Naruto: The Shadow of Uchiha

In the afternoon, after completing a mission and returning to the Konoha Police Force Headquarters, Uchiha Inaho walked toward Uchiha Yatsushiro's office with a purpose in mind.

Yatsushiro, with his short brown hair, was currently in his office, buried in paperwork—handling village civilians' complaints.

Right now, he was feeling irritated by these matters. After all, he had simply instructed his subordinates to act in accordance with the law, yet people still filed complaints.

Just like how a child had stolen from a shop—the Uchiha Police naturally arrested and jailed him, but the child's parents were upset and filed a formal complaint to him.

Of course, Yatsushiro had directly rejected the complaint and had the boy imprisoned.

He believed his subordinate had done the right thing.

If you break the law, you face the consequences. That's how it should be.

Now, the child's parents had teamed up with the shop owner and were appealing again, but Yatsushiro again denied their request.

In his eyes, the law was the law. Age didn't excuse criminal behavior. Otherwise, what kind of precedent would that set?

More importantly, punishing lawbreakers appropriately also taught valuable lessons to children.

That matter had been handled—case dismissed.

But now, someone else had come to his office to plead a case.

A middle-aged man stood before his desk, trying to reason with him.

"Lord Yatsushiro, even if my father did steal something, he's so old—can't you just let him go?"

The man didn't like working and always sought to live comfortably by freeloading. He had even told his elderly father to steal for him.

Usually, even if they were caught by the shop owner, the old man's age would get him sympathy, and no one would press charges.

And if the store still insisted on filing charges, he would just go cause a scene and get them to back off.

But this time, unfortunately, the Uchiha Police Force had witnessed it directly. His father was arrested for theft and detained.

That meant the man just lost half of his income source.

Yatsushiro stared coldly at the man and said sternly:

"If someone breaks the law, they get arrested. Even a child knows this. You're a grown man—don't you understand that?"

"Your father committed a crime, and as his son, you share some of the blame. Honestly, I'm tempted to lock you up too."

The man's expression turned sour. If the Uchiha clan learned the full truth, they might really arrest him too.

Still, he wasn't willing to lose his financial support so easily.

He tried again:

"Lord Yatsushiro, my father is so old. If something happens to him in your jail, it'll reflect badly on your police force, won't it?"

"You have to take responsibility for his safety. Wouldn't it be better to just release him into my custody?"

His words were laced with veiled threats.

If something happened to an old man in police custody, the Uchiha would be held accountable.

But Yatsushiro wasn't having any of it.

"If something happens to your father in jail, that's not the Uchiha's problem."

"That's the consequence of his age—and more importantly, your responsibility as a son."

"I will not approve this request."

"According to Article 2 of the Public Security Code, theft requires a two-week detention in the Uchiha Police jail."

"If you have nothing else, leave."

The man hadn't expected the Uchiha to be so rigid—neither threats nor pleas worked.

He began to hate the Uchiha.

Without his father's help stealing, his quality of life would plummet.

Damn Uchiha—they really did deal with every tiny thing as seriously as the villagers said.

Just then, Inaho entered the office.

He ran right into the disgruntled middle-aged man storming out and noticed the still-scowling Yatsushiro sitting at his desk.

With a grin, he asked:

"Elder, another issue again? What's got you in such a foul mood?"

Yatsushiro explained the earlier matter.

He was frustrated by how the villagers constantly interfered with the Uchiha's law enforcement. It was irritating beyond belief.

Whether young or old, if you violated the Public Security Code, you were to be arrested. No exceptions for age.

Inaho agreed wholeheartedly:

"I'm with you, Elder. Letting people off because they're old only creates habitual offenders. That'd be a disaster."

Yatsushiro felt reassured seeing his fellow clan member agreeing with him. His mood lightened a bit.

"So, brat, why aren't you out on patrol? What are you doing here?"

"Don't tell me you're slacking off."

Inaho quickly explained:

"Of course not! I'm here to recommend someone from our clan. If we can bring him into the radical faction, we can revitalize the Uchiha."

Now Yatsushiro was intrigued.

The current political climate within Konoha was getting worse for the Uchiha. He could deeply sense the disdain and exclusion from the village's upper management.

And yet, the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, kept yielding to Konoha's leadership. Yatsushiro hated seeing it.

The only way forward was to rally the ambitious youths within the clan and pressure Fugaku to stop backing down. Only then could the Uchiha reclaim their former glory.

Of course, Yatsushiro had no plans to usurp power.

Fugaku was one of the most powerful in the clan, and Yatsushiro respected his strength. He himself wasn't strong enough to carry the clan on his own anyway.

"So, who do you want to recommend?"

Uchiha Inaho smiled:

"The grandson of the Grand Elder—Uchiha Ryosuke."

"If we can win him over, even the Grand Elder might stand with us."

"With that kind of influence, we could pressure the clan head into finally standing firm against the Hokage's leadership."

Yatsushiro fell silent, lost in thought.

He wasn't particularly fond of Ryosuke.

Ryosuke was technically part of the Uchiha Police, but he never showed up for work.

Yatsushiro had even complained about him to Fugaku.

But Fugaku had brushed it off, telling him to ignore it.

After all, Ryosuke's grandfather was the Grand Elder—someone with unmatched seniority. Even Fugaku had to show respect, let alone Yatsushiro.

"Why him?"

"Has he shown signs of rebellion against the Hokage or expressed interest in reviving the Uchiha's might?"

Inaho quieted down and admitted:

"I'm not sure."

"But I want to bring him in because Ryosuke is a true Uchiha genius. He defeated me in taijutsu, and he's awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan."

"Even though he just awakened it, his ocular power is already stronger than mine."

"As you know, the only youths in the clan who could carry the torch were Shisui and Itachi—but both are in the ANBU."

"They can't be trusted anymore."

"But Ryosuke—he might be the third genius who can carry the clan."

Yatsushiro was shocked.

He hadn't realized this kid was hiding such strength—he had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.

At only 16 years old, and already able to defeat 20-year-old Inaho? That definitely counted as top-tier talent.