Chapter 148: Rebuilding the Military Police

 

Tonbo's attempt to redirect the public role toward Kakashi failed immediately.

"Copy Ninja Kakashi already has recognition," Kakashi said. "The announcement needs new information, and my Sharingan invites questions about the Uchiha before we can answer them."

Guy refused to reclaim the position because yielding to a rival had become, in his mind, an act of friendship. Inoichi called the assignment an opportunity. Togekei told Tonbo to stop pretending he had spent eleven years serving invisibly by accident. Hiruzen ended the argument.

"Tonbo leads the review. The campaign reports the review. We do not manufacture feats."

That distinction kept Tonbo in the room.

The communications plan used several forms. A public notice would identify the breach, Itachi's classification, and immediate safety measures. Department briefings would give merchants and district representatives channels for questions. A demonstration of Sealed Horizon would show evacuation and shelter capacity without exposing anchor placement. Interviews with Tonbo would be written and reviewed for operational security rather than performed before a crowd.

Shikaku assigned a correction process. Any story crediting Tonbo with defeating the Fourth Raikage, surviving Dust Release, or guaranteeing Itachi's capture would be publicly denied. Rumor could not be eliminated, but the village would not feed it through silence.

Tonbo removed the bandages before leaving the secure chamber.

White hair framed a face most colleagues had seen only at home, in medical settings, or during the confrontation with Pain. His eyes retained the pale blue haze created by long genjutsu adaptation. The change made him appear younger and less severe.

"That solves one problem," Inoichi said.

"It creates several others."

Tonbo used a low-level identity seal during family travel instead of covering himself again. Public recognition would be tolerated in official areas, not permitted to erase private boundaries.

Ayame studied the sketch before approving publication. It showed Tonbo in a standard jōnin vest, without theatrical lighting or a pose implying triumph. She removed a line calling him Konoha's sure answer to Itachi and replaced it with his actual role: Analysis Team leader supporting the security review and pursuit assessment.

"You look as though you have not slept," she said.

"Accurate representation."

Tenyu wanted the notice to mention Tempest Field. Maki wanted the woven eagle. Both requests were denied because classified techniques were not decorations for a family poster. The council's final subject mattered more than appearance.

The Konoha Military Police Force had lost almost all personnel, command, archives, and public legitimacy overnight. Leaving it empty would transfer arrests and patrols to units trained for war, intelligence, or assassination. Filling it from a single replacement clan would recreate the same concentration of power under a different crest.

Hiruzen opened recruitment across Konoha.

Applicants would pass examinations in law, de-escalation, investigation, restraint, evidence handling, and combat. Clan techniques could qualify a shinobi for specialized posts but not exempt anyone from common standards. Civilian administrators would handle records and complaints. Field teams would mix affiliations where possible.

Former police procedures were reviewed rather than discarded wholesale. Emergency response maps, missing-person protocols, evidence rooms, and experienced civilian clerks still had value. Arrest quotas, clan-only promotion paths, and internal discipline without outside appeal did not. Rebuilding meant separating institutional knowledge from ownership.

The Hyūga offered perception useful for searches and scene reconstruction. Inuzuka trackers could follow missing people and identify scents without relying upon interrogation. Aburame insects supported surveillance and evidence recovery. Yamanaka methods remained restricted by mental-privacy law and required consent or written authorization. Nara planning supported dispatch. None received guaranteed command merely by providing useful skills.

Kakashi proposed an independent review office outside the police chain. A resident could report misconduct without asking the same unit to investigate itself. Shikaku added rotating external audits and published summaries that excluded private case details. Tonbo requested mandatory recording of any use of genjutsu during arrest.

Inoichi insisted that mind techniques never become routine interrogation. A warrant would specify the information sought, less invasive methods attempted, duration, and who could retain the result. Hiashi made the same demand for searches using the Byakugan inside homes. Useful perception did not erase privacy merely because walls could not stop it.

Tsume Inuzuka requested standards for ninken evidence: scent identification required documented samples and corroboration when possible. Shibi added welfare and containment provisions for insects used in hazardous scenes. The rules slowed investigation. They also made specialized evidence more defensible.

"The former force was criticized for harsh enforcement," Hiruzen said. "We cannot rebuild only its capacity and ignore why residents resented it."

The Uchiha crest would not be erased from history. It would remain in memorial records and the preserved police archive. The new emblem used Konoha's leaf within a neutral shield, acknowledging village authority rather than transferring ownership of policing to another family.

Sasuke's future role remained undecided. He was a child and the last confirmed Uchiha survivor, not an automatic heir to an institution. Property and archival rights would be protected until he could participate through a guardian. No council member could use his name to claim the old headquarters.

Police files concerning Uchiha family property would be separated from criminal case records. Personal homes could not become training facilities because their owners were dead. The main station would remain sealed until an inventory included Sasuke's advocate. The village needed a police force quickly; urgency did not transfer every Uchiha possession to it.

Danzō objected from his diminished position. "Dispersed command weakens response."

"It also prevents one order from isolating an entire district," Tonbo said.

Hiruzen approved the mixed structure for an initial year with review after three months.

Implementation began the following morning. Temporary patrols paired experienced chūnin with legal clerks. The Academy offered facilities for examinations but did not assign students to public demonstrations. Former Uchiha cases were sealed for continuity review rather than discarded. Missing-person and emergency calls received priority while the new dispatch system stabilized.

The first recruitment notice attracted more applicants than positions. Some wanted stable pay. Others wanted authority. A few believed joining would allow them to occupy Uchiha property. The examination included scenarios designed to expose those motives: an insult that required no arrest, a wealthy complainant without evidence, a frightened child contradicting an adult, and an ANBU order missing verification.

 

Combat strength remained necessary. It was no longer sufficient.

Tonbo declined to place Tenyu or Maki into any future succession plan. They would choose training when old enough and qualify under the same standards as anyone else. If neither wanted shinobi service, Ichiraku and other family work remained honorable options rather than failure.

The meeting ended after sunset. Outside, notices already carried Itachi's name and the outline of the response. Residents gathered beneath them. Some read in silence. Others argued about what the village admitted too late. Tonbo walked through the Tower entrance without bandages.

Three people recognized the white hair from a freshly distributed sketch. More would recognize him tomorrow. He had agreed to become visible so the response could be measured. Visibility would prove much harder to control.