Jiraiya was a man of action; the moment he finished speaking he used Shunshin, bursting out of the hospital in an instant.
Utatane Koharu: "..."
She was utterly bewildered.
She had just opened her mouth to say something, but in the end swallowed every word.
Her face was extremely ugly.
Damn it.
Are you off to reincarnate or what?
Can't you wait for people to finish their sentences?
Still—forget it!
With a sigh she walked into an office.
"Director!"
The young man jumped up to pour tea the instant he saw Utatane Koharu.
But to that—
she waved him off, didn't even sit, and cut straight to the chase: "No need for empty courtesy. I'm giving you three tasks, right now."
"First, return to the Utatane Clan immediately; have the clan head put the entire clan on standby—every Ninja must be ready for battle. In addition, prepare five Jonin squads to guard the hospital where I am."
"Next, find Elder Homura Mitokado. Tell him to muster every Ninja of the Mitokado family and brace for the worst. Then have him use his Council authority to order all Anbu under his command to assemble and secure the Hokage Building."
"Also inform Elder Mitokado that Hokage Hiruzen is unconscious; I must stay at the hospital to watch over him, so the outside affairs fall to him."
"Finally, notify the Sarutobi and Shimura clans—have them prepare for battle as well."
"Go!"
The moment she finished—
Utatane Koharu left without a single wasted word.
Yes!
Compared with everything else, she cared most about Hiruzen Sarutobi.
She had to find a way to wake him quickly; she knew that neither she nor Homura wanted to seize overall command—Hiruzen was the one who had to hold the line.
As for—Jiraiya?
She actually held little hope of persuading Tsunade to return!
She knew Tsunade didn't belong to their faction at all; back when Hiruzen took her as a disciple it had merely been a signal to the outside world.
Hiruzen's teacher was Tobirama Senju; at the time, to keep the Senju in check, he had had no choice but to accept Tsunade as a token gesture.
In truth—
judging from his choices of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Hiruzen had wanted disciples of civilian origin.
Add to that the later schemes and targeting of the Senju by Konoha's High Command—she didn't believe any of it had escaped Tsunade. The woman had always been sharp; she wasn't as gullible as Jiraiya!
Why had Tsunade left? Because of some blood-phobia? Nonsense.
Rubbish!
A medical Ninja herself, Utatane Koharu didn't buy it for a second.
Tsunade had simply been unable to stomach the Village's darkness; yet because Konoha was the life's work of her two grandfathers, she couldn't bring herself to take revenge on them.
Counting on Tsunade? Highly unlikely.
Still—she hadn't stopped Jiraiya; letting him try was fine.
If they really could pull Tsunade back, making her the Fifth would be acceptable. After so many years her influence had waned; the old guard could still keep the Village's power in hand.
On the contrary, using Tsunade's Senju name might even calm the various clans.
So—forget it!
Right now she would prepare for the worst, then quietly wait for Jiraiya's next report.
Immediately afterward—
thanks to Utatane Koharu's orders the Village plunged into chaos.
Homura Mitokado sprang into action upon hearing the news; the Sarutobi and Shimura clans also began urgent preparations. Not until three in the morning did Homura find a moment to race to the hospital.
"Koharu."
"How is Hiruzen?"
The instant he stepped in Homura spoke up.
To which—
Utatane Koharu gave a helpless sigh and shook her head. "Still no sign, but he should wake by tomorrow morning at the latest."
"That's a relief," Homura Mitokado exhaled. "What happened?"
"Why did Hiruzen suddenly collapse?"
Utatane Koharu's face was equally helpless.
In the end—
she relayed Jiraiya's explanation, leaving Homura Mitokado utterly dumbfounded.
There was nothing they could do!
Every Ninja Clan defecting to the Uchiha was the worst possible news.
More critically, Hiruzen was unconscious and Danzo had vanished!
Could the two of them—self-professed good-for-nothings—really hold Konoha together?
Frankly… even they themselves had little confidence.
But—no choice!
No matter how frantic or chaotic they felt, they had to grit their teeth and carry on.
Either wait for Danzo's return, wait for Hiruzen to wake, or wait for Jiraiya to come back.
In short… the two of them could only handle a straightforward game; a desperate end-game was beyond them.
Just like now!
Apart from passive defense they had no idea what else to do.
As for—the civilians?
Heh.
They were nearly in chaos themselves; who had the mind to deal with those trivialities?
Therefore—
every Anbu was recalled to guard their own clans, the hospital, and the Hokage Building. As for whatever problems the civilians faced when they woke tomorrow?
Tough luck!
Queue at the Military Police if you like—the Anbu won't intervene… Meanwhile—
compared with the tension in the Village, the Uchiha quarter rang with laughter.
Another dozen small clans had joined; the Uchiha's power was swelling frighteningly. Even Uchiha Jin, who had just gone to bed, was yanked up by Uchiha Setsuna.
"Jin, stop sleeping!"
"How can you still sleep? Another dozen small clans have joined us!"
"Hahaha!"
"I never imagined the Uchiha would truly rise one day."
"I'm over the moon, and it's all thanks to you, Jin!"
"My decision back then was absolutely right."
Uchiha Setsuna was practically walking on air.
To which—
Uchiha Jin, groggy from being woken, stared at Setsuna's raving with a head full of question marks.
Good grief!
Whatever happened, just spit it out!
You've rattled off a heap of nonsense yet still haven't said why you dragged me up.
Another dozen small clans?
Heh.
Let them come—why wake me up?
Just a bunch of minor clans, not even the first batch—do I have to greet them personally?
Still—
seeing Jin's growing irritation, Uchiha Yue at the side quickly stepped in to explain on her grandfather's behalf.
After hearing her out, Jin was exasperated.
"That's it?"
"Sort out their lodging and meals?"
"You dragged me up in the middle of the night for a trifle like this?"