Chapter 33: The Uchiha Are Beggars with a Golden Bowl

Shisui felt fine beads of sweat sliding down his forehead; 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 in front of him, Shisui felt his scalp tingle, but he dared not refuse. He could only sit down with a stiff resolve and carefully begin to read.

He read like this for an entire night.

Until the next morning, when Sima Yi entered the room with the breakfast he had bought, he saw Shisui, whose hair was in disarray.

"What are you doing? You're a Ninja after all; it's just reading some documents. You're not handling political affairs. How could you become so haggard after just one night?"

Sima Yi looked surprised at Shisui's appearance; he was propping his chin up with one hand while the other clutched his hair, his expression somewhat grim.

"Grandpa! Is the Second Hokage deliberately trying to set up the Uchiha ancestors? Third and Danzo are so wary of us; it must be the Second Hokage's instigation. Otherwise, how could someone like him hand the Police Department over to us?"

Seeing Sima Yi enter, Shisui hurriedly stood up, his documents now wrinkled from his grasp.

"You reached such a conclusion after just one night of reading?"

Sima Yi's tone was flat. Shisui wasn't mistaken, but his focus was off; this conclusion held no significance at the moment.

Shisui paused, glancing down at the documents again, but before he could say anything, Sima Yi spoke first: "Sit down and eat something."

As he said this, he took the documents from Shisui's hands. As expected, they were parts drafted by the Second Hokage concerning the interests and divisions of power among the clans.

"The Police Department is inherently a thankless job, and the Uchiha Clan has its unique traits. Even without the Elders' suspicions, we would eventually face exclusion from Konoha."

"Isn't that the Second Hokage being malicious? How did I expect Uchiha Madara to trust them?"

The records regarding Uchiha Madara were not detailed, so Sima Yi found it difficult to comment. He continued, "Though the Second Hokage is petty, he is quite capable. As for the Uchiha, they can be described as beggars with gold bowls."

"Beggars with gold bowls?"

Shisui was puzzled and hurriedly asked, "The funding for the Police Department has been repeatedly cut since the Third Hokage's time, and I recently heard that the Daimyo is also considering reducing allocations. The village's future will only become more difficult; I fear the Jonin meeting before the New Year will propose further cuts to the Police Department's funding. How can that be considered a gold bowl?"

"Take a closer look at this and tell me what you think," Sima Yi did not respond immediately but instead selected a document from the pile and handed it to Shisui.

Shisui took it and saw that it was the scope of authority for the Police Department. Since Sima Yi had asked about it yesterday, he had already reviewed it several times during the night.

The most important points were as follows.

The full name of the Police Department is the Konoha Military Police Force, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Hokage. Its Chief is inherited from the Uchiha Clan Head. To maintain stability within Konoha, the Hokage allocates funds for the department to recruit members as needed.

The Security Department has the authority to apprehend anyone who disrupts the internal stability of Konoha without the Hokage's consent.

The Security Department can independently determine the guilt of those they apprehend without Hokage intervention.

The Security Department can amend Konoha's laws based on the current situation to maintain internal stability.

After reading these four points, even Sima Yi found it difficult to determine whether the Second Hokage was indeed narrow-minded. He left the Police Department to trap the Uchiha and taught four disciples who excluded the Uchiha, yet he also granted them such significant power.

He initially thought the Uchiha were merely an influential family, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that they were akin to a rival royal family!

Shisui, on the other hand, was completely confused. Having been in Konoha for so long, he was well aware of the nature of the Police Department; a department that was caught between conflicting interests could hardly wield any real power.

He stared at the document repeatedly, still unable to grasp Sima Yi's meaning.

"You lack the sensitivity to power; no wonder the Uchiha Clan Heads throughout history have wielded such authority yet have brought the Uchiha to this state."

Sima Yi sighed, subtly guessing the Second Hokage's intentions. The Second was clearly confident that the Uchiha would not use this power; it was a dangerously risky move, yet he had managed to gamble correctly.

"Power? Grandpa, do you mean the Security Department holds significant power?"

Noticing Sima Yi's hints, Shisui hurriedly re-evaluated the situation.

"Not just significant; the Security Department is entirely in the hands of the Uchiha. You could say the Uchiha is the only family besides the Hokage that can openly command a military force."

"I understand now. There's no need to mention the Hokage; Danzo has the audacity to repeatedly target us because he controls Root!"

Having people under your command equates to having power; Shisui felt he had gained some insight.

However, what greeted him was not praise but Sima Yi's exasperated eye roll.

"Someone like Danzo is merely a rat in the gutter, stirring up trouble under the Hokage's name. Compared to the Uchiha's power, he's nothing more than a firefly; how could he possibly capture your attention?"

"."

Shisui lowered his head, feeling quite foolish. It seemed like this was indeed the case, but he still felt that Danzo was always looming over the Uchiha.

"You must understand that there's a world of difference between openly controlling an army and secretly cultivating loyal assassins. 

Root only has four squads of 17 members. Of course, with Danzo's personality, there's definitely more than that. But no matter how many he secretly trains, they are merely dependent on the Hokage; they operate in the shadows.

 As long as Danzo doesn't possess the ability to upend everything, a single document from the Hokage can strip him of everything."

Sima Yi deeply understood this, but chose not to elaborate further.

"The Security Department, on the other hand, is different. Your power comes from within, from being in the side of justice. The Hokage wouldn't dare to easily interfere in the internal affairs of the Security Department; otherwise, it would lead to internal strife."

"Konoha Shinobi?"

Shisui looked up, as if he had heard about this in a previous lesson.

"Exactly. The Hokage's power can crush the Uchiha Clan and any other clan, but if it involves the interests of the entire Konoha shinobi community, even the Hokage must yield."

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

"I understand, Grandpa."

Sima Yi nodded and looked at the three points behind him, unable to help but smile. "As for these three points, they are the 'golden bowl' that the Second has handed to the Uchiha Clan. If all goes well, we will be able to use them soon. You need to memorize them and wait for the right opportunity. I will explain them to you one by one."

It wasn't that Sima Yi was intentionally keeping secrets; it was just that time was limited. Shisui still had to go on duty, and he also needed to recruit some servants.

"Alright."

Shisui certainly wanted to hear more, but after glancing at the sky, he could only hurriedly finish his breakfast, then gather his things to prepare to leave.

"Just leave your things there; I'll handle them in a bit," Sima Yi said softly as he glanced over.

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

"It's alright; I've already talked to Kai before. He will come to help me later."

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