When Ichiro arrived at the Konoha Police Force headquarters, signs of battle were still evident. But seeing all the members going about their duties as usual, he was quite satisfied.
"Not bad. Goro and Ken are doing alright. At least the Police Force didn't get flattened."
The two had stood firm against the pressure from the other major clans, which was enough for Ichiro to be pleased with their performance.
"Lord Ichiro."
As he entered the office, Goro and Ken quickly came to report to him. Both bore visible injuries, and exhaustion was written all over their faces.
Seeing Ichiro, they finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if they'd found their anchor.
They had been under immense pressure the entire previous day—but they'd also reaped significant results.
Many members of the Hyuga clan were now imprisoned, along with individuals from the Sarutobi and Shimura clans.
Even when the ANBU and Root came to demand their release, they had refused.
That refusal hadn't come through peaceful negotiation—only through force.
After receiving their report, Ichiro told them to rest. He then made his way to the Konoha prison.
Konoha had two prisons: one controlled by the ANBU, the other by the Police Force.
"Hiashi Hyuga, how was your night here? Comfortable?"
The first person Ichiro went to see was Hiashi.
Hiashi opened his eyes from where he'd been meditating. Usually well-groomed, he now looked quite disheveled.
"Uchiha Ichiro, anyone who offends the Hyuga clan will not be forgiven."
"Hah—still talking big in this state? You think I won't kill you right here?"
Ichiro casually opened the cell door and walked inside.
Seeing him enter, Hiashi wisely stayed still.
He couldn't even beat Ken, much less Ichiro—and he was injured on top of that.
"I don't believe you'd dare kill me."
Hiashi remained calm.
He was still the Hyuga clan head—Ichiro wouldn't dare, right?
"What if I said you were a traitor trying to defect from the village? Think anyone would stop me then? Sure, I might get into a little trouble—but you'd definitely be dead."
Ichiro smiled faintly.
If he wanted to frame Hiashi, it'd be laughably easy. Whether others believed him or not didn't matter—as long as Ichiro believed it himself.
And really, who would go out of their way to offend him for the sake of a dead man?
"If I wanted, I could 'find' evidence in your house tomorrow showing you were conspiring with foreign villages."
Hiashi's face turned dark with fury, but he had no comeback. Facing a villain like Ichiro, words were useless.
"What do you want in exchange for releasing the captured Hyuga members?"
Though reluctant to yield, Hiashi couldn't help but fear that Ichiro might really go berserk and slaughter everyone in custody.
Everyone in the village knew Ichiro was ruthless.
He'd made a name for himself during the Second Great Ninja War before even turning fifteen—by being utterly merciless.
"It's simple. I just want a bit of money. A modest fee for maintaining public safety. Your Hyuga clan is rich—you should be able to afford it, no?"
"You caused all this… just for money?" Hiashi frowned.
He couldn't believe Ichiro would risk offending so many people just for cash.
"People die for wealth, birds for food—isn't that perfectly normal?"
Of course, Ichiro didn't mention his true motive. Money wasn't the main goal—he wanted evil points.
"How much?"
"Not much. Just ten million ryō. Non-negotiable."
Ichiro said the words "not much" with a smile.
Hiashi's face twisted when he heard the amount. Ten million—and you call that not much?
In the end, Hiashi had no choice but to compromise. As clan head, he couldn't stay locked up here indefinitely—it was a matter of pride.
"Release me, and I'll have someone deliver the money."
"Fine. I trust you won't go back on your word. But let me make this clear—if the money doesn't show up, I'll come collect it myself."
With that, Ichiro waved a hand, and his men released Hiashi.
After handling Hiashi, Ichiro moved on to deal with the others. Keeping them locked up was just wasting food—far better to bleed some money out of them.
Even if each extortion only gave him a small number of evil points—maybe one or two thousand—they added up quickly with enough victims.
"Uchiha Ichiro. The Hokage has summoned you."
An ANBU wearing a cat-faced mask appeared before him, voice cold and emotionless.
"Hah, finally ran out of patience, did he? Honestly, I'm surprised he lasted two days."
As the ANBU used Body Flicker to vanish, Ichiro sneered coldly.
He had expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to summon him sooner. The fact that he'd waited until today meant he'd finally lost his cool.
Not surprising, really. Ichiro had assigned new recruits to repeat the same crackdown that the Police Force had conducted the day before, making Konoha even more chaotic.
Many shopkeepers didn't even dare open their stores—afraid they'd be harassed or arrested on some flimsy excuse.
The Police Force was also expanding its size—something guaranteed to strike a nerve with Hiruzen.
Hiruzen had always been wary of the Uchiha clan. Now Ichiro was enlarging the Police Force—it was natural for Hiruzen to suspect he was building his own faction.
At the Hokage Tower, Ichiro arrived once more.
This time, as he entered the office, Hiruzen didn't even try to hide his displeasure. His face was grim.
"I wonder—what might the Hokage want from me?"
Ichiro asked calmly.
Hiruzen stared at him, clearly thinking: As if you don't know why you're here.
This time, Hiruzen wasn't going to play nice or make empty speeches.
"What's going on with the Police Force these past two days? I hear you've been running wild, arresting people all over Konoha?"
His Hokage-level chakra pressure surged toward Ichiro.