The sparrow outside the window chirped on the telephone pole.
What Hyuga Hiashi had just said was truly shocking.
So much so that Uchiha Hikaru couldn't tell who the real "Uchiha" was for a moment. Hiashi was even more radical than the war hawks within the Uchiha Clan—ready to lead a coup if his demands weren't met.
Hikaru quickly tried to dissuade him.
"Hiashi, you can't go down this path. Think about your two daughters. If there's a coup, what will happen to Hinata and Hanabi? We have to approach this with caution."
"Hyuga Hiashi's emotional defenses were breached. Replication successful. Physical stats increased by 20%."
Hikaru thought, What the hell?
That's not what I meant. I was trying to calm him down, not break his emotional defenses. Is the system bugged or something?
Hiashi had only been pounding on the table a moment ago, but Hikaru's words had somehow struck a nerve and cracked his composure.
The man stood up, looking like he was about to smash the coffee table into splinters.
" Hiashi, please! Calm down!"
Hikaru grabbed his arm, trying to steady him.
"How the hell am I supposed to calm down?! You're right! Hiruzen and Danzo—those two old bastards—won't spare Hinata or Hanabi. They're monsters! I won't forgive those snakes—colluding with me while plotting behind my back!"
It took a while before Hikaru managed to get Hiashi to sit back down.
Realizing he'd lost his temper in front of Hikaru, Hiashi felt a little embarrassed. He reached for his teacup, pretending to drink to save face.
"So, Brother Hikaru… do you have any ideas? The Uchiha Clan has already begun to loosen its grip on the Police Force. Are you really going to compromise with the village leadership?"
Hikaru chuckled. His smile was bright and disarming, his demeanor open and straightforward—like he wasn't hiding a single thing.
" Hiashi, who really holds the power in Konoha?"
Hiashi blinked, then answered, "The Hokage, of course."
"No, no, no… I mean, hypothetically—if the villagers and the major clans joined forces to replace the Hokage, what do you think our old Third Hokage would do?"
Hiashi's eyes widened, his pupils contracting in realization.
"You want to force Hiruzen to step down!"
But then again, if the Uchiha Clan opened the Police Department to outsiders, wouldn't that reduce their influence significantly? And if their authority was weakened, how could they hope to rally the villagers and clans to confront the current leadership?
Seeing Hiashi still lost in thought, Hikaru decided not to leave him guessing. Some things were too complex; it was better to break them down simply.
" Hiashi, I've always liked this saying: The boat floats on water—but the same water can capsize it."
"We're loosening control over the Police Department, but not giving it away. Key positions will still be held by Uchiha. So, is it really decentralization? No. We're just providing opportunities to civilians and benefiting the village."
"Once the Uchiha gain the trust of the villagers, we can win over the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance. After that, everything falls into place."
Hiashi's eyes lit up, as if a fog had suddenly lifted from his mind.
"It's a clever plan… But aren't you worried the Ino-Shika-Cho trio will catch on? If they figure it out and report you to that old fox Hiruzen, won't that be suicide?"
Hikaru tapped his fingers on the coffee table and shook his head.
"No. Ino-Shika-Cho won't make any unnecessary moves. Their loyalty is to the Hokage—not to Hiruzen Sarutobi specifically."
"Besides, Hiashi, if Danzo was bold enough to target the Hyuga Clan, what makes you think he wouldn't go after Ino-Shika-Cho or any other clan?"
The rhetorical question hit Hiashi like a thunderclap. For the first time, he saw the full picture—Konoha's four senior leaders had crossed too many lines and made enemies of too many clans. They were little more than parasites feeding off the strength of others.
They'd robbed the clans of resources, then redistributed those spoils under the banner of "supporting civilian ninja"—all while branding themselves as champions of the "Civilian Ninja Clans."
As if "civilian" and "ninja clan" could even belong in the same sentence.
Rage boiled in Hiashi's chest again.
But this time, after the emotional rollercoaster of the past few minutes, he managed to contain it. And the more he listened to Hikaru's ideas, the more he realized: overthrowing the current leadership might not be so difficult after all.
Watching Hiashi quietly digest his proposal, Hikaru's mind wandered to the original plot of Naruto. He remembered how the anime had shown the Root Division training a batch of young ninjas—children from various major clans, all indoctrinated by Danzo.
Exactly as he suspected. That old dog Danzo would definitely try to pull all the children into Root, brainwash them, and turn them into tools.
After a moment, Hiashi gathered his thoughts. Although he'd agreed to cooperate with the Uchiha Clan, he knew he'd have to bring some tangible gains back to the Hyuga elders to keep them quiet.
"Deputy Clan Head Hikaru, how much authority over the Police Department would the Hyuga Clan be allowed to hold?"
Having made up his mind to form an alliance, Hiashi chose to be direct. There was no need for subtle games in front of someone like Hikaru, who could come up with such a bold strategy to undermine the Third Hokage.
" Hiashi, don't be so formal. Just call me Brother Hikaru. The Police Department is headed by the Chief and has five Directors beneath him, each overseeing several squads. There are thirty Squad Leaders in total. How does one Director and six Squad Leaders sound?"
Hiashi was stunned by the sincerity of the offer. That was one-fifth of the department's leadership—handed directly to the Hyuga Clan.
And this was no minor gesture. The Police Department was open to the entire village. Among its officers were members of powerful families like Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, and Inuzuka. Even counting Ino-Shika-Cho as a unit, that was still four major clans.
Not to mention smaller ninja families like Shiranui, Gekko, and Ibise.
Hikaru had just handed him an enormous gift. With a director and six squad leaders under Hyuga control, as long as the team selections weren't too lopsided, Hiashi could leverage that power brilliantly.
Hiashi was floored by the offer, but Hikaru didn't think much of it. In his eyes, this wasn't generosity—it was bait.
Once Hiashi accepted the gift, the Hyuga Clan would be on the Uchiha ship. And there would be no getting off.
This so-called "power sharing" was never about kindness. The open door of the Police Department was merely a trap. And the bait... was power.
Once the ninja clans and civilians—the "fish"—took the bait, they would never return to the still waters of the "Third Hokage's" rule.
Hiashi was pleased with the power Hikaru had offered. And Hikaru, in turn, was satisfied with the Hyuga Clan's decision.