Chapter 241 The Martial Law Farce
"Martial law?" The ANBU messenger, upon hearing Shi Yixi Yue's order, froze in place.
"Yes, martial law!" Shi Yixi Yue nodded. "Some people in the village are attempting to overthrow Sunagakure. As the Kazekage, I must stop them."
"Yes!" The ANBU nodded and left the Kazekage's office.
After he left, Shi Yixi Yue rose from his desk and went to a corner of the office. A beautifully crafted puppet lay quietly there. Shi Yixi Yue reached out and touched the puppet's face, a strange tenderness appearing on his face.
Several threads of chakra emerged from Shi Yixi Yue's fingertips, connecting to the puppet. The puppet raised its head, revealing its face, previously hidden by long hair. Unlike most puppeteers who didn't care much about a puppet's appearance, this puppet's facial material was exceptionally exquisite. The soft silicone filling gave the puppet some human-like features.
However, the puppet had barely moved when Shi Yixi Yue withdrew his chakra with some disappointment. He then took out a crystal coffin from a sealing scroll on his body. Inside the coffin lay the corpse of a woman, looking eerily peaceful.
"Jianxi, I will definitely become the true Kazekage. When that time comes, I can officially order the return of the rogue ninja Sasori of the Red Sand to the village, and then use his technology to resurrect you as a human puppet." Shi Yixi Yue looked at the woman lying in the crystal coffin with deep emotion and said emotionally.
After speaking, Shi Yixi Yue put away the crystal coffin and looked out the window, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.
"If Uchiha Touko could become the Fifth Hokage by enforcing martial law, then it's not impossible for me to become the Kazekage."
...
The Anbu headquarters of Sunagakure.
Upon arriving at the Sunagakure Anbu headquarters, Shi Yixi's secretary immediately summoned the Anbu captains and all the ninjas currently on standby without missions. He then announced the delay in next month's pay. The
moment these words were spoken, an uproar erupted within the Sunagakure Anbu headquarters.
"Acting Kazekage's secretary, is this an order from the Acting Kazekage?" the Sunagakure Anbu captain asked incredulously.
"That's right." Shi Yixi's secretary nodded. "Lord Kazekage said that the village is currently going through a difficult time, and everyone needs to work together to overcome these difficulties."
"But, wasn't our salary already reduced once before?" At this moment, an ANBU member spoke up with some difficulty. "It's not that we are unwilling to weather the storm with the village, but without our salaries, we won't even have enough for our daily training and the consumption of ninja tools."
"Lord Kazekage understands what you're saying, but the village's finances are currently unable to pay any more money. Lord Kazekage is trying to find a solution, but he needs some time. We hope everyone can cooperate." Shi Yixi's secretary said.
"This…" The ANBU member who had spoken earlier wanted to say something, but the Sand Village ANBU captain gestured for him to shut up with a look, and then said to Shi Yixi's secretary, "If this is Lord Kazekage's will, then we will naturally comply."
"That's for the best." Shi Yixi's secretary nodded. "I believe that with everyone's cooperation and the Kazekage's efforts, the village will definitely be able to overcome this difficulty."
"Yes." The Sunagakure ANBU captain saluted.
After receiving the ANBU's reply, Shi Yixi's secretary rushed to the village hospital; he still needed to comfort the medical ninjas. Just
as Shi Yixi's secretary left, the ANBU who had received the martial law order from the Kazekage's office returned to their base.
"The Kazekage has ordered that the entire village be placed under martial law in two hours and forty-five minutes." The ANBU had just finished relaying Shi Yixi's order when he noticed that his colleagues were hesitant to act.
"Captain? This is an order on behalf of the Kazekage. Shouldn't we hurry up…" The ANBU looked at his captain with some hesitation.
"Martial law?" The Sunagakure ANBU captain frowned upon receiving the order. Having seen the precedent in Konoha, he naturally knew what martial law entailed.
"What exactly does our Acting Kazekage want to do?" A member of the ANBU in the base couldn't help but complain. "They just announced a delay in pay, and now they want us to do martial law."
"Shut up!" The ANBU captain quickly interrupted, telling the man to shut up. No matter what, discussing their own Kage in public was a serious offense for ANBU, even if the title "Acting" preceded "Kazekage.
" "Delay in pay? What do you mean?" The ANBU who had come to deliver the order also looked incredulous and quickly asked.
"Just now, the Acting Kazekage's secretary came here to announce this order. Our pay for this month will be delayed," the Sunagakure ANBU captain said with a sigh.
"Huh? What's going on?" Upon hearing the captain's words, the ANBU member's face showed astonishment. "Wasn't the pay already reduced once? Why is it being delayed again? How will my mother's medical expenses be covered?"
The Sunagakure ANBU captain sighed upon hearing this. He knew the man's situation; his mother had been severely injured in a mission a few years ago and had been kept alive by the village hospital for the past few years. Since joining the ANBU, this man had always risked his life on every mission to pay for the village hospital's exorbitant monthly medical expenses.
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 must understand the village's difficulties."
"I..." The ANBU member wanted to say something, but seeing his captain's gaze, he could only helplessly shut his mouth.
"Go and prepare yourselves. Call back all your comrades who are still on missions outside. In two hours, issue a martial law order in the village. In two and a half hours, everyone should be in their pre-deployed defensive positions."
"Yes, sir!" the Anbu 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 that had transpired in the village the previous night.
"Temari, we couldn't stop the two elders from forcibly appointing Ishiichi Seigaku as acting Kazekage last night, so it's best for us to keep a low profile for now," Maki said. "Although he's just acting Kazekage, the two elders have already given him the power to mobilize the Anbu. In that case, his power is comparable to ours."
"No, teacher, I have a different opinion on this matter," Temari shook her head. Uchiha Touko had already thoroughly analyzed the current situation for her. "If we back down now, it will only cause those who are still wavering to lose faith in us and completely side with the other side."
"This…" Maki frowned slightly upon hearing Temari's words; what Temari said made sense.
"However, Temari, wouldn't it be too dangerous for you to confront Ishiichi Seigaku head-on at this time? He currently controls the power of the Anbu." Yashamaru spoke up with some concern. Compared to Maki, Yashamaru, as her uncle, was more worried about Temari's safety.
"It's alright, Uncle, Master," Temari said, looking at 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 won't put in too much effort in this matter. After all, they can't guarantee that Ishii Nishigaku will win in the end."
"They will also be afraid that if we win, they will settle scores with us later," Temari analyzed calmly. "So, what we need to keep a close eye on is his direct forces, the two battalions of the Puppet Squad."
"Alright, since that's what you think, then I will send people to keep a close eye on the two battalions of the Puppet Squad." Maki nodded, looking at Temari with some relief. Although Temari had stepped forward to compete for the position of the Fifth Kazekage, she had spent more 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 displayed the same skill and charisma she showed when the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, vied with Pakura, the Scorching Release user, for the position. This gave Baki, who had followed Rasa since childhood, real hope.
"Well then, thank you very much, teacher and uncle." Temari nodded and said, "Also, I'll trouble you to keep a close eye on the two elders' movements. I suspect that Ishii Nishigaku's appointment as acting Kazekage might have involved some kind of secret deal between him and the two elders. Otherwise, they wouldn't have appointed Ishii Nishigaku as acting Kazekage in just one night."
"Okay." Baki and Yashamaru nodded. "Then, take care of yourself."
...
After Baki and Yashamaru left, a communication snake slowly crawled out of the ninja tool pouch on Temari's back and landed on the living room table.
"Your teacher is loyal, but his vision is too limited," Uchiha Touko calmly commented. "If he could learn even half of your father's methods, the power struggle in your Sunagakure village wouldn't have escalated to this point." Temari
fell silent. Although she didn't want to admit it, compared to this most professional coup expert in the entire ninja world, her and her teacher's methods truly seemed like those of children.
"If it were you, what would you do?" After a while, Temari humbly asked for advice.
"If it were me, after your brother went berserk, I would use all my power to seize control of Gaara, who was weakened after being suppressed. I would claim that the Jinchuriki's rampage was due to some malicious individuals in the village trying to harm the Fourth Kazekage. Then, using your identity as the Sand Village princess, under the guise of an investigation, I would forcibly take control of the Anbu. During the investigation, I would implicate any potential political enemies of yours, accusing them of using special methods to cause the Jinchuriki's rampage, and take them away for questioning. Then..."
Temari listened to Uchiha Touko's nonchalant words, her pupils shrinking slightly, a chill running 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 Fourth Kazekage, Rasa's rise to power wasn't exactly clean, but Uchiha Touko had to admit that Rasa was absolutely gifted in the entire ninja world when it came to being a political strategist.
Without anyone teaching him, Rasa single-handedly destroyed 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 incompetent at governing the village, and Sunagakure declined day by day under his rule, he firmly controlled the power of the entire village, except for two elders who were too senior to be controlled.
Even after his death, the fact that a large number of Jonin like Baki would support his daughter Temari shows the shrewdness of this former Fourth Kazekage.
"So now, we just need to wait for that guy to show a weakness, right?" Temari said.
"Yes," Uchiha Touko said unhurriedly.
An hour later, Temari suddenly heard a commotion coming from the street.
After hearing the noise, Temari immediately packed her things and called Kankuro, intending to go out and investigate.
However, as soon as the siblings opened the door, three ANBU-style ninjas appeared in front of Temari.
"What are you doing?" Temari frowned, looking at them.
"Miss Temari, according to the Acting Kazekage's orders, from this moment on, the entire Sand Village is under martial law. Except for the Anbu, no one is allowed to act without authorization within the village; violators will be treated as rogue ninja."
Uchiha Touko, hearing 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 coughed violently.
Hearing this, Uchiha Inahisa hurriedly entered the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, what happened?"
"Nothing…you may leave. I just suddenly thought of something funny." Uchiha Touko waved his hand, signaling him to leave.
Is this Ishii Nishigaku not thinking straight? Is martial law even warranted in the current situation in Sand Village?
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(End of Chapter)