Chapter 116: Taking Control of the Fire Capital
---
"Is that so?" Uchiha Douhuan scanned the crowd inside the palace hall. "So there was no such precedent?"
"The Minister of the Left is correct. Our Land of Fire indeed has no such precedent," another civil official stepped forward at this time. "Moreover, implementing martial law rashly will also cause dissatisfaction among the citizens within the Fire Capital."
"And who are you?" Uchiha Douhuan frowned.
"I am the Land of Fire's Chamberlain, Matsuda Seisuke," the person who stepped forward replied.
"I understand." Uchiha Douhuan slowly walked towards the front of the palace hall, speaking as he went: "I am but a mere warrior, ignorant of political affairs. The late king entrusted me with such a heavy burden, which I know I cannot bear. But as a citizen of the Land of Fire, I also know loyalty to the ruler and service to the country! Yet now, treacherous ministers have jumped out on their own!"
"You, Matsuda Seisuke, are one." Uchiha Douhuan raised his hand, pointing at Matsuda Seisuke, then turned and pointed at Abe Taiichi. "And you, Abe Taiichi!"
As Uchiha Douhuan's voice fell, the assembled court officials burst into an uproar.
"Hokage, these words are likely inappropriate." Abe Taiichi, having been pointed at and called a treacherous minister by Uchiha Douhuan, felt his face twitch slightly as he spoke.
"Inappropriate?" Uchiha Douhuan sneered. "At this moment, the late king's body is barely cold, and the assassin who killed him is still at large. If martial law is not imposed, who can guarantee His Highness's safety? Can you, Minister of the Left? You cannot guarantee it! If anything happens to His Highness the Daimyo, even sacrificing your life and the lives of your entire clan could not compensate for it!"
"You..." Abe Taiichi's face flushed red and then turned pale. He knew that if he couldn't say something now, the hat of 'treacherous minister' would be firmly placed on his head.
However, at this moment, another person stood up and said, "The Grand Tutor is correct. In the current situation, His Highness's safety must be the top priority. For the Minister of the Left to object based on the lack of precedent is somewhat biased."
Uchiha Douhuan looked with interest at the person who spoke. This individual was not on the list of those Kakashi had kidnapped that night.
[It seems this Minister of the Left has quite a few political enemies in this court?]
"Miura Kazuo, what do you mean by this?" Abe Taiichi glared at the speaker.
"Hmph, isn't my meaning obvious? Moreover, the late king having the Grand Tutor assist in governance—wasn't the meaning quite clear?" Miura Kazuo stepped forward, confronting Abe Taiichi directly.
After Miura Kazuo finished speaking, the civil officials in the palace hall instantly erupted into a noisy argument. At this moment, the young Daimyo, Minamoto Miyuki, only four years old, was bewildered by the scene and stood blankly by the late Daimyo's bed.
Uchiha Douhuan and Kakashi stood at the entrance of the palace hall, watching the passionate mutual spraying of these civil ministers.
For Kakashi, today was certainly an eye-opener. When these ministers, usually noble figures in the eyes of ninjas like them, started slinging mud at each other, it turned out to be no different from the squabbles of those troublesome citizens back in the village.
"Enough!" Uchiha Douhuan, seeing the two factions had argued enough and having figured out the power distribution within the Land of Fire's court, immediately intervened to stop the farce.
The voices in the hall subsided slightly, and everyone turned to look at Uchiha Douhuan. They saw Uchiha Douhuan quickly walk before Minamoto Miyuki, bow respectfully, and say, "Your Highness the Daimyo, please give the order."
Minamoto Miyuki stared blankly at Uchiha Douhuan before him, finally coming back to his senses after a long moment and saying, "Everything... according to Teacher's arrangements."
Uchiha Douhuan nodded and strode out of the palace hall into the open space in front. At this moment, all the elite Jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village, except those currently away on missions, had arrived.
"Relay my orders! Starting today, Hidden Leaf Village ninjas will take over the defense of the Fire Capital! After the follow-up troops arrive, the Anbu will coordinate with the Security Department to complete the lockdown and martial law enforcement of the Fire Capital! During this period, if any suspicious persons are encountered, kill without question!" Uchiha Douhuan said coldly.
Asuma and the other two, who had been waiting outside the hall and didn't know what had transpired inside, were stunned upon hearing this.
Kazuma also stepped forward immediately, intending to question the order.
However, Uchiha Douhuan had already looked in this direction, his Mangekyou Sharingan activated. The killing intent emanating from his eyes was almost tangible.
Kazuma was intimidated by this killing intent, the words caught in his throat, unable to come out.
"Does this guy need to be..." Kakashi came to Uchiha Douhuan's side at this moment and asked softly.
"No need." Uchiha Douhuan shook his head. "Just a clown. He can't stir up any significant waves."
...
After the Security Department and Anbu reinforcement troops arrived and completely took control of the Fire Capital's defenses, Uchiha Douhuan also showed an expression of relief. At this moment, the entire Fire Capital had finally fallen completely under his control.
For Uchiha Douhuan, this series of arrangements required little thought; the history of his previous life had already provided him with a plethora of standard answers.
Furthermore, compared to those predecessors from his past life, Uchiha Douhuan had a unique advantage: Shisui's ocular technique, Kotoamatsukami, had directly solved the issue of his legitimacy. Now, with both righteousness and military force in his hands, there was no reason he would perform worse than those predecessors.
After daybreak, just as the common citizens of the Fire Capital intended to go out, they discovered many fully armed ninjas patrolling the streets. These ninjas went door-to-door announcing the martial law order. Only then did the commoners living far from the Daimyo's palace learn what had actually happened.
Although somewhat dissatisfied with the prohibition on going out, seeing the batons and kunai in the ninjas' hands, they obediently returned home.
The first batch of Security Department members who arrived initially thought implementing martial law in the Fire Capital would be difficult. After all, the Fire Capital was more than twice the size of Konoha Village, yet their numbers, including the assisting Anbu, were only slightly over seven hundred. However, with the cooperation of the commoners, they completed the control of the Fire Capital with surprising ease. Regarding this, the Security Department members couldn't help but marvel: no wonder the Fire Capital was the capital; even the quality of the commoners was so much higher.
Uchiha Douhuan was not surprised by this result. After all, the Fire Capital, unlike Konoha Village, didn't have legal restrictions preventing ninjas from casually attacking civilians. The noble lords were also unlike the former Third Hokage, who used to indulge them. If you angered a noble, the samurai under their command would genuinely kill people.
After implementing martial law, Uchiha Douhuan directly found a residence near the royal castle in the Fire Capital to stay in. Simultaneously, he had Kakashi help gather information on all the officials currently in the Fire Capital. As for the young Daimyo, he was constantly guarded by Uchiha Douhuan's shadow clone. Several days later, after the old Daimyo was buried and the new Daimyo's coronation ceremony was completed under the auspices of Kikuchi Tomoyasu and the others, during the new Daimyo's first court assembly, Uchiha Douhuan, dressed in the Hokage robes and holding the official robes of the Grand Minister of State, arrived at the court assembly.
After a series of ceremonies was completed, Uchiha Douhuan, standing before the court officials, was the first to step forward. He bowed to the young Daimyo on the throne and slowly began to speak.
"Having received the trust of the late king, I was entrusted with a heavy responsibility. However, I know myself to be young and lacking in virtue. These past few days, I have been filled with trepidation every day, fearing I might fail the late king's great trust. I implore Your Highness to retract the late king's decree; your subject truly finds it difficult to bear the position of Grand Minister of State," Uchiha Douhuan said, squeezing a few tears from his eyes.
Just as Minister of the Left Abe Taiichi was about to speak, Miura Kazuo on the other side stood out and said, "Grand Minister of State, why say such things?"
"We naturally admire the Grand Minister of State's lack of desire for power and position. However, this is, after all, the late king's final command. How can there be any reason to retract it? By doing so, wouldn't the Grand Minister of State place His Highness in a position of unfilial conduct?"
After Miura Kazuo finished speaking, several others stood out from behind him, adding their voices one after another.
"Indeed, Grand Minister of State, these past few days you have stayed by His Highness's side day and night, protecting him closely. Your dedication and responsibility are clear for all of us to see. The position of Grand Minister of State belongs to none other than you."
"That's right! Upon learning of the late Emperor's attack, the Grand Minister of State rushed here single-handedly through the night. Such loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon! Please do not refuse the position of Grand Minister of State."
At this point, Nagano Kiri assessed the surrounding situation and also stepped forward: "Yes, Grand Minister of State, please do not refuse."
As one of the three Regent Ministers appointed by the late king besides Uchiha Douhuan, Nagano Kiri and the other two, although their official ranks weren't prominent, held more sway than anyone else in the current court. After he spoke, Abe Taiichi realized the situation was irreversible. Thinking about the ninjas who had frequently loitered near his residence these past few days, he could only grit his teeth, withdraw into his shell, and remain silent.
"This..." Uchiha Douhuan, facing the crowd's urging, adopted a troubled posture.
Just then, Minamoto Miyuki on the throne also rose, saying tearfully, "Is Teacher going to abandon me?"
These past few days, when Uchiha Douhuan's shadow clone protected the child closely, they had gotten along quite well. The clone would shield him at the slightest disturbance, undoubtedly providing immense security to a four-year-old child who had just suffered a huge upheaval, with both his father and elder brother brutally killed.
The terrifying image of Manda from before had clearly left a deep shadow on the child. Now, as soon as Uchiha Douhuan mentioned resigning, it immediately frightened Minamoto Miyuki.
And Minamoto Miyuki's words undoubtedly sealed the deal.
Quickly, two civil officials from behind Miura Kazuo stepped forward, unceremoniously took the official robes held by Uchiha Douhuan, and started putting them on Uchiha Douhuan, constantly saying, "Grand Minister of State, please don't refuse anymore."
Throughout this process, Uchiha Douhuan made no move. Only after the robes of the Grand Minister of State were fully draped on him did he raise his head, glance at Miura Kazuo, a meaningful smile flashing across his face.
These past few days, Kakashi had gathered quite a bit of interesting intelligence within the Fire Capital regarding this Minister of the Right of the Dajōkan.
(End of Chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that help the story a lot Thank you