That afternoon, after completing his mission, Raihō returned to the Uchiha Police Force headquarters with something on his mind and headed straight for Uchiha Yatsushiro's office.
Inside, the short brown-haired Yatsushiro was busy dealing with a stack of complaints from villagers. He was visibly irritated. After all, he'd simply instructed his subordinates to act in accordance with the security regulations—yet people still found reasons to complain.
Take, for example, a child who had stolen from a shop. The Uchiha Police, naturally, arrested him and locked him up. But instead of reflecting on their parenting, the boy's parents were outraged and had escalated the complaint all the way to Yatsushiro.
Of course, he'd rejected it outright. The arrest was justified.
To Yatsushiro, the officer's actions were correct. A crime was a crime.
Now those same parents had joined forces with the shop owner and were formally appealing to him again. But he still refused. In his eyes, breaking the law was breaking the law, regardless of age. Letting it slide would set a terrible precedent.
This was the only way to teach children right from wrong.
That issue had just been resolved—once again, with the parents' complaint rejected—when another person arrived at his office to plead for leniency.
A middle-aged man now stood before his desk, trying to argue his way out.
"Yatsushiro-sama, even if my father stole something, he's already so old. Can't you let him off just this once?"
The man didn't like working. He preferred taking shortcuts and living a carefree life. In fact, it was he who had encouraged his father to steal. And even when they were caught, most shopkeepers wouldn't press charges out of pity for the elderly.
If someone did try to hold them accountable, the man would simply go cause a scene, and usually, the issue would be dropped.
But this time, things didn't go as planned. The Uchiha Police had caught his father in the act and detained him. That arrest had cut off half his income.
Yatsushiro narrowed his eyes, voice stern.
"A crime is a crime. Even a child knows that. You're a grown man—don't tell me you don't understand?"
"Your father committed a crime. And as his son who encouraged it, you're just as guilty. Honestly, I should lock you up too."
The man's face darkened. He knew that if the full truth came out, the Uchiha might very well arrest him as well. But he wasn't ready to give up on what was essentially his meal ticket.
So he tried again.
"Yatsushiro-sama, my father's very old. If something were to happen to him in your prison, wouldn't that damage the reputation of the Uchiha Police Force?"
"You'd be responsible for him. Wouldn't it be better to release him into my care?"
His words carried a veiled threat. If anything happened to the old man, he'd make sure the blame landed on them.
But Yatsushiro didn't flinch.
"If something happens to him in jail, how is that our fault? That's a consequence of his age. And more than that, it's your responsibility as his son."
"I won't allow this."
"According to Article Two of the Security Ordinance on Theft, your father is to be detained for two weeks. If you've got nothing else to say, get out."
The man was furious. The Uchiha were truly unyielding. They weren't swayed by threats or pleading. And now he hated them even more.
Without his father's petty theft, his income would shrink drastically. Damn the Uchiha—they really were exactly as the villagers said: uptight and obsessed with trivial infractions.
At that moment, Raihō stepped into the office—just in time to see the angry man storming out and Yatsushiro sitting behind his desk, visibly annoyed.
With a cheerful grin, Raihō greeted him.
"Elder, what happened? You look like someone just spat in your tea."
Yatsushiro explained the situation. He was still annoyed. These villagers kept trying to interfere with Uchiha enforcement. It was maddening.
If you broke the law, you paid the price. Age didn't give anyone immunity.
Raihō nodded in agreement.
"I think you did the right thing. Letting him off just because he's old would only turn him into a repeat offender."
Hearing Raihō's support put Yatsushiro in a much better mood. At least someone in the clan understood.
"So what are you doing here, slacker? Skipping patrols to hang out with me?"
Raihō waved off the accusation.
"Of course not. I actually came to recommend someone—another Uchiha. If we can recruit him into our radical faction, it could help us revive the strength of our clan."
Yatsushiro's interest was piqued. The clan's situation within the village was worsening by the day. The higher-ups clearly resented and sidelined them.
And their clan leader kept compromising with Konoha's top brass, which Yatsushiro found incredibly frustrating.
He believed the only way forward was to unite the clan's ambitious youth and pressure the clan head to take a harder stance. That was the only way the Uchiha could reclaim their former glory.
Of course, he wasn't thinking of a coup. The clan leader was a powerful shinobi—one Yatsushiro respected. He himself wasn't strong enough to lead the Uchiha, nor did he have the charisma to rally everyone.
"So, who is it you're recommending?"
Raihō smiled.
"The Grand Elder's grandson—Ryosuke Uchiha."
"If we can bring him to our side, we might even get the Grand Elder himself to support us."
"With that kind of backing, we could finally pressure the clan leader to show some real backbone when dealing with Konoha's leadership."
Yatsushiro frowned slightly at the name. He didn't like Ryosuke much. Though technically a member of the police force, Ryosuke had shown little interest in his duties.
Yatsushiro had complained to the clan head about it.
But the clan head had told him to let it go—after all, Ryosuke's grandfather was the Grand Elder, the most senior figure in the clan. Even the clan leader had to show him respect. So what could Yatsushiro do?
"Why him?" he asked. "Has he shown signs of wanting to resist the higher-ups and restore the clan's strength?"
Raihō grew quiet for a moment.
"I can't say for sure."
"But I know this—Ryosuke is a genius. He beat me in taijutsu, and he's awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. It's new, but his eye power already surpasses mine."
"You know as well as I do, the only real talents in our generation are Shisui and Itachi. But both of them serve in the Hokage's Anbu."
"They're no longer trustworthy."
"Ryosuke might be the third—someone truly capable of bearing the clan's banner."
Yatsushiro's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected that brat to be hiding such strength—Three Tomoe, at only sixteen years old, and strong enough to defeat a twenty-year-old like Raihō?
That was truly top-tier talent.
TL/N- You've been spoiled with free chapters all week—now it's time to give back! If you show your support by giving a good amount of power stones, I'll release a new chapter every 6 hours for the rest of the week.