After deciding to recruit ninjas from outside the clan to address the shortage of personnel in the Police Force, new challenges quickly followed. One major issue was how to select usable talents from so many candidates, even though the recruitment point initially seemed deserted after the announcement went out.

However, this didn't shake the confidence of the high-ranking officers in the Police Force. No one was worried about not being able to recruit people. Not all of Konoha's ninjas are wandering souls like Jiraiya. Even Jiraiya himself might not have wandered around if it weren't for the Great Toad Sage's prophecy.

For most regular ninjas, a job that doesn't require leaving the village and traveling far and wide is highly sought after.

Of the six major departments in the village, the Medical Department and Interrogation Department only recruit specialized personnel. The Administrative and Education Departments, while not as exclusive, mainly offer desk jobs, which most ninjas accustomed to fighting aren't suited for.

The ANBU, on the other hand, has a high entry barrier, and members often get sent on missions outside the village. Even when they stay within the village, they lead secretive lives. But most importantly, the ANBU's entry requirements are so strict that many lower-ranking ninjas don't even know where its headquarters are.

When you compare all that, the Police Force turns out to be the most ideal department. The work isn't as desk-heavy as the Administrative or Education Departments, but it's also not as dangerous or demanding as the ANBU. Furthermore, it doesn't require specialized skills like in the Medical or Interrogation Departments. A qualified chunin, or even some skilled genin, could make it into the Police Force.

In the past, however, the Police Force was considered off-limits, being dominated by the Uchiha clan, so no one dared to dream of joining it.

But now, things had changed.

Many in the village were eager for the opportunity. After the recruitment announcement, the number of letters sent from the village to those on missions outside increased by 30%, as people didn't want their family members to miss this chance.

If not for the Uchiha clan's tarnished reputation, the recruitment point would have been flooded from the beginning.

Therefore, the high-ranking officers in the Police Force were never concerned about not being able to recruit people. Even after two days with no applicants, they didn't alter the strict standards set for the assessment. The exam was designed by Uchiha Lanshan, focusing on the principle of "quality over quantity."

The assessment had three rounds.

The first round tested genjutsu.

Anyone unable to break the weakened "Heart of the Fox" genjutsu within two minutes would be eliminated. Those who passed the first round would move on to the second test: shuriken throwing. The requirement wasn't too high—out of 15 shuriken, 10 had to hit the target.

The third round was a simple taijutsu battle. Uchiha Lanshan selected five new chunin from the Police Force to act as examiners. As long as the applicant could last one minute in a taijutsu duel without being defeated, even a genin would pass.

These standards weren't particularly high. After all, the Police Force's main job was maintaining order in the village. Most of the time, they dealt with ordinary citizens, so ninjutsu and explosive tags were generally prohibited. Capturing criminals relied on taijutsu and shuriken skills to avoid collateral damage.

As for dangerous criminals or undercover spies, those were always handed over to the ANBU.

Someone like Yakushi Kabuto had no difficulty passing these tests, even though he hadn't yet trained under Orochimaru. His skills, honed during his time with Root and his spy training, allowed him to easily breeze through the assessments. He was then informed to report directly to the Police Force.

Yes, the Police Force's first recruitment process was that straightforward. It wasn't a matter of registering and then testing with a ranking system to determine who passed. As long as an applicant met the assessment criteria, they were hired until the recruitment quota was filled.

In short, it was first come, first served.

The Police Force didn't lack high-level ninjas—there were plenty of elites within the Uchiha clan. What they lacked was a large number of lower and mid-level personnel.

As soon as Yakushi Kabuto stepped out of the recruitment point wearing his new Police Force uniform, the once-deserted place turned into a bustling hub. Even Uchiha Kiri, who was usually talkative, found himself overwhelmed by the crowd, barely managing to maintain order.

And so, the Police Force's recruitment process officially got on track.

Kabuto, dressed in his new uniform, headed to the Police Force headquarters. Following the signs at the entrance, he found the Recruitment Office. The door was open, and from the doorway, he could see most of the room. It was a large office with six desks, each manned by busy staff.

Kabuto knocked on the open door.

"Excuse me, um…"

"Are you the new guy? Give me your application form, test record, and hiring letter."

The Uchiha officer, who looked to be in his 30s, had a no-nonsense attitude. He cut straight to business without wasting any time.

"Here are my documents," Kabuto said, handing them over. He also noticed a cane leaning against the desk. A quick glance around the room revealed there were four canes in total, and two people were sitting in wheelchairs. Kabuto pondered this silently.

Was this part of the Police Force's policy? Or was the department so short-staffed that they had to rely on people with disabilities to keep things running?

Without enough intel, Kabuto couldn't determine the situation.

About a minute later, the Uchiha officer confirmed the documents were legitimate, made some notes, and handed the stamped paperwork back to Kabuto. "You're good to go, Yakushi Kabuto. Please take a right outside and report to the Personnel Department next door. They'll assign you your specific duties."

"Thank you."

"Just doing my job."

Kabuto stepped out and looked at the sign by the next door—it really was just next door, separated by a single wall.

The Personnel Office was even larger, with ten desks and just as many staff members. As in the Recruitment Office, most of the personnel here had disabilities, primarily affecting their legs.

Kabuto knocked again.

"Hand me your papers," came the sharp response.

Alright then!

Are all Uchiha this efficient? Kabuto mused as he recalled Uchiha Kiri and Uchiha Inaho. Though the former was quite chatty, both were very efficient and didn't waste time.

In less than two minutes, the Uchiha officer handed Kabuto a new set of documents.

"Yakushi Kabuto, here's your job description. Take a look and let me know if there are any issues! If there are, bring them up now. If not, you can report to your department and get started right away."

"Job description?"

Yakushi Kabuto murmured to himself as he reached out to take the form and carefully read it.

Despite being a thin sheet of paper, it had a lot of information. It detailed his department, direct supervisor, and job responsibilities. "Sixth Enforcement Squad, Second Team of the Public Safety Division… Supervisor: Uchiha Torajiro. Duties: Patrol, mediate disputes, prevent and stop criminal activity, etc."

"Uh… Can I really just start like this? No training? This is my first time doing this kind of work. I have no experience at all!"

Kabuto voiced his concerns.

"Your assessment scores were excellent, so training isn't really necessary for you. Trust me, the job isn't hard at all. Plus, your supervisor will give you on-the-job training. Honestly, the main issue is that we're severely understaffed right now. We don't have extra people or time for formal training. Haven't you noticed that even us 'cripples' are being forced to take on work?"

Faced with such a blunt explanation, Kabuto couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Seriously, the police department was short on staff to this extent?

He shook his head helplessly, holding the job description. "So I just report directly, like this?"

"Yep, just head over. Once you find your supervisor, hand him your job description. You don't need any other documentation. We'll set up your file, and your paycheck will be issued at the beginning of the month. Oh, and don't forget to have your supervisor take you to get your equipment. Don't worry about all these trivial details—just focus on doing your job."

Kabuto left the office.

With mixed emotions, he walked out of the personnel office, navigating to the Sixth Enforcement Squad's Second Team office based on the map he remembered seeing at the entrance to the Public Safety Division building.

It was a very small office.

There were four desks inside, along with a filing cabinet, making the office feel cramped. Of the four desks, only two were in use, while the other two were empty. At the moment, the only person in the office was a young girl, maybe around ten years old.

"Excuse me, is Uchiha Torajiro here?"

"Sorry, the captain isn't here yet. Do you need something? If it's not urgent, you can wait a bit. He should arrive within 20 minutes. If you're in a hurry, I can pass along a message," the energetic girl said brightly.

"I'm here to report in," Kabuto said hesitantly, eyeing the girl in front of him.

Captain?

So this girl would be his colleague?

His feelings grew even more complicated. Had the department really become so short-staffed that they had to recruit kids this young? And what's more, he'd likely be working closely with this girl in the future...

"Reporting in? Oh! Right, the department is hiring new people! So, you're the new recruit for our team?"

The girl's eyes suddenly brightened.

It wasn't just a change in her demeanor; her eyes physically changed, turning scarlet with excitement, and a black tomoe spun within her crimson pupils.

She'd awakened the Sharingan!

Kabuto was momentarily stunned, realizing that the girl before him was a Uchiha clan prodigy. She might be young, but her talent clearly wasn't something to be underestimated.

"If this is the Second Team of the Sixth Enforcement Squad, then yes, I'm your new teammate."

"Yep, that's right! This is the Second Team office of the Sixth Enforcement Squad. The captain is Uchiha Torajiro, and I'm Uchiha Izumi, also a member of the team. Nice to meet you," said Uchiha Izumi with a sweet smile. A small beauty mark could be seen under her left eye as she extended her right hand.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto," Kabuto said, shaking her hand lightly.

"Yakushi Kabuto? Like the helmet?"

"Yeah, just like the kabuto helmet. And no need to call me 'senpai,' Izumi-san."

"Oh! Um, there's no need to call me 'senpai.' I'm only a genin. You can just call me by my name, Kabuto-kun," Uchiha Izumi said, feeling a bit embarrassed when Kabuto called her "senpai." While technically she was more experienced in the police department, there was still a significant difference between genin and chunin.

Since Uchiha Izumi had been with the police longer than Kabuto, it didn't feel right for her to call him "senpai" either. Given the situation, it seemed best to just use first names.

"Got it," Kabuto smiled, signaling his understanding.

From this short interaction, Kabuto could tell that Uchiha Izumi had a lively, outgoing personality, different from the typical Uchiha stereotype. She didn't seem like someone who would be difficult to work with. However, based on the office setup, it appeared that the team consisted of just him, Izumi, and the captain.

The only unknown now was what kind of person the captain, Uchiha Torajiro, would be. Kabuto hoped he wasn't difficult to deal with.

Kabuto sat in one of the empty chairs, waiting for the captain to arrive.

Seventeen minutes later,

A tall, skinny man in his early twenties, dressed in the Public Safety Division's uniform, walked into the office. He looked about the same age as Kabuto.

"Huh?"

The man stared at Kabuto in confusion. "Did I walk into the wrong office? But that can't be right. Izumi's here too. Am I seeing things?" The man mumbled as he backed out of the room to double-check the sign on the door.

"Captain, you're in the right place. This is Kabuto-kun, the new recruit for our team. Did you forget that the department's been hiring?"

"Are you Uchiha Torajiro? I'm Yakushi Kabuto, the new recruit for the Second Team of the Sixth Enforcement Squad. Here's my job description."

"A new recruit?"

Torajiro scratched his head, looking at the job description Kabuto handed him. After a couple of seconds, his face lit up in realization. "Oh! That's right, the new recruit! I thought I'd walked into the wrong office!"

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