Whether it was the sharpness of his vision, the power of his illusions, or the flexibility of his body, everything had improved significantly.
But his Sharingan, aside from unlocking a powerful jutsu called Susanoo, had not unlocked any other eye techniques.
This made Kawasaki ponder, but he wasn't in a hurry; it wasn't something he needed right now.
Kawasaki could clearly feel that his eye power was far superior to everyone else's.
While he practiced, he also mentally pondered, trying to figure out who in the clan had a talent for business.
However, most Uchiha shinobi were skilled in combat, and few had any experience in management or business.
There was one young man named Uchiha Akira who stood out.
Although he had only awakened his double-tomoe at the age of seventeen, he had other skills: business, research, and logistics management.
Akira had been Kawasaki's teammate in the past. This kid was a true polymath, something he hadn't noticed before. He needed to be cultivated properly.
Apart from the Uchiha shinobi, ordinary villagers were also within Kawasaki's consideration.
These villagers mostly ran small businesses in Konohagakure, and some of them actually had a certain talent.
Kawasaki silently noted all these people down, this was the final piece of his plan coming together.
Surrounding Kawasaki was a group of clan members practicing in twos and threes.
Every now and then, bits and pieces of external gossip would drift into his ears.
Tired from training, Kawasaki sat down beside a water fountain to rest.
At that moment, Fugaku was listening to the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder report.
"Clan leader, I've already taught the Hyuga the layout of our guard unit's defense and patrol routes."
"It will probably take the Hyuga a week from learning to officially taking over."
Fugaku nodded.
"Did those people cause any trouble after they returned?"
Fugaku asked.
The Third Elder shook his head: "No, those troublemakers have been immersed in the training ground or chatting together since they got back. They haven't caused any trouble."
The Fourth Elder chimed in: "Of course they wouldn't cause trouble, they were busy watching those people's spectacle today."
"What spectacle?"
The Third Elder had been busy running around the clan and didn't pay much attention to things outside.
The Fourth Elder said with a smug look, "Those merchants on the streets, before we Uchiha were there, they complained all the time..."
"They either said the law enforcement was lax or too slow. The most frequent complaint was about violent law enforcement."
"Today, they all came running to ask where the guard unit was."
"You wouldn't believe it, the way they looked, all eager, asking when we'd send people over. That look, you know."
The Fourth Elder clicked his tongue, with a look of self-satisfaction.
Now they remember how good we Uchiha were, huh? We Uchiha aren't serving them anymore.
Now he somewhat understood Kawasaki's intention.
The Third Elder also picked up on the implication and looked at Fugaku.
Fugaku nodded: "I see it too. Kawasaki is giving the clan members a way to vent their frustrations. Kawasaki said this is just the beginning, there will be many more opportunities for the Uchiha in the future."
Actually, the Uchiha were best suited for the guard unit, after all, every Uchiha is a jack-of-all-trades.
Those who can use genjutsu can immediately subdue troublemakers, they have observational skills and can quickly spot problems.
Their taijutsu is fierce, they are agile and can reach the scene quickly.
But because of the past, people in Konohagakure have chosen to ignore all this.
And the Uchiha clan members have always wanted the villagers to acknowledge them.
Actually, the Uchiha never needed anyone's acknowledgement.
Because the strong, they don't need anyone's approval!
As Kawasaki predicted.
Konohagakure's security situation has been less than ideal these past few days.
There have been no major conflicts, but petty thefts and minor offenses have gone unaddressed.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage had the Root watching, otherwise, there could have been real chaos.
There were no complaints about the guard unit, but people were inquiring every day.
When would they send new recruits, but the Uchiha couldn't send anyone either.
There was no way around it, those merchants could only go to the Hokage to appeal.
Although not everyone could see the Hokage.
But these villagers had lived in Konohagakure for so long, they more or less had some relatives. With so many people, the opinions naturally reached the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage had no choice but to urge the Hyuga to take over quickly.
Under the Third Hokage's urging, the Hyuga took over two days ahead of schedule. On the sixth day, the guard units in various places were finally in place.
However, the team composition was slightly smaller than the Uchiha's.
The Hyuga have the Byakugan for observation, and the Gentle Fist for sealing chakra, making them decent guard unit members.
Sure enough, as soon as the Hyuga took over, the security situation immediately improved.
The one in charge of the guard unit was Hyuga Hizashi, and all the guard unit members were from the Hyuga branch family.
Hizashi learned from the Uchiha's lesson and demanded that all Hyuga guard unit members must enforce the law gently, preventing villagers from complaining.
The Hyuga branch family had always been on the frontlines, and they even had the Cage Bird seal on their heads.
Although they were of Hyuga lineage, they didn't have any airs, and were rather approachable.
So, most resident disputes were resolved through mediation.
The residents saw that the noble Hyuga were so easy to talk to, and they praised them endlessly.
"The Hyuga are really reliable."
"They're much gentler than the Uchiha."
"The Hyuga should have been managing the guard unit all along."
...
Kawasaki and Itachi were walking down the street. Itachi had already resigned from his position in Root.
Kawasaki wanted to spend more time with Itachi, after all, Itachi would be a powerful force in the future, but his illness needed to be addressed.
Fugaku also told Itachi to get closer to Kawasaki. Itachi admired Kawasaki's intelligence as well.
They both wanted to see how the villagers would react after the Uchiha gradually withdrew from the guard unit.
"Itachi, what do you think our clan needs most?"
As Kawasaki chatted with Itachi, he surveyed Konohagakure's streets. It was called a village, but it was truly quite large.
Looking at the bustling streets, the permanent resident population must be at least hundreds of thousands. No wonder the Uchiha always wanted to seize power.
Unfortunately, the future changes in the ninja world wouldn't be affected by these hundreds of thousands of ordinary people.
After all, with the lack of high-end combat power, Konohagakure was just a facade.
The long-term high-pressure policies had made the Hokage lineage distrust the Uchiha.
Forget being Hokage, they didn't even give the Uchiha a position as an advisor elder.
No wonder the Uchiha had so many grievances.
The more the Hokage lineage refused to cede power, the tighter the Uchiha held onto the guard unit. During the Nine-Tailed Fox incident, it was clearly the upper echelon who didn't allow the Uchiha to participate.
But in the end, it became the villagers' reason for suspicion.
This public opinion, it's hard to say whether it was the Hokage lineage's doing. It's just that the mastermind behind it, was it Danzo or the Third Hokage?
Itachi thought carefully for a moment: "Vice Clan Leader, I think it's a sense of belonging."
Kawasaki waved his hand: "Just call me Senior."
This sense of belonging, how many Jonin has our Uchiha clan produced? How many can the entire Konohagakure count?
In Konohagakure, the officially registered Jonin, all added together, are only about two hundred people.
A Jonin can normally lead three or five four-man squads, even more during wartime, so the weight of a Jonin is very significant.
But in the guard unit, even a Jonin from the Uchiha family is only a squad leader.
There are thirty or so such Jonin squad leaders in the guard unit.
"Our Uchiha Jonin are clearly more numerous than other ninja clans, yet they are all cooped up in this small world of the guard unit."
"Staying in the guard unit, the Uchiha won't gain true recognition. They just deal with petty matters day after day, slowly wearing away their sharpness."
"We Uchiha are inherently strong, why do we need the approval of others?"