The liaison officer of the Shimura clan was panicking. He didn't understand what was happening, nor could he explain it under the judging stares of his fellow officers. Without wasting time, he rushed out to report the situation back to the family.
Unfortunately for him, the moment he stepped outside, he ran straight into Andrew.
"Hey! You're a member of the police department, and you dare leave your post during working hours? Worse, you even tried to commit a crime against me—the captain? That's outrageous. Detain him immediately and send him to prison. He clearly needs a refresher on discipline."
Before anyone could react, Andrew pinned him down effortlessly. The remaining Uchiha officers inside the department nodded calmly and escorted the liaison officer to holding without a word.
The crowd of shinobi watching nearby stood frozen.
Until now, they'd only suspected that Uchiha was deliberately targeting the Shimura clan. Now there was no doubt.
The liaison officer's face turned dark with helpless rage. He'd been eight meters away when Andrew accused him of "assault," and yet now he was being hauled off like a criminal.
And as for unauthorized absence? Who was Andrew to talk? The captain had been wandering the streets daily, barely in the building for more than an hour at a time.
But no one dared to speak.
"What are you looking at? Work's over already? Or are you waiting for me to assign new duties one by one? If I don't show up for a day, does the entire department fall into chaos? Get back to work!"
The crowd quickly dispersed.
"We can't afford to provoke this madman Uchiha." That thought echoed in the hearts of every non-Uchiha officer. "These guys are too dangerous. Let's just stay out of it before we get burned."
The situation had officially gotten out of control.
By that evening, over 30 members of the Shimura clan had been arrested—civilians, genin, even jōnin. No one had been spared.
Danzo Shimura was pacing inside his estate.
"Well? What did the police department say?"
A shinobi from the clan who'd been sent to inquire returned with a grim face.
"No luck. They won't even allow visits, let alone bail. They just say the cases are under investigation. Patriarch… this is definitely Uchiha's doing. Do you think… it's him?"
The man didn't need to say who he meant. Everyone in the clan already knew.
Andrew.
The same "brat" who had outmaneuvered Danzo's Root operatives, taken over the police department's internal affairs, and was now grinding the Shimura clan into the dirt with a paper-thin legal veneer.
Danzo's face was like stone.
Though he publicly maintained distance from the Shimura clan, everyone in the know understood the truth. Without Danzo's secret support, Shimura would've remained a mid-tier family, not the powerhouse it was today.
Root was his blade, and Shimura was his shield.
That meant these arrests weren't just symbolic. They were a direct hit on Danzo's infrastructure.
Danzo's lips curled in disgust. "Heh. So that's how it is? That brat Uchiha Andrew dares to use such petty tricks... fine. You want to play like that? Let's see what the Third Hokage has to say about this."
"Report this to Lord Hiruzen. He won't sit back and watch such blatant targeting of one of Konoha's elder clans. He'll stop Andrew. He has to."
······
At that exact moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was fighting his own battle—with a growing migraine.
His office was filled with reports, complaints, and half-filled paperwork. On one hand, Naruto's behavior had grown worse than ever. After the barbecue restaurant incident, he'd nearly demolished a grocery shop with another of his pranks.
Every day, some new catastrophe involving the boy needed his direct involvement.
On the other hand, a letter had arrived from Cloud Village.
The Raikage was sending a diplomatic team to settle post-war issues from the Third Great Ninja War. On paper, it was a peace mission. In reality, it was a test. A show of strength. And Konoha was failing.
The police department was falling apart, civilian unrest was rising, and trust within the village was at an all-time low.
Even Hiruzen had to admit—Konoha with Uchiha's support was a different village from Konoha without it.
Uchiha comprised one-fifth of the village's jōnin alone. Without their military support, Konoha was vulnerable.
In the past, Hatake Sakumo—White Fang—could've stood as a deterrent. But he'd been shamed into suicide.
Then came the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Brilliant, respected, powerful. But the Nine-Tails incident had taken him from them far too soon.
Now?
The Sannin were scattered. One defected. One went rogue. One disappeared.
As for himself—the famed "Professor"? Hiruzen rubbed his temples wearily.
"I'm old." He knew it. Everyone knew it.
Andrew hadn't torn Uchiha away from the village out of hatred. He'd done it for survival—for the sake of his people. He grew up in the Uchiha household. He had ties, familiarity, emotional anchors.
If Konoha had remained strong, perhaps Uchiha would've never drifted away.
But now, it was too late.
When Danzo stormed into the office, complaining about the arrests, Hiruzen's headache grew worse.
"Are you kidding me?" he thought bitterly. "A ninja patriarch came to the Hokage's office to report a few arrests? Are we not all adults here?"
Danzo huffed with indignation.
"Lord Hokage, this is unacceptable! Uchiha is clearly targeting the Shimura clan! Since last night, they've fabricated dozens of charges and arrested more than forty of our people. I can't even get visits approved. I can't do anything!"
Sarutobi was silent got a long moment.
Finally, he looked up. "So… all this fuss is about that?"
Danzo froze. "Lord Hokage…?"
"Let me ask you something, Danzo. Is there a single clan in Konoha that hasn't had someone arrested by the police department? The Sarutobi clan has had plenty. What makes your Shimura so special?"
Danzo's mouth opened, then closed. He had no answer.
Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what was going on.
He'd known about Danzo's interference in Uchiha Industrial Street.
He'd known about the "Root" disguises.
He'd known that Andrew's retaliation wasn't unjustified—but calculated.
Still, he couldn't have the village spiral into civil war. Not now. Not when Cloud Shinobi were sniffing for weakness.
"I'll speak with Andrew," Sarutobi said finally. "You go home. Wait for my message."
Danzo clenched his fists but nodded. If the Hokage was stepping in, that was good enough—for now.
He left.
But the moment he did, Sarutobi collapsed into his chair with a groan.
"This is a mess... a complete mess. Danzo can't go a day without poking Uchiha. Now the whole village is falling apart."
What Danzo didn't know was that, while he waited for Hiruzen's call, he'd receive something else first—a punch. A big one.
······
Meanwhile, Andrew and Itachi had quietly made their way to the outskirts of the Shimura clan's compound. Andrew had already given strict orders to the department: no visits, no exceptions, no negotiations. Shimura clan members in custody would remain exactly where they were.
The Uchiha had already distanced themselves from Konoha politically. And Andrew didn't want a confrontation either. What the clan needed was time—time to develop their industries, gather allies, and build financial strength.
If they could get that time, then they wouldn't need to fear Konoha anymore.
But Danzo? Danzo was determined to make them miserable. Day after day, week after week, he poked, prodded, sabotaged.
If they couldn't fight back directly, then they'd do the next best thing.
"Itachi," Andrew said quietly. "You've seen how they move. You know what they think of us. We can't just stand by."
Itachi nodded. His eyes glimmered with resolve.
They weren't here to talk.
They were here to send a message.
___________________________________
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