Chapter 547: Jiraiya Notices Nagato
"Uncle Fugaku, have you given any more thought to reforming the Police Force?"
Inside the study, Shisui brought up the issue once again.
Fugaku rubbed his brow. Although he had expected this topic, hearing Shisui raise it again still gave him a headache.
At times, he felt that maturity was not necessarily a good thing. The more mature Shisui became, the more clearly he formed his own views on the future of the Uchiha. Obito, by comparison, was much easier to handle. Even when attending clan meetings, he rarely said much at all.
The ability to think independently was a good thing, but Shisui was a little too radical. In Fugaku's eyes, he was even more extreme than the real radicals, immediately aiming to reform the Police Force itself.
"Uncle Fugaku, I think you may have misunderstood me," Shisui continued. "The reform can be gradual. At the beginning, we don't need to change anything about the existing Police Force structure. We only need to add a few new members who are not from the Uchiha Clan."
Shisui knew full well that reforming the Police Force would meet enormous resistance inside the clan, so he had never intended to push through sweeping changes from the very start.
After all, most Uchiha did not have malicious intentions. They simply lacked sufficient understanding.
"It's not that simple," Fugaku said, shaking his head. "This would need to be reported to the Third Hokage and approved before anything could move forward."
As captain of the Police Force, Fugaku had the authority to appoint and dismiss personnel within the established structure, but he did not have the authority to create new positions.
The Police Force was a fixed institution. If they wanted to add new slots, they would have to submit an application to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Not to mention, Shisui's proposal directly challenged the framework set down by the Second Hokage. That alone meant it absolutely required the current Hokage's approval.
"So then, Uncle Fugaku, do you think the idea itself is feasible?" Shisui asked calmly.
No matter what, Shisui had to push this reform forward. If he could not even take the first necessary step, then talking about changing the entire Uchiha Clan would be meaningless.
Even if all they did was bring one non-Uchiha ninja into the Police Force, Shisui believed it would still have enormous significance.
Because that would mean the Uchiha had given up their total monopoly over it.
"It won't be easy. The elders will most likely oppose it," Fugaku said, still shaking his head.
The ordinary ninja of the Uchiha Clan would actually be easier to persuade. As long as they were told that none of the existing positions would be touched, most active-duty Uchiha ninja would probably not object too strongly.
But the elders were different. They were all shrewd old foxes. A slow, boiling-the-frog approach might not work on them.
"Uncle Fugaku, if I remember correctly, there will be a clan meeting in a week?" Shisui asked after a moment of thought.
Since Fugaku felt the matter was too difficult to move privately, then Shisui would test the waters openly at the clan meeting.
As the current most famous genius in the Uchiha Clan, Shisui still had a very high margin for error and many chances to try.
"Yes, there will be," Fugaku replied with a nod. "Do you intend to raise this at the clan meeting?"
"If you do, I won't be able to openly stand on your side," he added.
As clan head, Fugaku always acted as the final decision-maker at meetings.
He would weigh the level of support among the Uchiha ninja as well as whether the proposal was beneficial to the clan before deciding whether it should pass.
"That's fine, Uncle Fugaku. I'll ask Obito to attend the clan meeting with me," Shisui said.
Because Obito disliked attending clan meetings, Shisui rarely asked him to come after the first time.
But now Shisui needed more support inside the clan. Even if Obito hated the atmosphere there, Shisui could only apologize to him and ask him to stand beside him this time.
They were fellow disciples, fellow clan members, and friends. If Shisui did not make use of those bonds and instead insisted on carrying everything alone, then it would truly mean he had not listened to a single word Mugetsu had taught him.
"Obito, hm." Fugaku nodded. "Then I hope things go smoothly for the two of you."
The Obito who had taken second place in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, plus the Shisui who had reached the semifinals, were now two of the brightest stars of the Uchiha Clan. Their combined weight was no longer something that could be ignored.
In truth, Fugaku's thinking had already changed somewhat because of Shisui.
When Shisui had first proposed reforming the Police Force by bringing in outsiders, the first word that came to Fugaku's mind had been blasphemous.
Now, his thinking had shifted to this: if Shisui could truly gain support at the clan meeting, then Fugaku would be willing to support the reform.
That was not because Shisui had talked him into it. It was because Shisui's persistence had made Fugaku realize one thing very clearly.
Shisui was serious.
This was not some passing impulse.
Shisui and Obito's current performance could be described as the future of the Uchiha without exaggeration.
Once the two of them fully matured, they would undoubtedly hold tremendous influence inside the clan. If that day came, then with Shisui's persistence, Police Force reform would happen sooner or later.
Rather than waiting until Shisui had grown into full authority and then implementing drastic changes, Fugaku would rather let the current Shisui prove himself and carry out reforms step by step.
"Thank you for your time, Uncle Fugaku," Shisui said as he rose.
"It's nothing. If you run into problems, come talk to me more often. Itachi likes you very much too," Fugaku said with a smile as he walked him out.
When Shisui returned to the courtyard, he found Zorua sprawled on the ground with his belly up while Mikoto gently rubbed it.
The moment Zorua noticed Shisui looking, it immediately flipped upright and walked over as if nothing had happened.
"Shisui nii, are you leaving already?" Itachi asked, looking up at him.
This time, Shisui had not had much chance to speak with him alone.
"Yes. I still have training to finish tonight."
Shisui nodded and began saying his goodbyes.
"See you next time," Itachi said, clearly a little reluctant, but he did not try to keep him.
"Come visit again when you have time, Shisui," Mikoto said with a warm smile, waving him off.
As Fugaku watched Shisui's retreating figure, his expression grew complicated.
"With that kind of talent and that level of diligence… maybe he really can change the Uchiha."
He was certain that Shisui had the ability to change the clan.
What he did not know was whether that change would ultimately be good or bad for the Uchiha.
After returning to his small courtyard, Shisui immediately began training his Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation and Flame Breathing.
Mugetsu had already made it clear that the next technique he would teach them would be a Fire Release. Because of that, Shisui wanted to spend these two days thoroughly polishing anything related to fire, hoping it would make the next lesson easier to grasp.
"Shisui is seriously amazing," Zorua said from the side like an enthusiastic cheerleader. "The more I think about it, the more I feel like Obito is getting a huge bargain just by being Uchiha too."
Bang.
Shisui appeared behind Zorua in an instant and lightly chopped him on the head.
"Don't praise one person by stepping on someone else," Shisui said as he rubbed the raised tuft of red fur.
"But that's just the truth," Zorua said without changing his expression. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Charizard and Lycanroc. Everyone thinks so."
Shisui gave him a helpless smile.
Given Charizard's relationship with Obito, Charizard would naturally agree with any criticism of him. And since Obito spent half his time bickering with Kakashi, while Lycanroc adored Kakashi, Lycanroc would obviously not defend Obito either.
"Then hurry up and train. You spend so much time playing with Charizard, but it has already evolved twice while you haven't evolved even once," Shisui said as he tugged Zorua's cheek.
He was not actually in a hurry for Zorua to evolve, but he did feel like Zorua needed a little more motivation.
"What's so great about evolving?" Zorua pouted. "If I get bigger, I won't be able to stand on Shisui's shoulder anymore."
Shisui smiled and did not bother arguing too much. "You should really have a little self-awareness. You already aren't light, and yet you still insist on standing on my shoulder all the time."
Zorua currently weighed fifteen kilograms.
That only worked because Shisui was a ninja and had also trained in Breathing Techniques. If it were an ordinary nine-year-old child, they would probably collapse the moment Zorua climbed onto their shoulder.
"Eh? My head got hit so hard I went dizzy. What did Shisui just say? I didn't hear anything," Zorua said, selectively ignoring him.
Shisui rubbed Zorua's head once more and resumed training.
After practicing until nine at night, Shisui finally brought Zorua to Obito's house.
Any later, and he worried he would disturb Grandma's sleep.
"Obito, there's a clan meeting in a week. Will you be free then?" Shisui asked directly.
There was no need for the two of them to circle around the point.
"A clan meeting?" Obito repeated. "Do you need my help? I should be free, unless some urgent mission comes up."
Urgent missions were impossible to predict, so Obito did not make an absolute promise.
"Then I'll be counting on you," Shisui said with a nod.
If he wanted his proposal to have any chance at the meeting, Obito's support would be indispensable.
"Have you eaten yet?" Charizard asked Zorua enthusiastically as well.
"No wonder Milotic won't pay attention to you," Zorua said mercilessly, stabbing right at Charizard's weak spot. "You seriously don't know how to talk."
Charizard's eyes widened. His whole body huddled in wounded disbelief as he stared at Zorua, clearly not expecting his supposed comrade to strike so viciously today.
…
Land of Grass.
Ever since the earlier plan to cooperate with the Grass ninja to eliminate the Iwagakure force had inexplicably leaked, the war situation in the Land of Grass had mysteriously cooled down. No truly large-scale battles had broken out again.
Even so, Konoha still held the overall advantage.
The range of movement available to the Iwagakure force had gradually shrunk under Konoha's pressure, and the situation on Konoha's side could be called excellent.
It was precisely because the battlefield had stabilized that Jiraiya, as commander, finally found himself with a bit of breathing room.
And that gave him the time to notice the information spreading everywhere about the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
Because the Land of Grass bordered the Land of Rain, news from the tournament had reached the area very quickly. The only reason Jiraiya had not paid attention earlier was that he had simply been too busy.
"The champion of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament… Nagato, the strongest genius in the ninja world?"
Jiraiya was stunned when he saw the report.
He had not paid much attention to the Youth Martial Arts Tournament before. He had only known it was some ninja competition being held next door in the Land of Rain.
But the name Nagato was one he knew all too well.
Wasn't that his disciple? The boy he had once regarded as the Child of Prophecy?
"Same name? No… impossible. With that level of strength, and in the Land of Rain too, it has to be him."
The moment Jiraiya recalled the three years he had spent looking after Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan there, a deeply nostalgic expression appeared on his face.
"The strongest genius in the ninja world. If he can already control the Rinnegan now, then that title really wouldn't be an exaggeration."
In Jiraiya's heart, Nagato was still the person who best fit the image of the Child of Prophecy.
He had no better proof than the Rinnegan itself.
"Nagato has already become this outstanding. I wonder how Yahiko and Konan are doing too."
In truth, Jiraiya had always wanted to visit the three of them again, but circumstances had never allowed it.
Ever since the war began and he returned to Konoha, he had not had a moment of real rest, whether on the battlefield or back in the village.
Part of that was simply because of the responsibilities that came with his position. The other part was because Hiruzen Sarutobi was forever trying to heap more duties on him in preparation for making him Hokage.
Jiraiya was beyond tired of it.
He had been scolded endlessly as a child, and now as an adult he was being hounded into becoming Hokage too.
Whoever wanted the position that badly could take it. Jiraiya did not want it. He had more important things to do.
Because of Nagato, Jiraiya had more detailed intelligence on the Youth Martial Arts Tournament collected.
That was when he discovered that not only Nagato had participated, but Yahiko and Konan had as well. Their results were nothing extraordinary, though. Yahiko had been eliminated in the first round, while Konan had fallen in the second.
"Obito actually got second place? Did his strength really rise that much?"
Jiraiya was a little surprised when he saw Obito's ranking above both Kakashi and Guy.
Still, he did not dwell on it. As long as Konoha's young ninja had performed well, that was good news.
After carefully going through the intelligence, Jiraiya gradually formed the intention to visit the Land of Rain.
The front in the Land of Grass was currently calm, and with Minato Namikaze commanding there as well, Jiraiya did have the ability to leave temporarily.
After all, with Minato's current prestige and strength, he was already fully capable of taking over battlefield command in Jiraiya's absence.
Jiraiya first called Minato into his tent to ask what he thought.
"As long as it isn't for too long, it should be manageable," Minato answered after some consideration.
Because Iwagakure still had two jinchūriki capable of full Tailed Beast Transformation and both were still in peak condition, Minato did not believe he could completely replace Jiraiya.
Most of his techniques were not well suited to dealing with fully transformed jinchūriki. In previous encounters with Iwagakure's two jinchūriki, Minato had mostly supported Jiraiya rather than confronting them head-on.
"Haha. Don't worry, Minato. I won't leave you covering for me too long," Jiraiya said with a laugh, patting him on the shoulder.
He understood the seriousness of the battlefield.
If he went to the Land of Rain, it would not be with the same carefree attitude he had back before the war. He would simply gather information on Nagato's situation and then return immediately.
In the end, Jiraiya submitted a formal request to Konoha's main command first.
As commander, vanishing without a report would have been far too irresponsible.
Though such behavior might genuinely help him avoid ever becoming Hokage, the method would have been terribly rude.
.....
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