Chapter 317: The Weight of Authority!

"The ANBU's full name is the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. I won't go into excessive detail about the specific functions of this department here."

"Most of the ANBU's existing functions will remain unchanged. However, its duties within the village will be reduced to dealing exclusively with external threats, such as espionage and infiltration, terrorist attacks, defection and collaboration with enemy villages, and similar incidents."

"At the same time, departments responsible for interrogation and intelligence-related functions, such as the Interrogation Unit, Analysis Unit, and Torture Unit, will be separated and incorporated into the ANBU and the Military Police Force."

"The Barrier Unit and the Corpse Disposal Unit of the Medical Department will be reorganized into a Forensic Unit and incorporated directly into the Military Police Force, where it will be directly responsible to the Military Police Force."

"When necessary, the ANBU may also report directly to the Hokage and request the deployment of Military Police Force shinobi to conduct joint investigations."

"In addition, the village-management functions separated from the Konoha Military Police Force will form the core of a new Village Administration Unit, which will be incorporated into the Administrative Department and placed under its jurisdiction."

"Since most of the matters handled by the Village Administration Unit are simple yet troublesome day-to-day affairs, we might as well consider recruiting civilians with good reputations, high standing, and agreeable personalities to serve in these positions."

"Although Konoha is a shinobi village, that doesn't mean every administrative position has to be held by shinobi. There are plenty of talented people among the civilian population as well!"

Uchiha Ren spoke at length, explaining how the various departments with overlapping responsibilities would be reorganized and how their functions would be handled.

Although everyone was somewhat moved by what they heard, no one rushed to say anything.

After all, judging from the situation as it stood, just as Uchiha Ren had said earlier, the village would have many more positions available in the future.

And every one of those positions represented an opportunity.

Tsunade then asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

"May I ask, Elder Uchiha, how exactly will personnel for these departments be selected? And how many people will be required for each position?"

Uchiha Ren had already prepared for this question and immediately answered:

"I've already explained the positions within the Legislative Council in detail, so I won't repeat them."

"The Judicial Court will have one Chief Justice, responsible for overseeing all matters concerning the court. This position will be hereditary and permanently held by the Uchiha clan."

"There will also be three Deputy Chief Justices. One will oversee court proceedings, one will be responsible for coordination and investigative assistance, and one will oversee logistics and archives."

"Then there will be several presiding judges, several judges, several court clerks, and several administrative officers."

"All of these positions require a high degree of professionalism. Those with greater ability will be given priority, and civilians may apply as well!"

"The Inspection Department will have one Director, responsible for overseeing all matters concerning the department. This position will likewise be hereditary and permanently held by the Uchiha clan..."

"Finally, we have the Military Police Force."

"The professional departments under the Military Police Force, such as the Barrier Unit, Forensic Unit, and Analysis Unit, will naturally continue to recruit based on ability, just as before. The number of personnel will be determined according to actual needs, but we must ensure that their total manpower is no less than it was before the reorganization!"

"To ensure that the Military Police Force can respond immediately to incidents occurring anywhere in the village, Konoha will be divided into five districts: east, south, west, north, and central. A station will be established in each district!"

"The eastern, southern, western, and northern districts will each have a branch station, while the central district will house the headquarters."

"Each district station will have two Action Squads under its command. The headquarters will have four Action Squads and one Special Action Squad."

"Each squad will consist of fifty shinobi, all of whom must be shinobi."

"Next are the senior positions within the Military Police Force."

"The Military Police Force will have one Director responsible for all matters concerning the organization. This position will be hereditary and permanently held by the Uchiha clan."

"There will be three Deputy Directors. One will oversee headquarters operations, one will be responsible for logistics and archives, and one will oversee the various specialized departments."

"Each branch station of the Military Police Force will have one Station Chief responsible for all matters concerning the station, along with two Deputy Station Chiefs—one overseeing investigations and casework, and the other responsible for logistics and archives."

After a brief pause, Uchiha Ren looked at the expectant faces around him and calmly continued.

"The Konoha Military Police Force originally had only a few hundred personnel. After splitting off and reorganizing so many departments, we naturally won't have enough manpower."

"Therefore, all the vacant positions will be filled by shinobi from other clans within the village as well as civilian shinobi."

"Once again, the principle is simple: the most capable candidates will be selected!"

"Although the position of Director of the Military Police Force will still be held by a member of the Uchiha clan, from this day forward, the Military Police Force will no longer be the private property of the Uchiha clan!"

Once again, although the position of Military Police Force Director would remain hereditary within the Uchiha clan, that had already been the case before, so no one had any particular objection to it.

On the contrary, everyone was now eagerly eyeing the authority that the Uchiha clan was distributing.

Tsunade cleared her throat and asked another question.

"Elder Uchiha, when you say that candidates will be selected based on merit, does that also include senior positions such as the Deputy Directors, Station Chiefs, and Deputy Station Chiefs, excluding the Director of the Military Police Force?"

Uchiha Ren nodded.

"Of course! As long as they have the ability, they can apply for these positions as well. Naturally, the final appointments will still be made according to the village's arrangements."

The moment these words were spoken, many people in the conference room became visibly excited.

Although the Uchiha clan would still control the highest positions in these three departments, the extensive division of authority meant that its overall control over the three departments would certainly be weaker than its previous absolute control over the Konoha Military Police Force.

Even after splitting up and reorganizing so many departments, the Uchiha had undoubtedly gained enormous authority. Whether it was the Military Police Force, the Inspection Department, or the Judicial Court, their powers were all astonishingly broad.

Compared with the original Konoha Military Police Force, the Uchiha clan had clearly benefited tremendously.

But the Uchiha had not chosen to keep everything for themselves.

Instead, they had distributed most of the authority among the other clans and civilians.

Given that the Uchiha clan could originally have monopolized this power, their willingness to share it naturally earned them considerable goodwill. Consequently, no one had any intention of opposing the reform.

"In that case, I have no objections. This reform is worth trying."

Tsunade no longer raised any objections and thus formally expressed her support for the plan proposed by Uchiha Ren and Namikaze Minato.

"I also agree to proceed with the reform."

Orochimaru likewise voiced his support.

"I have no objections."

After thinking it over for a moment, Shikaku Nara also expressed his position.

"I likewise have no objections."

Hyūga Hiashi spoke up as well.

Once the village's major figures had expressed their support, the remaining people naturally had no reason to object either. One after another, they voiced their approval.

Seeing this, the corners of Uchiha Ren's lips curled upward.

He secretly sighed in his heart.

These people were ultimately still far too inexperienced. Compared with old foxes like Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, they were nowhere close.

The Uchiha clan had indeed possessed absolute control over the Konoha Military Police Force.

But that was precisely because the Military Police Force had been treated as an unwanted stepchild by everyone else in Konoha!

Even without everyone's approval, the Uchiha clan could certainly have reformed the Konoha Military Police Force.

But how much recognition would such a reform actually receive?

Without the support and recognition of the people, reforming the Konoha Military Police Force would ultimately amount to little more than changing its name and structure.

Now, however, the Uchiha appeared to be giving away most of its authority.

In reality, they had retained control over the handful of positions that mattered most.

One represented real authority, while the other was merely a nominal position.

The amount of actual power attached to a position could not possibly be compared simply by looking at its title.

In other words, the Uchiha had made an enormous profit.

Seeing this, Namikaze Minato also spoke.

"Since that's the case, I'll have Elder Uchiha compile and publicly announce a detailed list of all the positions required by the new departments."

"If anyone is interested in a particular position, you may apply for it yourselves. We can then discuss the allocation of these positions afterward."

"And with that, the reform officially begins!"

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