After listening to Kawasaki's words, Itachi nodded in understanding.
"I've heard the Hyuga are doing a good job. Complaints are few. What do you think, Senpai?" Itachi mused, glancing toward the street.
Hearing Itachi call him Senpai, Kawasaki felt much more at ease. The title of Vice-Clan Head, which Fugaku had given him on a whim, had always made Kawasaki feel awkward.
Kawasaki followed his gaze. Two members of the Hyuga Clan, serving on the Police Force, were busy mediating a dispute.
A moment later.
"Few complaints?" A corner of his mouth twitched. "The Police Force's job is anything but easy."
Sure enough, the argument escalated. The two men being mediated raised their voices. "Who the hell do you think you are, sticking your nose in my business? My wife is from the Yamanaka Clan!"
"So what if she's a Yamanaka? My name is Shimura, understand? I'm a kinsman of the Council Elder, Danzo Shimura…"
The two Hyuga officers were caught in the middle, unsure whether to apprehend them or not.
"Sir, you were clearly the one at fault. The other party was merely acting in self-defense," Hyuga Gōkawa explained patiently.
After all, Hizashi had instructed them not to make arrests unless the situation was severe.
"You're just a member of the branch family, a watchdog! You dare to lecture me?" the man slurred, drunk. He began kicking and punching at Gōkawa, who was restraining him, his words dripping with venom.
Gōkawa's expression darkened. The insult had struck a nerve—for a member of the branch family, it was the greatest taboo.
He extended two fingers and struck the drunkard's body. The man's tenketsu were hit, and he instantly collapsed, his face hitting the ground. Blood streamed from his nose as he cried, "You used excessive force! I'm going to file a complaint against you!"
Hyuga Gōkawa's face was ashen. He saw the surrounding villagers pointing and whispering at him. He quickly grabbed his partner and dragged the drunkard away.
Watching from the sidelines, Itachi felt a sense of deja vu. He had often seen Shisui encounter similar situations, and Shisui always chose to apologize and de-escalate.
This had earned Shisui some criticism from certain members of the clan.
Most of the merchants here had ties to the major clans. Whenever a conflict arose, they would use their connections as a threat.
The Uchiha were often caught in the same predicament, forced to play the peacemaker. But many Uchiha were emotional by nature. Smoothing things over didn't work for them; if words failed, fists would fly.
Now that these duties had been handed over to the Hyuga, it seemed they weren't handling it any better than the Uchiha had. Itachi's admiration for Kawasaki grew.
Kawasaki saw the look on Itachi's face and smiled faintly. Many Uchiha had faced these situations, but they never tolerated such behavior.
The pride of the Uchiha would not allow for false pretenses. They had always enforced the law impartially—arresting those who needed to be arrested, jailing those who needed to be jailed.
Over the years, the Uchiha had grown accustomed to this method. And this was precisely what the Second Hokage, Tobirama, had intended. If you enforced the law justly, you were bound to offend the other ninja clans. Offend the other clans, and you would never get their votes of confidence in a Hokage election.
That was why an Uchiha could never become Hokage. Otherwise, with Fugaku's accomplishments in the Third Great Ninja War, even if he didn't become Hokage, he should have at least secured a position as a Council Elder.
...
Even though the Police Force patrols had changed hands, it was clear the Hyuga Clan was far less adept at handling these matters than the Uchiha.
At least the Uchiha arrested and jailed offenders regardless of their background. The Hyuga branch family, however, was too constrained by the main family, their actions restricted, leaving them overwhelmed.
At that very moment, Kawasaki selected several civilians from the Uchiha clan with a knack for business and sent them out discreetly.
Leaving Konoha was easy, but entering was difficult. Civilians were generally not inspected when they left the village. A significant portion of the Uchiha clan consisted of civilians without ninja talent; many would never awaken their Sharingan. Besides their surname, they were no different from ordinary people.
In his past life, Kawasaki had worked in the restaurant business. For the past few days, he had been busy writing recipes and developing a plan. The dishes he envisioned were likely unheard of in this world.
...
Outside Konoha's barrier, Ao led a team of seven elite Kirigakure ninja, rapidly approaching the village.
"Byakugan!"
The veins around Ao's right eye bulged. His reconnaissance revealed that the Konoha Police Force was composed of Hyuga, not Uchiha.
"It seems the Uchiha and Konoha are at odds. This is our chance! Let's go!"
Ao was ecstatic. While the Hyuga were also a clan of dojutsu users, they were far less of a threat than the Uchiha.
The range of the Byakugan was related to the purity of the eye, training, and the user's skill. After obtaining his Byakugan, Ao had practiced day and night. Coupled with the high purity of this main family eye, its range was exceptional.
Through long-term use, Ao had discovered that observing in a 360-degree field shortened its range. But when focused in a single direction, its reach became immense.
A person's attention is typically focused in the 180 degrees in front of them. The conventional way to use the Byakugan was also to extend its vision forward. Although his single Byakugan had a smaller field of view, its range was greater than those he was observing.
As long as the patrolling Hyuga didn't use their Byakugan to check behind them before he got close, they had a chance.
"Follow my lead closely. There's a Hyuga patrol ahead."
"Yes, Lord Ao!"
Byakugan!
Unable to use ninjutsu, Ao led the Kirigakure squad on a roundabout path.
Hyuga Moritsuke patrolled with his teammates, activating his Byakugan at regular intervals. Everything seemed normal in the distance.
He was unaware that a team was circling around behind him. When he turned, the Mist ninja moved with him, staying in his blind spot.
Ao didn't know why the Hyuga wasn't checking his rear with the Byakugan, but seeing Moritsuke turn confirmed that his attention was focused forward.
Once they were close enough, the Kirigakure ninja charged. Their goal was to enter attack range before the Byakugan could detect them from the side or rear.
Hyuga Moritsuke's expression tightened.
"Watch out!"
A blade flashed from behind Hyuga Moritsuke. The target was Kobayashi Yusuke…
"Hiss…"
Moritsuke was a fraction of a second too slow. Just as he was about to activate his Gentle Fist, Kobayashi Yusuke was already clutching his throat, collapsing to the ground.
"Damn it!"
A ninja wielding a large sword and covered in bandages suddenly emerged from the mist.
"It's Zabuza!"
"The Silent Killing Technique!"
Hyuga Moritsuke immediately activated his Byakugan, performing a full-field scan. Within the surrounding mist, several powerful chakra signatures surged toward his squad!
The remaining two Chunin were cut down in pools of their own blood before they could even fire a signal flare.
Several other figures appeared, all dressed in the uniform of the Kirigakure Anbu. Their leader was Ao, his right eye covered by an eyepatch.
"It's you! How dare you wreak havoc in Konoha!" Hyuga Moritsuke adopted a Gentle Fist stance, his heart heavy.
Ao had stolen a Byakugan during the Third Great Ninja War, making him a mortal enemy of the Hyuga Clan. His name was prominently listed in Konoha's Bingo Book. He was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
Ao landed on a branch. "A pity. Just a member of the branch family. Otherwise, I could have collected another pair of Byakugan."
Hyuga Moritsuke had no retort. Why would a member of the main family be assigned to patrol the outskirts of Konoha?
He glanced at the eight Mist ninja surrounding him. Their chakra levels indicated they were all Jonin-level. The one with the lowest chakra reserves was Zabuza. It seemed there was no escape today.