Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 241 The Martial Law Farce
"Martial law?" The secret agents who came to deliver the message were stunned upon hearing Shi Yixi Yue's order.

“Yes, martial law!” Shi Yixi Yue nodded. “Some people in the village are doing things that are trying to overthrow Sunagakure. As the Kazekage, I must stop them.”

"Yes!" The ANBU member nodded and left the Kazekage's office.

After the man left, Shi Yixi Yue got up from his desk and went to a corner of the office where a beautifully crafted puppet lay quietly. Shi Yixi Yue reached out and touched the puppet's face, and a strange tenderness appeared on his face.

Several chakra threads emerged from Shi Yixi Yue's fingertips and connected to the puppet. The puppet raised its head, revealing its face, which had been hidden by its long hair. Unlike most puppeteers who don't care much about the appearance of their puppets, the material of this puppet's face was particularly exquisite. The soft silicone filling gave the puppet some human-like features.

However, as soon as the puppet moved, Shi Yixi Yue withdrew his chakra with some disappointment. Then, he took out a crystal coffin from the sealing scroll on his body. Inside the crystal coffin, a woman's corpse lay, looking both eerie and peaceful.

"Jianxi, I will definitely succeed in becoming the true Kazekage. When that time comes, I will be able to officially order the return of the rogue ninja Sasori of the Red Sand to the village, and then use his technology to revive you as a human puppet." Shi Yixi Yue looked at the woman lying in the crystal coffin with deep affection and said emotionally.

After saying that, Shi Yixiyue put away the crystal coffin, looked out the window, and his eyes were incredibly resolute.

"If Uchiha Tokō could become the Fifth Hokage by enforcing martial law, then it wouldn't be impossible for me to become the Kazekage."

……

The headquarters of the Dark Side of Sunagakure.

After Shi Yixi Yue's secretary arrived at the Sunagakure ANBU headquarters, he immediately summoned the Sunagakure ANBU captain and the ninjas who were waiting at headquarters without any missions at the moment, and then announced the order to delay the payment of next month's salary.

As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar erupted within the Anbu headquarters of Sunagakure.

"Acting Kazekage's secretary, is this an order from the Acting Kazekage?" The captain of the Sunagakure's ANBU asked incredulously.

“That’s right.” Shi Yixi Yue’s secretary nodded. “Lord Fengying said that the village is currently going through a difficult period, and everyone should work together to overcome these difficulties.”

“But didn’t we already reduce our salaries once before?” At this moment, an ANBU member said with some difficulty, “It’s not that we are unwilling to get through this difficult time with the village, but if we don’t get paid, we won’t even have enough for our daily training and the consumption of ninja tools.”

"Lord Fengying understands what you've said, but the village's finances are currently unable to pay anything. Lord Fengying is trying to find a solution, but he needs some time, and we hope everyone can cooperate," said Shi Yixi Yue's secretary.

"This..." The ANBU member who had spoken earlier wanted to say something, but the ANBU captain of Sunagakure gestured for him to shut up with his eyes, and then said to Ishii Nishigake's secretary, "If this is the Kazekage's will, then we will naturally comply."

“That would be best.” Shi Yixi Yue’s secretary nodded. “I believe that with everyone’s cooperation and Lord Fengying’s efforts, the village will definitely be able to overcome this difficulty.”

"Yes," the captain of the Sunagakure's ANBU saluted.

After receiving a reply from the Anbu, Shi Yixi Yue's secretary rushed to the village hospital, as he still needed to appease the medical ninjas.

Shi Yixi Yue's secretary had just left when the Dark Guard, who had previously received the martial law order in the Wind Shadow's office, returned to their base.

"Lord Kazekage has ordered that the entire village be placed under martial law in two hours and forty-five minutes." The ANBU member had just finished relaying Shi Yixi Yue's order when he noticed that his colleagues had not yet taken any action after hearing the order.

"Captain? This is the order from the acting Kazekage. Shouldn't we hurry up and act..." The ANBU member hesitated and looked at his captain.

"Martial law?" The captain of the Sunagakure ANBU frowned upon receiving the order. Given Konoha's precedent, he naturally knew what martial law entailed.

"What exactly does our Lord Fengying want to do?" At this moment, an ANBU member in the base couldn't help but complain, "They just announced that the pay would be delayed, and now they want us to do martial law."

"Shut up!" The ANBU captain hurriedly told the man to shut up. No matter what, it was a serious crime for them, the ANBU, to discuss their own Kage in public, even if the title of Kage was preceded by the character "代" (dai).

"The salary payment is delayed? What does that mean?" At this moment, the secret agent who came to deliver the order also showed an incredulous expression and hurriedly asked.

"Just now, the secretary of Lord Kazekage came here to announce this order: our pay for this month will be delayed." The captain of the Sunagakure ANBU looked at the man and said with a sigh.

"Huh? What's going on?" Upon hearing the captain's words, the ANBU member's face showed astonishment. "Didn't we already reduce the amount of pay once? Why is the payment being delayed again? How are we going to pay for my mother's medical expenses?"

Hearing this, the captain of the Anbu in Sunagakure sighed. He knew the man's situation. His mother had been seriously injured in a mission a few years ago and had been kept alive by the village hospital for the past few years. After joining the Anbu, the man risked his life in every mission in order to pay for the high monthly medical expenses of the village hospital.

But what could he say? He could only say with some difficulty, "The village is going through a difficult time right now. As ninjas, we should understand the village's difficulties."

"I..." The ANBU member wanted to say something, but after seeing his captain's eyes, he could only helplessly shut his mouth.

"Go and get ready. Call back all your comrades who are still on missions outside. Two hours later, issue a martial law order in the village. Two and a half hours later, everyone should be in their pre-deployed guard positions."

"Yes!" the group of secret agents replied listlessly.

……

After arriving at the Fourth Kazekage's residence, Maki first mentioned Temari's unauthorized actions during yesterday's operation, then sighed and began to recount the events of the previous night. "Temari, we couldn't stop the two elders from forcibly appointing Ishii Nishigaku as the acting Kazekage last night. Therefore, it's best for us to keep a low profile for now," Maki said. "Although he's only an acting Kazekage, the two elders have already granted him the authority to mobilize the Anbu. As a result, his power is comparable to ours."

"No, teacher, I have a different opinion on this matter." Temari shook her head. Uchiha Touko had just given her a complete analysis of the current situation. "If we back down now, it will only cause those who are still wavering to lose faith in us and turn to the other side completely."

"This..." Maki frowned slightly after hearing Temari's words, as Temari's words made sense.

“However, Temari, wouldn’t it be too dangerous for you to confront Ishiichi Nishigake head-on at this time? He currently controls the power of the Anbu.” Yashamaru said with some concern. Compared to Maki, Yashamaru, as her uncle, was more worried about Temari’s safety.

“It’s alright, Uncle, Teacher.” Temari said to Maki and Yashamaru, “He only nominally controls the Anbu right now. The reason the Anbu obeys his orders is only because he is the acting Kazekage. But the position of the Fifth Kazekage is not yet settled. As long as I still have a chance to beat him, these Anbu will not put in too much effort in this matter. After all, they cannot guarantee that Ishii Nishigaku will win in the end.”

“They’re also afraid that if we win, they’ll settle scores with us later,” Temari calmly analyzed. “So, what we need to keep a close eye on is just his direct subordinate forces, the two battalions of the puppet squad.”

“Alright, since that’s what you think, then I’ll have people keep a close eye on those two battalions of the Puppet Squad.” Maki nodded, looking at Temari with some satisfaction. Although Temari had stepped forward to compete for the position of Fifth Kazekage, she had spent most of her energy on improving her strength. Other matters were handled by him, a former subordinate of the Fourth Kazekage, and their uncle, Yashamaru.

Now that Gaara has truly disappeared, Temari has finally shown the same skill and flair that the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, displayed when he competed with Pakura, who was using the Scorching Release technique, for the position. This has given Maki, who followed Rasa since childhood, a real glimmer of hope.

"Then, thank you very much, teacher and uncle." Temari nodded and said, "In addition, I would like to trouble you to keep a close eye on the movements of the two elders. I suspect that Shi Yixiyue may have made some kind of secret deal with the two elders regarding his appointment as acting Fengying. Otherwise, they would not have appointed Shi Yixiyue as acting Fengying in just one night."

“Okay.” Maki and Yashamaru nodded. “Then, take care of yourself.”

……

After Maki and Yashamaru left, a communication snake slowly crawled out of the ninja tool pouch on Temari's back and came to the living room table.

"Your teacher is loyal, but his vision is too limited," Uchiha Touko commented calmly. "If he could learn even half of your father's methods, the power struggle in your Sunagakure would never have developed to this point."

Upon hearing this, Temari fell silent. Although she was reluctant to admit it, in front of the most professional coup expert in the entire ninja world, her and her teacher's methods were truly like those of children.

"If it were you, what would you do?" Temari asked humbly after a while.

"If it were me, after your brother went berserk, I would use all my power to take control of Gaara, who was weakened after being suppressed. I would then claim that the Jinchuriki's rampage was due to some malicious individuals in the village trying to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage. Using your identity as the princess of Sunagakure, under the guise of an investigation, I would forcibly take control of the Anbu. During the investigation, I would implicate any political enemies who might threaten you, accusing them of causing the Jinchuriki's rampage through special means, and take them away for investigation. Then..."

As Temari listened to Uchiha Touko's nonchalant words, her pupils contracted slightly, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

Uchiha Touko, however, smiled and said, "If you want to become a Kage like your father, you still have a lot to learn."

The process by which the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, rose to power was not entirely clean, but even Tokyo Uchiha had to admit that Rasa was absolutely gifted in the entire ninja world when it came to being a political sycophant.

Without anyone teaching him, Rasa single-handedly defeated Pakura, who was vying with him for the position of Fourth Kazekage.

Then, during his tenure as the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, although he was completely clueless about how to govern the village and Sunagakure deteriorated day by day under his leadership, he firmly controlled the power of the entire village, except for the two elders who were too senior to be controlled.

Even if he were dead, the fact that a large number of Jonin like Maki would support his daughter Temari demonstrates the shrewdness of this former Fourth Kazekage.

“So now, all we need to do is wait for that guy to reveal a weakness, right?” Temari said.

“Yes,” Uchiha Touko said calmly.

An hour later, Temari suddenly heard a commotion coming from the street while she was at home.

Upon hearing the commotion, Temari quickly packed her things and called Kankuro, intending to go out and investigate the situation.

However, as soon as the siblings opened the door, three ninjas dressed as ANBU appeared in front of Temari.

"What are you doing?" Temari frowned as she looked at the other person.

"Miss Temari, according to the order of the Acting Kazekage, from this moment on, the entire Sunagakure village is under martial law. Except for the Anbu, no one is allowed to act without authorization within the village. Anyone who violates this order will be treated as a rogue ninja."

Uchiha Touko, who heard this through the communication snake hidden in Temari's ninja tool pouch, couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of tea in the Hokage's office and then cough violently.

Hearing the commotion, Uchiha Inahashi hurriedly entered the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, what happened?"

"It's nothing... You can step back now. I just suddenly thought of something funny." Uchiha Touko waved his hand at the other party, signaling him to step back.

Is Shi Yixi Yue out of his mind? The current situation in Sunagakure is such that martial law should be declared.
(End of this chapter)