Chapter 244 The Dust Settles Down
Logically speaking, given the current situation in Sunagakure, the best option would be to exchange some benefits with Chiyo and Ebizo to stabilize the situation.
Attacking them now over the forbidden puppet technique of Ishiichi Seigaku is not a good choice. With Sunagakure's finances already precarious, allowing the situation to continue unchecked could easily lead to the village's collapse.
However, as mentioned before, Uchiha Touko isn't really here to govern Sunagakure; Temari's goal is to become Kazekage, so naturally, the faster the better. As for
what to do if Sunagakure explodes? That's a problem for the Kazekage to worry about; what does it have to do with him, the Hokage?
Soon after, Temari awaited Chiyo and Ebizo's arrival in the Kazekage's office.
Ebizo stormed into the Kazekage's office, and upon seeing Temari swaggering into the Kazekage's chair, he was instantly enraged, shouting, "Temari, do you know what you're doing? This isn't a seat for you!" "
This seat is for that madman, Ishii Nishigaku, who knows the village's ban on puppet techniques but still insists on doing it. And I, the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage, the Sand Village Princess whom the villagers all look to, can't sit here?" Having heard Uchiha Touko's plan, Temari, prepared to confront the two elders, showed no fear in the face of Ebizo's questioning, leaning back in the Kazekage's chair and speaking bluntly.
"You!" Ebizo, not expecting Temari to be so disrespectful, was momentarily speechless with anger. Fortunately, Chiyo stepped forward, making Ebizo step back, and stood before Temari.
"Temari, where is the Kazekage?" Chiyo asked expressionlessly.
"Elder Chiyo, please watch your wording. It's the former Kazekage, a potential rogue ninja who has violated the Sand Village's prohibitions, Ishiichi Seigaku." Temari corrected Chiyo's choice of words. In Uchiha Touko's scheme, pinning down Ishiichi Seigaku's crimes and leaving him no chance to recover was an essential part. "He is currently under investigation and interrogation by the Jonin team. I believe that soon, the truth about his involvement in the Sand Village's forbidden puppet technique will come to light."
"Temari! Watch your position. Don't think that just because you are the Fourth Kazekage's daughter, you are a regular Jonin according to the village's ninja organization! Even if the Acting Kazekage is guilty, it's not your place to judge him! Who gave you the authority to lead people to storm the Kazekage building and imprison the Acting Kazekage?" Chiyo frowned, looking at Temari sitting in the Kazekage's office chair, and questioned her.
"This is naturally a collective decision made by all the colleagues in the Sand Village Jonin Team." Temari stood up, leaned slightly forward, and placed her hands on the desk, speaking firmly, "The Jonin Team has the right to supervise the Kage of a village, especially since it is a substitute Kazekage forcibly appointed by two elders, bypassing the entire Jonin Team. That's why we acted decisively after discovering the evidence of Ishiichi Seigaku's research into forbidden techniques! As members of Sand Village, all of us in the Jonin Team cannot allow Ishiichi Seigaku, who has tarnished the Will of the Wind and the glory of the Kazekage's hat, to continue sitting in this office!"
As soon as Temari finished speaking, the atmosphere in the Kazekage's office became extremely tense.
Chiyo and Ebizo took a deep breath. Their process of pushing Ishii Seigaku to the position yesterday was indeed too hasty. The Jonin class hadn't explicitly opposed it yesterday mainly because Temari's safety was uncertain. With Temari's fate unknown, these former subordinates of the Fourth Kazekage naturally had concerns. After all, if they directly opposed it, and Temari couldn't return to the village, they would face the most severe retribution once Ishii Seigaku took office.
That's why Chiyo and Ebizo faced so little resistance in pushing Ishii Seigaku to become the acting Kazekage yesterday. But now that Temari had returned, the former subordinates of the Fourth Kazekage, with a leader now in place, naturally wouldn't relinquish the position so easily. What was even more unacceptable was that that fool Ishii Seigaku had given them leverage over him!
"However, no matter what, your attack on the Kazekage Building will unsettle the villagers," Chiyo tried to pressure Temari from another angle. "Have you not considered the current state of the village?"
"So that's what you think, Elder?" Temari sneered. "But I think that if Ishiichi Seigaku's crimes weren't exposed, and his actions were only revealed after he became the village's Kage, the damage to the villagers' morale would be even more immeasurable."
"Furthermore," Temari met Chiyo's gaze with a meaningful look, "I wonder how Ishiichi Seigaku, this former puppet-like elite Jonin, came into contact with the Puppet Technique, a forbidden technique among the sealing arts that has been sealed within the village for so many years? Elder Chiyo, as the number one puppeteer of Sunagakure, do you have any clues?"
"I am unaware of this matter." A flicker of panic flashed in Chiyo's eyes, but her years of experience allowed her to hide it well.
"Hehe," Temari chuckled easily. "I'm sorry, Elder Chiyo, I was overthinking it. I knew it. A highly respected elder like you, who has dedicated your life to Sunagakure, would naturally not get involved in these matters."
Chiyo looked at Temari, silent for a long time, before finally speaking: "So, what do you think should be done about this? You should know how terrible the consequences would be if the fact that Ishii Nishigaku touched a forbidden technique were exposed."
"Of course, that's why I didn't reveal Ishii Nishigaku's crime just now. However, given the potentially terrible consequences, the Jonin team, after joint discussion, decided to establish a special task force to investigate this case and get to the bottom of everything."
"You—" Granny Chiyo took a deep breath. Only now did she realize that the rhythm of this conversation had unknowingly fallen into Temari's hands. This was exactly the same way that the girl's father had once taken power from Sunagakure bit by bit.
Temari has already gained momentum, and after today's events, there are few obstacles to her becoming the Fifth Kazekage.
Originally, the two elders planned to temper Temari's temperament, divide Rasa's former power base, and then elevate her to the position of Fifth Kazekage. They hoped to seize considerable power and become the de facto rulers of Sunagakure. However
, after Temari and Gaara were taken away by that unknown Jinchuriki yesterday, they assumed they wouldn't return. That's why they sent Ishii Nishigaku to stabilize the situation. But Temari not only returned, but she also seemed like a completely different person, seizing power with swift and decisive action, turning Sunagakure into its current state.
Now that Temari has completely taken over Rasa's former power and forcefully overthrown Ishiichi Seigaku, those forces in the village who were still observing will likely side with her after today due to her strength. Thus, their plans have completely fallen apart. Now, she and Ebizo are far from being the de facto rulers of Sunagakure; given Temari's political prowess, which surpasses even their predecessors, they'd be lucky to even retain the power they held during Rasa's reign.
"I think, given the village's current situation, it's best to prioritize stability," Chiyo suggested discreetly after taking a deep breath.
"That's right, the village can't withstand any more turmoil." At this moment, Ebizo also said from the side, "We will hold another Jonin meeting in a couple of days to officially confirm your position as the Fifth Hokage."
Through the communication snake hidden in Temari's ninja tool bag, after hearing the two old men's words, a regretful expression appeared on her face. These two old men are already going to back down? It seems that in the matter of Shiichi Xiyue, perhaps because of the urgency, the two old men's mess wasn't cleaned up properly and can't withstand scrutiny.
So, they can only back down now, otherwise, if Temari really finds out something, it will be really hard to handle.
"It's a pity that we won't be able to see the explosion of Sunagakure." In the Hokage's office, Uchiha Touko shook his head with some regret, and then brewed some tea.
"Do the two elders intend to just watch the evil hidden in the village continue to lurk?" Temari pressed on at this moment.
"That's not how it works." Ebizo wiped the sweat from his brow, his previous assertive tone softening. "Now that we've discovered the clues, we must eradicate the evils hidden in the village, but that will have to wait until the situation in the village stabilizes."
"What the two elders say makes sense," Temari nodded. "Now that the village's Jinchuriki is missing, we need to start searching for the One-Tailed Beast as soon as possible. However, if we can find the One-Tailed Beast, do the two elders have any recommendations for a new Jinchuriki?"
Chiyo sighed inwardly, knowing this was Temari's offer to let the matter of Ishiichi Niishige go easily.
"Given the current situation, if Gaara is safe and sound, I think we should let him continue as the One-Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki. After all, the village needs to maintain stability." Chiyo emphasized the word "stability" again.
"This isn't good. Gaara has already gone berserk twice, each time causing huge losses to the village. My father, the Fourth Hokage, died during the sealing of the Tailed Beast. If he continues to be the Jinchuriki, what if he goes berserk again? Although I'm Gaara's sister, I think we need to reconsider this issue," Temari said.
This was one of the details that Uchiha Touko had taught her. If she became Kazekage, it would be best if someone else proposed a solution regarding Gaara. Originally, Temari had planned to have Baki persuade him, but now that she had the opportunity to have these two elders speak for themselves, she didn't want to let it pass.
Chiyo sighed upon seeing this. Temari, like her father, really didn't want to get involved in any issues. When the One-Tailed Beast was sealed into Gaara, Rasa had also subtly hinted at this. Although Rasa really wanted to control the Jinchuriki, he still held a long meeting to discuss the final choice of the Jinchuriki.
Rasa repeatedly declined, but the One-Tailed Beast was ultimately sealed inside Gaara. As a result, Rasa gained further prestige within the village for his selfless sacrifice of his youngest son, a testament to his struggle for the village's interests.
[Well, that's fine. This child has matured now, and being like her father isn't necessarily a bad thing; at least the village will continue under her leadership.]
Chiyo sighed inwardly, then said,
"Didn't we already say that the village needs stability now? If the One-Tailed Beast can be retrieved and Gaara continues as its jinchūriki, although there's a possibility of the tailed beast going berserk, if we rashly change the jinchūriki, the One-Tailed Beast will almost certainly cause trouble during the extraction and resealing process." Chiyo continued, "Therefore, we think it's best to maintain the status quo."
"Alright, since both elders have said so, let's do it that way," Temari nodded.
After the two elders relented, the farcical martial law in Sunagakure finally came to a complete end. In
the Land of Demons,
Sasuke and Neji, having rested for a night and replenished their energy, set off with Shion towards the sealed land of the demons.
Although Shion seemed reluctant to go, repeatedly reminding them of the prophetic visions she had seen before departure, Sasuke ignored them completely.
Neji, the leader of the mission team, couldn't help but press the accompanying priestess, Azusa, after Shion repeated the prophetic visions she had witnessed several times:
"Is your Land of Demons just making fun of Konoha?" Neji said coldly. "You were the ones who issued the mission to Konoha, and now you're making excuses. After this mission, I will report your performance truthfully to the Hokage, and we will re-evaluate any future requests from your country."
"Hey, how can you be so ungrateful?" Shion couldn't help but say. "I only reminded you to save your comrade's life."
"Heh, thank you for your kindness, priestess, but as ninjas, we don't believe in such unfounded things," Sasuke said coldly.
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(End of Chapter)