"You! How dare you!"
Homura trembled with rage, his finger pointing at Inaho shaking violently, yet he could only utter these few pale, powerless words.
Facing the blatant threat, Homura and Koharu gnashed their teeth in hatred, yet were helpless.
The Police Force indeed had legislative and enforcement powers. And investigations fell under their jurisdiction.
If they truly wrote "death by falling off a cliff," no one could do anything about it.
As Inaho left, the interrogation room fell silent once more.
This time, Homura and Koharu were not so relaxed. They finally endured until the third day, and Inaho, that bastard, came again. He once again found a random excuse and threw them back in.
Homura and Koharu finally realized something was wrong.
Interrogate, interrogate—at the very least, you have to interrogate.
Aside from throwing notebooks, giving orders, locking them up, releasing them, and then re-arresting them, no one from the Police Force had ever truly asked a single question.
No interrogation, no confrontation, no evidence presented, nothing at all.
If this was merely the Uchiha clan's retaliation out of personal grudge, then this method of revenge was too bizarre, too childish.
Behind this, there must be a larger and more terrifying conspiracy. Their goal was definitely not as simple as just imprisoning the two of them.
While the two oldies, Homura and Koharu, were repeatedly going through the process of being released and re-arrested, Satoshi had almost finished inventorying their clan assets.
Mitokado and Utatane could not be considered deeply rooted noble clans. Their current prestige was merely due to the fact that their clans had produced two highly influential advisors.
Leveraging this connection, they held key positions in the village, naturally taking over many lucrative businesses.
Where sunlight doesn't reach, that's where fat maggots breed.
In the Konoha Military Police Force office, documents were piled high like mountains.
Satoshi propped his chin, a headache throbbing from auditing the accounts. This would all be his money in the future, not a single penny could be missed.
"Mitokado Saburo? A little-known business associate, with a pitiful salary, yet he could suddenly acquire three properties in the commercial heartland where every inch of land is precious?"
"This bastard must have treated the public treasury as his own backyard, right? He's insanely greedy."
"And this one, going to see 'technical workers' seven days a week. Not only does he have a lot of money, but his body is also really good."
"This one, that one..."
Satoshi took out a small notebook and recorded hundreds of names.
"Inaho-senpai, come here for a moment."
No sooner had he spoken than the door was pushed open.
Inaho's figure already appeared at the desk, his movements swift and sharp.
Inaho quickly came to the desk, "Satoshi, please speak."
"Please invite these people to the Konoha Military Police Force for questioning."
Inaho took the list and glanced at it. "How many people?"
"Not many, just under a hundred, I suppose."
"..."
You call this "not many"?
Usually, the Police Force only arrested ten or so people a month.
Are they preparing to boost performance?
He hadn't heard that there was an assessment for this.
Inaho was a bit troubled and said, "The Police Force's cells are already packed to the brim. Even a fly would have to queue to get in."
"How about we transfer them to the underground guesthouse on Root's side? That place is spacious and soundproof."
Satoshi put down his teacup, decisive. "Alright, you handle it."
"Also, everyone has been working hard overtime recently, so I've prepared 8,800 ryo in overtime pay for each person. Tell them to pick it up from the finance office when they have time."
Inaho was deeply moved. "Understood."
He strode out of the office. "Stop eating. We have work. Grab your weapons, let's go arrest some people."
"Coming, coming, wait for me."
Outside, Tekka, who was wolfing down his lunchbox, finished his meal in two bites upon hearing this. He casually wiped the grease from his mouth.
He grabbed the katana leaning against the wall and quickly followed.
The other colleagues in the Konoha Military Police Force followed suit.
For a moment, the clashing of scabbards and hurried footsteps rose and fell.
Over a dozen elites in Uchiha uniforms, carrying gleaming swords, surged onto the streets like tigers unleashed from their cages, radiating killing intent.
Pedestrians on the street, seeing this formation from afar, changed their expressions as if they had seen a plague god.
They frantically dodged to the side of the road, and shop doors clattered, instantly making the streets much quieter.
Satoshi glanced out the window, sucking air through his teeth.
When the Uchiha endure, they truly endure. When they go crazy, they're truly f***ing crazy.
"Konoha Military Police Force on official business, everyone move aside!"
Inaho's voice, like a clap of thunder, rang out in front of a residence.
He unceremoniously pounded on the door, making the doorframe hum.
"Is that Saburo fellow in there? Come out."
After a long while, the door creaked open a crack.
A middle-aged man, still half-asleep, poked his head out.
"What's with the urgency? It's not even noon yet. Can't whatever it is wait until I've woken up? Don't you understand the rules?"
Hearing this, Inaho was almost enraged to death.
Damn it, they had been working for four hours already, and this old man still wasn't up.
Someone like him clearly wasn't good news, he needed a heavy-handed approach.
"Rules?"
Inaho, furious, laughed instead. "Today, I'll let you know what rules are. You're Mitokado Saburo, right? We have some questions for you, come with us."
With that, he reached out to grab Saburo's collar.
Saburo, relying on his connections, was accustomed to being arrogant. He pointed at Inaho's nose and cursed him out.
"The Police Force thinks it's so great? I've thoroughly read the 'Konoha Public Order Management Regulations'. Without concrete evidence, you have no right to arrest people. I'm going to find Homura-sa..."
Bang!
Inaho punched him, knocking out two of his front teeth.
"Provoking the authority of the Police Force, one month detention, a fine of ten thousand ryo. Go keep your Homura-sama company."
With that, everyone swarmed forward, first giving him a thorough beating. Only then did they tie him up securely and throw him into the vehicle.
"Next one."
Throughout that entire day, the residential areas of the Mitokado and Utatane clans, and even their various business properties across the village, found no peace. The people on the list were pulled out one by one.
Aside from a few troublemakers like Saburo at the beginning who were stubborn and got a good beating, most people, upon seeing the Uchiha, were already scared out of their wits.
Without waiting for the Police Force to come to their doors, they would scurry to the Police Force's entrance to surrender themselves, just hoping to avoid a few punches.
For assistance, Inaho had the other clan members take them back for questioning, and the rest would be arrested tomorrow. He, meanwhile, made a full round to check for any omissions.
Just as he walked to the intersection near the small river at the edge of the village, a familiar voice drifted over.
"Hey, uncle. The uncle with the ping-pong paddle, wait for me."
Inaho stopped, a vein throbbing uncontrollably on his forehead. "Bastard! Is this a ping-pong paddle? This is..."
He drew his sword, thinking of teaching a lesson to the fellow who was provoking Uchiha authority. But upon seeing the face of the person approaching, he sheathed his sword.
"Naruto? What is it?"
"Uncle, do you still want fish? I just caught it, it's very fresh."
"Yes, I'll take as many as you have."
Inaho took out a few banknotes and stuffed them into Naruto's hand.
He didn't like eating fish but he loved fishing. However, he often came back empty-handed.
He took the large fish, weighing over ten pounds, grinning like anything.
Heh heh, Tekka, you didn't expect I had this trick up my sleeve, did you?
Naruto carefully tucked away the banknotes and said, "Yay, I can buy instant ramen again."
After exchanging greetings, Naruto left. He hadn't gone far when he ran back again.
"Uncle, Sasuke hasn't been to school these past few days. Is he sick?"