Uchiha's personal opinion

"It's said that the recent campaign to eliminate unusual summoning beasts wiped out all of Orochimaru's giant snakes, which is why he's in a bad mood..."

"That can't be right. I heard they only wiped out a bunch of toads, and that the rogue ninja Jiraiya was hiding in the village..."

"A Uchiha trainee experimenter retorted."

"Then you're blinded by your own involvement; let me explain in detail..."

The gossip lab technician cleared his throat and began to tell the story he had made up.

……

"Knock knock!"

A knock came from outside the research institute. The ninjas who were chatting and gossiping turned around and saw a political ninja wearing a Chunin uniform with the House of Representatives insignia.

"Hello, is Orochimaru, the Jonin, here?"

The political ninja asked politely.

"Here I am……"

One of the lab technicians hesitated and said, "Go straight ahead, turn left at the end, then turn right again. That's the second lab..."

"OK, thanks."

The government ninja nodded in greeting and then proceeded as instructed.

"I knew it! The House of Representatives must be demanding that Orochimaru, the Jonin, appear in court to explain!"

The gossip experimenter immediately "addressed the issue at hand" and patched up his story.

"It seems that's indeed the case..."

The lab technicians all nodded in agreement.

……

"Orochimaru, Jonin, I'm sorry to bother you."

The political ninja arrived at Orochimaru's laboratory, where he was lost in thought, and greeted him politely.

"..."

Orochimaru glanced at him but said nothing.

"As requested by Lord Deguang, Speaker Shuo Mao plans to organize a seminar in the House of Representatives’ relevant professional committee on the management and research standards for the scientific application of spirit beasts. We would like to invite you to attend this afternoon."

A government ninja handed over a meeting notice.

Orochimaru tapped the experimental table lightly, signaling the administrative ninja to place the notice on it.

The political ninja was not angry, but stepped forward and told Orochimaru to place the notification text in the location specified by him.

"...Who else is participating?"

Orochimaru glanced at it absentmindedly and asked casually.

"Uchiha Shiina, a Jonin of the Ninja Beast Summoning Beast Management and Protection Committee; Tsunade, a Junior Instructor of the Medical Development and Research Committee; and the Jonin in charge of the Police Department and the Internal Affairs Department."

The political ninja replied respectfully, "Lord Tokumitsu and Lord Sakumo will also be attending..."

"I see……"

Orochimaru casually waved his hand, signaling the political ninja to leave.

After the political ninja left, Orochimaru picked up the meeting notice and began to read it.

"The agenda is quite interesting..."

After reading it, Orochimaru couldn't help but let out a strange, loud laugh.

……

"Fellow Jonin, this meeting was convened at the behest of Governor Tokukō, primarily to discuss the management and application of summoning beasts, as well as their sustainable applications in medicine and scientific research..."

In the afternoon, Hatake Sakumo read out the speech written by Uchiha Tokumitsu at the meeting.

Apart from Orochimaru and Tsunade, who had a direct interest in the matter, the other Jonin present were drowsy.

"Now let's discuss the first item on the agenda: Are the current village security regulations regarding the management of spirit beasts realistic, and do they need to be adjusted?"

Sakumo Hatake asked, "Please feel free to speak your mind if you have any objections."

"Compliant, no adjustments needed."

Uchiha Shiina, Director of the House of Representatives Committee on the Management and Protection of Ninja Beasts and Summoning Beasts and Chief of the Northern District Police Station, immediately replied.

From the perspective of his own interests and the difficulty of police duties, he was unwilling to amend the regulations governing spirit beasts.

"The current management of the village's summoned beasts is too strict..."

A medical ninja complained, "Furthermore, the registration system violates the ninja's secrets."

I second that!

Agreed!

The other ninjas all voiced their agreement.

After a round of discussion, Hatake Sakumo ruled: "Then we will request the police department to amend the current summoning beast management system in accordance with the meeting's resolution, and to formally implement it after deliberation by the House of Representatives and a vote by the Senate!"

After speaking, Hatake Sakumo glanced at Uchiha Tokumitsu beside him.

Uchiha Tokumitsu simply nodded without offering any opinion.

His concern wasn't this trivial topic, but rather the major issues to come.

"There is a second agenda item: a discussion on the status of so-called sacred site spirit beasts and sustainable ways of applying them in scientific research."

Sakumo Hatake recited.

All eyes immediately turned to Tsunade and Orochimaru.

Because only two people present had signed the so-called Holy Land Spirit Beast Contract.

"Lord Deguang, what is meant by status determination?"

Tsunade's face was extremely grim. She said to Uchiha Tokumitsu without any politeness, "The three great sacred sites have a long and rich history, and have always been independent of the ninja world. How can they be decided so hastily?"

"...As you all probably already know, not long ago, under the leadership of Chief Inspector Minato Namikaze, a special Jonin, the police department wiped out a group of treacherous toads from Mount Myōboku, also known as the sacred land's summoning beasts."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said meaningfully, "Although it is hailed as a so-called neutral holy land of inheritance, this does not mean that contracted ninjas are necessarily loyal, neutral, and trustworthy..."

"Tokuko-kun, aren't you worried that the ninja village's actions will anger the Holy Land?"

Tsunade frowned.

"Heh...why worry?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu countered, "If the Summoning Beast Sanctuary has no ill intentions towards Konoha, it probably wouldn't care what Konoha does to it, right?"

"..."

Enraged, Tsunade was speechless.

"What does it mean to have sustainable scientific research applications for summoned beasts from the Holy Land..."

Orochimaru asked the question that concerned him most.

"As you all know, the police department has captured a toad from Mount Myōboku that possesses Sage Chakra... We now plan to conduct in-depth research on it, so we hope to draw on the strengths of various approaches in our experimental plan..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu looked at Tsunade and Orochimaru with a hint of amusement.

Unsurprisingly, their faces immediately darkened.

"I am completely opposed to this agenda item!"

After Tsunade shouted angrily to express her stance, she closed her eyes to rest.

However, apart from the medical ninjas directly affiliated with the hospital, most of the other ninjas present remained indifferent and offered no comment.

"What about the rest?"

Sakumo Hatake broke the deadlock with his words.

"I believe that we should establish files for them and retain basic information by referring to the management system for ninjas from other villages."

As a member of the same clan as Uchiha Tokumitsu, Uchiha Shiina was the first to speak out and express his opinion.

The attendees nodded hesitantly.

They only contracted ordinary ninja beasts, so there was no need for them to advocate for the summoning beasts of those sacred lands. Besides, collecting information on summoning beasts wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Given Uchiha Tokumitsu's personality, he might turn against a summoning beast holy land one day, and that might come in handy then.

"Agreed."

Agreed!

I second that!

"be opposed to!"

Amidst the cheers of approval, a medical ninja who had received instructions from Tsunade immediately stood up to object.

“Tell me your reasons.”

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked calmly.

"Lord Tokuko, Chairman Sakumo, and all the Jonin, please forgive me for expressing my personal opinion..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded in agreement.

"As Lady Tsunade said, the so-called sacred land's summoning beasts have a long history and unfathomable strength. Rashly imposing sanctions on them might provoke a backlash, which would be detrimental to the village..."

The medical ninja said sincerely, "Furthermore, as far as I know, the three great sacred sites all possess mysterious powers such as sage techniques, and it would be a losing proposition to antagonize them."

"Then... what if we sanction Mount Myōboku alone?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu asked casually.

The so-called regulations are actually just a smokescreen. Uchiha Tokumitsu's real purpose is to use them to gain "long-arm jurisdiction" over the so-called Summoning Beast Holy Land under Konoha's legal system, and to use this to drag all the village's ninjas into the quagmire of fighting against the Summoning Beast Holy Land when necessary.

"Since the contractors of Mount Myōboku have already sided with the village, then at least until Jiraiya turns himself in, Mount Myōboku should be considered a suspicious group..."

"It was said by an Uchiha ninja from the Internal Affairs Department with a gloomy expression."

"This is still not enough..."

A police ninja from the Uchiha branch added, "If he harbors resentment towards the village's extermination operation, it cannot be ruled out that he might retaliate against the village or ninjas on missions elsewhere..."