Chapter 199 Minamoto no Yuuki: I won't learn, I won't learn!
The impeachment of Uchiha Touko ended like a farce.
The court of the Land of Fire continued to operate normally, the only difference being the absence of a group of young officials and the emergence of a large amount of unclaimed land within the Land of Fire.
The newly appointed officials continued to maintain the smooth operation of the court. In some areas, the heavy land rents that had been borne by farmers suddenly disappeared overnight, and they were even allocated the land they had dreamed of. As for the crickets that Minamoto no Yuuki wanted, Uchiha Touko even sent the 8th Squad, which served as the reconnaissance team, to the Land of Grass to capture them for him. It could be said that, apart from the injuries to the nine generations of a few people's families, everyone had a bright future.
After this incident, some people once again witnessed the terror of Uchiha Touko. Moreover, what was even more frightening was that, compared to when Abe no Taiichi's faction was purged, this time Uchiha Touko had the full support of the Daimyo, and from any angle, there was nothing wrong with him.
Uchiha Tokō was quite satisfied with his disciple, Minamoto no Yukichi, whose status was so special.
To Tokō, as long as Yukichi didn't cause him trouble, he wasn't hesitant to guarantee the boy a life of wealth and privilege. As for the boy's playfulness, he was, after all, just a child; a little playfulness wasn't a particularly serious offense. Besides, the boy's hobby was simply playing with crickets, which was quite economical for someone in his position.
However, after this incident, Tokō suddenly realized that this disciple, whom he hadn't really supervised since taking him in, seemed to possess some wisdom.
Therefore, after Team 8 brought back the crickets that Yukichi wanted, Tokō personally took them to the imperial palace.
Upon arriving at the palace, Tokō first announced his arrival before being led by a eunuch into Yukichi's bedchamber.
When Uchiha Touko arrived, Minamoto no Miyabi and Sarutobi Konohamaru were sitting on the floor of the sleeping quarters, completely unladylike, their eyes glued to a small bowl. Inside, two robust crickets were fiercely battling each other.
"Kill him! Amano Minaka!"
"Don't lose to him! Great Enma!"
The two children shouted, slapping the floor. However, Amano Minaka, on whom Minamoto no Miyabi had placed his hopes, was defeated after a brief struggle against Great Enma.
"Hehe! I won again!" Konohamaru chuckled, retrieving his beloved cricket from the bowl with a small bamboo tube.
"Damn it! This is the sixth cricket I had the village ninjas specially find for me, why can't it beat your Great Enma!" Minamoto no Miyabi's face was full of frustration.
"Because his cricket has been nourished by special chakra." Uchiha Touko, who had been watching for a while, finally spoke up. "A cricket caught from the wild is naturally no match for it."
Hearing Uchiha Touko's voice, the two children turned around simultaneously.
"Uncle Touko?" Konohamaru greeted him with a grin.
"Teacher? What brings you here?" Genji was also somewhat surprised to see Uchiha Touko, as he had basically left him to his own devices except for visiting during holidays.
"The cricket scout team has already caught one for you from the Land of Grass, so I brought it over. However, it seems unnecessary; wild crickets are unlikely to compare to those nourished by special chakra." Uchiha Touko handed Genji a bamboo tube containing crickets and said with a smile.
Upon hearing Uchiha Touko's words, Genji Yuuki immediately glared at Konohamaru: "Konohamaru! You cheat!"
Konohamaru, of course, retorted, "I raised this cricket myself, how can you call that cheating?"
"The chakra on this cricket, though very weak, is somewhat similar to your grandfather's summoning beast, Enma. You didn't use the drugs from the Enma clan and your Sarutobi clan's combined ninjutsu on this cricket, did you?" Uchiha Touko's lips twitched slightly.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi retired, he doted on Konohamaru, his only grandson. If in the original timeline, the Third Hokage could only let Konohamaru grow up freely because he couldn't relinquish power, now, with the Third Hokage constantly doting on this kid, the kid's unruly behavior was even worse.
Kakashi had received many complaints from villagers about this kid in the guard unit, but out of respect for the Third Hokage, he couldn't really do anything to him.
"Sensei, I want a cricket like that too!" After learning why he had never been a match for Konohamaru in cricket fighting, Genji Yuuki blushed slightly and turned to Uchiha Touko.
"I haven't really researched how to raise these crickets. How about I ask the Aburame clan for you? They're the experts when it comes to insects," Uchiha Touko said.
"Great! Sensei, you're the best!" Genji Yuuki beamed upon hearing Uchiha Touko's words.
"Alright, Konohamaru, you should go back now. I have something to discuss with the Daimyo," Uchiha Touko said to Konohamaru.
"Okay then," Konohamaru nodded, tactfully leaving with his beloved retainer.
After Konohamaru left, Minamoto no Yuuki immediately ordered someone to prepare tea and snacks for Uchiha Touko, then led him to a table in the bedchamber.
A short while later, a palace maid brought in the tea prepared for Uchiha Touko, milk prepared for Minamoto no Yuuki, and a plate of exquisite snacks.
Minamoto no Yuuki took a sip of milk through a straw before speaking, "Master, later you should take all the tea that the surrounding small countries have presented as tribute this year. I don't drink this stuff; it's a waste to leave it here."
"I appreciate your kindness, but that tea is, after all, a tribute from foreign countries. If I take it, people will inevitably criticize it, and something like what happened before will happen again," Uchiha Touko said.
"Who dares! I'll kill them!" Minamoto no Yuuki said fiercely.
"You are now the Daimyo of the Land of Fire; you can't just say things carelessly," Uchiha Touko reminded him calmly.
"I know," Minamoto no Yuuki smiled sheepishly.
"However, Yu Xie, you've been my apprentice for over three years now, haven't you? I haven't taught you much these past few years, which is somewhat disappointing considering your father's expectations," Uchiha Touko sighed. "Tell me, what do you want to learn from me? Anything I know, I'll try my best to teach you. Even things I don't know, I'll find someone to teach you."
"Anything?" Yu Xie's eyes lit up, but he first confirmed.
"Yes, anything." Uchiha Touko said.
"Then, teacher, I want to learn how to cultivate a cricket like Konohamaru's Great Ape Demon. Can you teach me?" Yu Xie asked.
Uchiha Touko's lips twitched slightly. To be honest, if Naruto were here, Uchiha Touko would have already whipped him with a belt. But this kid was a Daimyo, so Uchiha Touko reorganized his thoughts before continuing, "Don't you want to learn something else useful?"
"Like what?" Yu Xie asked, looking at Uchiha Touko.
"How about I teach you how to govern a country?" Uchiha Touko asked.
"What do you mean?" Minamoto Yuxie asked.
"The methods of governing a country that I know, I dare not say will bring peace to our Land of Fire from now on, but they can guarantee our long-term stability," Uchiha Touko said.
"Is it fun?" Minamoto Yuxie asked, tilting his head.
"The way of governing a country is to take the people's livelihood of the entire nation on one's own shoulders. How can it be treated as a game?" Uchiha Touko said seriously.
"Then I won't learn, I won't learn," Minamoto Yuxie shook his head like a rattle-drum. "I trust my teacher with governing a country, so I won't learn it. I'm sorry to trouble my teacher." "
Then how about I teach you to refine chakra and practice ninjutsu? Your father hoped that I could teach you some means of self-defense," Uchiha Touko said.
"Is it fun?" Minamoto Yuxie asked.
"Ninjutsu training is like rowing against the current. You need to train hard in the sweltering summer and the freezing winter, without the slightest slackening," Uchiha Touko said.
"No, no!" Gen Yuxie continued to shake his head. "I'm right here in Konoha, with my teacher here. I don't believe anyone can break through Konoha's barrier and hurt me. My teacher and my senior brothers will protect me, right?"
Looking at Gen Yuxie's "learn? Learn my ass" attitude, Uchiha Touko's lips twitched slightly. Should he slap this kid on the back of the head three times and then wait for him to come looking for him at home in the middle of the night?
"Are you planning to play around like this for the rest of your life?" Uchiha Touko asked.
"What's wrong with that?" Genji Yuxie said. "Isn't it better to leave professional matters to professionals? The Land of Fire has developed at such a rapid pace under your rule, Master. This is something that no previous daimyo of the Land of Fire had ever achieved. Even if I learned all this and did it myself, I couldn't do it as well as you, Master. So why should I waste my time?"
Genji Yuxie spread his hands and said frankly, "Besides, even if I didn't learn these things, as long as the Land of Fire flourishes during my reign, how could future generations' evaluation of me be bad? So, Master, please take the trouble. With you and my fellow disciples here, I can play in peace."
Uchiha Touko's lips twitched. This kid seemed to be using him as free labor.
Although there was nothing wrong with it, and this kid's approach saved him a lot of trouble, Uchiha Touko certainly couldn't openly agree to this kid's words at this moment.
Uchiha Touko slammed his hand on the table, staring at Minamoto no Yuuki with a look of utter disappointment for a while before letting out a helpless sigh and turning to leave the palace.
At that moment, Minamoto no Yuuki called after him, "Master, don't rush off! Take the tea with you!"
...
After returning from Minamoto no Yuuki's place, Uchiha Touko went back to his office, picked up the military reform plan he had prepared earlier, and began to add details.
Whether Minamoto no Yuuki truly wanted to become a passive, pacifist emperor or was merely putting on a show like Emperor Kangxi to lull him, this powerful figure, into a false sense of security, one thing would remain unchanged: at least for a considerable period, this kid wouldn't cause him any trouble.
As for the future? Once Uchiha Touko had truly completed his plan, he would probably already be at the pinnacle of the ninja world, at which point any of his schemes would be meaningless to him. Two
days later, after Uchiha Touko had completely perfected the plan, he presented it at the Konoha Jonin meeting.
The plan was quickly approved, and a trial run was scheduled to begin after the Joint Chunin Exams.
As the Chunin Exams approached, the forces that had responded to Uchiha Touko's invitation began arriving in Konoha.
The first to arrive was the Southern Mist Village team, personally led by Takagi Seijin. Generally, for joint Chunin tournaments hosted by the Five Great Nations, the invited villages from other major nations wouldn't arrive early; only the smaller villages would arrive ahead of time. However, Takagi Seijin showed no restraint befitting a Kage, openly displaying the honor of being Konoha's lackey. When he met and shook hands with Uchiha Touko at the village entrance, his expression resembled that of a filial son visiting his father for a birthday celebration.
However, among the many smaller villages that responded to Uchiha Touko's invitation, the Land of Rain was prominently featured.
Jiraiya, who had volunteered to investigate the Akatsuki in the Land of Rain, returned to Konoha these past two days. He also brought back news for Uchiha Touko: Nagato wanted to speak with him and would personally attend the upcoming Chunin Exams as a sign of sincerity.
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Jiraiya," Uchiha Touko said, looking up at Jiraiya who had been waiting at his desk after reading the information Jiraiya brought back and the invitation Nagato had sent.
"Don't say that," Jiraiya waved his hand. "It's what I should do. After all, I trained those three back then. You were right; if they really intended to be enemies of the village, then I would be a sinner who aided the enemy. Besides, I'm just a genin now; I don't deserve to be called 'Lord'
by you." "Don't say that. The village has always remembered Lord Jiraiya's contributions. If Lord Jiraiya wishes, I will reinstate you as a jonin in a while," Uchiha Touko said.
"Well, traveling around the ninja world and doing some creative work, this kind of life isn't bad at all," Jiraiya laughed nonchalantly. Although he hadn't forgotten about the Child of Prophecy all these years, the flourishing of the Land of Fire and Konoha Village made him begin to believe that the changes brought about by Uchiha Touko might really be developing in a positive direction.
"By the way, Lord Jiraiya, now that you're back, could you please take Naruto to Mount Myōboku sometime in a while to learn Sage Mode there?" Uchiha Touko said.
However, no sooner had Uchiha Touko finished speaking than there was a frantic knocking on the Hokage's office door.
Naruto burst in, panting, and said, "Sensei, something terrible has happened!"
"What happened?" Uchiha Touko frowned. "What kind of behavior is this?"
"There's no time to explain. You'll find out when you come home with me," Naruto said.
After Uchiha Touko followed Naruto home, he noticed another blond-haired man sitting in Kakashi's living room, slurping instant noodles. His lips twitched slightly.
The newcomer was none other than Deidara, the newly risen rogue ninja of the Land of Earth, a former Tsuchikage's disciple with a 30 million bounty on his head from the underground gold exchange, and the chief demolition expert of Konoha's Yamato Construction Group.
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