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Natsuhiko silently sighed, slightly pursing his lips.

This guy is exceptionally dedicated and is still trying to gather more information.

Indeed, as long as one deliberately refrains from refining chakra, even in the Sharingan's eyes, a ninja is no different from an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, he encountered Natsuhiko, who always carries a sensory array.

Although less adept at observing nature transformations than the Sharingan, Natsuhiko's sensory array is unparalleled in the precision of observation.

So, with a quick check, he could see that although this guy didn't have much chakra, the development of his meridians was far above that of ordinary people.

This subtle difference, which the Sharingan might miss, was clearly evident under the sensory array.

Therefore, it was easy to find his flaws after considering him a suspect and then watching the projection.

However, Natsuhiko wasn't a particular perpetually young detective kid with no interest in explaining the case to others, so he just spread his hands and said:

"I admit there was an element of gambling…"

"Anyway, the explosive tag was fake, wasn't it?"

The surrounding crowd: "..."

The man in grey clothes gave a bitter smile, then closed his eyes, not knowing if he believed it.

At this moment, the villagers, who were still in shock, gradually came to their senses.

"That was scary; that guy actually wanted to attack us!"

"Seems like we should stand farther away when watching such things in the future."

"Turns out he's the mastermind controlling that couple!"

"But what's his gain from doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious? I think he must be a spy sent by an enemy village!"

"Right, didn't Cloud Village(Kumogakure) recently fight us? This must be their doing!"

Natsuhiko's lips curved slightly, noticing that under the guidance of some people in the crowd, the public opinion was leaning towards the grey-clothed man being a spy from an enemy village.

Looks like this guy has quite a few accomplices.

However, Natsuhiko had no intention of pulling them all out, just marking each of them before roaring to the villagers:

"You guessed right, this is indeed infiltration by hostile forces from outside the village. Or do you think it's our own village's ninjas targeting the Police Department?"

"Though the Second Shinobi War ended a few years ago, hostile forces have never stopped trying to disrupt Konoha's order, and the Police Department, which maintains law and order, is a key target."

"That's why the Police Department has encountered several such incidents before but couldn't defend itself, leading to the purchase of body cameras as a countermeasure."

The villagers, enlightened by Natsuhiko's explanation, sighed at the persistent threat from enemy villages.

They also began to view the Police Department more favourably.

After all, many previous incidents might have been caused by enemy village spies.

And even though the Uchiha clan members might be arrogant and unreasonable, at least they were their people.

The enemy's constant attempts to sow discord between the Police Department and the village only proved its importance.

Seeing this, Fugaku seized the opportunity, stepping forward to state that they would resolutely combat infiltration and sabotage by hostile forces, strictly punish acts that disrupt social order, and firmly maintain the stability of Konoha.

The villagers, highly cooperative, applauded enthusiastically, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

At this moment, Uchiha Shou finally finished firing all his slime bullets, feeling refreshed as he brought the listless criminal over.

The troublemaking couple also approached, expressing their profound gratitude to Natsuhiko, even asking for his name, intending to name their future child after him.

Having been in the ninja world for years, Natsuhiko still needed to get used to this custom of showing gratitude by naming a child after you.

So, he pushed Fugaku forward, stating that it was all Captain Fugaku's strategic planning and he was just a tool.

Hence, in the coming years, there will likely be another little Fugaku born in Konoha.

Then Fugaku instructed other team members to take the criminal back to the Police Department, and the villagers, seeing there was nothing more to watch, gradually dispersed.

Thinking that these villagers would spread the day's events, slightly improving the Police Department's image, Fugaku felt somewhat gratified.

That million spent was worth it.

Meanwhile, Mikoto and Kushina approached, looking embarrassed.

Seeing that Natsuhiko and Fugaku showed no surprise, they knew these two were aware of their tracking them.

"Uchiha Mikoto, my girlfriend, Amou Natsuhiko, my friend."

Fugaku first introduced the two unfamiliar individuals to each other.

Natsuhiko glanced at the elegant and beautiful Mikoto, internally admiring Fugaku's good fortune.

You're lucky to have such a great girlfriend!

But for some reason, Mikoto's gaze seemed somewhat hostile, confusing him.

Then, naturally, Fugaku asked the two about their reason for following them.

The two stiffened, knowing they couldn't say it was to catch someone cheating, so Mikoto said:

"We were just shopping when we saw Fugaku heading somewhere early in the morning and followed out of curiosity."

Wow, I was checking on a boyfriend.

Hearing this, Natsuhiko got excited, stepping back to enjoy the show.

Unfortunately, Fugaku didn't let Natsuhiko have his way, pulling Mikoto aside to explain quietly for a long time.

From Natsuhiko's conflicts with some Uchiha members to his contributions to the Uchiha clan's revival.

After hearing Fugaku's explanation, Mikoto finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It was indeed her misunderstanding.

So, when they returned, her gaze towards Natsuhiko was finally friendly.

The four chatted for a while as it gradually got dark.

To express her apology for not trusting Fugaku, Mikoto gently held Fugaku's hand and said:

"Fugaku, are you hungry? I'll make you some noodles at home."

But Fugaku gently pried her hand off, regretting:

"Sorry, I have a match at the ninja tavern tonight, so you should go home first. Natsuhiko and I will just find somewhere to eat."

Mikoto's face stiffened.

But it wasn't over. Kushina excitedly said: "Oh, right! I almost forgot about that; I'm going too."

So, Mikoto watched her boyfriend and best friend leave with Amou Natsuhiko, walking off together...

I am leaving her alone in the wind.

...

Days passed by.

Since the body camera proved its worth on the first day, Fugaku ordered another batch of belts from Natsuhiko.

However, after testing the first batch, the second batch only included helpful accessories, so Natsuhiko didn't make as much money as before.

The Uchiha clan also realised the benefits of cooperating with Natsuhiko. Within a few days, Fugaku assured him that Uchiha Setsuna wouldn't bother him anymore, giving Natsuhiko some peace of mind.

Due to this, Fugaku's service of escorting him to and from work and bringing breakfast also ended, which improved Mikoto's mood for several days.

As for the aftermath of the Root Ninja, Natsuhiko inquired about it with Fugaku.

Since the matter involved enemy village spies, which are under the jurisdiction of the Anbu, the Police Department handed over the "enemy village spy" to the Anbu.

Judging by Fugaku's expression, the Uchiha clan probably didn't suffer a loss and might have gained some benefits.

At least for a while, similar incidents shouldn't occur.

It was also said that the day after the incident, the Third Hokage and Danzo had a heated argument in the Hokage's office.

Though the details were unclear, Natsuhiko could guess.

It was probably the usual "blame the Hokage, blame Danzo."

At the ninja school, sealing technique courses and research group activities proceeded smoothly.

The student with the best chakra control, Kurenai Yuhi, could even perform the high-level effects of the Clone Technique, making clones perform simple actions, which drew envy from other members.

Two weeks later, Obito fully recovered from his foot injury and began training hard to catch up.

On days without research group activities, he would practice the Thousand Years of Death with a life-sized Kakashi dummy in the woods, further embedding the move in Kakashi's mind for their future duel.

Judging by Kakashi's recent reluctance to meet his eyes, this move seemed to be unexpectedly practical.

Natsuhiko's recent research focused on the chakra radio inspired earlier.

To find materials similar to the black rods, he spent a large sum on the black market to buy a small piece of the heartwood of a different millennium black spruce for research.

With other miscellaneous materials, he nearly spent all the money earned from the Police Department, feeling quite helpless.

As December came, the weather grew colder.

With Konoha and Cloud Village having no desire to continue fighting, both sides entered peace talks.

A few days ago, the envoy from Cloud Village arrived in Konoha.

And with the New Year approaching, many front-line ninjas began to return in batches, making the village lively again.

Among these returning ninjas, the most notable was Minato Namikaze, who had risen to fame on the Cloud Village battlefield.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 130 is up on my Patreon.

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