The end of September brought cool, pleasant autumn weather.
Fresh autumn breezes coaxed villagers out from their homes where they had stayed during the summer heat.
Especially along Konoha Main Street, loud cries from vendors echoed endlessly while villagers came and went in a continuous stream, fully displaying the postwar tranquility and liveliness of Konoha.
Suddenly, the hardworking vendors and visiting tourists heard a commotion. Instinctively, everyone stepped aside to both sides of the street, clearing the central path.
Looking up curiously, people saw Aozora wearing Uchiha clan attire walking side by side with Shisui and Hachidai, who wore green vests. Behind them marched more than a dozen Uchiha clan members dressed in standard Police Force uniforms, each holding onto a Ninja clad in tight-fitting suits.
Being Konoha residents, they all naturally recognized the Police Force uniforms and were familiar with Anbu attire.
Seeing this scene, the villagers and ninjas lining the streets couldn't help showing concern and began whispering among themselves.
"Why is the Police Force fighting with Anbu?"
"Just when peace returned—I hope nothing serious happens!"
"What are they doing? The Hokage Tower lies at the far end of Konoha Main Street!"
"This is happening right when the Hokage election should be taking place!"
"..."
Unlike the previous Uchiha demonstrations, today's Uchiha Police Force was no longer the universally condemned group it once had been.
Setting other factors aside, the inclusion of non-Uchiha members and the introduction of various reward systems and rank evaluations greatly improved the service attitude of the Patrol Officers—those who interacted most frequently with village residents.
"A prodigal son's return is indeed worth more than gold!"
Seeing how the previously arrogant Police Force had transformed into one serving the villagers, public sentiment toward the Uchiha clan improved dramatically.
Moreover, during this period, the Uchiha had strengthened public opinion guidance—from promoting Fugaku's wartime achievements and explaining the village-building contributions of the Uchiha clan, all the way to revealing the truth behind the Sharingan.
Konoha villagers now held much less stereotypical views of the Uchiha clan.
Perhaps years of prejudice still left some fear toward the Uchiha, but few would hastily judge them as evil anymore.
Therefore, seeing the Police Force escorting Anbu members, villagers didn't immediately assume it was the Uchiha's fault, though they worried peace might get disrupted.
Noticing the murmurs around them, Aozora turned to Shisui walking at his side and asked, "Did you know about the plan to relocate the Uchiha Compound?"
Shisui nodded. "I've looked into it."
Aozora continued, "Do you remember how the village originally forced us to live by the Nanaha River and even tried to welch on our compensation?"
Silent for a moment, Shisui realized that if this had happened a year ago, he might have advised the clan to yield—but his perspective had changed completely now.
Turning to ask Hachidai, Aozora said, "Uncle Hachidai, do you remember leading our clansmen in those protests? What were the villagers' reactions back then?"
Hachidai recalled, "They would run away upon seeing any Uchiha approaching from afar, and all shops on the streets shut their doors."
Looking at today's scene, Hachidai smiled contentedly. "Thanks to Aozora, villagers' perception of us Uchiha has changed dramatically within just one year."
Uchiha Aozora smiled faintly upon hearing Hachidai's praise. Seeing the Uchiha's situation in Konoha gradually improve day by day, he felt a strong sense of accomplishment.
He turned to Uchiha Shisui and asked, "Do you remember the question I asked you when you returned to Konoha last year?"
Shisui thought for a moment before answering, "I remember. You asked me who Konoha belonged to."
Nodding slightly, Aozora replied, "Obviously, Konoha belongs to all the villagers living here. The higher-ups like The Third are merely representatives of the villagers."
"But now The Third has become senile. He no longer considers the villagers' interests and only thinks about his own power—"
Before Aozora could finish speaking, he stopped and looked ahead.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Two figures slashed through the air, landing on Konoha Main Street—Homura Mitokado and Jiraiya had arrived.
Homura Mitokado shouted sternly, "What do you Uchiha think you're doing? Attacking fellow ninja and charging toward the Hokage Tower—are you planning to defect from the village?"
Jiraiya also glared coldly, releasing an overwhelming aura.
Meanwhile, many figures appeared on rooftops lining both sides of the street. Nearby ninjas had already arrived, while others further away were rushing toward the Hokage Tower.
Loudly, Aozora called out, "Elder Homura Mitokado, you sure love throwing accusations around! A year ago, rogue ninja Danzo accused us the same way!"
Hachidai said coldly, "As one of the village's top leaders, you should be cautious with your words. How can you recklessly accuse fellow ninjas without understanding the truth?"
Being compared to Danzo, Homura's face darkened. He retorted, "Twisting facts! When did I ever charge you with any crime? I was simply conducting a proper inquiry!"
Then, he loudly demanded again, "What business does the Uchiha have here? Why have you captured Anbu agents?"
Jiraiya added icily, "Attacking fellow ninjas is unforgivable!"
Upon hearing Jiraiya's words, Aozora couldn't help but laugh out loud. Shisui, Hachidai, and the other Uchiha behind him also stared at Jiraiya strangely.
Frowning, Jiraiya said, "What's so funny? Hurry up and answer Elder Homura Mitokado's question, or we'll treat you as rogue ninjas!"
Once he stopped laughing, Aozora locked eyes with Jiraiya and said, "You're right—attacking fellow ninjas is indeed unforgivable!"
He paused for a moment before snapping, "So then, can Anbu freely bully Konoha's commoners?"
Pointing at himself, he continued, "Even if my status as a ninja has been revoked, I'm still a commoner of Konoha. Can Anbu just randomly arrest and mistreat ordinary villagers?"
With just a few sentences, Aozora clearly outlined what had happened—that it was actually the Anbu who first attacked him, never expecting the Police Force would catch them in the act.
Frowning, Homura turned his gaze toward the detained Yamato and asked, "Yamato, what really happened?"
Since Aozora and others hadn't silenced him, Yamato could speak.
After a moment's thought, Yamato answered, "We received information that Uchiha Aozora planned to defect and join the Akatsuki organization, so we wanted to stop him by capturing him first."
"Heh—"
Aozora's mocking laugh rang clearly. Looking around at the crowd bitterly, he said sorrowfully, "Not long ago they slandered me for killing innocent civilians, yet even until now they haven't cleared my name!"
"Now you're accusing me of defecting from Konoha to the Akatsuki organization?
You should at least make up a better reason! Everyone knows Orochimaru is in Akatsuki, and he blinded my right eye!
Oh, you probably forgot — after all, you've forgotten that I lost sight in my right eye defending Konoha's ninja!
If they treat someone like me, who sacrificed so much for Konoha, this way, what must they do to ordinary villagers?"
As Aozora made his accusation, villagers gathered around couldn't help feeling sympathy for him. Many felt the sorrow of seeing one's own kind treated so harshly.
Aozora was also a villager, but possessing powerful ninjutsu skills and being a member of the Uchiha clan allowed him to escape from Anbu's false accusations and arrest attempts. But what about themselves?
They were just ordinary villagers. If the Anbu acted so recklessly, their personal safety would be completely unprotected.
For their own security in Konoha, many villagers began speaking up quietly while hiding behind others.
"Does the Anbu have the right to arrest villagers without evidence?"
"Why are they targeting ordinary villagers?"
"Aren't ninja supposed to protect us villagers?"
"Did we pay all those taxes just to be arrested by you?"
...
Hachidai then spoke up: "Jōnin and Anbu don't have authority to arrest villagers. As subordinates directly under the Hokage, they're violating the law themselves. Does our Police Force have no authority to arrest them?"
Seeing the angry crowd, Homura Mitokado snorted coldly but remained silent.
Jiraiya said, "I believe there must be a good reason why Anbu arrested Uchiha Aozora."
Aozora raised an eyebrow, "Funny, I'd love to hear exactly when I supposedly defected."
Then he addressed both men, "Now please step aside, we want to go ask Lord Hokage when exactly I defected."
Hachidai added, "We want to ask Hokage whether it was he who ordered these Anbu to arrest Aozora."
Looking at the angry crowd surrounding them, Jiraiya frowned and stepped aside.
Aozora and his companions calmly walked past the two men. The villagers standing along the road exchanged glances before silently joining the procession.
They were Konoha villagers too — and they wanted to see how this would play out.
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