At the Nara clan's pharmacy, Goro arrived with a squad.
The owner frowned at the sight of the Uchiha crest emblazoned on Goro's uniform. Like many others in Konoha, the Nara clan didn't enjoy dealing with the Uchiha. Part of it was due to their arrogance—many Uchiha were known for being aloof and domineering, always carrying themselves with a superior air that made others resentful.
The other reason? The strained relationship between the Uchiha and the higher-ups in Konoha. With that tension known to all, most clans sided with the Hokage rather than risk aligning with the Uchihas.
Still, business was business.
"Can I help you with something?" the owner asked.
"I'm here on behalf of the Konoha Police Force to collect a public safety management fee," Goro said coldly.
"Public safety fee? Since when was that a thing?" the owner replied, brow furrowing deeper.
It was obvious what was happening—the Uchiha were here to extort money.
"Enough talk. Hand it over—I've got more stops and no time to waste."
"I'm not paying. There's no such regulation in Konoha."
Goro let out a cold laugh. "People say the Nara are smart, but clearly you're an exception."
He raised his hand. "This shop has been reported for selling counterfeit medicines. Arrest them for investigation. Selling fake medicine in Konoha? You clearly don't respect the Police Force."
He added, "Confiscate all inventory. Take everything back to HQ."
Two Uchiha operatives immediately sprang into action, detaining both the owner and his employees.
"You're abusing power! The Nara rely on our reputation—we'd never sell fakes! You're using this as an excuse to settle a score!"
"Still arguing?"
A sharp blow knocked the owner unconscious. Goro then summoned a trusted subordinate.
"Replace all the medicine with fakes. Every last one."
"Yes, Vice Captain."
"Let's move. Next shop."
Minutes later, the BBQ shop next door was shut down over "food safety concerns," and its owner taken away.
Goro worked fast. In one morning, he had arrested the owners of dozens of shops—some belonging to major clans, others to independent shinobi or civilians. It didn't matter. Anyone who didn't pay the public safety fee was arrested without exception.
Very few actually paid. So in almost every place the Police Force visited, someone got taken away.
"Feels like I'm raking in Evil Points while lying down."
By noon, Ichiro had earned tens of thousands of Evil Points—exactly his main goal. It wasn't just about the money—it was all about racking up those points.
"Lord Ichiro, we've made a lot of enemies this way," Ken cautioned.
"Let me ask you something. How are our relations with the other clans?"
Ken hesitated, then shook his head. "Not good."
Indeed, despite Konoha having many clans, none had good relations with the Uchiha. Many were outright enemies: the Hyūga, the Sarutobi, and the Shimura families in particular.
Even those not overtly hostile avoided dealing with the Uchiha.
"Since we're already not on good terms, why worry about offending them?"
Ichiro didn't care how many people he pissed off. His entire system was built on antagonizing others.
They were already isolated by the clans and the Konoha higher-ups—what was there to fear? Things were already as bad as they could get.
"Remember this: 'Good men die young, but villains live forever.'"
Ichiro wasn't worried about the higher-ups ganging up on the Uchiha. This wasn't the post-massacre era—this was still before the Third Great Ninja War. The Uchiha clan was at full strength.
Unlike the era of the massacre, where only a few standouts like Fugaku, Shisui, and Itachi remained—two of whom were traitors and the third did nothing—the current Uchiha had over thirty Jōnin.
Konoha might be able to eliminate them, sure—but at what cost? The other villages would swoop in the moment conflict erupted.
That's why Ichiro acted so brazenly—because he could.
"In the afternoon, deploy everyone. Also, we need to expand the Police Force—we're clearly short on manpower."
He turned to Ken, his other vice captain. Ichiro had appointed both Goro and Ken to serve beneath him after he took command.
"But if we're going to recruit, we won't find many willing—anyone loyal to Fugaku definitely won't join."
"Then recruit from outside the clan."
"You really mean to recruit non-Uchiha, Lord Ichiro? Traditionally, the Police Force has always been Uchiha-only."
"Yes. We'll recruit both ninja and civilians. The Police Force is expanding."
Ichiro had this planned for a while. And the best part? He didn't need the Hokage's approval. The Police Force had always been operated autonomously by the Uchiha. Hiruzen never had any real control over it to begin with.
Ken didn't know why Ichiro wanted to bring in civilians, but he didn't question it. He knew Ichiro didn't like subordinates who asked too many questions.
If Lord Ichiro gave the order, you simply obeyed.
"With me expanding the Police Force, the Third Hokage's probably going to panic."
Ichiro was sure that Hiruzen would try to interfere somehow. So he needed a good excuse to fend him off.
Not that it would be hard—coming up with a reason would be a piece of cake.