Chapter 40: The Aburame Clan is Completely Numb

The next day, when Inuzuka Kaze arrived at the Military Police Force headquarters accompanied by eight of his clansmen and twenty ninja hounds, he was utterly startled by the lively scene unfolding before the entrance.

The Military Police Force, which usually radiated an intimidating aura that kept ordinary people at bay, was today fully decorated with festive banners and colorful ribbons. Suspended directly above the main sign of the headquarters was a massive, bright red banner with the following inscription:

*The Konoha Military Police Force Police Hound Donation and Inuzuka Clan Specialized Police Hound Breeding Base Establishment Ceremony.*

At the front gates, Uchiha Dohuan and Uchiha Fugaku stood in formal ceremonial attire beneath the banner. Flanking them were dozens of off-duty Military Police personnel standing at rigid attention.

This grand spectacle completely baffled Inuzuka Kaze. He had originally assumed he was simply dropping off a batch of well-trained police hounds along with a few promising younger generation members, while quietly securing an official rank for himself within the police force. However, the sheer scale of the setup made him instinctively glance down at his own outfit—the standard and most basic tactical flak jacket worn by Konoha shinobi.

The other members of the Inuzuka clan abruptly felt as though they were severely underdressed for the occasion.

Just then, Uchiha Dohuan and Uchiha Fugaku, having spotted the arriving group, led their men forward to greet them.

"Brother Kaze, we've been waiting for you all for quite a while now," Uchiha Dohuan said warmly, shaking Inuzuka Kaze's hand enthusiatesically. Afterward, Dohuan walked over to the Inuzuka clansmen who had accompanied Kaze, shaking hands with each of them one by one as he said, "Welcome, members of the Inuzuka clan, to the big family of the Military Police Force."

"Inabi, take our new colleagues to change," Dohuan instructed after the handshakes and pleasantries were concluded.

"Understood!" Uchiha Inabi replied, stepping forward to guide Kaze and his group. "Everyone, please follow me."

Eight people and twenty dogs, guided by Uchiha Inabi, stepped inside the headquarters. Before long, they emerged having changed into new uniforms. Inuzuka Kaze was now directly outfitted in the specialized Military Police flak jacket reserved for captain-tier officers, while the twenty ninja hounds were also fully equipped with specialized gear.

Once everyone had changed, Inabi led them back beneath the grand banner, where Dohuan was already waiting.

As the group gathered, Uchiha Dohuan personally attached the Military Police identification badges to the eight newly joined Inuzuka members, followed by fitting the twenty police hounds with custom-made serial number tags. Kaze's loyal partner, Moku-maru, was even bestowed with the special designation of 00001.

"On behalf of all personnel of the Military Police Force, I formally welcome the shinobi and ninja hound companions of the Inuzuka clan," Dohuan announced in a resounding voice once everything was completed.

Moments later, amidst flashing cameras, the moment Uchiha Dohuan and Inuzuka Kaze shook hands with broad smiles was permanently captured in history.

***

Meanwhile, the Konoha Hokage's Office and the major ninja clans quickly learned of the events that had transpired outside the Military Police Force headquarters.

Among them, the upper echelons of the Aburame clan were completely dumbfounded. As one of the two clans that had received Uchiha Dohuan's calling card that fateful night, unlike the Inuzuka clan which had swiftly made the decision to completely align themselves with the Uchiha, the Aburame clan had responded to the invitation with lingering dread.

After all, not long ago, the body of Aburame Ryoma had been delivered directly by the police force. A private calling card sent by Uchiha Dohuan under such circumstances looked ominous no matter how one interpreted it.

Strictly speaking, the Aburame clan could be considered victims in this matter; Aburame Ryoma had been forcefully dragged into Root by Danzo through near-extortionist means at a very young age and had maintained barely any contact with his clan over the years.

However, when Ryoma utilized the clan's secret techniques to handle dirty work for Danzo, he inevitably accumulated a multitude of enemies. Unlike another of Danzo's key subordinates, Yamanaka Fu, the Aburame clan's insect-manipulation secret arts were far too distinct and conspicuous. Clans that had suffered under Danzo's schemes dared not openly retaliate against him, so they inevitably harbored lingering resentment toward the Aburame clan instead.

Consequently, the Aburame clan had spent all these years in Konoha walking on eggshells.

And now, a ruthless powerhouse had abruptly emerged within the Uchiha, directly executing Danzo. As if that wasn't enough, the Shimura clan—a ninja clan that had experienced explosive growth over the past few decades in the village, though perhaps lagging slightly behind the Mitokado, Utatane, and Sarutobi families in terms of sheer momentum—had seen their standing skyrocket after the Third Hokage took office, evolving from an ordinary clan specializing in summoning traditions to a force rivaling the major clans of the Warring States period. And yet, what was their current situation? Their clan head had been hauled into the police force by the Uchiha, and to this day, no one even knew whether he was dead or alive.

What unnerved them even more was that the fatal wound on Aburame Ryoma's corpse—which the police force had unceremoniously dumped right at the Aburame clan's doorstep—was inflicted by the signature blade known as *Jirai* (Thunder Flash). This legendary ninja sword, notorious and feared by Kirigakure as the "bloodless blade," left a pitch-black, perfectly smooth cut straight through the heart without a single drop of blood.

This implied that Ryoma's cause of death was almost certainly that he had launched an assassination attempt against Uchiha Dohuan, giving Dohuan a ready-made justification to move against the Aburame clan.

Right now, the Aburame clan had no other recourse than to anxiously wait for Uchiha Dohuan to come knocking on their door.

While the Aburame clan could barely be considered a major ninja clan within the village—boasting even more jounin among their ranks than the Inuzuka clan—they had been utterly powerless when facing Danzo, let alone now, when confronting the Uchiha clan, who currently held far greater dominance and strength than Danzo ever did.

***

Having concluded the welcoming ceremony, Uchiha Dohuan remained in his office until the end of the workday, then promptly punched out on time.

When he arrived home, Sasuke had already arrived and was in the dining room, enjoying the small pastries prepared for him by Keiko.

"Teacher, you're back," young Sasuke called out, his short legs pattering rapidly as he ran over the moment he heard Dohuan enter the doorway.

"Well, Sasuke, you arrived quite early today," Dohuan said with a chuckle.

Over the course of their two days together, master and apprentice had grown accustomed to one another. Sasuke was exceptionally bright; whenever Dohuan assigned passages for him to memorize, he would commit them to memory word-for-word in a remarkably short time. Moreover, after Dohuan explained them, the boy was able to grasp a fair amount of the profound meaning hidden within those words, even if his understanding was still a bit hazy.

Before long, master and disciple commenced today's lesson in the study.

As Dohuan finished explaining the final phrase—"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire"—the introductory booklet he had meticulously curated from the *Three-Character Classic*, the *Thousand-Character Classic*, and the *Analects of Confucius* as Sasuke's foundational texts was officially completed.

"Alright, Sasuke, let's call it a day for now," Dohuan said, closing the book and looking down at the boy.

"Understood," Sasuke nodded, then asked, "Teacher, what will we be studying tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Dohuan smiled. "Starting tomorrow, you won't need to come over for a while. Teacher has some matters of his own to attend to."

Sasuke blinked in surprise at these words, a wave of disappointment washing over him. "Oh... I see."

The past three days had made Sasuke deeply fond of this teacher, who always shared so many fascinating stories during their lessons. Now that the teacher was suddenly giving him a break, he felt a genuine sense of reluctance.

"Sasuke, teacher has an assignment for you," Dohuan said, gently patting the boy's head with a smile. "That is to thoroughly contemplate what I have taught you during this period. Then, use those principles to observe the world around you. When the day comes that you begin to feel those principles are no longer sufficient to fully explain the things happening in this world, come find me again. At that time, I will teach you something new."