Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

At this moment, Naruto smiled and said, "If you trust me, I will take care of him. With Kurama here, the One-Tail inside him won't dare to cause trouble. Moreover, I can also try to teach him how to control his emotions."

Temari turned to look at Naruto and fell silent.

Although reason tells Temari that the other party is a rogue Jinchuriki, even if his defection has other hidden reasons, he is still someone from another force. If he and Konoha have designs on the One-Tailed Beast, entrusting Gaara to him would undoubtedly be like sending lambs to the slaughter. However, when she connected her chakra with Naruto using the secret technique of Ninjutsu, Temari felt only the warmth of the sun in Naruto's chakra. The boy in front of her seemed to have no malice towards the world.

"If only I could be like him..." Temari thought to herself, her gaze lingering on Naruto.

“Having Naruto take care of your younger brother is indeed a good choice. At least I think Naruto can somewhat change the somewhat twisted personality of your younger brother, who was raised as a weapon from a young age,” Uchiha Touko said.

"Alright, I believe you." Temari took a deep breath and said solemnly to Naruto, "Gaara, I'm counting on you."

"Sister?" Kankuro looked at Temari in disbelief.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." Naruto smiled and nodded.

“Then, my messenger snake will stay with you until your coup is complete,” Uchiha Touko said.

"Okay." Temari nodded and reached out to let the communication snake on Naruto's wrist crawl onto her own.

“Alright,” Uchiha Touko said, “Naruto, you take this child and go. Then, Princess Temari, you can try to contact your uncle. Find out the situation inside Sunagakure as soon as possible. It will also be beneficial for our next steps.”

……

At dawn, Naruto slowly left Temari and her brother's sight with the sleeping Gaara. After watching the two leave, Temari also began to contact Yashamaru using the communication method she had agreed upon with him.

"You two should make some wounds on yourselves, otherwise it'll be hard to explain later," Uchiha Touko reminded him.

"Okay." Temari was also decisive. She grabbed a handful of sand and rubbed it hard on her face for a while, creating some scratches. Then, without changing her expression, she took out a kunai and cut several wounds on her body. Kankuro did the same.

Uchiha Touko, watching this scene through the eyes of the communication snake, nodded secretly. These two siblings were really going all out for their younger brother.

Two hours later, Yashamaru appeared on the horizon, rushing toward the siblings.

"Temari, Kankuro, are you two alright?" Yashamaru came to the siblings' side and first checked on their physical condition. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they had only suffered minor injuries.

"Where's Gaara?" After confirming the safety of his two nephews, Yashamaru also discovered that his youngest nephew was missing, so he hurriedly asked.

"I don't know." Temari shook her head through gritted teeth and replied according to the words that Uchiha Touko had taught her beforehand, "After that person kidnapped us, we passed out during high-speed flight and our chakra was depleted. When we woke up, he and Gaara were nowhere to be found."

Upon hearing this, Yashamaru's pupils contracted. If Gaara had been taken away by Naruto, it meant that the Sand Village's tailed beasts were also lost. This was an unacceptable situation for the Sand Village, which was currently severely lacking in high-level combat power. However, Yashamaru managed to conceal his emotions slightly and said to the two, "It's good that you two are alright. The village will continue to search for Gaara's whereabouts."

"Uncle, what's the situation in the village now?" Temari asked hurriedly.

"Uh..." Yashamaru hesitated after hearing Temari's question.

"uncle!"

“Alright, there’s nothing wrong with telling you.” Yashamaru sighed and said, “After you guys went missing, Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo declared a state of emergency for the village because of the missing Jinchuriki. They directly appointed the village’s elite Jonin, Ishiichi Seigaku, as the acting Kazekage to take charge of the situation.”

“Shi Yixi Yue?” Temari frowned upon hearing this. “Although he is slightly stronger than me, he doesn’t have many supporters in the village.”

“This is the decision of the two elders,” Yashamaru said. “Last night, that guy held a temporary succession ceremony and put on the Kazekage hat. The first thing he did after taking office was to designate you two as rogue ninjas based on your previous rescue of Gaara. However, his proposal was rejected because of the opposition of us former subordinates of the Fourth Hokage.”

"That guy is only a temporary Kazekage, and he's already so eager to eliminate dissidents?" Kankuro cursed at this moment.

"Don't worry, with your uncle here, I won't let you two suffer any injustice." Yashamaru comforted Kankuro. "However, Gaara's identity as a rogue ninja has been confirmed, so it might be a good thing that person took Gaara away. Otherwise, the only outcome for Gaara would be the forced removal of his tailed beast."

"Damn it!" Temari gritted her teeth.

“Since you’re all alright, you should head back to the village,” Yashamaru said. “Otherwise, the longer you linger outside, the more legitimately that guy can label you as rogue ninja.”

"Okay." Temari nodded, and then followed Yashamaru on the road back to the village.

……

Temari and Kankuro had just returned to the main gate of Sunagakure with Yashamaru when they were stopped by the guards responsible for guarding the gate.

A short while later, a man wearing a green wind-shadow hat and a long robe came out. Upon seeing Yashamaru and the Temari siblings behind him, he immediately spoke:

"Yashamaru, Jonin, well done! Men, seize these two suspected rogue ninjas and interrogate them thoroughly about the Jinchuriki's whereabouts!"

Seeing this, Yashamaru immediately blocked the siblings' path, frowning as he said, "Acting Kazekage, even the two elders haven't decided on Temari and Kankuro's identities yet. Isn't it against the rules for you to label them as rogue ninjas now?"

Chapter 240 Is martial law also imposed in Sunagakure?

"Rules?" Shi Yixi Yue's face darkened upon hearing this. "If we really have to talk about rules, then you, Yashamaru Jonin, are not qualified to leave the village yet. After all, the Fourth Hokage's death was also related to you. The Jinchuriki went berserk when you were sent to carry out a testing mission!"

"What is the Kazekage trying to do?" At this moment, Maki arrived at the village entrance with the former subordinates of the Fourth Kazekage and confronted Ishiichi Nishigaku. "The two elders have already reached a conclusion on this matter. The Jinchuriki's rampage has nothing to do with Jonin Yashamaru!"

Upon seeing this clearly, Ishiichi Nishigaku's expression stiffened. The situation became delicate after Maki arrived with the former subordinates of the Fourth Kazekage. Although Ishiichi Nishigaku brought his ANBU and his Shadow Guard, the number of Jonin brought by Maki exceeded that of his subordinates.

Moreover, he realized at this point that targeting Yashamaru was a terrible move.

After all, Yashamaru was a rare medical ninja in Sunagakure, a village teeming with poison masters, and his strength had reached the level of a Jonin. It could be said that most people in Sunagakure had received his help. Moreover, he was the brother-in-law of the Fourth Kazekage, and even the two elders had to give him some face. After Rasa died in the rampage of the One-Tailed Beast, both Chiyo and Ebizo immediately stepped forward and took the initiative to say that this matter had nothing to do with Yashamaru himself.

"I just wanted to arrest the rogue ninja who might endanger the safety of the village!" Shi Yixi Yue glared at Maki with hatred. Before he became the acting Kazekage, it was Maki and his group who had been obstructing him. Now that he had become the acting Kazekage, these people still didn't treat him like an official.

"Whether Temari and Kankuro are rogue ninjas is still undecided even by the two elders. Why is the Acting Kazekage in such a hurry?" Maki said coldly, emphasizing the word "acting" in his words.

“But they’ve been away from the village for so long, and the village’s spirit medium has gone missing as a result. They should at least be detained and investigated!” Shi Yixi Yue said. “Who knows if that spirit medium who inexplicably appeared in our territory was summoned by them?”

After Maki arrived, Ishiichi Seigaku knew that it was unlikely he could take Temari and Kankuro away today. However, even if he couldn't directly convict Temari, Ishiichi Seigaku didn't want to miss the opportunity to smear her. If he wanted to remove the title of Kazekage from his name, then Temari, who had previously competed with him for the position, was the biggest obstacle.

However, at this moment, Temari stepped forward and came to the front of everyone, looking intently at Ishiichi Nishigaku.

"The Acting Kazekage suspects me and my brother of colluding with forces outside the village to take away the village's Jinchūriki. Has the Acting Kazekage forgotten my identity? I am the child of the Fourth Kazekage. I grew up in this village, eating the same food and drinking the same water as everyone else! My loyalty to Sunagakure is as clear as day!" Temari declared passionately. "But now, you want to pin the label of traitor on me! My father taught me that his power was given to him by every villager of Sunagakure. The Kazekage represents not only glory and power, but also a heavy responsibility and obligation!"

"And you! Now, for your own selfish reasons, you're pinning the label of a rogue ninja on your comrade without any evidence. I want to ask, when has the Kazekage ever had such power? The residents of Sunagakure have never granted the Kazekage such power! Moreover, you're just a acting Kazekage!"

"You!" Temari's righteous words forced Ishii Nishigaku to take a half-step back, pointing at her but unable to utter a word. Temari's words were undeniably righteous. After a moment of twitching at the corner of Ishii Nishigaku's mouth, he brought up Gaara again, "Don't forget, the Fourth Kazekage died at the hands of your brother, who was a Jinchūriki! Now that he's been rescued from the village's pursuit, you also bear an undeniable responsibility!"

“Gaara’s rampage was just an accident!” Temari said, not backing down an inch. “However, given the damage he caused to the village, I will personally bring him back and make him face the village’s judgment.”

When Temari said this, her expression was extremely solemn, perfectly portraying the struggle of wanting to protect her younger brother but having to put aside her own brother's mistakes for the greater good.

"Hmph, I hope you can keep your word!" Seeing this, Shi Yixi Yue knew that it was impossible to get rid of Temari today, so he snorted coldly and turned to leave with his men.

……

After returning to her residence, Temari let out a long sigh. At that moment, a communication snake slowly crawled out of the ninja tool bag she had placed on the table beside her.

"You did a good job just now." Uchiha Touko said with a light laugh, "That's how it has to be. If you want to become the Kazekage, then you can't hide this idea. Your confrontation with that guy just now also sent a signal to those in your village who are still wavering. That is, even if the other party is the acting Kazekage, you can withstand the pressure from this guy. At this time, your identity as the princess of Sunagakure can play a role. After all, everyone is following you in the coup, doing a business where they risk their lives for a fortune. You have to give them confidence so that they will follow you."

"I understand," Temari sighed. "However, this means that I've completely broken ties with Ishiichi Seigaku."

"Hehe, does it matter? Or rather, this is exactly the effect we want." Uchiha Touko laughed. "You have the moral high ground of your position, while the other party only gained an advantage because of good luck. You saw what happened just now. Don't be fooled by his current position as the acting Kazekage. Within Sunagakure, the majority of the ninjas support you because of your father. Under these circumstances, the stronger you appear, the greater the chance that he will expose his weaknesses."

"Really? What should I do now?" Temari asked.

"Just wait and see." Uchiha Touko said with a light laugh, "If I'm not mistaken, the financial situation of your Sunagakure should be in a very bad state now that you've lost your father's support."

Temari's pupils contracted slightly as she looked at the communication snake; she hadn't provided this information to Uchiha Touko.

"Don't look at me like that. Anyone in the ninja world with a little effort can find out that the missions your Sand Village is requesting, especially the low-level ones, are shifting towards our Leaf Village year after year." Uchiha Touko laughed. "The fact that your Sand Village has been able to survive until now is largely due to the gold extracted by your father's Magnet Release ninjutsu. If it weren't for your father, your Sand Village would have run out of funds about 5 years ago."

Temari pursed her lips; what Uchiha Touko said was true.

"So, can you learn your father's Magnet Release?" Uchiha Touko asked.

“I did not inherit my father’s bloodline.” Temari shook her head. “If I could use Magnet Release, I could directly become the Fifth Kazekage, and I wouldn’t need to do all this.”

“This is a bit troublesome,” Uchiha Touko said. “If you can’t solve this problem, even if you successfully seize power through a coup, it will be difficult for you to overthrow the two elders of your village in a short time, and your supporters will soon leave you because you can’t keep the promises you made.”

"Then... what should I do?" Temari turned to look at the photo of herself holding the newborn Gaara in the room, with Kankuro, who had just learned to walk, on her back, and asked somewhat absentmindedly.

"Hehe, since it was Naruto who asked me to help you, I'll do you a favor and see it through to the end," Uchiha Touko said with a light laugh. "Once you officially take over, Konoha will subcontract some of the existing C-rank and below missions to Sunagakure, and we'll only take a 10% commission."

Upon hearing this, Temari looked at Uchiha Touko with an incredulous expression.

“Don’t look at me like that. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. The number of low-level missions in Konoha now far exceeds the number of genin in the village. To complete these missions, some chunin and joinin have to do these cat-catching, dog-catching, and garbage-collecting things, which is a huge waste of the village’s ninja resources. Subcontracting it to you is a mutually beneficial thing,” Uchiha Touko said. “Our Konoha and your Sunagakure are friendly neighbors with an alliance agreement, don’t you agree?”

After this period of preparation, Uchiha Touko and Konoha have completed the reform of the ninja system. Now, only some minor issues remain to be resolved. Among them is the problem of the excessive number of D-rank missions used to train newly graduated genin after the reform. If these missions are simply cut off, it will more or less affect the reputation of Konoha and Uchiha Touko in the entire ninja world. Compared to the reputation of the Raikage and Tsuchikage, which in Uchiha Touko's previous world probably couldn't even be scanned by a shared bicycle, the reputation of Konoha and the Hokage is something that each Hokage since the First Hokage has carefully maintained. Uchiha Touko doesn't want this tradition to end with him.

Now, if these piled-up tasks can be subcontracted to Sunagakure, Konoha can solve the problem while also making some money, which is a win-win situation.

"Well then, thank you very much, Hokage." Temari said after taking a deep breath. Although she didn't know why Hokage Uchiha Tokō would help her like this, she could only rely on him if she wanted to take the position of Kazekage to save Gaara's life.

……

Inside the Kazekage's office, Shi Yixi Yue returned and first looked up at the photos of past Kazekage hanging in the office. He had originally wanted to hang his own photo up after being appointed as the acting Kazekage last night, but Elder Chiyo refused on the grounds that he was not yet the official Kazekage.

What happened at the village entrance today made him lose face even more.

Therefore, Ishiichi Nishigaku's idea of ​​eliminating Temari and her former subordinates as the Fourth Kazekage grew stronger.

Thinking of this, Shi Yixiyue took out a stack of documents and began to study them carefully.

If Uchiha Touko were here, he would definitely exclaim in surprise upon seeing what Shi Yixi Yue was researching.

The reason is simple: what Shi Yixi Yue is currently researching is the history of Uchiha Touko's rise to power.

Wow, is he an optics expert too?

Just as Shi Yixi Yue was trying to find a way to get rid of Temari and the former subordinates of the Fourth Kazekage from Uchiha Touko's deeds, there was a knock on the door of the Kazekage's office.

"Come in!" Shi Yixiyue said after carefully putting away the documents in his hand.

"Lord Fengying," came his trusted subordinate to report. After becoming the acting Fengying, Shi Yixi Yue immediately promoted him to Fengying's secretary. At this moment, the man was holding a stack of documents with a worried look on his face as he came to Shi Yixi Yue.

Hearing his secretary being addressed as such, Shi Yixi Yue nodded in satisfaction. That's more like it. Feng Ying is Feng Ying, unlike those guys who insist on adding a "deputy" before her name.

"What's the matter?" Shi Yixi asked.

"Lord Kazekage, the village is severely short of funds for next month. We can't even pay the salaries of the hospital staff and the Dark Guard," the secretary said with a worried expression.

"What? How could this be?" Shi Yixiyue frowned upon hearing this.

“Previously, most of the village’s financial expenditures came from the gold mined using the Fourth Hokage’s ninjutsu. Now that the Fourth Hokage is dead, the funds he left behind are almost exhausted,” the secretary said.

"In that case... go and tell the ninjas in the Anbu and the hospital that this month's salary will be paid later," Shi Yixi Yue instructed.

"But, Lord Kazekage, won't the Anbu be unhappy with you if we do this?" the secretary asked hesitantly.

“I also want to give them the money right now, but the village doesn’t have a single penny left,” Shi Yixi Yue said impatiently. “Go and tell them about the village’s current difficulties. I, as the Wind Shadow, am also tightening my belt to make ends meet. We all need to work together to help the village get through this difficult time.”

"Yes..." Shi Yixi Yue's secretary could only nod and retreat upon seeing this.

"Lord Kazekage, our spies stationed at the Fourth Kazekage's residence have spotted Jonin Maki and Jonin Yashamaru leading several high-ranking members of the Jonin squad into the Fourth's mansion."

"Damn it!" Upon hearing this, Shi Yixi Yue slammed his fist on the table in anger. "What exactly are they plotting? Do they even respect me, the Wind Shadow?"

Then, as Shi Yixi Yue thought of Temari, who had openly fought him at the village entrance that day, his sense of danger grew stronger.

No, we can't delay any longer.

Shi Yixi Yue gritted his teeth and said to the ANBU who came to deliver the message, "Pass on my order: three hours from now, Sunagakure will be under complete martial law!"