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Konoha Village.
The ANBU members were all stunned by Taiichi's sharp question. But the increasingly cold pressure radiating from him quickly brought them back to their senses.
They could have ignored Taiichi's attitude, but a powerful person naturally held authority—especially when that person was also the Hokage's grand-disciple.
The horse-faced ANBU, as the team leader, reacted fastest. He immediately sheathed his kunai and made a hand signal to his subordinates. Only then did everyone drop their guard.
"The Police Force got here pretty fast," Taiichi said as he walked over to Uchiha Inaho, offering genuine praise. "ANBU was in the middle of capturing a spy just now. They made quite a scene."
Taiichi looked at the mess around them. This wasn't just "quite a scene"—quite a few civilians had been injured or killed.
He shot another sharp glare at the ANBU beside him. These idiots. Do they not plan their arrests? Do they not choose better locations?
He stepped between the horse-faced ANBU and Uchiha Inaho, pointed at the destruction around them, and said, "I don't know what your responsibilities are, but how are you going to handle the wounded and the damages afterward?"
Both sides looked at each other. Neither had expected this kind of question.
In the end, it was Uchiha Inaho who spoke first. "Normally, when our Police Force arrests criminals and causes damage to civilians' lives or property, we have a set of compensation regulations. But this incident wasn't caused by the Police Force, so we can't offer compensation."
Taiichi's gaze turned toward the horse-faced ANBU. His expression made it very clear: Does ANBU have similar regulations?
The horse-faced ANBU felt awkward. ANBU's full name was the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. Their main duties were high-level secret missions like assassination, reconnaissance, and protection. They had never even considered things like compensation.
In the past, when they captured targets, they usually did it in remote areas. Once the target was taken, they left immediately. They had never run into a situation like today's.
But this mission had been urgent. Intelligence had just come in that this couple were Rock spies in disguise. They had been hiding in Konoha for nearly ten years and had even opened a shop on this very crowded street.
That had made things difficult. More importantly, they had received word that the spies were planning to hand over important intelligence today. To prevent the information from leaking, ANBU had been forced to act in such a crowded area.
Normally, a mission like this would have had a high-level shinobi leading the team. But Konoha's manpower shortage wasn't limited to the four battlefronts. Even the Hokage's direct ANBU was understaffed.
This time, the two ANBU squads didn't even have a single jonin—only two special jonin to hold the line.
If Taiichi hadn't happened to be there, that blue-haired shinobi alone would have been more than enough to give them trouble.
"This…" the horse-faced ANBU said. "I'll submit a report to the Hokage. The damages and compensation will be handled by designated personnel later."
This was also ANBU's usual practice. They focused only on the mission. As for any civilian casualties or property damage caused during the mission, a conscientious ANBU captain might file a report afterward. In most cases, it was simply treated as if nothing had happened.
After all, it was better to avoid trouble. Most people wouldn't go out of their way to create problems for themselves. The moral standards in the shinobi world weren't that high.
If this had happened outside the village, Taiichi wouldn't have bothered. He wasn't a saint. He only wanted to protect his own small piece of land.
But this was Konoha—the place he fought for and cared about. So he had no choice but to use his influence.
"Inaho, squad leader."
Taiichi turned to Uchiha Inaho, causing the man to immediately stand at attention and bow respectfully.
It wasn't that Uchiha Inaho was belittling himself. Taiichi's reputation was simply too high now. Even compared to the White Fang back in the day, he wasn't lacking.
If people had only admired the White Fang for his strength, it was different with Taiichi. Taiichi could actually save their lives.
Many Konoha jonin suspected that the village's top medical authority was no longer Tsunade, but her disciple, Matsushita Taiichi.
A person like this had a very good relationship with the Uchiha clan. Even if Inaho were an idiot, he wouldn't easily offend him.
"Please give your orders!"
Taiichi looked at Inaho in surprise. Seeing that the man's respect was completely genuine, he couldn't help feeling a small surge of pride. All his efforts over the years hadn't been in vain.
"These wounded and the damages—please have the Police Force handle them for now. Once ANBU's application comes through, the Hokage's office and the Police Force can coordinate the handover."
Uchiha Inaho looked troubled. Coordinating with the Hokage's office? That might end up being a loss.
Taiichi noticed Inaho's hesitation and continued, "This is my personal request. I'll follow up on this matter myself afterward."
This time, Uchiha Inaho had nothing left to say. He knew what was important. Even if this ended up becoming a loss for the Police Force, he believed the clan would still be willing.
A favor from Taiichi was far more valuable than a bit of money. In fact, he would rather the Hokage's office tried to dodge responsibility. That way, the favor would be even more firmly established and grow even bigger.
"Taiichi-sama, you're too polite. The Police Force will handle this matter properly."
With that, he waved his hand. The several Uchiha shinobi who had come with him immediately created shadow clones.
The clones moved efficiently—some taking notes, some treating the wounded. Everything was orderly. It seemed the Uchiha had plenty of experience with this kind of situation.
For the first time, Taiichi smiled. He also created a shadow clone and went forward to provide emergency treatment to the seriously injured.
Only after that did his real body turn back to the horse-faced ANBU. In a stern voice, he ordered, "Report the situation here accurately to the Hokage. I will continue to follow up on this matter. Don't disappoint me."
As he spoke, Taiichi activated his Soul Vision. His eyes glowed with a deep blue light.
The horse-faced ANBU felt like Taiichi's gaze could see straight through him. In front of Taiichi, he had no secrets left. He knew this had to be one of Taiichi's secret techniques. His information had already been recorded in Taiichi's mind.
"Taiichi-sama, please rest assured. I will handle this matter properly. I won't let you down!"
Taiichi nodded in satisfaction and waved him off. "Go take care of it."
After the ANBU left, Taiichi also said goodbye to Uchiha Inaho. He hadn't forgotten—he had come out to eat. He had only eaten half his fill earlier. His food tour still needed to continue.
Once everyone had left, the only ones remaining on the street were the Uchiha from the Police Force, cleaning up.
One of the Uchiha chunin approached his squad leader curiously. "Cousin Inaho, weren't you being a bit too humble just now? That didn't feel like a Uchiha at all."
Uchiha Inaho glanced sideways at his cousin. He was still just a chunin. His understanding of the shinobi world's rules was still lacking.
"Shinji, remember this—strength is a shinobi's passport. As long as your strength is sufficient, you're at the top no matter where you are. And that Matsushita Taiichi… he has exactly that kind of strength."
The little incident came and went quickly.
The Police Force handled things with practiced efficiency. The chaotic street was soon cleaned up. Damaged stalls were all removed. The uneven ground was leveled with Earth Release.
The wounded were sent to Konoha Hospital. Discussions about compensation with their families were already underway according to procedure.
The flow of people on the street quickly returned to normal. The only difference was that one shop on the street now had a sealing tag on its door.
One hour after the incident, in the Hokage's office.
After handing over the mission targets to the Interrogation Division, the horse-faced ANBU came to report to Hiruzen with his mission report.
This mission had gone quite poorly for ANBU. Not only had they needed outside help, but more importantly, the battle had affected ordinary villagers.
Hiruzen read through the mission report while listening to the horse-faced ANBU explain the details.
After a long while, once the horse-faced ANBU finished speaking, Hiruzen finally lifted his gaze from the report and looked at him.
Immediately, the horse-faced ANBU felt a heavy pressure bearing down on him. Cold sweat slid down his forehead. He lowered his head and apologized sincerely. "Hokage-sama, this was due to our poor performance. Please punish us."
Hiruzen didn't speak right away. He put down the mission report, picked up his pipe from the desk, and packed in fresh tobacco. But even after everything was ready, he didn't light it.
A long sigh echoed through the room, sounding like thunder in the horse-faced ANBU's mind.
"Kousuke, take off your mask."
The horse-faced ANBU stiffened at the words. In the end, he reached up and removed the horse-faced mask he was wearing.
Beneath the mask appeared a face that bore some resemblance to Hiruzen. Anyone who saw it would immediately think the two were related.
"Hokage-sama, the outcome of this mission was caused by my misjudgment of the enemy's strength. Please punish me."
Still holding the horse mask in his hands, the ANBU named Kousuke once again asked for punishment.
"Kousuke… since you've already taken off the mask, just call me Uncle. It's been a long time since I've chatted with any of the clan's younger members like this."
So this ANBU was also from the Sarutobi clan and was distantly related to the Third Hokage.
"Yes, Hokage— I mean, Uncle." Kousuke hesitated, but finally said it.
"Some failure in a mission is inevitable. There were also issues with insufficient intelligence. You don't need to blame yourself too much."
The earlier silence had been a warning. The current comfort was encouragement. Even with his own nephew, Hiruzen used this kind of manipulation with practiced ease.
"What do you think of Taiichi?"
Hiruzen suddenly asked an unrelated question. After asking, he leisurely lit his pipe, took a deep drag of tobacco, and exhaled a long stream of smoke.
"Taiichi-sama… he's very powerful!" Kousuke recalled every scene from his encounter with Taiichi earlier—whether it was the clean kill of the enemy or the Uchiha's attitude toward him.
"His strength and reputation have already far surpassed that of a normal jonin. In the village, probably only your three disciples can compare to him."
Hiruzen nodded. From Kousuke's expression, he could already tell quite a bit. But under the veil of smoke, Kousuke couldn't read what expression Hiruzen was making.
"What do you think about letting Taiichi join ANBU?"
Hiruzen's words were shocking. Even Kousuke didn't know how to respond.
ANBU was the Hokage's most trusted organization. Its members were all highly skilled in various fields. Even Orochimaru and Sakumo Hatake had once served in it.
But for the current Taiichi, was it really appropriate to bring him into ANBU?
Putting everything else aside, if someone this powerful actually joined ANBU, what position would you even give him?
A regular team member was obviously out of the question—that would just create conflict. Make him a squad leader? Division commander? Vice-commander? Commander?
"This… ANBU personnel should be decided solely by the Hokage. It's not something I can offer an opinion on."
Kousuke was still quite sharp. He directly threw the problem back. With his small stature, he didn't want to get involved in high-level decisions.
Hiruzen hadn't really expected him to answer anyway. The question had just slipped out.
But now that the idea had appeared in his mind, it was like a seed taking root—growing deeper and deeper.
For the past two days, he had been troubled by how to arrange Taiichi's position. With talent like this, if you recalled him to the village, you couldn't just leave him idle.
But Taiichi's age was right there. Many positions would be difficult for him to hold. It wasn't that Taiichi lacked ability—it was that ordinary people naturally distrusted the young.
As for places like Konoha Hospital, where Taiichi had already proven himself, the high-level positions were already filled. You couldn't make him work as an ordinary medical-nin either.
Now that he thought about it, an ANBU position actually seemed quite suitable. At worst, he could make Taiichi a free agent who answered directly to him.
"Alright, you can go. Regarding the villagers' compensation, coordinate with the Police Force afterward. Take responsibility where it's due. Don't let others misunderstand what ANBU stands for."
After Sarutobi Kousuke put his mask back on and left the Hokage's office, Hiruzen stood up, pushed open the balcony doors, and looked out over the entire village.
In the past, he had only seen reports about how high Taiichi's reputation was. He had never felt it directly.
But today's incident had happened right inside Konoha Village.
He didn't care much that ANBU's mission had failed.
He was only slightly annoyed that civilians had been caught in the crossfire.
Taiichi cleanly eliminating the enemy had been within his expectations.
But the Uchiha Police Force's attitude toward Taiichi made him frown.
Even the proud Uchiha acknowledged Taiichi this much. What about the rest of the village's shinobi? Had he already reached the point where he could command absolute loyalty?
It seemed it really was necessary to bring Taiichi into ANBU and have him disappear from everyone's sight for a while.
Taiichi still had no idea that a single act of justice earlier had already determined his work for the foreseeable future.
Right now, he was maintaining Sage Mode while training his taijutsu.
After several days of testing, he had discovered that training taijutsu, meditation, and kenjutsu while in Sage Mode produced significantly better results than training in his normal state.
For example, with taijutsu—while in Sage Mode, his experience gain rate was three times higher than in normal mode.
And this was only the visible effect from the panel. The improvement in physical tempering was the same. The training effect was at least twice as good.
Taiichi could currently maintain Sage Mode for over ninety minutes at most. After multiple attempts, while still preserving enough stamina, he could sustain a training state in Sage Mode for half an hour.
That effect was quite significant. It was equivalent to getting an extra hour of training results for free. It might not sound like much, but accumulated every day, it created a massive difference.
However, over the past few days, Taiichi had also noticed a problem. In crowded places—especially somewhere as densely populated as Konoha—natural energy seemed to be much less dense and harder to draw in.
That was probably why the three great summoning realms were all located in remote, sparsely populated areas.
This would also be a topic worth researching in the future.