Chapter 641

After obtaining the intelligence sent back by the spy, Ebizo found Chiyo and told her the latest information.

"It's now certain that Sasori is in Six Paths City. My people saw with their own eyes Sasori and Nagato of the Ninja Sect walking together inside Six Paths City," Ebizo said.

"And based on Sasori's behavior, there is a high possibility that Sasori has already joined the Ninja Sect."

As the head of the intelligence department, Ebizo was very rigorous with information. Since his informant hadn't obtained definite proof that Sasori was a member of the Ninja Sect, he wouldn't use too certain terms.

"Sigh."

Chiyo let out a deep sigh, a look of extreme weariness appearing on her face.

She knew how rigorous Ebizo was with intelligence; even Ebizo said there was a high possibility, so it was basically confirmed.

"How did it come to this..." Chiyo frowned deeply.

It wouldn't matter if Sasori joined any ninja organization, but he had to join the Ninja Sect of all places.

Unless the Ninja Sect was willing to stop expanding and obediently stay within their own territory, a war between the Ninja Sect and Sunagakure was inevitable.

The Ninja Sect growing stronger would definitely affect Sunagakure's share of the pie, and Sunagakure couldn't just watch it happen. This was an irreconcilable conflict; otherwise, there wouldn't have been a Great Ninja War.

Would the Ninja Sect stop expanding? Chiyo thought not.

The former Amegakure had dared to raise their blades against the Five Great Ninja Villages; now the Ninja Sect surpassed the former Amegakure in every aspect. How could they stop because of possible future challenges?

Chiyo loved her grandson deeply. If one day Sasori needed her life to be saved, she would definitely choose to let Sasori live, but she could never betray the village for Sasori.

Chiyo was born near the end of the Warring States Period. When she was five years old, Hashirama Senju established Konoha first, ushering in the era of ninja villages.

The history of Sunagakure was essentially Chiyo's own growth. She witnessed the village being built from the barren desert, watched it become one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and continuously strive to become the strongest. In this process, Chiyo herself went from a genius ninja to a legendary puppeteer renowned in the ninja world.

Sunagakure was built by tens of thousands of its people, but among them, Chiyo was definitely one of the most prominent.

How could she betray the village she had built up since childhood? This was her home.

"It's not the worst time yet. Let me have my people contact Sasori and persuade him to leave the Ninja Sect," Ebizo said.

If Sasori died at the hands of Sunagakure ninja, Ebizo worried that Chiyo would break down.

Chiyo had lost her loved one and her child before, but at least that was done by enemy ninja.

If it were a ninja from her own village killing her grandson, that would be different.

"No need. Let's head to the Ninja Sect soon," Chiyo shook her head.

She wanted to go personally and have a good talk with Sasori, even though this trip might be very dangerous.

"It's too risky. Remember, even Hiruzen Sarutobi is no match for that guy," Ebizo warned seriously.

Chiyo was very strong, but saying she was stronger than Hiruzen Sarutobi would be nonsense.

Given the strength Sōsuke had shown so far, whether Chiyo could return safely depended entirely on Sōsuke's intentions.

If Sōsuke acted, Chiyo would definitely die.

"The conflict between Sunagakure and the Ninja Sect hasn't erupted yet; now is the best time." Chiyo was determined to go.

Although Sunagakure had already begun secretly contacting Iwagakure to jointly suppress the Ninja Sect, on the surface, Sunagakure and the Ninja Sect were still keeping their distance and had not clashed.

"Then go find the Fourth Kazekage and have him contact the Ninja Sect. Use the official name of Sunagakure, whether it's for negotiations or something else. Try to go as a representative of Sunagakure," Ebizo suggested when he saw he couldn't stop Chiyo.

With the identity of a Sunagakure representative, Sōsuke should be more wary.

After all, Sunagakure was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, while the Ninja Sect was only a small force seeking development.

The Ninja Sect was the challenger.

Land of Fire, Konoha.

Uchiha clan grounds, a large number of Uchiha ninja were walking in groups toward the Naka Shrine.

Today was the thirtieth day of the Uchiha ninja being reassigned to perform commissioned missions. To expand the results and better reform the police force, Shisui specially had Fugaku Uchiha convene a clan meeting for the reassigned Uchiha to present their achievements and share their experiences.

"Yakumi, are you not used to being away from the police force?" an Uchiha ninja curiously asked his friend Yakumi Uchiha.

Since Yakumi Uchiha was either with familiar team members or doing missions, he hadn't seen Yakumi Uchiha much in the past month.

"It was a bit uncomfortable for the first few days, but it got better afterward. It's tiring, but more challenging, and I can earn more money." Uchiha Yakumi replied with a smile.

"How much did you earn this month?" the Uchiha shinobi asked curiously.

"Not particularly much—only four hundred thousand ryo. I spent a lot of time getting familiar with my team members; when actually going on missions, it might have been less than two-thirds of that time." Uchiha Yakumi replied.

"So that means you earned four hundred thousand ryo in less than twenty days." The Uchiha shinobi was somewhat surprised.

His own monthly salary was only two hundred thousand ryo—that meant Uchiha Yakumi could earn three months of his salary in a single month.

"Pretty much." Uchiha Yakumi looked a little smug.

When he left the Police Force, his salary had been only one hundred seventy thousand ryo.

Although he was an Uchiha jonin with a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, he was relatively young with shallow seniority and a low position, so his salary was far lower than that of older, more experienced Uchiha jonin.

Similar conversations were happening among many Uchiha shinobi.

The Uchiha still in the Police Force were curious about how the clansmen who had left were faring.

And the Uchiha who had left naturally wouldn't miss this good chance to show off—some flaunted their income, others competed over the number of completed missions and the rank of those missions.

The Uchiha still in the Police Force felt a bit disheartened hearing all this.

The Police Force not only paid less but also had many rules, lacked freedom, was dull, and didn't let their strength be put to good use.

The Police Force's authority overlapped with the Anbu's, but the Anbu outranked the Police Force, so while the Police Force seemed to manage a lot, in reality most of it was trivial matters, with all the truly important stuff handled by the Anbu.

"Clan Head, when will the second batch of transfers start being selected?" As soon as the clan meeting began, an Uchiha jonin couldn't help asking.

Seeing his friends one by one gaining the Hokage's recognition and making big money, he wanted to get on board too.

"Right, Clan Head, why don't you hold a martial arts tournament? Let strength decide the slots." Another Uchiha suggested.

Many of them were not convinced by the first batch list, thinking their own strength was no worse than those chosen.

Seeing the Uchiha so eager as soon as the clan meeting started, Shisui nodded to himself.

From here on, all it took was time to steadily push things forward, and the Police Force's problem would be solved.

In the past, so many Uchiha had joined the Police Force mainly because it could only be staffed by Uchiha shinobi—the Uchiha had to send enough ninja to serve there—and for various reasons a trend had formed of taking pride in the Police Force.

Now the Police Force was no longer exclusive to the Uchiha, and the trend had shifted. From now on, there was no reason for Uchiha to keep squeezing into the Police Force.

"Everyone, don't be impatient. Also, selecting personnel depends on comprehensive qualities, not just strength." Uchiha Fugaku replied.

Konoha needed capable shinobi to carry out missions, but more importantly, Mu Yue needed Shisui to complete his life mission.

After explaining the clansmen's doubts, Uchiha Fugaku declared the clan meeting officially started.

One by one, the Uchiha jonin reported their results for the month.

"In thirty days, I led my team to complete two A-rank missions and five B-rank missions, earning a total commission of…"

"I led my team to complete three A-rank missions…"

"I followed the team and did six B-rank missions and one A-rank mission."

The Uchiha shinobi who completed more missions and earned more money stood tall with confident smiles.

Those who had completed fewer didn't look glum either; they secretly vowed to work hard—even if they earned less, every aspect was still better than being in the Police Force.

"I think the clan should pay attention to the rumors about the Uchiha in Konoha—they make it harder for us to start working when we first join a team."

Uchiha Inabi shared his own experience.

"These outsiders are really hateful, slandering us Uchiha like that." An Uchiha shinobi said indignantly.

"We Uchiha don't need to explain ourselves to them. Let those fools misunderstand all they want." Another Uchiha said dismissively.

Seeing that some Uchiha were still talking like that, Shisui knew he still had a long road ahead if he wanted to completely eliminate the conflicts.

Some of the rumors about the Uchiha were truly self-inflicted.

"That won't solve the problem. We have to communicate. Good team relationships are necessary to complete missions better." Uchiha Inabi refuted.

If he always kept aloof and did nothing, letting things develop on their own, forget about everyone working together on missions—he might even get replaced.

If team members were dissatisfied with the captain, they had the right to request a team change. Given Uchiha Inabi's situation at the time, he as the new captain would definitely be the one swapped out.

Moreover, Uchiha Inaho didn't think his team members were wrong. If anyone was to blame, it should be the ones spreading the rumors.

"Inaho is right. Actually, this is also a kind of ability. Being able to coordinate a team well shows excellent leadership skills." Shisui spoke up to support Uchiha Inaho.

Loving one's clan is fine, but one cannot treat outsiders as less than human.

Uchiha Yakumi and other ninja with similar experiences also voiced their support and opinions.

The elders also expressed support for Shisui's words.

Although those who supported Shisui might not entirely share his views, at least the momentum was sufficient.

After the clan meeting ended, Shisui's new questionnaire was distributed.

He wanted to know how many Uchiha had changed their minds due to his actions, and the questionnaire results would also influence the selection of the second batch of transfer personnel.

【Disciple Uchiha Shisui's strength increase drives reform of the Police Force, taking a step on the path to resolving the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha. Progress reward obtained — Chakra +3000, Random Skill Extraction Scroll Fragment·S x2, Yin Attribute Chakra Insight Boost】

While Shisui was working hard, Muyue's system quickly refreshed the settlement reward for reaching sixty percent progress.

"Four fragments. After combining for one draw, there will still be one fragment left." Muyue looked at the reward.

The Random Skill Extraction Scroll fragments, like the Self-Select Extraction Scroll, can be combined into a complete extraction scroll with three fragments.

PS:

Second chapter.

Ultimate darkness, so dark it's a bit bright.

Actually, it should have been done around five o'clock, but diarrhea caused me to waste a lot of time.