Initially, the villagers were somewhat disgusted by Hiromi's disrespect toward Hiruzen. But as they listened...
Hey, that makes sense.
Nepotism or whatever has nothing to do with them, they couldn't get the position anyway.
But the Police Force was closely related to them. If another Shimura Clan came along, life would be unbearable.
If the Sarutobi Clan, which possessed the Hokage, took over the Police Force... they were already drooling just thinking about such a bright future.
Thus, they stood on Hiromi's side without hesitation.
"Hokage-sama, I will absolutely not say that you are engaging in nepotism."
"That's right. Hokage-sama, please feel free to let the Sarutobi Clan take over the Police Force."
"The Shimura Clan was too terrible. With your clan in charge, Hokage-sama, I can rest easy."
"Yes! Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama..."
The situation became increasingly absolute.
Even the ninjas felt that if Hiruzen didn't agree, his time as Hokage would be over.
Thinking of this, they were stunned. The Hokage, the highest-ranking leader in the village, actually had to listen to someone else?
They couldn't help but look at Hiromi, who had caused this scene. They recalled the fear of being dominated once again and trembled in fear.
Shikaku, who wanted to stop this, felt his scalp go numb. He could see why Hiromi wanted the Sarutobi Clan to take over the Police Force. He wanted to make the Sarutobi Clan the second Shimura Clan.
He felt that this method of infighting, which reduced their own combat strength, was extremely stupid. But when that person possessed absolutely overwhelming power, it was no longer stupidity, but ruthlessness.
This was a purge!
Purging Hiruzen and his people!
The Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, and Yamanaka Clan—the Ino–Shika–Chō trio—had always stood behind the Hokage. No matter who the Hokage was, they offered support.
But the current Hokage... he agreed with the purge.
Through Hiruzen's weak actions over the years, he could clearly see that Konoha was constantly weakening. But he didn't act, he had always watched coldly from the sidelines, acting as a spectator.
Now, he saw hope—Hiromi.
It's just that...
He looked at the current Hokage, Hiruzen, and chose to give up.
Picking a side wasn't scary, what was scary was picking the wrong side. The fate of the Shimura Clan was the consequence of picking the wrong side.
As the head of the Nara Clan, he would not gamble his entire clan for the sake of the village.
'I only need to stand firmly behind the Hokage, no matter who the Hokage is.' He told himself.
In the end, Hiruzen had to agree to let the Sarutobi Clan take over the Police Force.
Upon learning this, the Sarutobi clan head trembled all over, his hands and feet turning cold. He knew the fate of the Shimura clan. Thus, he hurriedly found Hiruzen, hoping he would revoke the order.
Hiruzen said calmly, but with an unquestionable tone, "This is the wish of the village."
"This..."
The Sarutobi clan head was horrified and helpless. "Is there really no other way?"
Hiruzen looked at the Sarutobi clan head, sighed, and said, "Be cautious."
The Sarutobi clan head opened his mouth but in the end, he could only utter one word: "Yes."
—
After that day, Hiromi returned to peace once again.
The villagers began to look forward to a bright future, and their attitude towards the Sarutobi Clan was very good, sending food and drinks from their shops.
The Sarutobi Clan did not get arrogant. With the Shimura Clan as a cautionary tale, they listened very carefully to their clan head, diligently serving in the Police Force with a very good attitude.
This was fine, but they were not only nice to the victims, but also to the perpetrators. It was as if they didn't want to offend anyone.
In the eyes of the Sarutobi Clan, the perpetrators might have been wronged. Being nice to both sides would be good for the Sarutobi Clan as well.
But this attitude of trying to please both sides caused gossip about the Sarutobi Clan in just three days.
"Why are you being so polite to the criminals?"
"This..."
The friends and family of the victims were very unhappy, but the bystanders couldn't empathize and could only smile awkwardly.
The Sarutobi Clan was already acting with caution, and as soon as they heard this news, they reported it immediately.
When the Sarutobi clan head heard this, the fate of the Shimura Clan immediately flashed through his mind, and he was so panicked he almost fell off his chair.
"No! If this goes on, the Sarutobi Clan will be wiped out."
Having served in the Police Force for only three days, the Sarutobi clan head decisively went to see Hiruzen, saying that the Sarutobi Clan was not up to the task, that the Sarutobi Clan members were all useless, and that he could even broadcast this news to the whole village, just begging to have the Sarutobi Clan removed from the Police Force.
"Return the Police Force to the Uchiha clan?"
"The Sarutobi Clan only has me?"
Hiruzen thought that such a tactic would work on the villagers, and agreed. But he was worried that Hiromi wouldn't agree, and he didn't want to cause a huge scene in the village center, so he called Itachi over.
Hearing the message from Hiruzen about the Sarutobi Clan backing down, Itachi relayed Hiromi's original words: "Hiromi said, we Uchiha clan members are all rough people. If any villagers get hurt because of us, that's all on you, Third Hokage."
"..."
Hiruzen was stunned.
How can this be related to me?!
At this moment, he felt Hiromi's malice and began to have some suspicions.
Therefore, he said to Itachi, "How about arranging for another clan to take over? For example, how about the Inuzuka Clan?"
"Hokage-sama, you can decide for yourself." Itachi was as calm as ever and left.
Hiruzen watched him, his brows furrowed. He hadn't managed to test him.
As for the Inuzuka Clan serving in the Police Force, it would indeed be possible, but the Inuzuka Clan had too few members. At the very least, they would need to add the Aburame Clan and the Ino–Shika–Chō trio to be sufficient. However, five clans would seem too chaotic, and there was no one who could truly suppress those five clans.
Therefore, he called for Homura and Koharu.