Inside the Hokage's office, six captains of the Security Department stood at attention.
"Salute to the Hokage!" Uchiha Touhuan said, raising his right hand.
"Loyalty! Sincerity!" The six captains of the Security Department shouted in unison as they saluted.
"Salute complete!" Uchiha Touhuan lowered his hand and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Captain Touhuan, you've been very busy tonight." The Third Hokage's eyes narrowed as he stared directly at Uchiha Touhuan. "Even reporting this matter to me, you're using a shadow clone?" "
It's a matter of great importance, I didn't have time to report in advance, please forgive me, Hokage." Uchiha Touhuan said.
Just then, Uchiha Fugaku, standing beside Uchiha Touhuan, closed his eyes. When he opened them again, a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan appeared.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been about to take action, abruptly stopped.
"Another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan? You Uchiha people really know how to keep things hidden." Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, lit it, and took a deep drag before speaking slowly.
After speaking, Hiruzen glanced out of the corner of his eye at the hiding place of the Anbu who usually stood guard near the Hokage's office, but he found that the Anbu members who were supposed to be there were nowhere to be seen.
"Third Hokage, we will wait here until you sign," said Touhuan Uchiha.
In the Hokage's assistant office in Konoha, Jiraiya and Touhuan Uchiha faced each other across a desk.
Jiraiya took a deep breath and asked, "Why? Why do you do this?"
"Why?" Uchiha Touhuan said, "Of course, it's to ensure the purity of the village's Will of fire."
"A coup d'état, is this what you call the Will of fire?" Jiraiya questioned, "You will lead the village into the abyss."
"The abyss?" Uchiha Touhuan laughed wildly, his unrestrained laughter echoing throughout the office.
"What are you saying, Lord Jiraiya? Is it some ridiculous prophecy you learned from Mount Myōboku?" Uchiha Touko said after he had finished laughing.
"Touko, what you're doing will plunge the future of the world into complete and unknowable chaos!" Jiraiya shouted.
"So what? Should I just sit back and watch the darkness of this world, do nothing, and wait for that prophetic child, who may appear at any time, from that giant toad's mouth, to bestow some mindless peace?" Uchiha Touhuan said.
Jiraiya wanted to defend himself, but Uchiha Touhuan didn't give him a chance to speak.
"Toad Sage, Konoha Hero Jiraiya, what a joke!" Uchiha Touhuan said. "You've been a coward from beginning to end. You've clearly seen the darkness of this world, but you've never had the courage to face reality. You willingly accepted the empty promises that old toad of Mount Myōboku made, promises that even a three-year-old wouldn't fall for. The fact that the old toad couldn't keep up his lies terrified you like this."
"In my eyes, you're as laughable as your so-called peaceful ideals of mutual understanding between people. I didn't want to pay attention to you. Kakashi and I are both striving for true peace, but you insist on jumping out like a clown in front of me. Isn't it better to just indulge in the dream woven for you by that old toad of Mount Myōboku and entertain yourself?"
"You roam the world like a stray dog, feeding your ridiculous dreams to anyone with even a little talent. Don't you realize you're constantly bringing misfortune to people? Anyone who believes your nonsense today will be in big trouble tomorrow! And you'll never see the tragic deaths of those you've fooled. You just shake your head and say they're not the person you predicted, then go find the next unlucky victim." Jiraiya's
face flushed and paled by Uchiha Touhuan's words. He wanted to retort, but images began to involuntarily surface in his mind:
Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Minato—those he had once placed so much hope in seemed to have truly died on the path of pursuing the ideals Uchiha Touhuan had described.
[Am I really a bastard who brings misfortune? Were they... all killed because of me?]
Jiraiya stared blankly at his own face, now deathly pale, reflected in Uchiha Touko's Mangekyō Sharingan, and wondered.
Uchiha Touhuan's words were like tearing everything apart, laying bare the bloody reality before Jiraiya, instantly shattering his fragile mental defenses.
"Jiraiya, have you thought it through? Will you surrender and come back to the police headquarters, or will you fight me here, letting the innocent villagers perish for your ridiculous prophecy?" As Uchiha Touhuan finished speaking, the lightning surrounding his body began to gather, quickly coalescing into a thick sea of lightning.
Hearing this, Jiraiya looked up with difficulty at Uchiha Touhuan, his hands falling limply to his sides, as if all his strength had been drained.
Although his opponent possessed Sage Mode and the Mangekyō Sharingan, Jiraiya didn't believe that his combination with the two Toad Sages was completely powerless. However, if the two of them fought here, everything within a hundred meters would be destroyed.
[Do we really want to drag these innocent villagers into this?] Jiraiya turned to look out the office window. In the evening sunset, wisps of smoke rose from the surrounding houses.
Seeing this, Uchiha Touhuan withdrew his lightning and came to Jiraiya's side.
Uchiha Touhuan formed hand seals and used Sage Mode chakra to create a sealing technique, sealing Jiraiya's chakra. Throughout the process, Jiraiya offered no resistance.
"Let's go, Lord Jiraiya. Don't try to break the seal yourself. You should know very well the consequences of natural energy surging within your body," Uchiha Touhuan said expressionlessly after finishing.
After following Uchiha Touhuan out of the office, Jiraiya looked up and realized that the Anbu ninjas who should have been guarding the area were now standing with the Security Department ninjas that Uchiha Touhuan had brought, coldly watching him.
"Inahikawa, Zaito, take him back to the Security Department. Treat our Lord Jiraiya well. Fulfill any requests he makes, except for releasing him," Uchiha Touhuan instructed the two.
"Yes!" Uchiha Inahikawa and Uchiha Zaito nodded in agreement.
Uchiha Touhuan nodded and turned to head towards the Hokage Building.
"Hey! Touhuan!" At this moment, Jiraiya suddenly looked up and called out to Uchiha Touhuan.
Uchiha Touhuan stopped and turned to look at him.
"You will... bring peace to this world, won't you?" Jiraiya's expression was very complicated, and his eyes even carried a hint of pleading.
Uchiha Touhuan smiled disdainfully: "Of course. You just need to be a good spectator."
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the entire process of Jiraiya's arrest without saying a word. He looked up at the people in front of him, wanting to say something, but Uchiha Touhuan's shadow clone suddenly exploded. The next moment, Uchiha Touhuan's true form pushed open the door and entered, standing before Sarutobi Hiruzen. He said, "Now, can you sign? Third Hokage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up at Uchiha Touko: "You're... acting first and asking questions later."
Uchiha Touhuan didn't speak, only looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a half-smile.
"If I don't sign, are you planning to use that eye technique?" Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice.
"Hokage-sama, why do you think I would use my trump card in a gamble I've already won?" Uchiha Touhuan laughed.
"You think you've won?" Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly.
"Then... we'll see." Uchiha Touhuan laughed.
Inside the Anbu's base, Uchiha Itachi and Nara Shikaku were processing a mountain of documents when a member of the Yamanaka clan suddenly burst into the office.
"It's terrible, Captain Itachi, Assistant Shikaku! The Security Department has inexplicably ordered martial law in the village!" Yamanaka Masahiko reported frantically.
"What?" Uchiha Itachi and Nara Shikaku stood up and exchanged a shocked glance.
"What happened? Why martial law again? What does the Security Department want?" Uchiha Itachi slammed his fist on the table, furious.
[Has this day finally come?]
Nara Shikaku sighed inwardly, but remained calm and said, "Captain Itachi, the most important thing now is to find out what happened."
"That's right." Seeing this, Uchiha Itachi also calmed down and walked out of the office with Nara Shikaku. However, once outside the office, Uchiha Itachi immediately froze on the spot.
At this time, the Anbu base should normally have at least a hundred ninjas on duty, but now, apart from a few dozen, the entire Anbu base was empty.
"Where are the Anbu people?" Uchiha Itachi was furious at the sight.
"Captain Itachi, the Security Department issued a joint mission this afternoon, and it seems everyone else has gone to participate in it," a Sarutobi clan civilian staff member reported from the base.
"What kind of mission does the Security Department need to mobilize so many Anbu members for?" Itachi Uchiha asked incredulously. "Give me the list of those participating!"
Sarutobi Shin quickly handed the list to Itachi. Itachi glanced at it and, to his surprise, all the members of the Isshin-kai Anbu were on it.
Moreover, the officers of the two battalions and one company that had been taken away hadn't reported to him. If he hadn't seen the mission report, he wouldn't even have known what had happened.
"Yamanaka Masahiko," Itachi Uchiha took a deep breath and turned to the Anbu member who had brought the news.
"Yes, sir!" Yamanaka Masahiko quickly stepped forward.
"Go to the Hokage Building and report the situation here to the Hokage," Itachi Uchiha said, forcing himself to calm down.
After Yamanaka Masahiko left, Nara Shikaku approached Uchiha Itachi and said, "Captain Itachi, it's highly likely that the Security Department is staging a coup."
"Don't be so sure, the coup within the Security Department has already begun." At that moment, the gate to the Anbu base opened, and Yamanaka Inoichi entered.
"I rushed here as soon as the Security Department imposed martial law on the streets, it took a bit of effort," Yamanaka Inoichi said. "However, on the way, I saw Lord Jiraiya being escorted to the Anbu by several Security Department members. Because those responsible for the escort were all members of the Uchiha clan, my abilities were countered, so I didn't act rashly."
"What? They've already attacked Lord Jiraiya?" Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth.
Soon, Yamanaka Masahiko, who had just left, returned to the base with another Anbu member from the Utatane clan.
"Captain Itachi, the Hokage Building is now surrounded by the Security Department and the Second Anbu Battalion," Utatane Akira reported.
"Damn it! Is this their joint mission? They even dared to surround the Hokage Building?" Itachi Uchiha roared.
"Captain Itachi, calm down. Things haven't gotten to the worst yet," Shikaku Nara said, patting Itachi on the shoulder. "Don't worry about the Hokage Building for now. They shouldn't dare to do anything to the Hokage. The most urgent thing now is to rescue Jiraiya."
"I understand," Itachi nodded, looking at Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka, and asked, "How many people can we mobilize now?"
"Our three clans combined have 24 Jonin and 75 Chunin who can be fully at your command," Shikaku Nara said. This was all the force their three clans could muster, and Shikaku Nara was prepared to abandon this force, including himself.
"Can we assemble them now?" Itachi asked.
"Of course, I'll contact Chōza in the clan right away," Inoichi Yamanaka nodded and contacted Chōza Akimichi, who was staying at the clan headquarters that day, via radio.
Not long after, Yamanaka Inoichi hung up the radio and said, "Our three clans' forces should be assembled and arriving in about 20 minutes."
"Okay, thank you." Uchiha Itachi nodded, then thought for a moment, picked up the radio beside him, and called the captain of the Second Battalion, who was also the only Jonin in the Gekkō clan.
In the office of Uchiha Touhuan in the Security Department, Gekko Touko, who was staring at the sand table with Kakashi, had his radio beeping.
Gekkō Touhuan took out the radio, and after answering, Uchiha Itachi's suppressed anger came through: "Gekkō Touhuan! What are you doing?"
Seeing this, Gekkō Touhuan quickly covered the receiver and looked at everyone: "It's Uchiha Itachi."
"I'll take this one." At this moment, Yoshimura Ryoto, the captain of the Jonin team, took the radio.
"Hello? Is this Captain Uchiha Itachi?"
"Who are you?" After the office quieted down, everyone present could clearly hear Uchiha Itachi's voice.
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(End of this chapter)