Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

The sacred robes embroidered with flame patterns fluttered in the wind, and even in the darkness, the words "Fifth Hokage," embroidered with gold and red silk threads, stood out clearly amidst the flickering lightning around him.

"Take everyone and retreat. Leave this to me." Uchiha Touko turned around and said to Asuma, his tone filled with an unyielding domineering air.

Asuma stared blankly at the Mangekyou Sharingan slowly swirling in Uchiha Touko's eyes and nodded.

Meanwhile, Kazuma gritted his teeth and questioned, "Why did you only arrive now? Do you know how dangerous it was for His Highness the Daimyo just now?"

Uchiha Touko coldly looked at this guy from the original timeline who advocated that the Hokage should not exist and that all the power of the ninjas should be under the control of the Daimyo, even at the cost of causing internal strife among the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, and said, "Didn't the guy who taught you ninjutsu ever tell you to have a sense of awe for the strong? Get out of my way before I lose my temper!"

"You!" Kazuma gritted his teeth, staring intently at Uchiha Touko's divine robe, wanting to say something, but Uchiha Touko had already turned around, staring at Orochimaru, his eye power and chakra surging out, and Susanoo rising from the ground.

The godlike figure stunned Kazuma, who stood frozen in place. At that moment, Asuma and Jiraiya, who had recovered some chakra, rushed forward and pulled him into the bedroom.

Uchiha Touko's Susanoo slowly raised its hand towards Orochimaru and Manda. In the huge Susanoo's hand, violent lightning slowly gathered, forming a huge vajra engraved with special sage symbols.

Seeing this, Manda immediately canceled the summoning. Although he was unaware that Orochimaru and Uchiha Touko had already planned to throw the match, he had witnessed the commotion caused by Uchiha Touko's last fight with Orochimaru. From Manda's perspective, they were both contractors from Ryuchi Cave, so there was no need for them to fight to the death.

After Manda escaped, Orochimaru formed a hand seal, and his entire body transformed into white snakes, which then scattered and departed.

Seeing this, Uchiha Touko also withdrew his Susanoo, and at the same time, he staggered and gasped for breath.

"Are we just going to let this rogue ninja who assassinated the daimyo get away like this?" Kazuma broke free from Asuma and Chirai, came up to Uchiha Touko, and shouted at him.

"Otherwise what?" Uchiha Touko turned around, narrowed his eyes, and sneered, "I rushed here at full speed, and my chakra is almost depleted. Being able to force that guy back is already my limit. Where would I find the chakra to pursue him?"

"Lord Hokage, please calm down. Kazuma is just worried about the Daimyo's safety." At this moment, Jiraiya also stepped forward, pulled Kazuma back down, and tried to smooth things over for him.

“If you’re truly worried about the daimyo’s safety, then you should be ensuring his safety instead of clamoring for a pursuit,” Uchiha Touko said coldly. “Asuma.”

Asuma, still immersed in the scene of Uchiha Touko forcing Orochimaru back, came to his senses upon hearing his name and came to stand in front of Uchiha Touko.

"Keep an eye on your colleague, or I won't mind teaching him the rules of ninjas."

After finishing his sentence, Uchiha Touko walked straight into the bedroom.

After Uchiha Touko entered the bedroom, the ministers of the Land of Fire involuntarily made way for him.

On the bed in the bedroom, a middle-aged man lay with a face ashen, breathing heavily. His chest looked as if he had been hit hard, with a large dent in it. He was clearly not going to survive. Beside the bed, a child not yet four years old was crying incessantly.

"Your Highness! Your subordinate is late in coming to your rescue! Please forgive me!" Uchiha Touko immediately put on an act as soon as he entered the room, squeezing out two tears from the corners of his eyes and speaking with genuine emotion.

"Don't worry, Lord Daimyo, I will send a message back to the village and have them search for Tsunade's whereabouts. You must hold on, Your Highness."

The current daimyo of the Land of Fire, Minamoto no Mitsuhide, struggled to raise his eyes and look at Uchiha Touko, the Hokage whom he had recently appointed personally.

However, the moment he looked up, he suddenly noticed that a falcon had flown in from outside the window of his bedchamber. The instant their eyes met, a red light flashed in the eyes of the inexplicably appearing falcon.

After sensing that Kotoamatsukami had succeeded in its brief moment of power, a barely perceptible smile appeared on Uchiha Touko's lips.

At this moment, the daimyo spoke with difficulty, his voice barely audible: "No need... to trouble yourself. I am very... aware of my condition."

As he spoke, an unnatural flush rose on his face. The physician attending to him by the bedside trembled at the sight, clearly indicating a final burst of energy before death.

"Your Highness!" Upon seeing this, the officials in the bedchamber also showed sorrow on their faces and shouted in unison.

"I inherited this title of daimyo from my late father when I was 21, and more than twenty years have passed since then. I never imagined that I would suffer such a calamity today, and even the crown prince..."

As he spoke his name, blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth.

“However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Cough cough cough, Yu Xie, come here.” The daimyo laboriously beckoned to the four-year-old child by the bedside.

The young daimyo's heir, his eyes filled with tears, came to the daimyo's side.

"The Crown Prince is young, and we hope that all the ministers will do their utmost to assist him..."

Upon hearing this, the officials in the palace all perked up. They knew that the main event was about to begin: the daimyo was going to appoint a regent.

At this moment, several gazes were already fixed on a person in the bedchamber. This person was the Left Minister of the Land of Fire, the head of the civil officials of the Land of Fire. In the eyes of the officials in the bedchamber, if there really had to be a position of regent, then it should be none other than him.

However, what Daiming said was beyond everyone's expectations.

"Minister of Construction, Tomoyuki Kikuchi; Minister of Economy, Masaya Kujo; Councilor, Kiri Nagano, Assistant Director."

The three men whose names were called looked at each other with disbelief on their faces. Apart from Councilor Nagano Kiri, the others did not hold very high positions. Logically, this should not have been their turn, but the daimyo had chosen the three of them as regents.

Soon, the group discovered a common thread: all three of them had been kidnapped by Kakashi that night.

As Nagano Kiri looked at the words "Fifth Hokage" on Uchiha Touko's back, a look of horror appeared on his face. The daimyo's next sentence confirmed some of his guesses.

"Furthermore, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Uchiha Tokō, is appointed as Grand Minister of State and Grand Tutor to the Daimyo, to instruct the Crown Prince while protecting his safety."

Although the eldest brother's name sounded weak and listless at that moment, it was as if a bomb had been dropped into the crowd.

What is the position of Grand Minister of State? It is the true head of all officials! Even daimyo must treat him with the respect due to a teacher. Because this position is so important, sometimes it will be left vacant if there is no suitable candidate. The last time the Land of Fire had a Grand Minister of State was more than a hundred years ago during the Warring States period.

However, in some people's eyes, the daimyo's intentions are not hard to understand. The daimyo was just assassinated by a powerful ninja, so he urgently needs a strong person to protect his son. For this reason, he even offered the position of Grand Minister of State. The role of the three people who were previously ordered to assist in governing is also very clear: to check and balance Uchiha Tokō. After all, it is no secret that these people jointly wrote a letter some time ago, not recognizing Uchiha Tokō as the Fifth Hokage.

However, apart from the parties involved, no one could have imagined that the lives of these people were already in Uchiha Touko's hands. Their personal guards, as well as those of their families, had all been replaced by members of the Uchiha clan.

Just then, as Left Minister Abe Taiichi was about to say something, Uchiha Touko preemptively knelt down on one knee and shouted, "I beg you, Daimyo, to rescind your order. I am truly unfit for this heavy responsibility!"

"You must not refuse, my lord. Cough cough cough, with a formidable enemy at hand, the young master still needs your protection. I have heard of your name before. During the Third Shinobi World War, you guarded the border and protected the peace of the people of my Land of Fire. Now, may I ask you to protect my only son?"

"Your Highness!" Uchiha Touko forced out a few tears. "Your Highness has entrusted me with such a heavy responsibility, and I would gladly die for it. However, I truly cannot bear this burden..."

Before Uchiha Tokō could finish speaking, the daimyo summoned his heir.

"Yu Xie, become my disciple." The daimyo looked at the four-year-old prince by the bedside.

"Your Highness!" At this moment, Minister of the Left Abe Taiichi could no longer sit still. He knew that if he didn't say something soon, the matter would be settled once the young prince became his disciple. He immediately stepped forward, knelt down, and shouted, "Please reconsider!"

The daimyo ignored him and then looked at Uchiha Touko: "While you are protecting this child, you can also teach him some ninjutsu. In the future, the daimyo of my Land of Fire must not be without any ability to protect himself."

"Your Highness, this..." Uchiha Touko looked troubled.

However, Gen Yuxie, who was standing to the side, respectfully bowed to Uchiha Touko and said, "Teacher."

"This...this..." Uchiha Touko looked bewildered.

"Good...good...good, with you taking care of me, I can rest assured." Daming said, a smile appearing on his face, before he closed his eyes tightly.

"Your Highness!" Uchiha Touko shouted, but the daimyo did not respond at all.

"Respectfully seeing off your esteemed name!" At this moment, a eunuch standing nearby shouted at the top of his lungs.

Immediately, all the officials in the imperial bedchamber burst into tears.

……

More than an hour later, Kakashi arrived in the Fire Capital with a team of elite Jonin and headed straight for the only remaining sleeping quarters after Orochimaru's destruction.

Upon seeing Kakashi, those who had been kidnapped that night didn't dare to breathe a word.

Uchiha Touko then slowly rose in front of the daimyo's body, glanced at the various officials of the Land of Fire in the palace, and then walked straight to Kakashi's side.

"How is it going? How many people have arrived?" Uchiha Touko asked in a deep voice.

"Due to the urgency of the situation, all the elite Jonin who were previously in the village, except for Jonin Squad Leader Uchiha Fugaku, have rushed here and are already waiting outside the palace. In addition, there is a temporary force of about 700 people composed of the security team and the Anbu, led by Inuzuka Kaze and Gekko Toru, who are expected to arrive tomorrow morning."

“Alright.” Uchiha Touko nodded, then turned to look at the officials in the bedchamber. “Where are Kikuchi Tomoyuki, Kujo Masaya, and Nagano Kiri?”

The three people whose names were called trembled at first, then wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads before walking out of the crowd.

"What are your instructions, Grand Minister of State?" Nagano Kiri asked.

"Please don't call me Grand Minister of State yet; I am truly unworthy of this position," said Uchiha Touko.

"This is the late emperor's dying wish, so please, Grand Minister of State, do not refuse." Nagano Kiri gritted his teeth before speaking, noticing the subtle threat in Kakashi's eyes beside Uchiha Touko.

"Sigh, let's discuss this later," Uchiha Touko said, shaking his head.

"I wonder what business Lord Uchiha has with the three of us?" Kikuchi Tomoken asked, quickly changing his form of address.

"I entrust the funeral arrangements for the Daimyo to the three of you," Uchiha Touko said, bowing deeply.

"Lord Uchiha, you mustn't do this. This is simply our duty." Uchiha Touko's actions nearly scared the three of them to death, and they hurriedly returned the greeting. Kakashi, standing next to Uchiha Touko, clearly meant that if the three of them had actually accepted Uchiha Touko's greeting, their entire families would have been killed without a burial place that very night.

"Orochimaru, the rogue ninja who attempted to assassinate the daimyo, has not yet been captured. Therefore, from this moment forward, the ninjas of Konoha will take over the defense of the Fire Capital. Furthermore, for Your Highness's safety, starting tomorrow morning, I will impose martial law in the Fire Capital, and no one may leave without a valid reason," Uchiha Touko said slowly after glancing at the officials in the palace.

“This…I’m afraid it’s against the rules, isn’t it?” At this moment, the Left Minister Abe Taiichi, who had previously been relatively unknown, stepped forward and said to Uchiha Touko.

"Oh? May I ask who this gentleman is?" Uchiha Touko narrowed his eyes and looked at the other party.

“I am Taiichi Abe, the Grand Minister of State and Left of the Land of Fire,” Taiichi Abe said.

"Is that so? May I ask, Lord Abe, is there a problem with what I said?" Uchiha Touko asked.

"Martial law in the City of Fire is unprecedented. The Fifth Hokage would be wise to proceed with caution," Abe Taiichi said, his tone tinged with hostility.

He wasn't just saying this to Uchiha Touko; he was also subtly reminding the officials in the palace that having the Hokage serve as Grand Minister of State and the Daimyo as Grand Tutor would be a precedent in the Land of Fire, and it was best to avoid setting precedents if possible.

Chapter 118 Taking Control of the Fire City

"Is that so?" Uchiha Touko glanced around at everyone in the bedchamber. "So there's no precedent for this?"

“The Left Minister is right. There is indeed no precedent for this in our Fire Kingdom,” another civil official stepped forward. “Moreover, if martial law is declared rashly, the people in the Fire Capital will also be dissatisfied.”

"And who are you?" Uchiha Touko asked, frowning.

"I am Matsuda Seisuke, the Minister of the Interior of the Land of Fire," the man who stepped forward said.

"I understand." Uchiha Touko slowly walked towards the door of the sleeping quarters, saying as he spoke, "I am but a warrior who knows nothing of politics. I know I cannot bear such a heavy burden placed upon me by the late king, but as a citizen of the Land of Fire, I know to be loyal to the king and serve my country! But now, treacherous ministers have already jumped out on their own!"

"You, Matsuda Seisuke, are one." Uchiha Touko raised his hand and pointed at Matsuda Seisuke, then turned and pointed at Abe Taiichi, "And you, Abe Taiichi!"

After Uchiha Touko finished speaking, the courtiers in the hall erupted in an uproar.

"I'm afraid what the Hokage said is inappropriate." After being called a traitor by Uchiha Touko, Abe Taiichi's face twitched slightly as he spoke.

"Improper?" Uchiha Touko sneered. "The late king's body is still warm, and the assassins who killed him are still at large. If martial law is not enforced, who can guarantee His Highness's safety? Left Minister, can you? You can't! If His Highness the Daimyo is harmed, even if you and your entire clan give up your lives, it won't make up for it!"

“You…” Abe Taiichi’s face flushed red and then turned pale. He knew that if he didn’t say something now, he would be firmly labeled a traitor.

However, at this moment, another person stood up and said, "The Grand Tutor is right. In the current situation, everything should be done with His Highness's safety in mind. The Left Minister's objection based on the fact that there is no precedent is biased."

Uchiha Touko looked with interest at the person who had spoken, who was not on Kakashi's kidnapping list that night.

It seems this Left Minister has quite a few political enemies in the court.

"Kazuo Miura, what do you mean by that?" Abe Taiichi looked at the speaker.

"Hmph, isn't my meaning obvious? Besides, the late king appointed the Grand Tutor to assist in governing, which also makes the meaning very clear, doesn't it?" Miura Kazuo stepped forward and confronted Abe Taiichi head-on.

After Miura Kazuo finished speaking, the civil officials in the bedchamber immediately started arguing. At this moment, the four-year-old daimyo Minamoto no Miyakushi was also at a loss for words, standing blankly in front of the daimyo's bed.

Uchiha Touko and Kakashi stood at the entrance of the sleeping quarters, watching the civil officials passionately arguing.