UTBW: Ch. 85

"Just because you say it should be questioned, doesn't make it questionable. Then I'll question it anyway. Jiraiya deliberately let Orochimaru off the hook, and all these years hasn't seriously pursued him... Tsunade was dissatisfied with the late Fourth Hokage, deliberately left Konoha, gambled everywhere, racked up debts, and damaged Konoha's reputation."

Yuki spoke slowly.

He knew the truth behind the appointment, Junichi had analyzed the feudal lord's psychology with him. This decree was entirely the will of the daimyō. It's just unfortunate that Jiraiya and Tsunade couldn't see that.

"Shut up!" Tsunade's face changed dramatically after hearing this.

"Yuki, please don't slander us. Tsunade and I are absolutely devoted to the village!" Jiraiya's expression also changed slightly.

Yuki immediately laughed and said, "So you can question others, but others can't question you? Is this is the so-called Will of Fire that Hiruzen kept preaching about? Hahaha! What a joke."

Tsunade and Jiraiya's faces turned ashen. The other jonin also showed uneasy expressions.

"Alright." Junichi spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to himself, and said, "I understand your doubts."

He looked at Tsunade and Jiraiya. The two were clearly unsettled by his tone.

"But, you two must consider the consequences." he said casually, "If your verification fails, it means you questioned the daimyō, and you questioned me, the Fifth Hokage. At that point, the two of you will no longer be respected figures of Konoha… You'll be criminals, traitors, rebels, conspirators…"

With each word, his tone sharpened.

And Tsunade and Jiraiya's faces grew uglier with every title.

"In any case, think it over." He waved his hand dismissively, as if he didn't care. "But you'll bear the consequences yourselves."

Tsunade and Jiraiya fell silent. They looked around at the other jonin. All of them avoided eye contact.

They were afraid.

Ever since Junichi burst onto the scene, he hadn't lost once. Every one of his opponents had been crushed.

Even the plan to elect a Fifth Hokage had been turned on its head by his use of the daimyō's decree.

They were deeply afraid of him now. Too afraid to act.

"You all… Hahaha..." Tsunade laughed bitterly in anger, shaking her head in disappointment. She no longer had any expectations of these people.

She turned instead to Shikaku in the crowd.

"Come with me!" she commanded.

Shikaku wore a bitter expression. He had already bet too much and had no choice but to follow. But if he went… what would the Uchiha clan do?

"Go ahead, Shikaku." Junichi said nonchalantly, chuckling. "Let the Ino-Shika-Chō trio all go. Take your kids too, let them see the world a bit. After so many years of peace, lots of kids don't understand the hardships of the past. They ought to learn."

These words made Shikaku's face turn pale, his body trembling. Take their kids? The Uchiha were going to wipe them out completely!

"Come with me." Tsunade stared intently at him and clenched her fist. "With Jiraiya and me here, we absolutely won't let anyone hurt you at all!

"Trust me, Shikaku. I'll go with her." Jiraiya said solemnly.

Shikaku looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade, then at the indifferent Junichi. His heart was bitter, but he couldn't say a word. Maybe they could protect him, but what about the rest of the Ino-Shika-Chō?

Besides, he didn't believe Junichi hadn't already made preparations with the daimyō.

"…Alright."

But Shikaku still agreed. He was already on the ship, there was no way to get off now.

"Anyone else have objections?" Junichi looked around at the other jonin with a gentle smile. "Feel free to go along with them. I definitely won't stop you."

Tsunade and Jiraiya also looked around at the others. But all the jonin present trembled slightly and didn't raise their heads. They'd have to be insane to follow. They were genuinely afraid they'd be "sent on a journey", to their deaths!

"Hmph!" Seeing no one step forward in support, Tsunade snorted coldly, turned sharply, and strode out of the hall.

Jiraiya, the Senju clan, and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio followed closely behind.

The other jonin hurriedly stepped aside, silently making way, watching them leave, just like they had once watched Hiruzen leave with the Sarutobi clan.

At this moment, the scene seemed to replay itself.

Heh...

Junichi watched their departing figures, his gaze subtly cold.

From Konoha to the Daimyō's Residence, even at full speed, it would take a month.

One month, enough time for him to completely erase Shisui's will.

By the time you return, you won't be Tsunade and Jiraiya anymore, but two of my chess pieces, he thought to himself.

He withdrew his gaze, looked around at the remaining jonin, and said calmly, "The meeting continues."

---

After Tsunade and Jiraiya left Konoha with their group, the village underwent a massive reshuffling.

For the first time, the Uchiha clan stepped out from the confines of the Police Force and joined other departments, taking up important positions.

Medical Division.

Logistics Division.

Administrative Division.

Police Division.

Interrogation Division.

Education Division.

All six major departments were now under Junichi's control.

The ANBU was also reorganized, its members replaced.

Meanwhile, both the ninja clans and civilian population within the village began pledging their allegiance to him.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Among them, The Ino-Shika-Chō trio responded even more dramatically. They delivered a large number of severed heads as their "greeting gift."

---

In his home, Junichi sipped his fragrant tea, looking at the boy in front of him with a half-smile.

"The Ino-Shika-Chō sent a child to see me?"

The iconic pineapple-shaped hair, long black strands, narrow eyes.

It was the 8-year-old Shikamaru!

"Please forgive us, Hokage-sama."

Despite his young age, his reply was calm and orderly. "The elders of the Ino-Shika-Chō clans have done things they are ashamed of, and they don't have the face to meet you. I am part of the new generation and have not yet been involved in clan matters. I humbly beg you to give us children a chance to choose the right path."

Thud!

As he finished, he kowtowed forcefully, his forehead cracking open against the floor.

Thud! Thud!

Beside him, the equally 8-year-old Ino and Chōji also smashed their heads to the ground in the same fashion. Unlike Shikamaru, they were visibly nervous and couldn't hide their fear.

Their eyes dared not meet Junichi's gaze. Even as he spoke, they trembled slightly, clearly terrified.

"A chance to choose again?" Junichi slowly sipped his tea and glanced at the box in front of the trio.

Inside one box were 21 heads.

Twenty-one Sarutobi clan ninja!

And that wasn't all.

In three other boxes lay the heads of jonin from the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans, those who had once been trusted aides of Hiruzen.

Now, they were all dead.

The Ino-Shika-Chō trio had actually turned on the Sarutobi clan, killing off the remaining loyalists beyond Hiruzen. Even those jonin within their own clans who had been promoted under Sarutobi's leadership had all hanged themselves. All of this, for a chance for their bloodlines to survive just a bit longer.

"Truly decisive."

He offered praise.

To prioritize the clan over the individual, to pay any price for the clan's survival. Such ruthlessness was rare, but it did exist. Only few had the resolve to cut off their own limbs to survive.