"Lord Jiraiya." Uchiha Touhuan called out to Jiraiya, who was about to leave.
"Hmm?" Jiraiya turned around, looking at Uchiha Touhuan with some confusion.
"Regarding that masked man's Mangekyō Sharingan, I'll go back and review the clan records. Perhaps I'll find some clues. I'll report back to you tomorrow," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile.
"Alright, thank you for your help." Jiraiya nodded and smiled without giving it much thought.
After Jiraiya left, Uchiha Touhuan alone unfolded a map of the village. With Obito Uchiha's emergence, many of his plans needed to be rearranged.
...
At seven o'clock that evening, a banquet was set up at Uchiha Touhuan's residence, and the invited guests arrived one by one.
However, upon arrival, the astute Aburame Shiki noticed something unusual. In the past, Uchiha Touhuan's banquets typically featured separate banquets for high-ranking officials from various departments within the village. But this time, Shiki discovered that besides himself and Inuzuka Jacques, the head of the Inuzuka clan, there were also six captains from the Security Department, four elders of the Uchiha clan, and several mid-level officers from the Security Department, including Uchiha Inahisa and Uchiha Zaito, who had been heavily promoted by Uchiha Touhuan. Furthermore, there were several members of the Isshin-kai from the Anbu and Jonin classes.
In short, all the high-ranking members of their faction were present.
The banquet officially began in the reception room of Uchiha Touhuan's house. A long table was set up, and all the invitees took their seats in turn.
Seeing that most people had arrived, Uchiha Touhuan began the necessary part of every banquet.
"Everyone! Thank you all for gracing us with your presence," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile.
"Clan Chief Touhuan, you flatter us. It's us who have troubled you with the expense," Inuzuka Jax said with a smile.
"A little money is nothing," Uchiha Touhuan waved his hand. "It is my honor to drink with you ninjas who share the Will of Fire!"
"It is the Will of Fire that unites us! This first cup of wine is a toast to the Will of Fire!" Uchiha Touhuan raised his cup.
"A toast to the Will of Fire!" Everyone raised their cups in unison.
After the first cup of wine was finished, the atmosphere at the banquet became lively, with everyone toasting each other and chatting freely.
But as they chatted, Nagai Seiichi suddenly brought up a rather dangerous topic: "There seems to be some news lately that the village is going to elect a Fifth Hokage."
"Brother Seiichi, be careful what you say," said Torii Tomonobu, the captain of the Jonin squad.
"I think there's no one in the entire village more suitable to be Hokage than Clan Chief Touhuan!" Nagai Seiichi said, tilting his head back to drink a large cup of sake, his face slightly flushed. "Do you think anyone has a deeper understanding of the Will of Fire than Clan Chief Touhuan?"
"But the rumors circulating in the village now seem to be that the Third Hokage wants to appoint Jiraiya as the Fifth Hokage," Uchiha Tetsuyu said, toying with his sake cup after finishing his drink.
His words immediately silenced the room.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku entered, breaking the silence.
"Sorry, sorry, something came up at home and I'll punish myself with three cups later," Uchiha Fugaku said. Jiraiya had come to visit Naruto after school to pick him up, so Fugaku was the last to arrive at the banquet.
Upon seeing Uchiha Fugaku arrive, Uchiha Touhuan stood up, took out a stack of documents from his pocket, and gestured for Uchiha Inahisa to distribute them to everyone present.
This document, drafted by Uchiha Touhuan, was a report on arresting Jiraiya on suspicion of aiding the enemy. Upon seeing it, everyone present fell silent.
Some who were smoking lit matches and puffed away, but no one spoke first.
Uchiha Touhuan gestured to Uchiha Inahisa and Uchiha Zaito with his eyes. The two understood and rose to close the doors and windows of the reception room.
"Everyone, we are all gathered here because of the Will of Fire," Uchiha Touhuan began slowly, "but now, someone suspected of aiding the enemy is about to become Hokage. Can we just stand by and do nothing?"
Inuzuka Jacques lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then said, "But Jiraiya is currently the Hokage's advisor. Arresting him would require the Hokage's approval, wouldn't it?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll get the Hokage's signature," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"But what if a violent conflict occurs during Jiraiya's arrest…" Aburame Shiki said.
"This is a violent coup," said Yoshimura Ryoto of the Jonin class after exhaling a puff of smoke.
After he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent once again.
Hearing this, Uchiha Touhuan chuckled and walked to the light switch in the room, turning off the reception room lights. In an instant, the room was left with only moonlight filtering through the window gaps and the faint glow of burning cigarettes. Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.
"What coup? Isn't this a revolution?" Uchiha Touhuan walked to the window. The faint moonlight fell upon him, and everyone unconsciously looked toward him.
"But, Touhuan, maybe we should think about this more carefully," an Uchiha elder said from the darkness.
"Think it over carefully? Are you joking, Elder Yidou!" Uchiha Touhuan suddenly laughed and threw the remaining documents in his hand at the other party. "Damn it, back when we held clan meetings, you old guys were the ones shouting loudest about a coup. Now that we're really starting a revolution, you're telling me to think it over?"
Uchiha Yidou's face turned pale, and he immediately explained, "Touhuan, that's not what I meant."
"Elder Yidou, do you think that arguing endlessly like before, getting nowhere, and then going home as if nothing happened is what you call thinking it over carefully?"
"Touhuan! This is still a coup!" Uchiha Yidou said after taking a deep breath.
At this moment, Uchiha Touhuan tapped the table and slowly scanned everyone present before saying calmly, "Only failure is called a coup. If we succeed, it's called a revolution!"
Gaku Inuzukaand Aburame Shiki looked at the passionate Uchiha Touhuan and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. They had originally thought that Uchiha Touhuan was not a typical Uchiha, but only now did they realize that he never lacked the madness of the Uchiha clan.
"All the Jonin present, listen carefully. Your strength and achievements should already place you in high positions in the village, right? But what about now? One by one, you're stuck in Anbu or as mid-level Jonin leaders, unable to advance further, right?"
"But what about those from the Turning, Homura Mitokado, and the Ino–Shika–Chō clans? Their achievements are similar to yours, some are even weaker, yet they hold high positions. And some ninjas from the Sarutobi clan don't have to risk their lives like everyone else. They just sit safely in the rear doing clerical work and can reach positions similar to yours. Don't you feel wronged? Is this the Will of Fire you were taught since childhood?"
After Uchiha Touhuan finished speaking, the reception hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Open your eyes and look at me!" Uchiha Touhuan suddenly shouted. "For the village to truly practice the real Will of Fire, don't we need a complete cleanup?"
Uchiha Touhuan sat down, looking at the unclear expressions on everyone's faces.
"Everyone, the night of revolution may be short, but this glory will last a long time. And this glory, I, Uchiha Touhuan, will not enjoy alone."
Everyone raised their heads and looked at Uchiha Touhuan, half of whose face was bathed in clear moonlight, and at the pair of eyes in which flowed the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan that most people present had only heard of in stories.
After a long time, the middle-aged senior Jonin Nagai Seiichi spoke, "This matter… this matter… maybe… it can be done."
Gaku Inuzuka forcefully stubbed out his cigarette and looked at Uchiha Touhuan. "Clan Chief Touhuan, say it. When do we act?"
"What can the Aburame clan do, please give the order, Clan Chief Touhuan."
Gaku Inuzuka and Aburame Shiki were not hesitant or weak people. Since they had already chosen to bet on the Uchiha clan, when it was time to go all in, there was no need to hesitate. Moreover, given the current situation, Uchiha Touhuan's plan had a high chance of success.
The others present also straightened their posture and looked toward Uchiha Touhuan.
"Tomorrow, December twelfth," Uchiha Touhuan smiled. "At that time, I will use Shadow Clones to take everyone to get the Third Hokage's signature. As for Jiraiya, who has committed acts of aiding the enemy and betraying the village, I will personally lead the team to arrest him."
"We can mobilize about two-thirds of Anbu. The Second, Third, and Fourth units, as well as the Second squads within them, are all ours. However, the rest are from the Ino–Shika–Cho clans and the families of the two former advisors. We can't mobilize them," Nagai Seiichi and another Anbu Jonin captain said.
"The Jonin group is similar. Including old comrades, about half of them can follow our orders," Yoshimura Ryoto also said. "The key to this operation is whether Clan Chief Touhuan can quickly capture Jiraiya."
"That's enough," Uchiha Touhuan nodded. "As for arresting Jiraiya, everyone need not worry."
"Then there's the Ino–Shika–Cho clans, the Hokage's loyalists," Uchiha Fugaku said.
"We'll handle those three clans," Aburame Shiki and Inuzuka Gaku said. "However, we may need the Uchiha to send several strong Jonin to assist."
"No problem. On the day of the operation, I will send ten clan Jonin who have awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan to assist you," Uchiha Touhuan said.
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(End of Chapter)