The next morning,
"Aozora, I'm off!"
"Okay! Big brother, study hard under Lord Hokage!"
"Got it!"
The two youths happily waved goodbye.
Since the Police Force meeting was still hours away, Aozora planned to return home for more training, while Shisui briskly made his way toward the Hokage Tower.
Entering the Hokage's office, Shisui respectfully knelt halfway and greeted, "Lord Hokage!"
Hiruzen glanced up slightly and said, "Ah, Shisui!"
He clapped his hands, and immediately Nobusuke appeared wearing a dog-faced mask.
"Nobusuke, you handle Shisui's assignment."
Nobusuke responded instantly, "Hokage-sama!"
"Shisui!" Hiruzen turned his gaze toward him. "You'll follow Nobusuke's instructions. I believe you'll quickly get accustomed to the Shadow Guard Team's work."
"Yes sir," Shisui replied.
Following Nobusuke, Shisui arrived at a storage room on the second floor.
Pointing at various masks hanging on the wall, Nobusuke said, "Pick one!"
Although puzzled, the Shisui glanced at Nobusuke's mask and didn't say anything.
After some consideration, Shisui chose a relatively gentle-looking cat mask.
"Now," Nobusuke said, "from this moment onward, you are a member of the Shadow Guard—a sharp blade in the Hokage's hand."
Shisui nodded. "Yes sir."
Nobusuke led Shisui to one section of the Hokage Tower and explained, "There are a total of four barrier activation points set up here in the Tower. If a powerful enemy appears, activating the barrier at these locations can effectively isolate inside and outside, thus protecting the Hokage's safety."
Shisui nodded. He had been trained yesterday.
Then Nobusuke pointed toward a dark corner and said, "Today, you will guard here—be vigilant! In case of emergencies, coordinate with other team members to activate the barrier."
Under the mask, Shisui's expression immediately dimmed.
Nobusuke, without Byakugan vision, couldn't see Shisui's face behind the mask and asked, "Understood?"
Snapping back to reality, Shisui answered, "Yes sir!"
Now guarding vigilantly amid the autumn breeze alone, Shisui contrasted sharply with Aozora, who now lounged comfortably in a chair.
Leaning into the cushion, Aozora sank into the chair, completely relaxed.
"Captain, you really picked a great chair!"
A faint smile touched Fugaku's normally stern face. "Glad you like it!"
Ever since the high-level meeting ended, Fugaku had been thinking about how best to reward Aozora. Despite ongoing Elder elections and other affairs, his mind kept circling back to this one question.
He wasn't the kind of leader who takes credit away from his men. Quite the opposite—he clearly separated rewards from punishments. This was precisely why, even though he rarely personally got involved after becoming clan head, his prestige continued to grow.
Most clan members only knew that Aozora had exposed Danzō and helped reclaim the Authority of Patrol and Defense for the Police Force.
Fugaku, however, knew that Aozora had pulled the Uchiha back from the brink.
Aozora's merit was enormous, but Fugaku hadn't yet figured out the right way to reward him.
While contemplating Aozora's reward within his office, he suddenly noticed that there wasn't even an assigned seat for Aozora.
Originally, he had envisioned Kyudai working Monday to Friday, with Aozora coming in only on weekends—so one shared desk and chair would have sufficed.
Who could have thought Kyudai had only taken a single day off since starting his job?
Of course, the company wouldn't want to make such an employee feel undervalued. So every time Aozora came by, he'd just casually pull up a chair and sit down.
That was fine before, but now that Aozora had achieved something huge, how could they continue treating him the same way?
Fugaku immediately asked Kyudai to order a complete office desk and chair set. The desk wasn't too important, but the chair had to be as comfortable as possible.
Upon hearing this, Kyudai treated the request with utmost urgency.
In fact, no one was more thrilled—and more eager—to get Aozora a new desk and chair than Kyudai himself.
At first, when he and Aozora both worked as Fugaku's assistants, Kyudai had looked down on Aozora, thinking he was only there because the clan head wanted to appease Shisui.
However, as Aozora's talents surfaced and his wisdom became apparent, Kyudai constantly worried about the day when Aozora might take over his position in the office.
Therefore, aside from that one day when he had been in a foul mood and took a day off, he hadn't taken any other days off since starting work.
Now that Aozora finally had his own designated seat, Kyudai could finally relax and take a day off.
Aozora stretched out in the chair and said gratefully with satisfaction: "Thank you, Director! I really love this chair so much!"
He even thought about carrying the chair all the way back home.
Fugaku replied, "As my assistant, you deserve your own dedicated desk and chair set—I neglected this earlier."
Since there was no mail arriving from Kyoto today, Kyudai stayed behind as well. The three of them discussed the upcoming meeting agenda together.
Fugaku first introduced the topics for next Friday's high-level meeting.
As the year's end approached, the Hokage had decided to reward the ninja at the front line and also arrange rotations between some frontline ninja and those stationed within the village.
The war had been going on for more than six months now. Many frontline ninja were seriously injured and needed to return to the rear for recovery. Meanwhile, ninja stationed at the backlines should also be given the opportunity to gain combat experience at the frontline.
Additionally, the Police Force was required to strengthen security and maintain public order during New Year festivities, to ensure all residents of Konoha could celebrate the New Year peacefully.
Also, the police would need to heighten defenses and manage law and order during the New Year period.
Aozora nodded and asked, "Director, among those returning from their rotation duties, who should we keep a close eye on?"
"Hachidai and Genma will lead a group to the front lines, while Kintai, Musashi, and Sekkou return here for rest."
After explaining the arrangement, Fugaku hesitated slightly before continuing, "Musashi and Sekkou aren't problematic, but Kintai has radical ideas—he tends to act extremely as well."
Aozora frowned slightly in confusion: "Radical? Extreme?"
Fugaku nodded. "Kintai deeply distrusts—actually, he even hates—non-Uchiha clan members. He was the first to propose a coup and is currently the leader of the radical faction."
Aozora asked, "Why?"
Aozora believed there was no love or hatred without cause.
Fugaku's gaze turned nostalgic, recalling memories.
"Kintai had a younger brother named Gintai, a kind-hearted child like Shisui. He did not join the Police Force, but instead formed a team with his peers to take missions. During a dangerous mission, Gintai protected his teammate by taking a fatal blow meant for them, suffering critical injuries as a result."
A puzzled expression crossed Aozora's face—this shouldn't have been enough reason for Kintai to become extreme.
Fugaku hadn't finished speaking yet.
Gintai continued his mission before fully recovering from his severe injuries. Tragically, they ran into danger again—and Gintai's teammate left him behind.
Aozora asked in surprise, "How do you know it was Gintai's teammate who abandoned him?"
Kyudai interrupted, "This is the result of Kintai personally capturing and interrogating those two."
Aozora nodded solemnly. Given the inherited brother complex within the Uchiha bloodline, it wasn't strange for Kintai to act this way.
Soon, the Police Force's regular meeting started right on schedule.
The first topic for discussion was last week's unresolved issue—the leadership appointments in the newly restructured departments.
After some backroom "friendly negotiations," everyone reported their choices, with Fugaku making the final call.
"…starting now, the Police Force will be divided into four divisions: the Flying Tigers, the Village Barrier Defense Division, the Patrol Division, and the Prison Guard Division."
"Appointing Hachidai as Flying Tigers captain, Tetsuran as Village Barrier Defense captain, Inabi as Patrol Unit One captain, Musashi as Patrol Unit Two captain, Aoki as Prison Unit One captain, and Sekkou as Prison Unit Two captain."
Although the Police Force remained divided into six major units after the reform, their functions were now much clearer.
With the appointments finalized, among the four unit leaders present, aside from Hachidai and Tetsuran, both Inabi and Aoki looked clearly unhappy.
After announcing the main captains, Fugaku continued with the sub-unit leader appointments under each division.
"The Flying Tigers will consist of four squads, each led by an elite from the Uchiha clan."
"First Squad Captain, Shintatsu!"
"Second Squad Captain, Akagi!"
"Third Squad Captain, Keita!"
"Fourth Squad Captain—"
Fugaku's gaze shifted toward Aozora beside him. He wasn't sure whether Aozora would appreciate this reward or not.
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