After Kakashi left, Miyuki picked up the mission scroll regarding the pursuit of Orochimaru.

In the Security Department, it was clear that the Third Hokage intended for Miyuki to personally decide who would participate in this mission. As the other team involved, the ANBU had sent not only Kakashi as the leader but also three Jōnin.

One of the Jōnin was from the Tōrō clan, another from the Inuzuka clan, and the final one was a civilian ninja with no clan background.

In addition, there were four Special Jōnin, including the newly famous duo, Moonlight Gale and Uzuki Yugao, known for their proficiency in Konoha's swordsmanship. The other one came from the Mito family and one was another civilian ninja.

For reconnaissance, two capable branch members from the Hyūga clan were also recruited.

After considering for a while, Miyuki called out, "Keiko, go tell Inaho and Saito to join me on the mission the day after tomorrow."

Uchiha Inaho and Uchiha Saito were among the first to openly support Miyuki, so Miyuki didn't mind bringing them along for the mission.

Though the mission was dangerous, given that it involved facing Orochimaru, a notorious and powerful figure, Miyuki had no intention of engaging in a direct battle with him.

Miyuki formed a series of hand seals, and with a puff of smoke, a ninja hawk appeared and perched on his shoulder, nuzzling against his cheek. The hawk's eyes gleamed with a special red glow.

Miyuki continued forming hand seals and inscribed a unique seal on the hawk before gently patting its head.

With a loud cry, the hawk spread its wings and soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

The next day, after Uchiha Fugaku worked late into the night, he finally assigned tasks to the newly recruited civilian ninjas. Starting tomorrow, they could begin their duties. For this occasion, Fugaku organized a modest induction ceremony and invited Miyuki to attend.

The large conference room in the Security Department was filled to capacity, with 227 existing Uchiha clan ninjas and 254 newly recruited civilian ninjas present.

As Miyuki and Fugaku entered the room, they noticed the layout. It was clear that, although these civilian ninjas had mustered the courage to join the Security Department, they still chose to sit separately from the Uchiha ninjas. The middle row of seats remained empty, marking the division between the two groups.

Seeing this, Miyuki couldn't help but shake his head; improving the Uchiha clan's image was still a long way off.

The ceremony began, and although Fugaku was still the captain of the Security Department, he was well aware of how much Miyuki valued this occasion. He didn't want to steal Miyuki's spotlight and thus spoke briefly before stepping aside, allowing Miyuki to take the stage.

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Miyuki scanned the crowd before speaking slowly:

"First, on behalf of the original 227 ninjas of the Security Department, I welcome all of you to join. I believe that with your addition, under the leadership of the Will of Fire, our village's Security Department will have a whole new atmosphere."

Uchiha Inaho led the applause, and the rest of the room joined in, growing warmer as they clapped.

Once the applause died down, Miyuki continued:

"Since you’ve all chosen to join the Security Department, it must mean that you have confidence in the department and in the Uchiha clan. Since we will all be colleagues in the future, I believe there’s no need to be so formal."

Miyuki smiled warmly as he glanced at Uchiha Inaho and Uchiha Saito.

At that moment, however, the two seemed not to understand his intentions, simply gazing back at Miyuki with their innocent eyes.

Miyuki sighed inwardly; the emotional intelligence of his clan members was somewhat lacking.

Fortunately, Uchiha Shisui, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, stood up first and walked over to invite the new ninjas to join them.

Inaho and Saito quickly realized Miyuki’s intent and followed suit.

With their lead, some of the younger Uchiha ninjas joined in as well.

After a brief moment of chaos, the division between the Uchiha ninjas and the civilian ninjas disappeared, and everyone sat together.

Seeing this, Miyuki clapped his hands lightly, and the room erupted in applause once again.

"Now, let us all work together to make our village a better place!" Miyuki said, and the applause grew even louder.

"Next, let's discuss the issue of compensation that everyone is concerned about," Miyuki continued after the applause settled. "After consulting with Captain Fugaku and taking into account the average income of ninjas in the village as well as the cost of living, we have temporarily set your monthly salary at 80,000 ryo. The former members of the Security Department will also see a 20% increase in their salary from what they were originally receiving."

The civilian ninjas below reacted with astonishment.

They knew that most of them had previously earned a living by completing missions as low-ranking ninjas. A D-rank mission typically paid a little over 1,000 ryo, and with the village's cut and the leader's share, they would only receive around 1,000 ryo from each D-rank mission. They could complete about 20 missions a month, bringing in two or three thousand ryo at most. After daily expenses, there was little left for savings or to spend on improving their skills.

They had expected the Security Department’s salary to be somewhat in line with the usual D-rank mission earnings, but they were surprised to hear that this figure didn’t account for the village's cut!

As for the Uchiha clan members, they were just as pleased. The Security Department’s wages had already been on par with this, but now they had received an extra 20%.

Seeing the excitement in the room, Miyuki added fuel to the fire.

"Additionally, considering that the Security Department is somewhat far from the village and commuting might be inconvenient, there will be a monthly transportation subsidy of 6,000 ryo."

The civilian ninjas below were stunned. More?

"Furthermore, as a personal gesture, I’m using my authority to offer everyone an early release of the ninjutsu training that was originally set to be distributed after one month of work," Miyuki added.

As soon as Miyuki finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became uncontrollable.

At that moment, Uchiha Inaho jumped to his feet, shouting, "Salute to Vice-Captain Miyuki! Loyalty! Faithful!"

"Loyal! Faithful!" Everyone stood up and raised their right hands.

"For Konoha, loyalty!" Miyuki raised his hand in return.