Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-28869806-20150430170122/@comment-25771935-20150512221213

While I do have a lot of thoughts on this topic I will start by saying this: both sides are at fault. Yes, Tobirama is the origin of the distrust against the Uchiha, but I don't think it was intentional. As stated, he had to mediate loyalty between clan and village, which isn't easy. And the creation of Police Force for the Uchiha to protect the village was a seemingly good way to do that. Tobirama, being a logical man, probably thought of his "keeping an eye" on them as a reasonable thing to do, but it does come across as distrustful especially at a time when building the trust of the clan should have been an important goal.

However he has said that was not his intentions, but the reason I said that he was the origin of the distrust against the Uchiha is because of how the next generation interpreted his actions. Hiruzen ultimately saw the Uchiha as allies, but Danzo and the elders saw it as don't trust the Uchiha. Danzo has even used Tobirama's methods to establish precedence on why they shouldn't trust them while Hiruzen differed on what his intentions where.

As for the Police Force, I'm sure they weren't forced to take up the position. It's understandable where the idea of it being a distraction from village politics came in though: if they're focused on being the police, then they won't get involved in governing branches. And seeing how clan pride and dedication worked in the story they might not have been exclusively in the police force, but it might have been a thing of "my dad, his dad, my cousin, his dad were all in the police force" thus most of the Uchiha take it up as a clan tradition. Notice how the only examples we have of those who didn't follow the traditions are the ones who could see beyond the clan and wanted to serve the village.

I say until the Nine-tails incident, there was a watchful eye on the Uchiha but it was largely their perception that caused a little bit of tension. Afterwards it shifted mainly to the Leaf being the cause of it.