Fūmori Masaki was only able to visit the Senju Clan during his occasional free time; most of the time, he was still busy with his work for the Anbu. Especially after submitting that proposal, regardless of what Tobirama thought, at least he had started to increase reconnaissance on other countries and the composition of forces within the Ninja Village.
This time, Fūmori Masaki received a new assignment. Tobirama told him that their squad would be heading to the Northern Border Army to gather intelligence. If anything happened at the border, they were to immediately relay the information to the Ninja Village so that it could react in time.
Although the Ninja Village had already become an important military force for the country at this time, it did not mean that the Samurai Corps had exited the stage of history. Even if their individual combat power could not be compared to that of Ninjas, their numbers were still a huge threat. In the vast territory of the Land of Fire, it was impossible to have the Ninja Village divert manpower to maintain border peace; therefore, it was still the Samurai Corps that guarded the borders.
Fūmori Masaki could imagine the cold reception they would face upon arriving at the Northern Border Army. After all, samurai did not have any good feelings toward Ninjas, but that didn't matter; as long as he carried out his mission, it would be fine.
Furthermore, Tobirama was going to reorganize their squad, transferring Uchiha Kagami away and replacing him with Akimichi Torifu to head to the Northern Border Army together.
This assignment surprised Fūmori Masaki. Uchiha Kagami would actually not be going with them. Although he didn't know why, Tobirama must have had his own intentions, so Fūmori Masaki didn't say anything.
"It's truly a pity that I can't go with you." After receiving the official notification, Uchiha Kagami came to Fūmori Masaki's home and said.
"Since it's an order, there's nothing that can be done. However, with Lord Tobirama making such arrangements, there must be some other task he wants to entrust to you, right?" Fūmori Masaki said.
"If you're asking if there is, there indeed is." Uchiha Kagami's expression darkened slightly, then he sighed softly and said: "Lord Tobirama told me that in the potential war situation to come, the safety of Konohagakure will be the responsibility of the Uchiha Clan, so he hopes I can reorganize the interior of the clan."
The Uchiha Clan managed the Police Force, and being responsible for security was their duty. However, Tobirama's framing of it was much weightier. Once the war started, given the current situation of Konohagakure, with Civilian Ninja not yet established, the combat forces were destined to be dominated by clan elites, and the leaders would surely be from the Senju Clan. After the main force departed, defending Konohagakure from attacks would have to rely on the Uchiha Clan, who were as famous as the Senju Clan.
Out of necessity, Tobirama could only rely on the powerful Uchiha Clan. However, he could not help but consider whether the Uchiha Clan was loyal. After the main force left, there would be no one else to suppress the Uchiha Clan.
Therefore, ensuring that the Uchiha Clan would not betray them was necessary. This was also the task he entrusted to Uchiha Kagami: to let Uchiha Kagami reorganize the interior of the clan as much as possible to prevent those with ill intentions.
The matter of Uchiha Madara was still fresh; it was only natural that people couldn't be trusted. Fūmori Masaki understood the necessity of this task and said with a smile: "I don't think you need to be too nervous. The Uchiha Clan wouldn't really want to betray the Village. I believe the majority of people share your thoughts. Even if there are people with ill intentions, they should only be a minority. As long as you let others supervise those people, it will be fine."
Uchiha Kagami nodded and said: "I have always believed that the clan should understand what it needs to do. It's just that there are still some discordant voices. After the matter with Lord Madara, the Village let bygones be bygones and entrusted the heavy responsibility of the Security Department, which was already an act of benevolence. Yet, there are still people who think the Village should give the clan even more power."
Speaking of this, Uchiha Kagami, who usually treated others gently, angrily slammed the table, showing just how much these people had angered him.
Fūmori Masaki knew that the Uchiha Clan could be very foolish at times, but he really didn't expect that after Tobirama had given the Police Force such great power, there would still be people dissatisfied. One must know, in the current Konohagakure, what other department was controlled solely by a single clan?
Although it was for the sake of convenient surveillance, on the other hand, it caused the power of the Uchiha Clan to expand to an unimaginable level — completely managing the public security of the Ninja Village, with the power to interrogate and arrest suspected criminals or spies. It was no wonder that the Anbu had to be used to keep the Police Force in check.
"There really are such people?"
"Yes, the leader is named Uchiha Setsuna, who is considered a representative of the Hawk Faction within the clan." Uchiha Kagami did not hide anything and stated the leader's name directly. In any case, he had already told Tobirama about it, so talking to Fūmori Masaki wouldn't be an issue.
"Uchiha Setsuna..." Fūmori Masaki remembered seeing this name before. It only appeared in one panel in the manga, seemingly claiming to be someone who inherited the will of Madara, which was also the reason why Tobirama felt the Uchiha Clan needed to be watched closely.
It is truly incredible to think about. When Madara brought disaster to the clan, the people of the Uchiha Clan wanted to distance themselves from Madara. But when the clan's situation gradually stabilized, there were those who felt the clan should get more, and instead believed that Madara's actions were the correct ones.
"Then it really should be reorganized properly," Fūmori Masaki said. "However, looking at the situation, this person named Uchiha Setsuna should only be part of the minority and won't be able to stir up any major trouble. Kagami, as long as you can take care of the thoughts of the others in the clan, there won't be any problems."
"Yes, after the Police Force was established, everyone was dedicated and responsible at the beginning. But now it seems there are some problems, though I can't quite put my finger on it." Uchiha Kagami said.
"Is it that the members of the Police Force seem a bit arrogant?"
"There is some of that, but..." Uchiha Kagami did not continue. He actually wanted to say that it was normal for people of his clan to be arrogant; other clans knew this, and it didn't seem like anything special.
"Kagami, I believe in one principle, which is that absolute power corrupts absolutely." Fūmori Masaki said slowly. "The Police Force has great power, but precisely because of that, not many people can suppress the Police Force. It doesn't look like much now, but as time passes, the Police Force will inevitably develop corrupt practices because of this. If even the law enforcement department no longer upholds justice, who would be willing to trust the Police Force?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Kagami was startled. With Fūmori Masaki putting it this way, those minor problems in the Police Force that seemed like nothing might actually become future hidden dangers. He hurriedly asked: "Masaki, do you think there are any methods to prevent this from happening?"
"I think that to prevent this, first of all, we must establish a strict set of rules and systems within the Police Force to prevent anyone from abusing their power. Once such things occur, they must be severely punished." Fūmori Masaki said. "Secondly, we must establish a sense of honor within the members of the Police Force themselves, letting them believe they have the responsibility to enforce the law impartially and regulate their morals. Of course, it cannot rely entirely on the Police Force itself; others must also supervise their actions, strengthen management, and make them feel that they cannot act recklessly — this is my general idea. Executing it in reality should be much more complex; if you really want me to say it right now, I'm afraid I can't."
"No, this is already enough." Uchiha Kagami said with pleasant surprise. "Hearing you say this, I am enlightened. I have a direction on how to reorganize the clan, and I will think about it carefully when I return."
"I'm glad I could help you." Fūmori Masaki smiled.
Uchiha Kagami continued to talk for a while longer, then took his leave, presumably to consider some disciplinary issues within the Police Force, hoping it would have some effect.
Afterward, Fūmori Masaki prepared for the matters regarding heading to the Northern Border Army. However, he soon wouldn't need to worry about this matter. Just the day before they were prepared to leave, a ninja hawk arrived at Konohagakure, bringing news from the Border Army.
— — The Land of Lightning is invading in full force, send reinforcements immediately!