Chapter 176 Aftermath and Puppet Selection
After repairing the remaining Six Paths of Pain, the Deva Path of Pain glanced at Uchiha Touko and Kakashi, who had arrived after the battle subsided, with complicated emotions before leaving the scene using a summoning jutsu.
"Just let them go like that?" Kakashi asked, somewhat puzzled.
"The battlefield in Takigakure still needs them. Without their help 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 understand." 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 has been infiltrating the resistance forces in Kirigakure. After receiving intelligence that they were about to revolt, my main body came here."
"Alright," Kakashi nodded.
As the sun slowly rose, Kakashi glanced at the devastated Kirigakure village, a scene ravaged by the series of battles, and asked with a headache, "What do we do now?"
"Reporting to the Fifth Hokage, the Kirigakure rebels have retreated north. We found a large group of villagers around Kirigakure who were evacuated and resettled by the rebels during the coup," an ANBU reported to the two. "However, about half of these civilians went with the rebels when they left."
"I understand. Gather them and clear a place for them to settle," Uchiha Touko said. "As for the reconstruction of Kirigakure, we'll send people to help them after their Mizukage wakes up."
"Yes!" The ANBU accepted the order and left.
Afterwards, it was time to tally the spoils and treat the wounded. This time, the Konoha troops who had crossed the sea were exhausted from fighting, both the Kirigakure and the rebels. The well-rested Konoha ninja suffered no casualties, and very few were even wounded.
Of the remaining Kirigakure ninja, the losses among Chunin and Genin weren't too severe, as they hadn't put up a full fight against the rebels. However, the casualties among Special Jonin and above were particularly heavy. The intelligence report submitted to Uchiha Touko by Konoha ninja after a headcount showed that Kirigakure now had only 3 elite Jonin, 19 Jonin, and 27 Special Jonin remaining. In other words, these 49 were all of Kirigakure's remaining high-level combat power.
"Reporting to the Hokage," an Anbu member rushed into Uchiha Touko's tent, "one of Kirigakure's surviving Jonin was executed on the spot by our Third Company's captain, Jonin Higashino Ryosuke, for using rather harsh language to insult you."
Okay, now only 48 remain.
Uchiha Touko put away the battle report and asked seriously, "What happened?"
"When we were assisting Kirigakure in gathering their remaining troops and receiving the villagers who had previously evacuated, this Jonin was extremely rude and dissatisfied with our Konoha's aid. He even used rather harsh language to insult you and Lord Kakashi. Jonin Higashino, in a fit of rage, executed him on the spot."
"How could you do that?" Uchiha Touko frowned. "I know Higashino Ryosuke; he's one of the Jonin promoted to the Guard this year. I even personally signed his promotion documents. How could he do such a thing? Kirigakure is now our ally! How is he?"
"Jonin Higashino has been detained and placed in confinement. As for how to deal 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 attack an ally, I think he hasn't quite memorized the Will of Fire." "
Send him back now, demote him to Chunin. I'll reinstate him as a Jonin once he can recite the Will of Fire from memory."
"Huh?" The Jonin who came to report was also taken aback by the final outcome, but he quickly recovered and nodded, "Yes, I'll arrange it immediately."
After the Jonin left, Guy found Uchiha Touko again.
"Guy, how was the mission?" Uchiha Touko greeted Might Guy with a smile and was the first to say hello.
"That was amazing!" Might Guy grinned, showing his big teeth and giving a thumbs up. "It's been so long since I've had such a satisfying battle! That Kisame..."
Might Guy started scratching his head halfway through his sentence, clearly trying hard to recall Kisame's name.
"Kisame Hoshigaki," Uchiha Touko reminded him.
"Right! Kisame Hoshigaki! He's a really good opponent!" Might Guy exclaimed.
"Hehe, whatever makes you happy," Uchiha Touko chuckled. Uchiha Touko
had given 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 managed to become a Jonin due to his ninja skills not being up to par, relying on accumulating a lot of missions. However, Uchiha Touko directly promoted him to Elite Jonin.
Many people thought his promotion was because of Kakashi, but even if Kakashi hadn't said anything, Uchiha Touko would still have done it. After all, Uchiha Touko was probably the only person in Konoha who knew just how high this guy's potential was.
"Kai, what brings you here?" After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Uchiha Touko finally got down to business.
"Um, Hokage-sama, can I go back to the village first?" Might Guy scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "After all, I can't be of much help here, and if I'm out for too long, I'm afraid I'll delay Lee's training."
"Sure." Uchiha Touko nodded. "I heard you got seasick on your way here, right? Well then, I've already sent word to Genma Shiranui 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 wonderful!" Might Guy grinned. He was a little embarrassed when he came to see Uchiha Touko, since even the Hokage was busy in Kirigakure, and he had asked to go back early. But he didn't expect the Hokage-sama to not only not mind, but also to be so considerate of his seasickness, which moved him deeply.
"This is youth! Hokage-sama!" Might Guy exclaimed excitedly to Uchiha Touko, tears welling in his eyes.
Uchiha Touko: ...
Respect aside, he was genuinely a little overwhelmed by Might Guy's reaction.
"Alright, Guy, if you're free, call Kakashi over for me," Uchiha Touko said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
...
After Kakashi was summoned by Guy, Uchiha Touko asked, "How are those two Jinchuriki?"
"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki has awakened, but under the seal you personally set, he can't even refine his chakra, and his connection with the Six-Tails has been completely severed," Kakashi replied.
Kakashi considered his sealing techniques to be quite good in the ninja world; his teacher was a master of sealing techniques, and his teacher's wife was a sealing master of the Uzumaki clan. However, the sealing technique Uchiha Touko used on Utakata a few hours ago left him in awe. The sealing technique
Uchiha Touko used to completely seal the Six-Tails was the same one the Fourth Hokage used to seal the Nine-Tails on Naruto—an Eight Trigrams Seal composed of two Four Symbols Seals. However, Uchiha Touko added a Three Powers Seal between these two Four Symbols Seals, and further, placed a Five Elements Seal on the outermost layer of the seal.
This complex, interconnected sealing technique, in the eyes of those skilled in sealing arts, is no less than a fine work of art. Generally speaking, only sealing masters from the Uzumaki clan could have constructed such an exquisite seal. But Uchiha Touko, unfortunately, was a member of the Uchiha clan.
If it weren't for Touko's Mangekyou Sharingan, given his abysmal genjutsu skills, Kakashi would have suspected he was from the Uzumaki clan.
"That guy isn't important. We can have Guy bring him back to Konoha later," Uchiha Touko said. "The important thing is Yagura. Has he woken up yet? I can't stay in the Mizukage Building forever, can I?"
"His condition isn't optimistic," Kakashi sighed. "He was controlled by the Mangekyou Sharingan's power before, and the mark of that 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 he'll wake up. The best thing to do now is to extract the Three-Tails and then choose a new Jinchuriki."
"Alright," Uchiha Touko nodded. "How long can that guy's life last?"
"At most a month," Kakashi said. "Should we send a message to Genma Shiranui and the others to bring Karin over? She's the only one on our side suitable to be a Jinchuriki."
"Haven't you thought about becoming a Jinchuriki?" Uchiha Touko asked. "If you become a Jinchuriki, the problem of maximum chakra reserves will be solved."
"If it were any other tailed beast, that would be fine, but the Three-Tails…" Kakashi smiled wryly, pulling up his headband covering his left eye to reveal the Mangekyou Sharingan crest. "I reckon the Three-Tails would lose its mind the moment it sees these eyes."
"Alright." Uchiha Touko nodded. "As for making Karin the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, let's not rush it. Let's ask Karin's opinion first before making a decision. You've seen Naruto's experience; becoming a jinchūriki isn't all good."
"Okay, I understand." Kakashi nodded.
…
In the following days, the Kirigakure ninja and the remaining villagers, with the assistance and supervision of the Konoha ninja, began reconstruction work.
However, perhaps because of what had happened a few days earlier, the Kirigakure villagers and ninja were quite emotional, and their attitude towards work wasn't very proactive.
During this time, Uchiha Touko, who lived in the Mizukage building that was the first to be repaired, carefully reviewed the files of the three elite Kirigakure Jonin who had survived the previous battle and then summoned them separately.
The three men weren't exactly friendly towards Uchiha Touko, maintaining only basic politeness. Uchiha Touko didn't mind, as the entire Hidden Mist Village probably wanted him dead; it would be difficult to find someone who didn't hate him. However
, after observing the three for a while, he finally chose a suitable candidate:
Takagi Seiwan, an elite Jonin of the Hidden Mist Village who had participated in the Third Shinobi World War. He was one of the few Hidden Mist ninja who had seen Uchiha Touko on the battlefield and survived.
However, his survival wasn't due to his strength, but rather because his moral standards on the battlefield were far lower than Uchiha Touko had anticipated.
During the Third Shinobi World War, after realizing he was no match for Uchiha Touko, he abandoned an entire squad to delay him and fled alone. Uchiha Touko had never seen anything like this before, which is why he was allowed to escape.
However, because of this, this elite Jonin from Kirigakure named Takagi Seiwan wasn't very popular within the village. Aside from Obito Uchiha, who controlled Yagura Karatachi and promoted him to annoy Kirigakure, the other high-ranking members, especially Genshi, who served as the Mizukage's assistant, disliked this kind of ninja who abandoned his comrades and ran away.
"So, is this someone who puts his own interests first in everything?" Uchiha Touko chuckled as he looked at Takagi Seiwan's file. "However, as a puppet, this kind of personality is just right."
Soon, Uchiha Touko invited Takagi Seiwan to the Mizukage's office.
"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Takagi." Uchiha Touko greeted him with a light smile upon his arrival.
"I wonder what business the Hokage has with me?" Takagi Seiwan said sternly.
"After receiving your Mizukage's plea for help, Konoha dispatched troops as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we were unable to rescue him from the rebels. The Fourth Mizukage likely won't last much longer."
Takagi Seiwan's expression remained impassive upon hearing this news. For him, as long as he lived, the fate of the Mizukage was unimportant.
"However, your village cannot continue like this indefinitely. Therefore, I intend to help you become the Fifth Mizukage," Uchiha Touko said.
After Uchiha Touko's words, a slight change in Takagi Seiwan's expression finally appeared.
"What do you think, Mr. Takagi? Do you have such thoughts?" Uchiha Touko asked with a smile.
"The Fifth Mizukage?" Takagi Seiwan asked incredulously.
"Of course," Uchiha Touko replied.
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(End of Chapter)