Chapter 33: Beggar Holding a Golden Bowl【Vote for Me】

Shisui's forehead slicked with fine sweat; he had only come to deliver a meal, and couldn't understand why Sima Yi suddenly got angry.

Looking at the thick stack of documents before him, Shisui's scalp tingled, yet he dared not refuse, so he forced himself to sit down and scrutinize them.

He ended up reading through the night.

Until early the next morning, Sima Yi entered, pushing the door with the breakfast he had bought, and saw Shisui with disheveled hair.

"What are you doing? You're at least a ninja, just looking at some documents, not handling state affairs. How did you become so haggard after just one night?"

Sima Yi's expression was surprised; Shisui's demeanor was truly unsightly, propping his chin, one hand clutching his hair, his face also a bit ferocious.

"Grandpa! Did the Second Head deliberately set a trap for Madara's ancestor? The Third Generation and Danzo are so wary of us, surely it's at the Second Head's behest; otherwise, how would someone like him hand the Police Department over to us?"

Seeing Sima Yi come in, Shisui hurriedly stood up; the documents in his hand had already been crumpled into folds.

"After a night of reading, you arrived at this conclusion?"

Sima Yi's tone was flat; Shisui hadn't guessed wrong, but his focus was misplaced—the conclusion held no meaning for the current situation.

Shisui froze, then lowered his head to glance at the documents again; just as he was about to say something, Sima Yi said, "Sit down, have something to eat first."

Speaking, he took the documents from Shisui's hand; as expected, they were the sections drafted by the Second Head concerning the interests and jurisdiction divisions of each clan.

"The Police Department is a job that inevitably offends people, and the Uchiha clan is rather strong‑willed; even without senior suspicion, over time they'd still be shunned by Leaf."

"Isn't that the Second Head causing trouble? How could Madara's ancestor trust them so much?"

The records about Madara Uchiha are not detailed, and Sima Yi couldn't evaluate them well, but he continued, "Although the Second Head is petty, he does have some means; as for the Uchiha, they can be called a beggar with a golden bowl."

"Beggar with a golden bowl?"

Shisui, not understanding, hurriedly asked, "The Police Department's funding has been repeatedly cut since the Third Generation, and I recently heard the Daimyo also intends to reduce allocations."

"The days ahead for the Village will only become harder; I'm afraid the senior ninja council will again propose cutting the Police Department's budget before the year ends."

"How can that be called a golden bowl then?"

"Take a close look at this—what do you feel?" Sima Yi didn't respond immediately, but instead selected a document from the files and handed it to Shisui.

Shisui took it and saw it was the jurisdiction scope of the Police Department; because of Sima Yi's inquiry yesterday, he had already reviewed it several times during the night.

The most important points were the following four.

The Police Department, officially the Leaf Security Department directly under the Hokage's jurisdiction, has its director inherited by the head of the Uchiha clan; to protect internal stability of Leaf, it receives funding from the Hokage and may recruit members independently.

The Security Department may apprehend anyone who threatens Leaf's internal stability without the Hokage's consent.

The Security Department may adjudicate the crimes of those it apprehends without Hokage interference.

The Security Department may amend Leaf's laws according to the current situation to maintain internal stability.

After reviewing these four points, even Sima Yi was somewhat unable to determine whether the Second Head was truly narrow‑minded; he could keep the Police Department to trap the Uchiha and train four disciples who oppose the Uchiha, yet still grant the Uchiha such great power.

He had originally thought the Uchiha were merely a prominent noble family, but now it was clear they were a rival house! Yet Shisui was bewildered; having been in Leaf for so long, he knew exactly what the Police Department was like—how could a department that receives complaints from both sides wield any authority? He stared at the documents over and over, still unable to grasp Sima Yi's meaning.

"Your sense of power is not sharp enough; no wonder the heads of the Uchiha across generations have such authority and have steered the clan to this point."

Sima Yi sighed, vaguely guessing the Second Head's intention; the other side was certain the Uchiha wouldn't use it, yet they still gambled on that dangerous move.

"Power? Grandpa, do you mean the Security Department's power is great?" Seeing Sima Yi's hint, Shisui hurriedly re‑examined.

"It's more than just big; the Security Department is wholly in the Uchiha's hands, and one could say the Uchiha are the only clan besides the Hokage that can openly command an army."

"I understand; the Hokage need not be mentioned, and Danzo also, because he holds the Root, has the confidence to repeatedly target us!"

"Having someone in hand grants power;" Shisui felt he had a revelation.

However, what greeted him was not praise but Sima Yi's Byakugan, resentful as iron that failed to become steel.

"Someone like Danzo is nothing but a sewer rat; using the Hokage's name he can still stir up storms, but he's a low‑level guy who can't appear on the stage. Compared with the Uchiha's grasp of power, he's merely a flicker of firefly light—so why does he attract your attention?"

Shisui lowered his head, always feeling foolish; the matter seemed just as described, yet he still felt Danzo constantly bearing down on the Uchiha.

"You must understand that an openly commanded army and those secretly trained death soldiers differ vastly."

"The Root consists of only four squads, 17 people; of course, given Danzo's nature, it's certainly more than that."

"But no matter how many he cultivates in secret, they all depend on the Hokage, are hidden from the light; as long as he lacks the power to overturn everything, a single Hokage decree can strip them of everything."

"Sima Yi deeply understood this, but said nothing more."

"But the Security Department is different; your power comes from within, from righteousness. The Hokage would never dare to meddle lightly in the Security Department's internal affairs, lest it spark civil unrest."

"Leaf ninja tribe?"

Shisui looked up; he seemed to have heard this lesson before.

"Indeed, using the Hokage's power to crush the Uchiha clan—or any clan—is overwhelming, but if it touches the interests of the entire Leaf ninja tribe, even the Hokage must yield."

"You must remember this point; it is the foundation and limit for our future internal reforms."

"I understand, Grandpa."

Sima Yi nodded, his smile unintentionally appearing as he looked at the three points behind; "As for those three points behind, they are the golden bowl the Second Head gave to the Uchiha clan; barring any mishap, we'll be able to use them soon."

"You must memorize them firmly, waiting for the right moment; I will explain each to you one by one."

It's not that Sima Yi is deliberately teasing; time is limited, Shisui still has duties, and he also needs to recruit subordinates.

"Alright."

Shisui certainly wanted to listen, but glancing at the sky he hurriedly finished breakfast, then packed his things to leave.

"Leave the things there; I'll handle them later," Sima Yi said softly, glancing briefly.

"Hehe, thank you, Grandpa. Oh, by the way, the clan members probably aren't familiar with you yet, so I'll find time to come back and help you later."

"No problem; I already spoke with Hui, and he'll come to help me later."

Not hehe.

Thanks to everyone for feeding me monthly tickets and recommendation tickets; I'm not picky, I want all kinds of votes, ehe~ (End of chapter)