The transfer of authority within the Konoha Military Police Force?
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others widened their eyes, wondering if they had misheard.
After all, the authority of the Konoha Military Police Force had always been firmly controlled by the Uchiha clan. It was the greatest source of power in their hands.
The position of Chief of the Military Police Force had always been held by the acting Uchiha clan head.
If the head of the Military Police changed, it meant the Uchiha clan leader had changed as well.
Wasn't last night's Uchiha Clan Assembly supposed to be a confrontation between the Radical Faction and the Conservative Faction within the clan?
Uchiha Fugaku, the current clan head, belonged to the moderate middle ground. Logically speaking, both factions should have been trying to win him over.
So why had the outcome of the meeting ended up affecting Fugaku himself?
Hiruzen had always been fairly satisfied with Fugaku, who understood the bigger picture. This sudden development had completely caught him off guard.
"Hiruzen, now isn't the time to dwell on that," Koharu Utatane said, the first to react. "Call the heads of each department. Let's see what exactly the Uchiha are planning."
In Konoha, the highest administrative unit was a "department."
And the Konoha Military Police Force was one of the Six Major Departments of Konoha.
Although the Military Police was essentially the private power base of the Uchiha clan, any transfer of authority still had to be formally reported to the Hokage and the heads of the other departments.
Hiruzen nodded.
"Shinnosuke, notify all department heads currently in the village. Tell them to gather in the conference room in ten minutes."
After a pause, he added,
"And make sure Shimura Danzō and Namikaze Minato are invited as well."
Since no one knew what had happened during last night's Uchiha meeting, Hiruzen could only take things one step at a time.
"Yes!"
Shinnosuke nodded and disappeared in a flash.
Ten minutes later, inside a small conference room in the Hokage Tower, the Konoha's Council of Elders, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat on the raised platform.
Below them stood dozens of people arranged on both sides.
Although this meeting was smaller than the previous Jōnin Assembly, everyone present held real authority within Konoha.
Furthermore, many shinobi had recently returned from the front lines, so more department heads were present than before. The weight of this meeting was therefore no less significant than that of the earlier jōnin conference.
All Six Major Departments of Konoha were represented.
First was the village's supreme authority, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who also served as Minister of the Konoha Education Department and Principal of the Ninja Academy.
Next came:
Mitokado Homura, Minister of the Konoha Administrative DepartmentKoharu Utatane, Minister of the Konoha Medical Department and Deputy Minister of AdministrationSarutobi Shinnosuke, Commander of the ANBUMorino Daijin, Head of the Konoha Interrogation DivisionAnd Shimura Danzō, leader of Root, which operated independently from the Six Departments
There were also heads of several special organizations outside the six departments:
Nara Shikaku, Head of the Jōnin Command UnitYamanaka Inoichi, Head of the Analysis TeamAs well as the chiefs of the Konoha Prison, Mission Assignment Bureau, Barrier Team, and various squad leaders from subordinate departments.
Standing in the center of the room were the focus of this meeting:
Uchiha Ren and Uchiha Fugaku.
Ren 's gaze swept slowly across everyone in the conference room. In his mind, the administrative structure of Konoha had never been clearer.
The village's power had essentially been completely divided up by the Konoha's Council of Elders on the stage.
Departments that controlled military strength or education—such as the ANBU, the Education Department, the Mission Assignment Bureau, and the Barrier Team—were mostly overseen by members of the Sarutobi clan.
In other words, the real authority of these departments remained firmly in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands.
Meanwhile, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado controlled the two departments with the greatest flow of resources:
The Administrative DepartmentThe Medical Department
Within those departments, key units responsible for the village's resources—such as the Logistics Unit, Finance Unit, Resource Management Unit, Medical Emergency Unit, Pharmaceutical Management Unit, and Medical Training Unit—were all headed by members of the Utatane and Mitokado clans.
As for the Shimura clan behind Danzō, they did not appear to hold many official posts within the departments.
However, as far as Ren knew, the Shimura clan had leveraged their close ties with the other three families to operate a large number of commercial businesses throughout Konoha.
More importantly, Shimura Danzō controlled Root—an organization similar to an intelligence and secret police apparatus.
Its authority was largely outside normal oversight, operating almost completely without restraint.
That left only the departments responsible for dirty, exhausting work with little profit—such as the Interrogation Division, Torture Unit, Reconnaissance Unit, Prison, Corpse Disposal Unit, and Ninken Care Unit—for members of other families aligned with the Hokage's faction.
As for civilian shinobi…
Heh.
Let alone becoming department heads—most of them were lucky just to obtain a regular position within these departments.
The Konoha's Council of Elders truly were the great power brokers of the village.
"Sorry, I'm late."
At that moment, the conference room doors opened and Namikaze Minato entered with an apologetic expression.
Although Minato was known as the fastest shinobi in the world, receiving a sudden summons meant he first had to settle the thousand-plus shinobi under his command before coming. That had delayed him slightly.
"It's fine, Minato. Stand over there."
Hiruzen didn't say much, simply pointing to a spot at the front below the platform. Minato walked over and stood beside Orochimaru.
Neither Minato nor Orochimaru held formal positions in the village administration, but given their status and achievements, no one questioned their presence at this meeting.
Once Minato settled in place, Hiruzen cleared his throat.
"Everyone is here. Let's begin."
After a brief pause, he looked toward the two Uchiha standing in the center.
"This meeting was called by Uchiha Fugaku, Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force."
"The purpose is for all of you to witness the transfer of authority within the Military Police."
The moment these words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent.
Everyone present stared at Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Ren in astonishment.
They couldn't understand why Fugaku would choose to step down at a time like this.
And since Ren had arrived together with him…
Did that mean the new Uchiha clan head—and the new Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force—was Uchiha Ren ?
But Ren was far too young.
His seniority and qualifications were clearly insufficient.
How could he possibly suppress all the other Uchiha members?
Facing the countless gazes in the room, Ren remained calm and composed.
"In accordance with the unanimous decision of the entire Uchiha clan," he said evenly,
"Uchiha Fugaku was relieved last night of his positions as Uchiha clan head and Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force."
"As for the reason—"
"It is because Uchiha Fugaku neglected his duties."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 100+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789