Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 176 Aftermath and the Selection of Puppet

After the Hell Path repaired the remaining Six Paths of Pain, the Deva Path of Pain glanced at Uchiha Touko and Kakashi, who had arrived after the battle had subsided, with mixed emotions, before leaving the scene using a summoning jutsu.

"We're just letting them go like that?" Kakashi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The battlefield in Takigakure still needs them. Without their help in dealing with the elites of Iwagakure, the battlefield in Takigakure will probably collapse within a few days," Uchiha Touko said.

"Alright, as long as you know what I mean." Kakashi nodded, then asked, "By the way, why are you here today?"

“I’ve been here the whole time,” Uchiha Touko said. “During this time, one of my shadow clones was infiltrating the Kirigakure rebels’ ranks. After receiving intelligence that they were about to start an uprising, my main body came here.”

"Okay." Kakashi nodded.

As the sun slowly rose, Kakashi glanced at the devastated Kirigakure village, ravaged by successive battles, and asked with a headache, "What do we do now?"

"Reporting to the Fifth Hokage, the Kirigakure resistance has retreated northwards. We discovered a large group of villagers who were evacuated and resettled around the village during the coup." At this moment, an ANBU member came to the two men and reported, "However, about half of the civilians went with the resistance when they left."

“I understand. Gather them together and clear out a place for them to settle down,” Uchiha Touko said. “As for the reconstruction of Kirigakure, we’ll send people over to help them after their Mizukage wakes up.”

"Yes!" The secret agent accepted the order and left.

After that came the time to tally the results of the battle and treat the wounded. This time, the Konoha troops who came across the sea were exhausted when they joined the battle, just like the Hidden Mist Village and the resistance forces. The Konoha ninja who were well-rested and ready for battle suffered no casualties and very few injuries.

Among the remaining Kirigakure ninja, the losses of Chunin and Genin were not too severe, since they had not fought with all their might when facing the rebels. However, the casualties among Special Jonin and above were particularly heavy. After Konoha ninjas counted the number of people, the intelligence they submitted to Uchiha Touko showed that Kirigakure now only had 3 elite Jonin, 19 Jonin, and 27 Special Jonin left. In other words, these 49 people were all the high-end combat force that Kirigakure had left.

"Reporting to the Hokage," at that moment, an Anbu member rushed into the tent where Uchiha Touko was resting. "A surviving Jonin from Kirigakure has been executed on the spot by our Third Company Captain, Jonin Higashino Ryosuke, for using rather harsh words to insult you."

Okay, now there are only 48 left.

Uchiha Touko put away the battle report and asked seriously, "What happened?"

"When we were assisting Kirigakure in gathering up the remaining troops and receiving the villagers who had previously evacuated, this Jonin was rude and dissatisfied with our Konoha's assistance. He even used rather harsh words to insult you and Lord Kakashi. Jonin Higashino was so enraged that he executed him on the spot."

"How could he do this?" Uchiha Touko said, frowning. "I know Higashino Ryosuke. He's one of the Jonin promoted to the Security Force this year. I even personally signed his promotion documents. How could he do something like this? Kirigakure is our ally now! How is he?"

"Jonin Higashino has been detained and placed in confinement. As for what to do with him, it's up to you, Hokage," the ANBU member who came to report said.

"This matter must be dealt with seriously!" Uchiha Touko said. "To actually attack friendly forces, I think he hasn't quite remembered the Will of Fire."

"Now send him back and demote him to Chunin. I'll restore him to Jonin rank when he can memorize the Will of Fire."

"Huh?" The Jonin who came to report was also taken aback by the final outcome. He was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and nodded, "Yes, I'll arrange it right away."

After that Jonin left, Guy found Uchiha Touko.

"Kai, how was the mission?" Uchiha Touko greeted Might Guy with a smile and was the first to ask.

"That was fantastic!" Might Guy grinned, showing his big teeth and giving a thumbs up. "It's been so long since I've had such an exhilarating battle! That was awesome..."

Might Guy started scratching his head halfway through his sentence, and it was clear that he was really trying hard to remember Kisame's name.

“Kisame Hoshigaki,” Touko Uchiha reminded him.

“Yes! Kisame Hoshigaki! He’s a formidable opponent!” Might Guy exclaimed.

"Hehe, whatever makes you happy," Uchiha Touko laughed.

Uchiha Touko gave Might Guy a lot of face. After becoming the Fifth Hokage, Might Guy was among the first batch of people he promoted. Originally, Might Guy had barely become a Jonin by accumulating a lot of missions because his ninja skills were not up to par, but he was directly promoted to an elite Jonin by Uchiha Touko.

Many people think that his promotion was because of Kakashi, but even if Kakashi hadn't said anything, Uchiha Touko would still have done it anyway, since Uchiha Touko is probably the only person in the entire Hidden Leaf Village who knows just how high this guy's potential really is.

"Kai, what brings you here?" After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Uchiha Touko finally got down to business.

"Um, Hokage-sama, may I go back to the village first?" Might Guy scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, "After all, I can't be of much help here, and if I stay out for too long, I'm afraid I'll delay Lee's training."

“Okay.” Uchiha Touko nodded. “I heard you got seasick when you came here, right? Well then, how about this? I’ve already sent word to Shiranui Genma and the others. They’ll be sending Yamato and the supplies to help rebuild Kirigakure this afternoon using the Flying Thunder God Technique. How about you go back with them?”

"That's fantastic!" Might Guy grinned. He was a little embarrassed when he came to find Uchiha Touko, since even the Hokage was busy in Kirigakure, and he had asked to go back early. But he didn't expect that the Hokage would not only not mind, but also consider his seasickness problem, which moved him greatly.

"This is youth! Hokage-sama!" Might Guy said excitedly to Uchiha Touko, his eyes filled with tears.

Uchiha Douguang: ...

Respect is one thing, but Matt Kay is really having a hard time keeping up with him.

"Alright, Guy, if there's nothing else, call Kakashi over for me." Uchiha Touko wiped the sweat from his brow and said to Might Guy. ...

After Kakashi was summoned by Guy, Uchiha Touko asked, "How are those two Jinchuriki?"

"The Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails has awakened, but under the seal you personally set, he can't even refine chakra now, and his connection with the Six-Tails has been completely severed," Kakashi said.

Kakashi considered himself to be quite skilled in sealing techniques, as his teacher was a master of sealing techniques and his teacher's wife was a sealing technique expert from the Uzumaki clan. However, the sealing technique that Uchiha Touko used on Utakata just a few hours ago left him in awe.

Uchiha Touko used the same sealing technique that the Fourth Hokage used to seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto: the Bagua Seal, which is a combination of two Four Symbols Seals. However, Uchiha Touko added a Three Powers Seal between the two Four Symbols Seals, and also placed a Five Elements Seal on the outermost layer of the seal.

This series of combined seals is no less than a fine work of art in the eyes of those who understand sealing techniques. Generally speaking, only sealing masters from the Uzumaki clan could have created such an exquisite seal. However, Uchiha Tokō was a member of the Uchiha clan.

If it weren't for Uchiha Touko's Mangekyou Sharingan, Kakashi would have suspected that this guy was a member of the Uzumaki clan, given his appalling level of genjutsu.

“That guy isn’t important. We can just have Guy bring him back to Konoha later,” Uchiha Touko said. “The important thing is Yagura. Has he woken up yet? I can’t be the Hokage forever living in the Mizukage Building.”

“That guy’s condition isn’t good,” Kakashi sighed. “He was controlled by the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan before, and the mark of the power has been consuming his life. Now he’s on his last legs. The medical ninjas we brought have been keeping him alive, but it’s probably unlikely that he will wake up. The best thing to do now is to extract the Three-Tails and then select a new Jinchuriki.”

"Alright." Uchiha Touko nodded. "How much longer can that guy stay alive?"

"It'll be at most a month," Kakashi said. "Should we send a message to Genma Shiranui and the others to bring Karin over? Right now, she's the only one on our side suitable to become a Jinchūriki."

"Have you never thought about becoming a Jinchūriki?" Uchiha Tokō asked. "Once you become a Jinchūriki, the problem of your maximum chakra reserves will be solved."

“If it were any other tailed beast, that would be fine, but the Three-Tails…” Kakashi smiled wryly as he pulled up the headband covering his left eye, revealing the Mangekyou Sharingan crest. “I reckon the Three-Tails would lose its mind the moment it sees those eyes.”

“Alright.” Uchiha Touko nodded. “As for making Karin the Three-Tails’ Jinchuriki, let’s not rush it. Let’s ask Karin’s opinion first before making a decision. You’ve seen Naruto’s experience. Becoming a Jinchuriki isn’t all good things.”

"Okay, I understand." Kakashi nodded.

……

In the following days, the Hidden Mist ninjas and the remaining villagers, with the assistance and supervision of the Leaf Village ninjas, began the reconstruction work.

However, perhaps because of what happened a few days ago, the villagers and ninjas of Kirigakure were quite emotional and their attitude at work was not very positive.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Touko, who lived in the Mizukage Building, which was the first to be repaired, carefully reviewed the information of the three elite Jonin from Kirigakure who had survived the previous battle, and then summoned them separately.

The three of them didn't exactly treat Uchiha Touko well, only maintaining basic politeness. Uchiha Touko didn't mind, since the entire Hidden Mist Village probably wanted him dead, and it would be difficult to find someone who didn't hate him.

However, after carefully observing the three for a period of time, a suitable candidate was finally selected from among them.

Takagi Seiwan, an elite Jonin of Kirigakure, participated in the Third Shinobi World War and was one of the few Kirigakure ninjas who saw Uchiha Touko on the battlefield and survived.

However, the reason he survived was not because of his strength, but because his bottom line on the battlefield was much lower than Uchiha Touko had anticipated.

Back in the Third Shinobi World War, after seeing that he was no match for Uchiha Touko, this person abandoned an entire squad to delay Uchiha Touko's advance and fled alone. Uchiha Touko had never seen anything like this before, which is why he was able to escape.

However, because of this, Takagi Seiman, an elite Jonin from Kirigakure, was not very popular in Kirigakure. Apart from Obito Uchiha, who controlled Yagura Karatachi and promoted him to a higher position to disgust Kirigakure, the other high-ranking officials of Kirigakure, especially Genshi, who served as the Mizukage's assistant, disliked this kind of ninja who abandoned his comrades and ran away.

"So, this is someone who puts his own interests first in everything?" Uchiha Touko chuckled as he looked at Takagi Seiman's file. "However, as a puppet, this kind of personality is just right."

Soon, Takagi Seiwan was invited to the Mizukage's office by Uchiha Tokō.

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Takagi." Uchiha Touko greeted him with a light smile after the other party arrived.

"I wonder what business the Hokage has with me?" Takagi Seiwan said with a stern face.

"After we received your Mizukage's plea for help, we dispatched troops to your aid as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we were unable to rescue your Mizukage from the rebels. The Fourth Mizukage probably won't last much longer."

Upon hearing this news, Takagi Seiwan's expression remained calm and composed. As long as he was alive, the fate of the Mizukage was of no concern to him.

“However, your ninja village can’t continue like this forever, so I plan to help you become the Fifth Mizukage,” Uchiha Touko said.

After Uchiha Touko finished speaking, Takagi Seiman's expression finally showed a slight change.

"Well, Mr. Takagi, do you have the same idea?" Uchiha Touko asked with a smile.

"I'm going to be the Fifth Mizukage?" Takagi Seiwan asked incredulously.

“Of course,” Uchiha Touko said.

(End of this chapter)