"No!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Hiruzen Sarutobi slamd the table and stood up, loudly voicing his opposition.
As an experienced politician, Hiruzen had long been aware that Konoha's current legal system had many flaws, which had led to nurous disputes within the village.
However, in order to prevent the Uchiha clan from realizing the situation, Hiruzen believed those disputes were an acceptable price to pay.
What he hadn't expected was that the Uchiha would notice the issue at this mont.
Revising the village's laws wasn't impossible—
But it absolutely could not be done solely by the Uchiha clan.
If the Uchiha were allowed to revise the laws on their own, then the contents of those laws would naturally be determined by them.
They could easily create regulations beneficial to their own clan.
If they disliked soone, they could simply fabricate a legal pretext, arrest that person, and deal with them however they wished.
When legislative power and law-enforcent power were held by the sa family, the entire village could be turned upside down.
The problem was that the Uchiha really did possess this authority.
Even Hiruzen had no way to deny it.
For years he had simply avoided ntioning the issue, hoping the Uchiha would eventually forget about this power.
But now—
Uchiha Ren had brought it back to the surface.
Ren sneered.
"Third Hokage, even if you were still the Hokage, you would not have the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the Konoha Military Police Force."
"Not to ntion that you are no longer the Hokage."
"Fugaku and I are rely here to inform you."
"We are not here to ask for your opinion."
When Konoha was first founded, the village did not yet contain so many powerful clans.
Most of the authority was concentrated in the hands of the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan.
Even though Tobirama Senju was deeply wary of the Uchiha, they had been co-founders of the village—original stakeholders.
It was impossible to deny them influence entirely.
Moreover, Tobirama understood the Uchiha well.
He knew that the clan did not excel in political scheming.
That was why he had been comfortable granting them those powers.
And history had proven that Tobirama's decision was not mistaken.
Even after years of suppression, the Uchiha had never abused those powers.
In fact, they had barely even thought of using them.
First, the Uchiha believed strongly in strength above all else, disdaining such political tricks.
Second, the clan's mindset was sowhat… straightforward.
They took laws very seriously and had never considered manipulating them.
Until Uchiha Ren appeared.
Hiruzen's expression grew extrely unpleasant, but his tone softened slightly.
"Uchiha Ren , strictly speaking, it would indeed be inappropriate for to interfere in the affairs of the Military Police, and even less appropriate for to interfere in the affairs of the Uchiha clan."
"How about this?"
"The village will no longer question the change of the Uchiha clan head or the Chief of the Military Police Force. Your clan may handle those matters internally."
"But revising the laws is a matter of enormous importance."
"It concerns the stability of the entire village."
"I believe it would be better not to make such a decision hastily."
"Furthermore, Konoha is currently preparing for the election of the Fourth Hokage."
"The Military Police will need to devote significant resources to maintaining order during that ti."
"So why not postpone the issue of legal reform until after the Fourth Hokage takes office?"
At this point, Hiruzen was genuinely wary of Ren .
He didn't dare allow Ren to present any more "evidence" of Fugaku's negligence, fearing it might expose even more damaging matters.
So he chose to stop contesting the leadership change and instead tried to delay the legal reform until he could find a way to deal with it.
Ren smiled slightly.
"Please rest assured, Third Hokage."
"Revising laws is never sothing that can be done overnight. It requires extensive investigation, analysis, and discussion before an appropriate legal system can be drafted."
"So waiting until the Fourth Hokage takes office before addressing the matter is perfectly reasonable."
Ren did not push the issue further.
After all, forcing Hiruzen too hard might cause him to lash out in desperation.
So matters could wait until Namikaze Minato beca Hokage.
"That's good… that's good."
Hiruzen forced a strained smile.
"In that case… you Uchiha shouldn't have anything else to discuss, correct?"
Ren pretended to think for a mont before replying.
"There is one more matter."
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.
"What is it now?"
Ren smiled.
"Third Hokage, perhaps you forgot sothing."
"So far we've only discussed Uchiha Fugaku stepping down as clan head and Chief of the Military Police Force."
"But we haven't yet announced who will succeed him."
Hiruzen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're right. I nearly forgot such an important matter."
"So who will be the new Uchiha clan head and Chief of the Military Police Force?"
Ren clasped his hands and bowed slightly toward everyone in the room.
"I am honored to say—"
"That person is myself."
"From today onward, I hope for everyone's support."
Imdiately, voices rose around the room.
"Not at all, not at all!"
"Haha, Clan Head Uchiha is truly young and accomplished!"
"Congratulations, Clan Head Uchiha!"
…
After witnessing Ren 's confrontation with the Konoha's Council of Elders, no one dared underestimate him anymore.
Regardless of their personal feelings, they all offered polite congratulations.
From this mont onward—
Uchiha Ren had truly secured his position as both the Uchiha Clan Head and Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force.
"Very well."
"If there is nothing else, this eting is adjourned."
Hiruzen felt deeply uncomfortable watching the scene.
After abruptly declaring the eting over, he stood and left the conference room first.
Homura Mitokado and the others followed.
The departnt heads also quickly made excuses and departed.
Once everyone had gone, Uchiha Fugaku finally let out a long breath.
"Clan Head… wasn't that a little too much?"
"You didn't give Hiruzen Sarutobi any face at all."
"I'm still breaking out in cold sweat."
Fugaku had been genuinely shocked by Ren 's blunt words.
When he dealt with Hiruzen in the past, he had always been respectful—even cautious.
But Ren had practically pressed his advantage and slapped Hiruzen's face repeatedly in public.
The fact that Hiruzen hadn't exploded in anger was already sothing of a miracle.
Ren shook his head calmly.
"That's nothing."
"For soone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, you must not give him too much face."
"Just watch."
"This is only the beginning."
"You'll see situations like this many more tis in the future."
"And eventually—you'll get used to it."
He turned and began walking out.
"Co on."
"Let's return to the Uchiha Clan Compound first."
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