Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

“Yes,” Afei nodded.

"She did learn something, though," Uchiha Touko laughed. Putting everything else aside, their slogan alone was something that the political level of the ninja world could never come up with.

"So, Lord Dou Guang, what should we do?" A Fei asked.

“She’s already worked so hard, so of course we should help her out.” Uchiha Touko laughed. “Although this girl has worked hard enough, she’s only analyzed the information from limited sources. She’s only learned the basics of my skills. When it comes to rebellion, the most important thing is to adapt to the local conditions. You can’t succeed by simply copying others.”

"Is the identity prepared for me alright?" Uchiha Touko asked.

“Of course,” Abi said, attaching himself to Uchiha Touko’s shadow clone once again. Soon, Uchiha Touko became a middle-aged man with an ordinary face and a receding hairline, who could only cover his hairline with a headband.

“Your current identity is Masato Satake. You were once a commoner Jonin in Kirigakure. You were killed by Yagura Karatachi’s Anbu while fleeing Kirigakure, and your identity was secretly taken over by us. Now you are a captain in the resistance army and have barely made it into the decision-making level of the Kirigakure resistance army,” Tobi said.

"Can you have a say in the decision-making level?" The disguised clone of Uchiha Touko nodded. "That would save me a lot of trouble."

"However, you should still be careful when you take action." At this moment, Black Zetsu reminded him from the side, "The rebels have a Byakugan that can see through White Zetsu's disguise. Fortunately, the guy who has the Byakugan is not here right now, but is staying in Kirigakure as an inside agent for the rebels."

"Couldn't we just control Yagura Karatachi to deal with that guy?" Uchiha Touko asked.

“It’s difficult.” Black Zetsu shook his head. “That guy is a veteran of Kirigakure. Without a suitable reason, even the Mizukage can’t move him from his position.”

"Alright, I understand." Uchiha Touko's shadow clone smiled, pushed open the door of the house, and thought to himself:

【Mei Terumi, your master is here.】

Chapter 156 Mei Terumi Reading Comprehension

"Left, turn right at the next intersection." Uchiha Touko's shadow clone wandered around the small town, with Tobi pointing out the way to him in his ear.

Soon, Uchiha Touko, disguised, arrived at the rebel stronghold.

"Lord Dou Guang, the code is that he says the water is clear, and you will wash away the filth," A Fei whispered in his ear.

Under Tobi's guidance, Uchiha Touko infiltrated the Kirigakure rebel base with great success.

"Captain Satake." After entering the underground base, members of the resistance army kept greeting Uchiha Touko, who was disguised.

Uchiha Touko nodded to them in turn before asking, "Is the leader here?"

"The leader is in his office," the civilian staff at the outpost replied.

Uchiha Touko nodded, then found Mei Terumi's office inside the base and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Mei Terumi's voice rang out from inside the office.

When Uchiha Touko pushed open the door, he noticed that compared to the last time they met, Mei Terumi's pretty face now had a deep layer of fatigue, and the dark circles under her eyes were particularly obvious. Her desk was covered with papers filled with writing.

Uchiha Touko glanced at the paper on the table out of the corner of his eye and found that it contained a list of things he had done in Konoha, and below it, in delicate handwriting, was Terumi Mei's own understanding of Uchiha Touko's actions.

In that brief glance, Uchiha Touko saw quite a lot. Some of the woman's guesses about his intentions were correct, some were wrong, and some were simply overthinking.

For example, when Uchiha Tokō hosted a banquet for Genma Shiranui and other former subordinates of the Fourth Hokage, the menu used was the traditional menu from the Fourth Hokage's era. Mei Terumi thought that Uchiha Tokō did this to evoke their nostalgia for the Fourth Hokage and thus unite them around his ally Kakashi. But to be honest, if he hadn't seen this information today, Uchiha Tokō wouldn't even have known that the menu that day had such a special feature.

Uchiha Touko shook his head imperceptibly. Mei Terumi was currently acting like a high school student engrossed in reading comprehension, but this woman probably hadn't realized that she was engaged in a rebellion. Simply following the book like this wouldn't get anything done.

"Hmm? Jonin Satake?" Mei Terumi looked up at the person Uchiha Touko was disguised as and asked, "Is there something you need?"

"There's nothing particularly important about it, but I'm planning to request that we add a few more missions to our squad. We've been feeling a bit too idle lately," Uchiha Touko said.

“Jonin Satake, I understand your desire to contribute to the organization, but our current scale of operations is already quite large. If we increase the workload further, Kirigakure will definitely notice,” Mei Terumi said.

Uchiha Touko's lips twitched. Girls, you guys were discovered a long time ago, okay? If it weren't for wanting your Kirigakure to continue its chaos, you wouldn't have had the chance to build this base here.

“I understand.” Uchiha Touko nodded, then looked openly at the things on Terumi Mei’s table and asked, “Boss, what are you studying?”

"Heh, researching our village's greatest enemy, Uchiha Tokkou," Mei Terumi said, gritting her teeth.

Uchiha Touko: ...

My apprentice doesn't seem very friendly to me.

"Jonin Satake, what do you think of the current Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Tokō Uchiha?" Mei Terumi suddenly asked.

"Uchiha Touko?" Uchiha Touko, disguised, put on an indignant look. "Of course I hate him to the bone. He killed so many of our comrades during the Third Shinobi World War. Even my childhood friend died at his hands. I only regret that I am not strong enough to kill him with my own hands!"

Uchiha Touko effortlessly portrayed the resentment and helplessness of a middle-aged man burdened with a blood feud, yet unable to avenge it due to insufficient strength. Tobi, who was possessing Touko and pretending to be him, was full of admiration for his acting skills. Touko truly lived up to his reputation as a master actor; his acting was flawless!

But what Afei didn't know was that this kind of acting skill, which some people in his previous life longed for but could not obtain, was just the most basic skill for politicians.

As expected, Mei Terumi was speechless for a moment when she saw how angry Uchiha Touko was. After a while, she comforted him, saying, "Jonin Satake, I understand your feelings. As a ninja from Kirigakure, I also hate Uchiha Touko. However, I also think that some of his methods are exactly what we need to learn right now."

“During this time, I’ve gathered a lot of information about him from the end of the Third Shinobi World War until he became the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. Because of this, many of our spy comrades have fallen in Konoha. However, after reviewing this information, I have to admit that perhaps only by learning his methods can Kirigakure get out of its current predicament.” Mei Terumi sighed and said, “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? We clearly want to make the village better, but we have to learn the methods of our greatest enemy.”

"No, Chief, if this is for the sake of Kirigakure, then it's all worth it," Uchiha Touko said, feigning a moved expression.

"However, I still haven't been able to understand the deeper meaning behind many of Uchiha Touko's actions." Terumi Mei said with a relieved smile, seeing that the person in front of her could understand her.

Uchiha Touko really wanted to say that most of his actions didn't have any profound meaning, and that Terumi Mei wouldn't gain anything by continuing to speculate like this; instead, she would only get caught in the strange cycle of the two jujube trees.

"Uh, then, leader, what should we do now?" Uchiha Touko asked.

"Our new slogan of the Will of Water is now being sung throughout the Land of Water. Many ambitious people who realize that the village has problems are willing to join us. I think it won't be long before, with the ninja survivors I've recruited using the methods I learned from Uchiha Tokō, we'll be able to return to Kirigakure with a clear banner and oust Yagura Karatachi from power," Mei Terumi said with a hopeful expression.

Uchiha Touko: ...

Uchiha Touko sighed inwardly. This woman was trying to learn his methods by analyzing intelligence and guessing his intentions, but she could only learn a little bit of the basics.

Is it important for the Hidden Mist Resistance to win over civilians and ninja survivors? Yes, it is, but this woman is completely unaware of something even more important: their most crucial issue right now is to gain a certain claim to power!

How could they directly confront the Fourth Mizukage at a time like this? If Uchiha Touko were in Mei Terumi's position, the first thing he would do would be to declare within the Land of Water that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, had been misled by treacherous officials, and that what they, the patriots of the Land of Water, were doing was to honor the Kage and punish the traitors. After all, both are rebellions, but purging the court of corrupt officials and directly and openly establishing a nation in rebellion are completely different in name.

Frankly speaking, if Uchiha Touko were to control Yagura Karatachi and step forward to make a strong statement, he could immediately define this group as rebels. At that point, no matter how loudly they shout their slogans, it would be useless.

Before the Uchiha Toko coup, when he met Hiruzen Sarutobi, didn't he have to bow properly?

What Mei Terumi and her group should do now is to remove Yagura Karatachi from the Blood Mist policy, and then shift the blame for the Blood Mist Village onto a certain corrupt high-ranking official in Kirigakure. This person was the one who misled the Fourth Mizukage and completely solidified the claim of "purging the court of corrupt officials." In this way, no matter what Yagura Karatachi says, they can explain it by saying that the Mizukage has been controlled by treacherous officials.

In this way, once they actually oust Yagura Karatachi, the power in Kirigakure can be peacefully transferred. This is why Tokio Uchiha would shift all the blame onto Danzo.

However, Uchiha Touko wouldn't directly control Yagura Karatachi to stand up and declare this group of people as rebels. What Uchiha Touko wanted was a Water Country completely plunged into chaos. Defining this group of people as rebels would indeed increase the difficulty of their rebellion, but it wouldn't actually have any impact on the outcome of the Fourth Mizukage's downfall.

Given the current situation in Kirigakure, the people of Kirigakure have been pushed to their limits by the Blood Mist Village policy that Obito came up with on a whim. Even without Mei Terumi, countless people who could no longer tolerate this policy would stand up and overthrow it. At that time, after experiencing the baptism of blood, Kirigakure will be more likely to truly unite.

This is something Uchiha Touko didn't want to see. Kirigakure's geographical advantage was too great. They had a vast ocean as a natural barrier. Once they resolved their internal problems and a leader with even a little bit of brains appeared, if they really grasped the essence of offshore balance, the pressure on the Land of Fire (which is located on the mainland and has to face two and a half great countries head-on) would be too great.

Therefore, for Uchiha Tokō, the more chaotic the Land of Water was, the better. So, Uchiha Tokō didn't mind giving Mei Terumi a little guidance.

After all, Uchiha Touko's past life had taught him that, compared to incompetent and mediocre leaders, those half-baked leaders who were only partially competent were the ones most likely to cause trouble.

"That's wonderful, Chief! I believe we will succeed. Once you become the Fifth Mizukage, I believe the village will emerge from the shadows of the past under your leadership," Uchiha Touko said excitedly.

“Sato, it doesn’t really matter who becomes the Fifth Mizukage. I just hope that the village can become a better place,” Mei Terumi said with a sigh.

Uchiha Touko: ...

Uchiha Touko was almost laughing at this woman's antics.

The person who previously held this identity wasn't in a particularly high position within this resistance organization; they were just a marginal figure in the decision-making hierarchy. But even a marginal figure in the decision-making hierarchy is still a member of the leadership, your confidant! Everyone is risking their lives for you. It's fine for you to say these things to your subordinates, but you don't even dare to openly express your desire to become the Fifth Mizukage in front of your confidants. What, you yourself feel that you can't succeed, right?

If we consider Satake Masato's position in Konoha's Isshin-kai, it would be roughly equivalent to the current Jonin team captain, Nagai Seiichi. When Uchiha Touko met with the Isshin-kai in private, he never shied away from his ambition to become the Fifth Hokage. As a leader, if you can't constantly instill confidence in your subordinates, their morale will eventually crumble, since they're doing business with you that involves risking their lives.

In other words, only when the leader has a clear goal will the subordinates be able to think about the specific benefits after the success, and only then will they have the motivation to work hard.

Uchiha Touko secretly rubbed his forehead. At first, he thought that since Mei Terumi was studying his behavior so carefully, she would have learned something. He thought that he might have to put in some effort to lead her astray. But now it seemed that he didn't need to deliberately guide her at all. He just needed to let this woman figure things out on her own, and then encourage her at the crucial moment to let her give full play to her initiative. The situation in the Land of Water would naturally develop in the direction he wanted.

"The leader is truly righteous!" So, Uchiha Touko, who was in disguise, simply bowed and said.

"Jonin Satake, please don't say that." Mei Terumi stood up and helped Touko Uchiha up, then said, "The future of the Land of Water and Kirigakure still requires our joint efforts!"

“Yes! I have always believed that under the leadership of our leader, we will create a brand new future for the village,” Uchiha Touko said meaningfully.

……

After leaving the base, Uchiha Tokō returned to the small house he had been in before, and the White Zetsu also broke free from the possession of Uchiha Tokō's shadow clone.

"How was it? Did you get anything?" Black Zetsu asked hurriedly when he saw Uchiha Touko return.

"We've gained a lot," Uchiha Touko said with a smile. "The Hidden Mist Village has finally found the perfect Kage for them."

"You mean this little girl, Mei Terumi?" Kurobe asked, puzzled.

“That’s right.” Uchiha Touko said with a meaningful smile on his face.

"So, what do we do next?" Black Zetsu asked curiously.

"Increase the pressure on Yagura's side, and ideally force all the remaining strong members of Kirigakure to join the resistance," Uchiha Touko said coldly.

"Why?" Black Zetsu didn't quite understand Uchiha Touko's actions. Wasn't this aiding the enemy? He had put in a lot of effort over the years to maintain Yagura as a pawn.

"To put it bluntly, this group of rebels is a huge bomb. The people who join them are the gunpowder, and their half-baked leader is the fuse. Since this bomb will explode sooner or later, the more gunpowder we have, the better," Uchiha Touko laughed.

Chapter 157 Overseas Firearms Commander

"What do we do next?" Black Zetsu asked.

"Keep a close eye on things here. Just let me know if they make any moves." After saying that, Uchiha Touko immediately dispelled his clone.

Two weeks later, Kazuo Miura and Fugaku, who had represented the Land of Fire and Konoha on their visit to the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Springs, returned. In the Land of Rice Fields, the Sound Village, established by Orochimaru, readily signed an alliance agreement at the behest of Tokō Uchiha. In the Land of Hot Springs, where there was no ninja village, their daimyo, after being persuaded by Kazuo Miura, also signed his name on the agreement.

After they returned, Uchiha Tokō summoned Inuzuka Gaku and Aburame Shiki.

Since Uchiha Tokō took office, his two clans have completely replaced the original Utatane and Mitomon clans in the village. The legacy left by these two clans alone has provided them with plenty to eat.

After the Land of Fire moved its capital to Konoha, the Aburame clan found their original territory too noisy and unsuitable for raising insects due to the influx of people from the Land of Fire. They voluntarily requested to relocate to a more remote area. Uchiha Tokō naturally did not treat them unfairly, providing them with the highest level of compensation for the relocation. Furthermore, Uchiha Tokō specifically allocated a plot of land around their new territory as a nature reserve to assist them in their research and development of new insect species.

As for the Inuzuka clan, they became quite wealthy after a large number of nobles from the Land of Fire flooded into Konoha.

As is well known, the pets of the nobles of Konoha have always been an important source of D-rank missions for the village's genin. After these nobles entered Konoha, they learned that the Inuzuka clan of Konoha was very skilled in dog breeding. Under the guidance of Uchiha Touko, the Inuzuka clan also began to vigorously train some puppies that were not qualified to become ninja dogs as pets, while breeding ninja dogs. They even opened a pet boarding business in the village so that the elderly, women and children in their clan who did not have the talent of ninjas could earn money.

Furthermore, Inuzuka Jax actively responded to Uchiha Touko's factory-building policy, investing in a dog food factory on the southeastern beach of the Land of Fire. Because the formulas were all improved from the recipes for training ninja dogs, the quality far exceeded similar products on the market. Moreover, due to the reputation of the Inuzuka clan, everyone trusted the quality of the dog food they produced. Therefore, they easily squeezed into almost the entire dog food market in the Land of Fire, making a fortune.

Inuzuka Jacques and Aburame Shiki are naturally extremely grateful to Uchiha Touko for their current success. Therefore, when Uchiha Touko summoned them, they immediately put aside everything else and rushed to the Hokage's office.

Uchiha Touko served tea to his guests as usual, and then said with a smile, "I was away from the village for a while, and the two advisors must have worked very hard assisting Kakashi with his official duties. I haven't had a chance to thank you both yet."

"What are you saying, Lord Hokage? This is simply what we should do," Inuzuka Jacques said.

"Does Lord Hokage have something to tell us today?" Aburame Shiki asked.

"Would you two like to be promoted again?" Uchiha Touko asked with a smile.

When Inuzuka Gaku and Aburame Shiki heard this, they were immediately stunned. They were already Hokage advisors, how could they possibly rise to the next level? Did their older brother decide not to become Hokage?

"Hehe, you two should also know that Elder Fugaku recently made a trip to the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Springs with our Left Minister of the Land of Fire," Uchiha Touko said with a smile. "We signed an alliance agreement with both countries. According to the agreement, our Konoha will station troops in these two countries near the Land of Lightning to help them defend their territory."