Whether it was the sharpness of his vision, the power of his genjutsu, or his physical agility, he had improved by a significant margin.
However, aside from unlocking the ultimate technique known as Susanoo, his Mangekyo Sharingan hadn't revealed any other ocular powers.
This made Kawasaki a little uneasy, but he wasn't in a hurry. It wasn't like he needed them right now anyway.
Kawasaki could clearly feel that the power in his eyes was far greater than anyone else's.
As he trained, he was also mentally sizing up his clansmen, trying to figure out who had a talent for business.
But most Uchiha were skilled in combat; those who understood business and management were pitifully few.
A young man named Uchiha Akihira stood out.
Although he had only awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan at seventeen, he possessed other skills: business, research, and logistics management.
Akihira had even been Kawasaki's teammate before. The kid was a jack-of-all-trades, a fact he'd completely missed. He would need to be properly nurtured.
Beyond the Uchiha shinobi, ordinary villagers were also part of his considerations.
Most of these villagers ran small businesses in Konoha, and some of them truly had a knack for it.
Kawasaki silently committed them all to memory. This was the final piece of his plan falling into place.
Around Kawasaki, clansmen trained in small groups.
Trivial news from the outside world occasionally drifted to his ears.
Tired from training, Kawasaki walked over to the side to sit down for a drink of water.
At that moment, Fugaku was listening to a report from the Third and Fourth Elders.
"Clan Head, today I've already taught the Hyuga clan our Military Police's defensive layouts and patrol routes."
"It will probably take about a week for the Hyuga to go from learning the ropes to officially taking over."
Fugaku nodded.
"Did those men cause any trouble after returning?" Fugaku asked.
The Third Elder shook his head. "No. The troublemakers either spent the day at the training grounds or gathered to chat. They didn't cause any disturbances."
The Fourth Elder chimed in, "Of course they wouldn't. They were too busy enjoying the spectacle today."
"What spectacle?" The Third Elder spent all his time within the clan compound and didn't pay much attention to outside affairs.
The Fourth Elder said smugly, "Those merchants on the streets. When the Uchiha were in charge, they complained every single day... It was either about lax enforcement or slow response times, but the most common complaint was about excessive force."
"Today, they all came running to us, asking where the Military Police had gone."
"You should have seen the desperate look in their eyes, asking when we'd be sending people back out there."
The Fourth Elder clicked his tongue, a triumphant expression on his face. He relished the thought. Now they finally appreciated the Uchiha, but it was too late. The Uchiha were done serving them.
He was beginning to understand Kawasaki's intentions.
The Third Elder also caught on, looking toward Fugaku.
Fugaku nodded. "I see it too. Kawasaki is giving our clansmen an outlet. He said this is just the beginning, and that there will be many more opportunities for the Uchiha in the future."
The truth was, the Uchiha were the most suited for the Military Police. After all, every Uchiha was a versatile shinobi.
Their genjutsu could instantly subdue troublemakers, and their keen perception allowed them to spot problems immediately.
With their fierce taijutsu and swift agility, they could arrive at a scene in an instant.
But because of past events, the people of Konoha chose to selectively ignore these strengths.
And the Uchiha clansmen had always craved the villagers' acknowledgment.
In reality, the Uchiha never needed anyone else's approval.
Because the strong don't need recognition from others!
Just as Kawasaki had predicted.
Over the next few days, public order in Konoha deteriorated.
There were no major conflicts, but petty thefts went unchecked.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage had the Anbu keeping an eye on things, or real chaos might have erupted.
The complaints to the Military Police headquarters ceased, but every day, people came asking questions.
They wanted to know when new officers would be dispatched, but the Uchiha had no one to send.
Left with no other choice, the merchants could only go to the Hokage to report the situation.
Not everyone could get an audience with the Hokage, of course.
But these villagers had lived in Konoha for a long time. They had connections, relatives, and when enough of them spoke up, their opinions naturally reached the Third Hokage.
The Third had no choice but to urge the Hyuga clan to take over sooner.
Under the Third's pressure, the Hyuga mobilized two days early. On the sixth day, the new Military Police officers finally took their posts.
However, their forces were smaller than the Uchiha's had been.
The Hyuga possessed the Byakugan for observation and the Gentle Fist to seal chakra, making them decent police officers.
The one in charge was Hyuga Hizashi, and the ranks were filled entirely with members of the Hyuga branch family.
Hizashi learned from the Uchiha's mistakes, demanding that all Hyuga officers enforce the law gently to avoid complaints from the villagers.
The branch family members were used to fighting on the front lines, and they all bore the Caged Bird Seal on their foreheads.
Despite being from the noble Hyuga clan, they put on no airs and were quite approachable.
As a result, they primarily resolved civilian disputes through mediation.
Seeing the esteemed Hyuga act so reasonably, the villagers heaped praise upon them.
"The Hyuga are so reliable."
"So much gentler than the Uchiha."
"The Hyuga should have been in charge of the Military Police all along."
...
Kawasaki and Itachi walked down the street together. Itachi had already resigned from his position in the Anbu under the Third Hokage.
Kawasaki wanted to spend more time with Itachi. After all, Itachi was destined to become a powerful asset, but his illness was a problem that needed solving.
Fugaku had also encouraged Itachi to get closer to Kawasaki, and Itachi himself greatly admired Kawasaki's wisdom.
Both of them wanted to see how the villagers would react as the Uchiha slowly withdrew from the Military Police.
"Itachi, what do you think our clan needs most?" Kawasaki chatted with Itachi while surveying Konoha's streets. Though called a village, its scale was anything but small.
Judging by the bustling streets, the permanent population had to be in the hundreds of thousands. No wonder the Uchiha had always coveted power.
But unfortunately, the future shifts in the shinobi world wouldn't be decided by these hundreds of thousands of ordinary people.
Lacking top-tier combatants, Konoha's prosperity was only skin-deep.
Years of suppressive policies had led the Hokage's faction to completely distrust the Uchiha.
Forget becoming Hokage; they weren't even given a seat among the council of elders.
No wonder the Uchiha were so resentful.
The more the Hokage's faction refused to yield power, the tighter the Uchiha clung to the Military Police. During the Nine-Tails attack, it was the village leadership that had forbidden the Uchiha from participating.
Yet in the end, that became the very reason for the villagers' suspicion.
It was hard to say whether this shift in public opinion was orchestrated by the Hokage's faction, but the question remained whether the mastermind was Danzo or the Third himself.
Itachi thought for a moment. "Vice-Clan Head, I think it's a sense of belonging."
Kawasaki waved his hand. "Just call me senpai."
"Recognition? How many Jonin has our Uchiha clan produced? How many are there in the entire village?"
In Konoha, the total number of officially registered Jonin was only around two hundred.
A single Jonin could lead three to five four-man squads in peacetime and even more during war, making them incredibly important.
But in the Military Police, even an Uchiha Jonin was relegated to the role of a mere squad leader.
There were over thirty such Jonin-level squad leaders in the force.
"The Uchiha have more Jonin than any other clan, yet they're all stuck in the small world of the Military Police."
"Stuck in the Military Police, our people will never gain true recognition. They spend their days handling trivial matters, their edge slowly dulled over time."
"We Uchiha are strong on our own. Who needs recognition from others?"