Say for the next year or three. "We have looked at your findings very closely and will take what measures are necessary.
You will be called at a later point to discuss compensation, but for now please go with my appreciation for your diligence. And for your patience.
I know this has been stressful for you, especially so soon after a hospital stay. "
"This has been a breeze actually. " Could the man stop being a contrarian for one min- "I was ready for several years of scrutiny and weekly interrogation when I started this, assuming I didn't get lobotomised or tossed into a black hole somewhere by the nin-that-must-not-be-named.
" Again with the - what kind of village did this man thing he was running here? "Instead, I got to prepare my thesis in peace and got to defend it in a setting where I could actually delude myself into thinking my bigger stature compared to all of you actually made a difference to my survival prospects! Thanks for that. By your leave?"
If only you knew how deeply your self-awareness cut. "Go.
"
Finally, Masanari Hanzo left him in peace.
The wall slid open. "Hiruzen-"
"Not now Danzo. "
"This situation cannot be left to-"
"Danzo," said the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "I never pardon the same sin twice.
You know that, don't you?"
"… Yet your advance pardon allowed this man to commit the same sin over and over in the course of mere hours. "
"Are you here to request a few for Root's deviances? Because I must say I am quite keen to learn all about them now. "
The silence almost broke under its own weight as their wills and chakra scraped against each other.
Finally, Danzo inclined his head – barely. "I suppose it is called common sense for a reason.
" The man withdrew. From the room and, soon, from the tower entire.
You'll never stop twisting the spirit of my law, will you?
Despite himself, Hiruzen had Crow bring him the thesis. Looked at it for a while.
At the 'Recommendations. ' Minimize the use of mind control.
Move the Uchiha to the inner village for more consistent contact with the general populace. Recruit Hyuuga shinobi for more operational flexibility.
Recruit Inuzuka for tracking and forensics. Consider the use of Yamanaka auxiliaries.
Shared leadership on rotation between the three clans. Membership to ideally be opened eventually to any law-abiding applicant of relevant skills regardless of background.
Hiruzen barely saw the words anymore. All he could think was that he couldn't believe Konoha was a place where citizens could only do good in spite of him and his Shinobi.
He didn't want Konoha to be a place where people talked to him believing he might order them executed at every moment. That madness was for the lawless, for Rain, for the Village of Mists, not here.
He got up from his chair and went to the window. Looked at the Hokage monument.
Looked down at the people going about their day. Somewhere among them, there was a large minority, perhaps even majority, of civilian people who understood how he and his shinobi worked better than most genin.
Yet the invisible divide between them and the ninja was so large that nobody saw fit to recognize that, never mind report.
Konoha's citizens are no fools at least.
The thought wasn't as happy as it used to be. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaf .
-"
"In conclusion, the Uchiha Clan's so-called 'Curse of Hatred' as coined by the Second Hokage has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Though founded by Tobirama Senju and ostensibly given entirely to the Uchiha as a sign of trust and good faith between the Senju and themselves, the Konoha Military Police has instead become the white elephant through which the Uchiha Clan is being alienated.
This is further exacerbated by a variety of ancillary factors: building the police station next to a prison, the lack of involvement by the Uchiha clan in countering the Nine Tails' attack, moving the Uchiha Clan grounds to the outskirts of the village instead of inward during the rebuilding, and the visceral fight or flight response experienced by humans to the threat of mind control – which the Uchiha habitually resort to, even outside those rare cases where they have to act against other shinobi. This is coupled with the perceived lack of mechanisms for appeal in case of police overstep, as those handling the appeals are the same, either literally or figuratively, as those committing the perceived abuses to begin with.
Based on the statistical trends laid out previously, an irreversible breakdown of Konoha-Uchiha relations will most likely reach the tipping point in as little as a year. Therefore, a fundamental change in policy and practice is urgently required, both to break the 'abuse privileges' narrative that has resulted from this monopoly on punitive force, as well as to provide alternative vectors of interaction through which the optics of the Uchiha Clan may be rehabilitated.
The following are the scenarios most likely to occur according to current projections, with recommendations given to hopefully prevent them, or failing that mitigate the consequences. "
At his signal, Crow paused the video that Hiruzen and this expanded version of his council were still not done picking apart despite having already watched it eight different times during their closed-room discussions, with abundant pauses and rewinds during each. His old teammates Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, Root Commander Shimura Danzo, Jonin Commander Nara Shikaku, even the head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force was present, Morino Ibiki.
Hiruzen had also chosen to always have Uchiha Shisui among the Anbu on duty for these past four days, as an unofficial liaison with the Uchiha Clan head. Uchiha Fugaku's attendance during the first day had almost devolved into a screaming match between him and Danzo, before the former stormed out in disgust.
Sarutobi was honestly surprised Fugaku had requested to be present for this 'final' 'evaluation' of Masanari Hanzo's 'scientific thesis,' despite his so very personal stake in
the issue..
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