Chapter 204: Watch with Your Eyes, Listen with Your Heart

"So that person just now was Senju hikaru, our ANBU Minister, right?"

In a corner of the yakiniku restaurant, Nara Shikaku glanced at Akimichi Chōza, who had just sat down, and quietly asked.

Yamanaka Inoichi, seated beside him, also turned his eyes over. His expression was a little awkward—and a little worried.

Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Chōza had never really had much direct contact with hikaru.

But Inoichi was different.

He truly knew him.

Back then, hikaru had not yet become Minister. He had not even risen to Grand minister yet.

So Inoichi’s understanding of him was actually much more complete than the other two’s.

And more importantly—

they had faced each other directly before.

Inoichi would never forget that he had once tried to probe hikaru with his clan’s techniques and subtly draw secrets out of him.

Even though Hiruzen had been the one who ordered him to do it, the fact remained—

he had offended hikaru.

He had told Shikaku and Chōza about that matter in the most cautious, most secretive way possible.

And the solution the three of them came up with had been simple:

all three clans would send people into ANBU.

In their eyes, hikaru stood behind Minato.

Supporting hikaru meant supporting the Fourth Hokage.

At the same time, it could also serve as a way to ease the tension between them and hikaru.

As for whether it had actually worked—

whether hikaru had changed his view of them—

that was impossible to know.

But no matter what, it was still better than doing nothing and passively waiting for others to make the next move.

No one liked being passive.

And even if they were forced into that position, they still had to find a way to patch things up.

That was exactly what they were doing now.

Especially since the three clans had sent people together—

to a certain extent, that was also pressure.

A message.

A signal that they were not separate.

"Yes, that’s the new Minister."

Chōza nodded, then dropped heavily into his seat.

"He came here for dinner. Guess who invited him?"

"How would I know?"

Shikaku spread his hands helplessly.

"After all, I’m not close to him. I don’t have any more detailed information than you do."

"Someone from the Uchiha clan."

Chōza lowered his head slightly and said in a low voice,

"I noticed an Uchiha elder earlier. Didn’t expect him to be here with his granddaughter to meet Minister hikaru.

Apparently, his granddaughter is Minister hikaru’s classmate—and Minister hikaru acknowledged that himself."

"The Uchiha?"

Shikaku and Inoichi both froze for a moment.

Then both of them instinctively turned their eyes toward the surrounding diners, wariness flashing through them.

Someone from the Uchiha clan meeting with the ANBU Minister—

that was not something ordinary.

After all, the Uchiha’s position in Konoha had always been delicate.

Everyone pretended not to know.

But in truth, no one who had carved out a place for themselves in Konoha’s upper-level swamp of power was blind—or foolish.

They all knew perfectly well what sort of situation the Uchiha clan was in.

And ANBU—

the Hokage’s direct force—

meeting with the Uchiha?

That was far too suggestive.

No matter how one looked at it, this could never be defined as a simple meeting.

There had to be all kinds of hidden implications beneath it.

Even if, judging from the signs, they had probably been in contact for some time already.

The moment that thought crossed their minds, both men instinctively began observing the restaurant again.

ANBU was invisible and traceless.

Even if members of their clans had entered ANBU, they would still keep their mouths firmly shut.

Of course—

they did not dare ask, either.

Once you got caught prying, it would not just be one person who suffered.

An entire clan could be dragged down with them.

They were all smart men.

They knew exactly what they should and should not do.

Still, the three of them did have some understanding of how ANBU operated, one way or another.

Especially Inoichi, who dealt with ANBU more than the other two.

So all of them knew, at least vaguely, how ANBU worked.

It was hard to say whether every seemingly ordinary diner in this restaurant might actually be an ANBU shinobi in disguise.

If that was really the case, then even their conversation had to be handled carefully.

After all, no one knew whether what they said now might bring them enormous trouble later.

ANBU might not be Root—

but anything Root could do, ANBU could do as well.

Especially under this Minister.

He was a truly ruthless man.

"You two are being way too cautious, aren’t you?"

Chōza looked at them both and shook his head with a helpless sigh.

"Actually, I think you can relax a little. I noticed they used a sealing barrier just now.

Looks like they don’t want others overhearing them either."

"Is that so?"

Shikaku nodded slightly.

Inoichi, however, still kept his guard up.

Clearly, that explanation alone was not enough to put him at ease.

"I see."

Suddenly, Shikaku smiled faintly.

"So Minister hikaru isn’t worried about people noticing what he’s doing today.

After all, he already had some degree of contact with the Uchiha beforehand, didn’t he?"

"That may be true, but before this, it was only suspicion. There was no real evidence."

Inoichi spoke with visible difficulty, even though he was thinking along similar lines.

"But even if he’s doing this openly now, no one knows what his real purpose is."

"I think it’s better not to overthink his purpose."

Shikaku had already sorted through the matter in his head.

He smiled faintly and spoke in a calm voice.

"Once you make things too complicated, the result usually won’t be a good one.

Besides, if ANBU really wanted to clear this place out, I don’t think they’d let any of us stay.

Not even you, Chōza, even if you own the place.

So there’s no need to think too much.

Just treat everything as normal."

Shikaku truly had thought it through.

Some things became more dangerous the more complicated you made them.

And in his view, while it was certainly strange that Senju hikaru, of all people, was contacting the Uchiha—

if one really thought about it—

the person standing behind hikaru was the Fourth Hokage.

And if so, then contacting and drawing in the major clans was perfectly natural.

Of course, there were other thoughts Shikaku did not say aloud:

if hikaru’s attention was on the Uchiha instead of on them, that was actually a very good thing.

"...Is that so?"

Inoichi was someone who trusted Shikaku’s judgment deeply.

After a moment of silence, he finally asked,

"So we just handle this normally?"

"Of course we handle it normally."

Shikaku nodded with a smile.

Then he lifted his cup of sake and took a small sip.

"Besides, I think Minister hikaru has something much more important to deal with right now."

"The Uchiha?"

Inoichi was sharp enough to catch Shikaku’s meaning immediately.

"Yeah. Right now, they’re the ones he needs to handle the most."

"That depends on how capable this Minister really is."

Shikaku set his cup down, his smile fading slightly.

"If necessary... maybe we can help the Fourth a little."

Shikaku’s wording was very subtle.

Helping the Fourth Hokage meant helping hikaru.

At least, for now, that was what it meant.

As head of Konoha’s Administration Department, Shikaku led a department whose size and overall importance could arguably exceed ANBU’s.

But in terms of authority and raw force, ANBU still completely overshadowed them.

Especially now that ANBU was in the middle of expansion.

Once that expansion was complete, its size would multiply even further.

And that department now stood firmly behind Minato.

That alone gave it enormous leverage.

Hokage changed.

That was inevitable.

But how one survived a transition of power—

how one ensured neither oneself nor one’s clan would be crushed by it—

that was what truly mattered.

And Shikaku could already tell that the Uchiha’s current situation was probably very unfavorable.

He could infer that much just from the changes in the Police Force.

Opening one division while the others isolated it—

that alone was enough to show that the Uchiha clan itself was not unified.

And internal disunity was extremely dangerous.

Clan fracture often began from exactly that sort of environment.

Shikaku also thought further.

He wondered when all this had truly begun.

Whether some of it had originally been part of the Third Hokage’s design.

After all, without Hiruzen’s approval, it would have been difficult for something like that to happen in the first place.

And the reason Hiruzen approved it was probably simple:

to divide the Uchiha from within and weaken them through internal division.

Once weakened by their own hands, they would naturally be far less troublesome.

That served Konoha’s interests.

But it did not necessarily serve the Fourth Hokage’s interests.

The Fourth and the Third were different people.

Everyone knew that, whether they said it aloud or not.

What truly served Minato was drawing in an intact clan and strengthening the forces in his hands.

At the very least, he would want the Uchiha faction willing to reconcile with Konoha standing with him.

That was why hikaru had begun contacting them.

Why he had begun offering them help.

Why he had begun guiding them.

In fact, in Shikaku’s eyes, hikaru had probably already made plans to help them complete a transfer of power within their clan.

If that was true—

then it would be interesting.

Very interesting.

Perhaps he could quietly give them a small push.

Still, such help would have to be done carefully.

It would have to slip past Hiruzen’s notice—

while clearly making hikaru aware of it.

That was troublesome.

But to Shikaku, it was far from impossible.

"You two tell me," Shikaku suddenly said with a grin, "what do you think that Uchiha elder is here to discuss with Minister hikaru?"

He tapped his chin and smiled lightly.

"I’ll bet... it’s about the Police Force."

"Tch. Betting with you is the most boring thing in the world."

Chōza shook his head helplessly.

"You always win. Since we were kids. Not interesting at all."

"Exactly."

Now that he had relaxed a little, even Inoichi smiled.

"Hurry up and say it. Otherwise I’ll tell your wife about the things you’ve hidden in your living room—"

"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Shikaku nearly choked and cut him off immediately.

"You’re unbelievably annoying.

Fine, I admit defeat.

Yes—I think it’s the Police Force.

But..."

He lifted his gaze slightly.

"It won’t be only about the Police Force."

That was true.

The trouble Uchiha shin faced right now definitely went beyond just the Police Force.

The situation in the Police Force alone was already enough to give him a splitting headache.

And on top of that, internal clan issues were binding his hands and feet at every turn.

Most importantly—

the Fourth Hokage was not in Konoha.

That meant he could not receive any real policy support from him.

Without that support, recruiting into the Police Force had become extremely difficult.

After all, the reputation the Police Force had among the villagers was truly terrible.

Not many civilians knew the internal divisions within the clan.

They only saw the surface.

And that surface made them wary.

So very few civilian shinobi dared to join.

Other clan shinobi were no different.

No one knew whether the Uchiha had suddenly lost their minds, or whether they had gained some hidden backing.

No one dared bet wrong.

Because everyone knew that choosing the wrong side meant disaster.

As a result, during this period of "opening recruitment," the Police Force had hardly recruited anyone at all.

Then there was the clan problem.

After that clan meeting, Uchiha shin had effectively fallen out completely with the other elders—

including the clan head.

Such a split was astonishing.

And frightening.

Because of that, even the moderates within the clan no longer dared openly support him.

It could be said that shin’s situation was now genuinely difficult.

He truly had wanted to avoid becoming too dependent on hikaru.

He had truly wanted to avoid being controlled by him.

But sometimes, reality forced compromise.

When the situation overwhelmed you, if you refused to compromise—

you could only wait for death.

hikaru had planted an idea in his heart.

And that idea had pushed him onto a path he had never once imagined.

But that path was anything but easy.

For shin, the dangers and difficulties on that road had gone far beyond anything he had expected.

"shin-dono, what you’ve done recently in the Uchiha clan has been... interesting."

Once the last of the dishes had been brought over, and after the server had fully stepped outside the barrier, hikaru finally spoke.

Ayame, who sat beside him, had quietly set up a soundproof barrier before that.

No one knew exactly what this dinner would turn into.

And since they were, in the end, on someone else’s turf, hikaru would have been a fool not to take precautions.

Especially when he knew perfectly well that this restaurant belonged to the Akimichi clan.

The barrier now in place, hikaru turned to shin, the smile on his face as gentle as ever.

"Opening one division of the Police Force to civilian shinobi..."

He rested his chin on one hand and spoke leisurely.

"I have to admit, that really is a return to the original purpose of the Police Force.

shin-dono’s awareness is truly admirable."

"Minister..."

shin opened his mouth, nervousness flashing through his face.

For a moment, he could not even tell whether hikaru was praising him—or mocking him.

"Minister, I..."

"Relax. I’m praising you."

hikaru waved a hand lightly and smiled.

"But that said, I do have some different views on the matter."

Different views?

shin immediately focused.

"Would shin-dono be willing to hear my nonsense?"

"Minister’s words can never be nonsense."

shin answered at once.

There was no hesitation in his voice.

To him, that was the truth.

If hikaru really intended to spout nonsense, he would never have let his granddaughter enter ANBU.

Nor would he have begun letting Uchiha shinobi into it.

Everything hikaru had done up to this point had already proven that he was serious.

So even if the words that followed were harsh, shin would still listen.

"In that case..."

hikaru nodded.

"Then I’ll briefly explain my thoughts."

He glanced at Saya and Ayame.

The two girls had already begun placing slices of meat on the grill in silence.

Only then did he continue,

"shin-dono’s approach is certainly opening a road forward.

Only by doing this can the Uchiha gradually regain influence while also reintegrating into Konoha.

But..."

His fingers tapped lightly on the table.

"...sometimes your methods need to be more flexible."

"Flexible?"

shin frowned and fell into thought.

What exactly did hikaru mean?

Was he saying shin had been too aggressive?

Or too stiff?

That he had failed to create smoother transitions?

"shin-dono."

At that moment, Ayame spoke while turning the meat on the grill.

"hikaru’s meaning likely includes adaptability.

I think Saya understands it too."

"Saya?"

shin blinked and looked toward his granddaughter.

His tone was not mocking—

he truly wanted to hear her answer.

Saya had not known beforehand what exactly this dinner would be about.

But now that things had reached this point, she had already guessed most of it.

At first, she had looked uncertain.

Then thoughtful.

Now, however, confidence gradually filled her eyes.

shin could see every step of that change clearly.

The little girl who once still needed to seek his guidance indirectly—

she really had changed.

A lot.

"I think I understand."

Saya nodded lightly.

Then, while using the grilling tongs to carefully turn another slice of meat, she said with a composed smile,

"In truth, hikaru’s point is simple.

Grandfather is too bound by rules."

"Too bound by rules?"

shin’s eyes narrowed.

Then something seemed to click in his mind.

"You mean..."

"hikaru has said this many times," Saya continued softly, "that following rules is a good thing.

But being too bound by rules can become a cage."

shin looked at her, silent.

Saya continued calmly,

"Normally, we should use rules to restrain our actions, so we don’t become reckless people who act without limits.

But at certain necessary moments, we can make use of loopholes within those rules—or even break them—

if doing so benefits everyone involved.

What Grandfather is trying to do right now is something that benefits both the clan’s reintegration into Konoha and Konoha’s restoration of Uchiha power through the Police Force.

So if Grandfather is overly strict in following rules and ends up burdened by one obstacle after another...

that would only make the entire matter worse."

Ayame turned her eyes toward Saya with quiet surprise.

hikaru also gave the girl a faint smile.

shin, however, remained silent for a while.

Then he looked at Saya and asked seriously,

"If that’s the case... what would you do?"

"At that point, I think we need to start thinking differently."

Saya answered without panic.

Then she turned to Ayame.

"Ayame.

According to ANBU’s intelligence, the Senju clan is already dispersed, isn’t it?

And quite a few of them no longer even carry the Senju surname."

"Yes."

Ayame nodded without hesitation.

"There are still many such clansmen.

They serve as mission shinobi and haven’t entered ANBU or other departments."

The moment Ayame answered, shin understood.

A show.

A move with both practical and political meaning.

Bring in shinobi who appeared to be civilians—

but were actually from the Senju side.

Make it look as though the Uchiha had truly begun attracting outside shinobi.

At the same time, use those people to form a stabilizing force and exert subtle influence within the Police Force.

And the worst part?

shin could not reject it.

No matter whether this had always been hikaru’s plan—

or whether he was improvising now—

the proposal was too tempting.

And it perfectly solved his immediate crisis.

"Of course, there’s no way I can give you too many."

hikaru smiled and casually placed slices of grilled meat into shin’s, Saya’s, and Ayame’s bowls.

"These people all have their own roles and tasks.

If I send too many, it’ll look too obvious—and too fake.

What you need is a signal.

A model case.

A point of publicity.

That alone is enough."

"I understand."

shin nodded heavily.

Then, after a brief pause, he said,

"In that case, I’ll formally invite some civilian shinobi into the Police Force.

Especially those you approve of."

"Good."

hikaru nodded, then picked up a slice of meat himself.

"But that’s only one part of it.

You also need to be ruthless."

shin’s fingers twitched slightly.

hikaru chewed once, twice, then continued calmly,

"The voices inside your clan are troublesome.

But at critical moments, those voices must disappear.

A group whose thoughts are not unified cannot accomplish great things.

And after unifying thought, you also need a clear line of action.

You need to tell your people what you are doing, why you are doing it, and what they stand to gain from it.

As for ruthlessness—

that, too, requires care.

First, do not expose yourself.

If you do, it will cause trouble later.

So in my view, shin-dono should personally carry it out.

The fewer people who know, the lower the chance of exposure.

Second, your ruthlessness should not be indiscriminate.

Your clansmen are your strongest support.

They are also the people who will become our greatest assistants in the future.

So the ones you need to deal with are not the ordinary clansmen—

but the ones who stir them up.

The ones who feed them dangerous ideas.

The ones who guide them toward extremism.

On the battlefield, beheading the commander is often the most effective move.

It crushes morale.

It breaks faith.

Because many people, in truth, don’t even know why they’re fighting in the first place.

And finally..."

hikaru tapped the table again.

"I imagine even among those who stand with you, there are still different voices.

Then be decisive.

Make them speak.

Whether through pressure or temptation—that is your own business."

He stopped there.

Then he looked at shin, whose face had gone pale, whose forehead was now beaded with cold sweat, and shook his head slightly.

Without unified thought, and without a clear action line—

how could anything possibly succeed?

And once a decision had been made, then when the time came to be ruthless, one had to be ruthless.

Still, ruthlessness required discernment.

Some people must be drawn in.

Others must be removed.

Saya silently placed another slice of grilled meat into her grandfather’s bowl.

She wanted to say something, but no words came.

Her time in ANBU had changed her too much.

As hikaru’s personal secretary, she and Ayame had access to a terrifying amount of ANBU’s secrets.

That knowledge had opened her eyes to just how dark the hidden side of the world truly was.

It had not crushed her.

But it had changed her.

She now understood one thing with perfect clarity:

if her grandfather could not harden his heart here—

then he would lose.

hikaru’s words were cruel.

But they were also a form of help.

Of course, Saya could not say for certain whether hikaru had other motives.

But she knew that without his help, the Uchiha clan really might be doomed.

After all, even the internal evaluations of the Uchiha that ANBU had documented were overwhelmingly negative.

"...I understand."

After a long silence, shin finally nodded.

"I’ll try."

"Try?"

hikaru raised a brow.

His smile remained warm, but his tone grew slightly sharper.

"In situations like this, ’trying’ means leaving yourself room to retreat.

Are you saving yourself an escape route?"

"Of course not!"

shin clenched his fists.

Then, with gritted teeth, he said,

"I will do everything in my power!"

"That’s more like it."

hikaru smiled again and tapped the table lightly.

"In that case, I’ll look forward to good news.

After all, in the end—

everything depends on people.

Once shin-dono took this step, you were already bound to change."

shin nodded silently.

This time, he did not speak.

He simply lowered his head and thought through hikaru’s words, one by one.

At the same time, Saya served him more grilled meat.

She knew this was not just a dinner.

This was an exchange of futures.

A negotiation.

A declaration.

And perhaps—

the beginning of a storm.

After a while, shin finally lifted his head again.

Then he looked at hikaru and asked quietly,

"hikaru-kun...

If the people who once fought beside me—my old comrades—refuse to cooperate with me for various reasons...

If they start opposing me...

And I find that I cannot easily do anything to them...

More importantly, if I cannot bring myself to be ruthless toward those who once fought beside me...

then what should I do?"

"That is indeed troublesome."

hikaru nodded lightly.

Then he smiled.

"A person who remembers old ties is often more worthy of following, after all."

His tone was calm, almost gentle.

But before he could continue, a sudden burst of noise rose from elsewhere in the restaurant.

The sound drew everyone’s attention.

hikaru’s table turned to look as one.

Only hikaru, after a single glance, curved his lips into a faint smile.

"Actually, shin-dono, the answer to your question is simple.

Simple enough that it can hardly even be called difficult."

"How so, hikaru-kun?"

shin followed his gaze, confused.

"Because..."

hikaru’s smile broadened.

"...I’m doing something similar myself.

And so far, the results have been quite good.

So..."

He lightly tapped the table with one finger and said,

"Watch with your eyes.

Listen with your heart.

And you’ll understand."

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