Chapter 165: It Doesn’t Matter, He Will Take Action

Konoha, Hokage's Office.

While handling official documents, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard a knock at the door. Looking up, he called out, "Come in."

A middle-aged man with a shuriken emblem on his sleeve pushed the door open and entered.

He was the head of the Uchiha clan and also the captain of the Konoha Police Force.

His presence here most likely meant only one thing—this was about that matter again.

After a moment of silence, Sarutobi spoke slowly, "This is about Tōshirō, isn't it?"

The Uchiha clan head nodded in confirmation.

Sarutobi inquired with concern, "How is the search for the culprit progressing?"

The Uchiha clan head composed himself and replied, "After extensive efforts from our clan, we have finally found some clues. The culprit has been captured."

"You found them?" Sarutobi was briefly surprised. Out of curiosity, he wanted to ask how, but then he seemed to realize something and chose to skip that question, instead asking, "That's good. What was the motive?"

The Uchiha clan head's gaze darkened slightly, and he answered knowingly, "The lord's youngest son wanted to ascend to power, so he hired an assassin to kill his own father and older brother to secure his position. Later, he attempted to silence the assassin to erase any loose ends, but instead, the assassin turned on him."

This explanation was something he had fabricated—after all, the dead can't speak.

Sarutobi seemed to recall something. "Now that I think about it, the lord's castle caught fire recently. The timing seems to match, doesn't it?"

The Uchiha clan head followed along and nodded, "Exactly. That fire was started by the culprit."

"I see. That explains why the fire started out of nowhere."

The Uchiha clan head pressed forward, "Then about Tōshirō…"

He looked at Sarutobi expectantly, waiting for his promised commitment—finding the true culprit and getting Tōshirō released from prison.

Sarutobi, not breaking his promise, reassured him, "Don't worry. I will negotiate with the Daimyo and get Aokiji out of Hozuki Castle."

"I'll leave it to you…"

Seeing how sincere and even somewhat humbled the Uchiha clan head was, Sarutobi chuckled, "I imagine that once Tōshirō finds out how much effort you've put into freeing him, he'll be deeply moved."

The Uchiha clan head responded seriously, "It's my duty as clan leader."

Sarutobi nodded. It was a pity, though—after this incident, Tōshirō would likely never be swayed to his side.

With that thought, he stood up, preparing to leave the Hokage's office.

The Uchiha clan head asked, "Hokage-sama, where are you going?"

Sarutobi smiled, "You want to get Tōshirō out of prison, don't you? Then why wait?"

The Uchiha clan head was momentarily delighted and silently followed behind him. The two arrived at the interrogation room, but to his surprise, Sarutobi only glanced inside before immediately deciding to depart, not even bothering to question the suspect.

"Hokage-sama, aren't you going to interrogate them yourself?"

The Uchiha clan head voiced his confusion.

Sarutobi gave a gentle smile. "Since you've already questioned them with the Sharingan, what's the point of me interrogating them again? Wasting time would only delay Tōshirō's release."

The Uchiha clan head narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

On the surface, this seemed like praise for the Sharingan, but in reality, it was a veiled jab. The Sharingan had many abilities—one of which included manipulation. If one could force a confession, then lying would be effortless as well.

Sarutobi was well aware of this, yet he chose not to say anything outright.

The underlying message was clear: I don't know if you've captured the real culprit or not, but I'll pretend to believe you. If this backfires in the future, it has nothing to do with me. At worst, people will say I was too trusting—but the Uchiha clan? You'll be guilty of deceiving the Hokage, which is a serious crime.

With this, Sarutobi now had leverage over the Uchiha clan, ensuring they wouldn't act recklessly in the future.

This was also why he didn't ask how they found the culprit in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan head's thoughts were much simpler—Once Tōshirō fully grows into his strength, so what if we did deceive them?

In the face of absolute power, none of this would matter.

Thus, both men harbored their own schemes.

Halfway through their journey, Sarutobi suddenly recalled something and spoke, "By the way, I rejected the Konoha Police Force's budget request from last time."

The Uchiha clan head was briefly stunned.

Sarutobi sighed, "As you know, the Daimyo's funding is limited. The village has many expenses, so I hope you understand."

The Uchiha clan head suppressed his anger and forced a helpless smile. "I understand. I will pacify my clan…"

He knew exactly what Sarutobi was doing—exchanging Tōshirō's freedom for the Uchiha clan's compliance.

To outsiders, the Uchiha clan's position as the Konoha Police Force seemed prestigious, but only they themselves knew the hardships.

Their duties consisted mostly of tedious and thankless tasks, but the real problem was the ridiculously low salary.

To prove their "loyalty" to the village, the Uchiha clan had assigned some of their strongest members to the police force.

These elites all possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. If they took on missions instead, their earnings would be far higher.

"Then I'll leave it to you…"

"Hm."

Out of Sarutobi's sight, the Uchiha clan head's expression darkened, and he clenched his fists tightly.

By the time they arrived at the Daimyo's residence, the sun had already begun to set.

The Daimyo was known to be "very busy," and meeting him required prior appointments. His attendants would then schedule a time for an audience.

The next morning, Sarutobi arrived early to avoid being late. The meeting was scheduled for around 10 a.m., and while he had been punctual, the Daimyo did not arrive until half an hour later—leisurely strolling in with a young girl in his arms.

The man showed no concern for his tardiness as he sat down on the sofa.

Despite the arrogance and disrespect, Sarutobi remained composed, maintaining the dignified air of the Hokage as he studied the man before him.

He appeared to be in his early twenties, had sharp features, and striking blue hair. The twisted strands of hair on his forehead bore a resemblance to seaweed.

He was holding a young girl who looked around eleven or twelve years old, dressed in luxurious clothing that did not match her age.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled. He remembered arranging a meeting with the Daimyō of the Land of Fire but didn't understand why a young man was here instead.

The blue-haired young man, noticing Hiruzen's confusion, introduced himself: "My name is Shinji. I am the son of the Daimyō of the Land of Fire."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slightly raised his head, his expression clearing in realization.

He had seen the Daimyō's son before, but since the Daimyō had many wives and, naturally, many children, it was normal that there were some he had never met.

"Why didn't your father come himself...?"

Hiruzen asked.

Shinji explained, "My father has recently developed a desire to retire, so he plans to have me take over ruling the country. I have been gradually taking over his authority, bit by bit."

Hiruzen understood but was still somewhat puzzled. "If I recall correctly, your father is still quite young, isn't he?"

"He said, 'Give young people more opportunities.' That was his exact reasoning."

"Your father is truly open-minded," Hiruzen complimented. "Quite admirable."

"Not really," Shinji replied.

In truth, Shinji knew that his father simply found being the Daimyō boring. He was tired of handling all the trivial affairs every day and decided to step down to enjoy his own carefree life.

"Still, I must say, Lord Shinji, you are quite remarkable—so young yet already shouldering the responsibility of developing the Land of Fire."

Flattery always works. Though Shinji had heard plenty of such praise, he still enjoyed it, his expression turning proud.

Seeing that the groundwork had been laid, Hiruzen was about to bring up the real topic when Shinji suddenly said, "By the way, since it's rare for the Hokage to visit, let me show you one of my prized possessions."

Hiruzen discreetly glanced at the Uchiha guard beside him, looking helpless. He had to play along—after all, when asking for a favor, one must act accordingly.

Noticing Hiruzen's compliance, Shinji smiled with satisfaction and led him and his entourage to a spacious horse ranch.

Shinji had always loved riding—it gave him a sense of conquest.

During the day, he enjoyed riding his beloved horse through the streets, capturing young girls and taking them back to the palace.

At night, there was another kind of "riding" entirely.

For this reason, he needed his horses to be exceptionally fast—slow ones wouldn't allow him to catch his prey.

Thus, he spent a fortune building stables and purchasing champion racehorses each year to breed superior offspring for his amusement.

As his collection of excellent horses grew, ordinary ones could no longer satisfy him. So, he had his subordinates conduct experiments on them.

Many fine horses were sacrificed in the process, but to him, it was worth it—because, by chance, he had created a one-of-a-kind unicorn.

Its coat, endurance, strength, and speed far surpassed that of ordinary horses, making it an undisputed priceless treasure.

And he had only one such horse.

Shinji cherished it dearly, naming it "Hermès." He assigned people to care for it around the clock, and if the unicorn ever fell ill, he would vent his anger by burying its caretakers alive in cement.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the uniquely shaped unicorn and sincerely praised it. In his mind, this horse could easily be ranked among summoning beasts.

Shinji, hearing the compliment, felt pleased. He enjoyed seeing others envy his possessions.

"Speaking of which, it seems like the Hokage had something to discuss with me?"

It seemed like Shinji had finally "remembered" that Hiruzen came for a reason, but in truth, he had always known. He was just deliberately playing hard to get—an act of dominance.

With his chance to speak, Hiruzen stated his purpose: he sought the Daimyō's authorization to release Tōshirō.

Shinji's previously cheerful face turned ice-cold, his attitude arrogant. "Don't get it wrong. The fact that we haven't executed that brat immediately is already our greatest mercy. If you think we'll release him, forget it."

The Uchiha guard beside Hiruzen couldn't help but interject, "But we've already found the real culprit..."

"Isn't that obvious?" Shinji scoffed, his face twisting in anger. "Do you think we pay you such an enormous sum every year just for you to fail at something as basic as protection? And you even dare to keep living despite your failure? Disgusting. If this were the past, samurai wouldn't just accept mission failure—they would commit seppuku out of shame if their lord so much as lost a single hair under their watch."

Not satisfied with just scolding, Shinji added a direct threat: "Maybe I should reconsider next year's budget for Konoha."

The Uchiha guard had never been humiliated so harshly before and dared not make another sound.

Shinji frowned, his face full of displeasure. "By the way, who even are you? Interrupting my conversation with the Hokage like that—how rude."

"He is Uchiha Enka, my bodyguard," Hiruzen said calmly. "He was only concerned for his comrade. I hope Lord Shinji won't take offense."

Though it seemed like Hiruzen was speaking up for Enka, he was actually pushing him into the fire.

Shinji seemed to catch on, narrowing his eyes as he dragged out his response, "Ohh... I see now. No wonder you're so protective of that brat—he's from your clan. Your Uchiha clan has always had rebellious elements. No wonder a troublemaker like him emerged this time."

The impact of Tōshirō's case was too great. If this happened once, it could happen again, and again.

Even if the Daimyō disregarded his relative's involvement, he would never release Tōshirō out of concern for his own safety. If he said Tōshirō would be imprisoned for life, then he would be imprisoned for life—no compromise.

Hiruzen sighed helplessly, glancing at the Uchiha guard with an expression that seemed to say, "It's not that I don't want to help Tōshirō, but the Daimyō simply won't budge."

Back in Konoha, Uchiha Enka reported the Daimyō's firm stance to the clan leader and Elder Itachi.

"I understand. You may leave," the Uchiha clan leader said.

After learning that Tōshirō wouldn't be released, he frowned in frustration. "What should we do, Elder Itachi? The Daimyō refuses to let him go."

Itachi narrowed his eyes, his expression calm.

It didn't matter.

He would handle it.

Tōshirō had suffered enough in prison—it was time to get him out.

(End of Chapter)

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