he severed the Uchiha Clan's interactions with other clans, thus isolating the Uchiha Clan.
Second, he assigned the Konoha Garrison Force duties of public order management, causing the Uchiha Clan to offend other clans due to their responsibilities and be ostracized by them.
It was like the urban management officers in his previous life.
The reason they became notorious was not because there were many bad people among the urban management group, but because this group stood against the majority of people.
Even a slight mistake would be infinitely magnified, ultimately leading to infamy.
Finally, by concentrating all Uchiha in one department and restricting their activities to within the village, he subjected the Uchiha Clan to centralized surveillance.
Among the four Hokage of Konoha, the First Hokage was the strongest in terms of power, but the Second Hokage was undoubtedly the best at schemes and stratagems.
Compared to him, even the Third Hokage, who inherited his "ideology," seemed too naive.
If he hadn't unexpectedly died in an ambush during peace talks with Cloud Village, the Uchiha Clan would probably no longer exist today.
Upon arriving at his office, Uchiha Fugaku began his work for the day, dealing with the public order cases that had accumulated from yesterday.
There were brawls, lost wallets, and even drunk individuals who damaged shops and couldn't agree on compensation...
These were all trivial matters, and the Garrison Force members responsible for direct handling dealt with them very fairly and justly.
After reviewing them, he quickly signed his name, approving the handling methods proposed by the Garrison Force members.
Thump, thump, thump!
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in!"
Uchiha Fugaku spoke, and then a man pushed the door open and entered.
The man wore a green Ninja uniform, a black armband with the Garrison Force emblem on his left arm, and dark hair with a slight brown tint. His aura was no weaker than that of Shimura Ryoma, whom he had encountered before.
Uchiha Yakumi, a loyal supporter of his predecessor, was considered his predecessor's right-hand man among the Uchiha.
Like Shimura Ryoma, he was also an Elite Jonin.
Having already awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his strength was even greater than Shimura Ryoma's.
"Captain, there's a rather special case that requires your immediate judgment."
Entering the office, Uchiha Yakumi said respectfully.
"What case?"
Uchiha Fugaku asked, imitating his predecessor's usual tone of voice.
"Last night, two groups of people clashed in a tavern. Both parties have now been apprehended and brought back to the Garrison Force, but the specific ruling still requires your decision."
Uchiha Yakumi explained.
"The identities of the two groups are rather special?"
Uchiha Fugaku raised an eyebrow slightly.
It was just a brawl; it should be handled according to public order regulations and didn't require his special judgment.
The only reason it would be brought to him for a decision was if the identities of the parties involved were somewhat sensitive.
"Yes, one group is from the Hatake Family, and the other is from the Sarutobi Family."
"It's these two families, no wonder."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded, understanding Uchiha Yakumi's concern.
The Sarutobi Family, the family of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was currently a rising power. Their family strength and standing in the village were considerable.
As for the Hatake Family, although they had never produced a Hokage, they had produced Konoha White Fang, who possessed Kage-level strength.
Being able to cultivate a powerhouse like Konoha White Fang, the Hatake Family was naturally not a weak family, and their family strength and standing in the village were certainly not inferior.
A conflict between members of two such families, if the Garrison Force didn't handle it well, could very likely worsen the already difficult situation of the Uchiha Clan.
"Have you investigated and determined which side bears more responsibility?"
After a moment of thought, Uchiha Fugaku asked.
"According to the investigation, it was the Sarutobi Clan who made the first move. Although the Hatake Clan also retaliated, it was mostly in self-defense and counterattack."
Uchiha Yakumi replied.
"The situation is clear. Handle it according to the public order regulations."
Uchiha Fugaku said.
"According to the public order regulations, those from the Sarutobi Clan who initiated the attack will be imprisoned for ten days."
"However, the other party is, after all, from the Sarutobi Clan, the family of the Third Hokage. If we do this—"
Uchiha Yakumi hesitated.
The Uchiha Clan's relationship with Konoha's higher-ups was already quite strained. If they further angered the Third Hokage because of this, the Uchiha Clan's situation would become even more difficult.
"Don't worry, as long as a reasonable explanation is provided, that just Hokage-sama will not deliberately target the Uchiha Clan because of this."
Uchiha Fugaku sneered inwardly.
The Third Hokage had labeled himself as Konoha's just and benevolent hero. Since he had set such a label for himself, he would not easily violate it.
Therefore, as long as a reasonable explanation was given, the Third Hokage would not deliberately target the Uchiha Clan because of this.
After all, once a label is established, violating it can lead to severe backlash.
Of course, the Third Hokage also didn't need to target and suppress the Uchiha Clan.
Because such underhanded tactics that would tarnish his image he usually entrusted to Danzo Shimura.
Shifting all the blame to Danzo Shimura to appear just and benevolent in the public eye had always been the Third Hokage's consistent method.
"Go, handle this case according to the public order regulations."
Uchiha Fugaku waved his hand, signaling Uchiha Yakumi to leave, but then, thinking of something, he added.
"From now on, any public order cases involving the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mito, and Torifu families should be reported directly to me for a decision."
"Yes..."
Uchiha Yakumi was a little surprised, but he still responded and left the office.
"Since they handed over the public order management, which easily offends people, to the Uchiha Clan, then don't blame me for counter-utilizing this point."
In his solitary office, Uchiha Fugaku snorted coldly.
Public order management indeed easily offended people, but if used well, it could actually bring more benefits than drawbacks.
He could fully utilize the power of public order management in cases involving the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mito, and Torifu families to suppress these four families, who could not be won over, and show favor to other families, sending a signal that the Uchiha Clan was on good terms with these families.
This way, he could create discord between the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mito, and Torifu families and other families, dismantling the large group targeting the Uchiha Clan from within.
If handled well, he could even win over a few allies for the Uchiha Clan.