"I understand."
Ren nodded firmly. "I never intended to push this all at once."
"We can wait until the timing is right to roll it out gradually."
"But the reform—and partial opening—of the Police Force to outsiders is non-negotiable."
"I'm only proposing to open up a single division of the force."
"The rest of the structure remains strictly under Uchiha control."
"That way, we maintain our absolute authority over the Police Force…"
"…while also filling the staffing gap left by transferring personnel to our new Elite Police Unit."
"But more importantly—this public division lets us offload all the petty, thankless, reputation-damaging duties."
"They'll handle village squabbles and neighborhood disputes."
"That way, we—the Uchiha—no longer need to get our hands dirty with trivial nonsense that only earns us resentment."
"This one move will go a long way toward improving our reputation among civilians and other clans."
"And if, one day, an Uchiha hopes to become Hokage—this is a crucial step."
He deliberately dangled the prospect of the Hokage title—knowing full well the clan's obsession with that dream.
It was the perfect hook to gain his father's full support for the reforms.
"Hmm?"
Nobuhiko stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Makes sense when you put it like that…"
"At first glance, handing over a full division sounds like a huge concession."
"But if that division is only handling neighborhood quarrels and internal patrols… the actual power being given away is minimal."
"Especially if the captain is still Uchiha."
"And we're stripping away the poison from the bait…"
"We keep the meat, toss the bones. This could work."
He chuckled.
"You clever brat—this might just be the real deal."
"Got anything else?"
The biggest headache Nobuhiko had with the Police Force was all the petty cases. Endless disputes, thankless tasks, no prestige—just the constant resentment of the people.
It was a poison pill they'd swallowed for years.
Ren's proposal hit that issue dead center.
The only real challenge would be convincing the rest of the clan.
Most Uchiha wouldn't understand the big picture, let alone willingly give up control.
"Of course I do."
Ren gave a satisfied smile, seeing that his father was now truly listening.
"Third, we establish a new Judicial Division."
"Its purpose: handle all criminal trials and legal judgments within the village."
"We build a Public Courtroom, with transparent trials."
"Let civilians attend and observe as audience members."
"Outside the courtroom, we install a large public bulletin board…"
"…where we post trial results and case details—excluding any state secrets—so all villagers can read them."
"Based on the severity of the case, the ruling gets posted for 1 to 3 months."
"We Uchiha will no longer directly handle disputes. We'll become impartial judges."
"That way, we hold onto judicial authority, but stop becoming the face of conflict and resentment."
Nobuhiko's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's… actually brilliant."
"If we retain judgment rights, then opening the security division to outsiders won't weaken our grip."
"They'll be doing the dirty work, but we're the ones making the calls."
"Beautiful."
He was deeply impressed. His son had just created a clean division of power that shifted all the blame outward while keeping all the actual authority inside.
"But that's not even the ideal form of the Judicial Division," Ren said, shaking his head with a small smile.
"In my original vision, it would be structured like this:
"One Uchiha captain, and three vice-captains—one from the Hokage's faction, one from a friendly ninja clan, and one from the civilian elite."
"There would be three squads under this division: one composed entirely of Uchiha, and the other two made up of clan ninja and civilian shinobi."
"This structure would maximize credibility, reinforce our image as fair and principled, and lay the groundwork for building a political alliance bloc."
Nobuhiko raised an eyebrow.
"But…"
Ren nodded knowingly.
"I know. It's too early."
"The political alliance part doesn't exist yet, and the clan wouldn't stomach this level of openness in the current climate."
"But down the line—once we've strengthened our position and gained more say in Konoha's affairs—we can revisit this."
"For now, we establish the Judicial Division with all-Uchiha staff. Build the framework first."
Nobuhiko nodded in understanding.
"Good. You're already thinking ten steps ahead."
"We'll stick to an all-Uchiha staff for now. But that political alliance plan of yours—we'll need to talk about that later."
"Now then, what about the Detention Division? We should reorganize that too, right?"
"Exactly," Ren replied with a grin. "The Prison Unit should be its own division."
"Though normally it won't require many active members, unless we're housing a high number of inmates."
"We can keep the division small unless demand grows."
"So in total, our new Police Force would have four divisions:"
"The Elite Guard, the Security Division, the Judicial Division, and the Detention Division."
"That's my vision for reforming the department."
"What do you think, Father?"
If implemented correctly, this would completely reshape Uchiha's relationship with the village—and transform their image and standing from within.
As for whether the Third Hokage or Danzo would oppose it?
Highly unlikely.
In fact, they'd probably welcome Uchiha opening the department, seeing it as an opportunity to sneak in their own influence.
They'd be so focused on eroding Uchiha authority, they'd overlook the fact that Ren's plan was reclaiming control in more effective ways.
As for Uchiha's public image improving?
They wouldn't care.
They were too convinced that no other clan would ever allow the Uchiha to rise to power.
"Powerless popularity means nothing," they'd say.
Ren planned to prove them wrong.
"Brilliant," Nobuhiko said at last, solemnly and seriously.
"You've thought of everything."
"I'll execute the reform exactly as you've outlined. You have my word."