Chiya returned to Military Police Force headquarters and stood at the second-floor window, scanning the villagers moving back and forth below.
From this vantage point, more than half of Konoha was visible at a glance.
'What a truly fine village.'
After a moment of silence, Chiya pulled his gaze back.
The Second Great Ninja War had now ended. The entire ninja world was pushing hard to build up its own strength, each side trying to gain an advantage on future battlefields.
It was not an exaggeration to say the era of intense internal competition had formally begun.
He was now the Uchiha Clan Head. There were far too many things he wanted to protect.
When it came down to it, it all came back to one thing.
Strength, Strength, and more strength.
"System, open the system panel."
[Name: Uchiha Chiya]
[Age: 18]
[Chakra: 15 Kaka]
[Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Mangekyou), Ice Release]
[Skills: Mangekyou Dojutsu, The Far Shore of the Yellow Springs, Cycle of Cause and Effect. Genjutsu Mastery, Fire Release Great Fireball Jutsu, Body Flicker Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Triple Body Jutsu, and others.]
A panel of light appeared in his mind. Chiya stared at his system panel and sank into thought.
By all logic, an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan should be able to unlock the third great power.
The divine power of the Uchiha Clan. Susano'o.
He could sense Susano'o within his eyes.
But the system panel showed no entry for Susano'o at all.
Was it a bug?
"System! System!"
Chiya called out silently in his mind.
[Here, host.]
"Where is my Susano'o?"
"Why is Susano'o not appearing in my skills?"
[Responding to host: Susano'o is the supreme power dwelling within the Mangekyou Sharingan. It materializes massive chakra into physical form, creating the ultimate dojutsu that combines offense and defense.]
[Because the host awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan only a short time ago, control over the dojutsu power has not reached a sufficient level. Using it presents difficulty. For this reason Susano'o does not yet appear as a skill.]
[For the host to use Susano'o, the dojutsu power must be trained to a certain standard and the chakra requirements must also be met before it can be used normally.]
Hearing this, Chiya was briefly taken aback.
He then thought of Uchiha Sasuke after awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan in the original story.
He had always wondered why Sasuke, with his Mangekyou Sharingan active, had been beaten nearly to death by the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B without ever opening Susano'o.
So after awakening the Mangekyou, there was still a process of learning to control the dojutsu power before Susano'o could be used?
'Interesting. The threshold is not low at all. Come to think of it, that makes sense. Plenty of people awaken the Mangekyou, but the ones who can actually use Susano'o seem to be only a handful.'
"System, how do I check my dojutsu training level and how much chakra is needed to meet the requirement?"
[The caring system is here to serve you.]
[Temporary function added: Susano'o unlock progress.]
[Susano'o Unlock Progress: Dojutsu Power (Training Proficiency): 60%. Chakra Volume Requirement: Met. Chakra Control Requirement: 75%.]
[Optimal improvement plan as follows.]
[Dojutsu Power: Activate the Sharingan daily and apply and master it proficiently (minimum requirement: three-tomoe), and proficiency will increase accordingly.]
[Chakra Control Requirement: System recommends host complete missions. Mission rewards will increase chakra and chakra control.]
Seeing the interface the system had brought up, Chiya gained a clear understanding.
So for now, unlocking Susano'o required him to train his dojutsu power and improve his chakra control?
'On the dojutsu side, following the system's plan, I will need to keep activating the Sharingan regularly from here on out.
That is not a problem. I am an Uchiha after all, and with 15 Kaka of chakra, using the Sharingan does not cost that much.'
'As for chakra control...'
'The missions available right now are all interception missions.
Konan?
Kushina?
Those are quite something.
Mikoto...
That one needs a few more years.
So the only one who is the right age right now would be Yakushi Nono.'
Chiya's eyes flickered slightly.
He did not even know where Yakushi Nono was at the moment.
Was he supposed to go ask Danzo for her? They had no connection whatsoever, and just demanding one of that man's elite subordinates out of nowhere would never work.
That old man already had a bias against the Uchiha. He would certainly not agree.
That approach was a dead end. It looked like he would have to work around it.
Chiya then turned his thoughts to Tsunade.
Tsunade currently led the Medical Corps, and Yakushi Nono was also highly skilled in medical ninjutsu.
Konoha's medical program was currently short on talent in exactly that area.
'Danzo, you care so much about this village. Surely you would not want to see Konoha's medical program fall behind the other villages? If Tsunade puts forward the proposal, that old man will have no choice but to agree.
Brilliant.'
'As for whether Tsunade will go along with it, that depends on how hard I work tonight.'
'For the sake of Susano'o, I will have to put some strain on my back for the time being.
If Tsunade ever finds out I was doing all this to intercept Yakushi Nono, would she finish me off?'
Chiya decided not to worry about that.
'Finished or not, it beats having no strength at all!
That is Susano'o!
That is my Gundam!'
Chiya returned to his desk and picked up a brush, writing out a few lines in quick strokes.
"Someone come!"
"Clan Head!"
A member of the Military Police Force stepped up quickly.
"Deliver this letter to Tsunade."
Chiya tucked what he had written into an envelope and handed it to the Uchiha officer.
Noticing the confused look in the man's eyes, Chiya let out a deliberate sigh.
"The matter of what the Great Elder did cannot go without consequences.
The cleanup work requires my personal involvement.
Even if I get beaten and scolded by those awful Senju people, I will accept it.
Go now. Make sure this letter of apology is delivered intact to Princess Tsunade. This concerns the future of the Uchiha and the Senju. Do you understand?"
Hearing that this concerned the Uchiha's future, the young Uchiha officer's eyes instantly cleared. He straightened up noticeably.
His expression turned fully serious.
"Clan Head! I understand completely. This letter will be delivered intact to Lady Tsunade's hands!
Also, Clan Head, you have worked hard!"
With those words, he carefully tucked the letter away and disappeared with a Body Flicker.
Chiya watched the spot where the man had vanished, then shook his head slowly.
'Ah, youth is something else. They believe whatever you tell them.'
'And on top of that, he even told me I worked hard.'
At that moment, inside the Hokage's office.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at a table with the two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
"The ANBU have confirmed the details on the Kumogakure ninja involved in the incident where the Uzumaki Clan survivor was taken. All of them were killed by Uchiha Chiya and died inside the border. As for those inside the village who provided assistance to them, a definitive answer has been reached. That person is Uchiha Yamauma."
At the mention of Uchiha, Koharu's brow furrowed out of habit.
"Has the Uchiha Clan really sunk so low? Joining forces with outside powers to move against their own people..."
The Third Hokage coughed lightly.
"This is not the Uchiha. This is Uchiha Yamauma."
Koharu and Homura were both well versed in politics. They understood immediately what Hiruzen meant.
Their focus shifted from the Uchiha Clan as a whole to Uchiha Yamauma specifically.
"I have some memory of this Uchiha Yamauma. I met him a few times before. He always seemed meticulous and proper. I never imagined he would do something like betraying the village."
Homura coughed lightly.
"You cannot judge a man by appearances. This one is no ordinary person. In years past, there were reports that he was one of the very few clansmen who openly supported the decisions of Uchiha Madara. He was a follower of Madara."
Koharu looked over.
"A follower of Uchiha Madara? When Madara left, Yamauma should have been around twelve or thirteen years old. Why did he not leave with Madara?"
Homura had no answer to that and fell silent.
Seeing Homura go quiet, Koharu let out a cold snort.
"Calling himself a follower of Uchiha Madara. That is nothing but an excuse they use for themselves."
Hiruzen drew in a long breath. The smoke from his pipe drifted up and obscured his expression.
"Then how should we handle this?"
The two advisors exchanged a glance.
Koharu's expression was serious.
"Uchiha Yamauma has already committed acts of serious betrayal against the village. He cannot be allowed to remain."
"If this matter is made public, the impact will be significant. My recommendation is a secret execution. That would preserve the village's image. After all..."
Koharu thought back to how Hiruzen had just said this was not the Uchiha, but Uchiha Yamauma specifically.
"After all, the Uchiha still belong to Konoha at the end of the day. No one wants to see the Uchiha pushed to that point."
Homura beside her agreed.
"A secret execution is the safest approach. It protects Konoha's image and puts the Uchiha Clan in our debt."
"Hiruzen, what does the Uchiha side think?"
Hiruzen turned and picked up a scroll from the desk, setting it down on the table.
"This is the document Uchiha Chiya had delivered today."
"They want to make it public."
The expressions of both advisors visibly stiffened at that answer.
"What? Make it public?!"