Uchiha Jin simply nodded at Tsunade's price.
No second thoughts needed.
Leaving aside the morale earthquake her joining the Uchiha would send through Konoha, a top-tier Medical Sage alone was worth the fee.
Money?
He had never wasted a second worrying about it.
Even if the Uchiha were living off old fortunes, he'd never bothered with business; if he wanted wealth, he could conjure it at will.
Economic development? Win the Hokage seat first.
"No problem."
"Starting tomorrow, pick some promising seedlings inside the Uchiha Compound and among the other clans, and set up the Medical Corps Framework as soon as possible."
"Everything else is beneath your notice."
Uchiha Jin spoke in a calm, level tone.
With the matter settled, he raised his teacup to signal the end of the audience.
Exactly.
He had nothing to discuss with Tsunade; however youthful and stunning she looked, she could be his mother's age, and he had zero interest in anything beyond friendship.
As for that…
Although Tsunade didn't grasp the Uchiha's deeper game, the quick-witted woman caught on in a heartbeat.
And so…
Her face darkened; in all her years, no one had ever dismissed her so completely.
Still…
She said nothing, only gave a cold snort and left. Meanwhile…
Compared with the serene Uchiha quarter, the rest of the Village plunged into bedlam—smashing, burning, the roar of rising flames everywhere. Chaos!
Utter chaos!
At the start, Hiruzen Sarutobi, desperate to preserve his thin mask of kindness, had ordered the Anbu to talk the rioters down; the result left them hamstrung and the mayhem snowballed.
No choice…
The Police Force was a paper tiger, and the Anbu had been forbidden to strike civilians without cause.
At first, even the agitated villagers kept some restraint.
But it soon changed.
Opportunists slipped into the chaos to line their own pockets, and the whole affair spiraled out of control.
Thankfully…
Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the shrewd old hawk. With the Police Force benched and his black-glove Danzo gone, he recovered the will of the "Professor" and acted decisively.
On his order the Anbu struck at once.
In the end…
Unleashed, the Anbu drove people out by force; those who defied them were cut down. By about two in the morning the riot was barely contained.
Jiraiya's robes were filthy, his face soot-streaked, his white mane a wild mess, faint bloodstains here and there… yet his eyes held nothing but grief.
Looking at the Village—now a wreckage-strewn ruin—he shook with rage.
Yet in the end…
With a long sigh he trudged back to the Hokage Building.
"Jiraiya, is the situation under control?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi still sat behind his desk, puffing one cigarette after another, his eyes dim and unreadable.
He only managed a greeting when Jiraiya stepped inside.
At that…
Jiraiya stared at his teacher's haggard face and the shattered windows of the Hokage Office, opening his mouth again and again but finding no words.
He simply could not grasp how things had come to this.
After a long while, a soft sigh.
"Rest easy, Old Man."
"The chaos is more or less contained; the troublemakers have been caught or killed."
"But I don't know what to do next."
Jiraiya's voice was low, his eyes full of defeat.
No choice…
Tonight's events had scorched any chance of ever preaching the Will of Fire again.
Nonsense!
The Village had been pacified by blood and steel.
Who would still believe in the Will of Fire after that?
Yet he understood his teacher; the crisis had been too great. Without ruthless suppression the fallout would have been far worse.
If blame must fall, let it fall on the Uchiha.
Though not a single Uchiha had shown his face tonight, Jiraiya knew better than anyone that their handiwork lay behind it all.
Still…
Furious as he was, he could not storm the Uchiha Compound.
That would tear the last veil away.
Once open war began, Konoha would be reduced to rubble. Even if they somehow defeated the Uchiha, what remained of the Village could never stand against the other hidden Villages.
And so… a helpless sigh was all he could give.
On the other side…
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in silence.
Matters had reached a point where even he could see no clear path.
His black-glove Danzo had left the Village for good; unless Hiruzen cleaned up the mess himself, Danzo would never return.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado were useless, every clan had flocked to the Uchiha, and the only allies left were Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Thinking this, he asked outright: "Where's Tsunade?"
"Er—no idea." Jiraiya looked awkward. "Shall I fetch her?"
Clearly…
With tonight's chaos they had no clue that Tsunade, in a drunken whim, had already defected to the Uchiha.
In Jiraiya's mind she was either in a bar or throwing dice somewhere, easy enough to locate.
To that…
Hiruzen nodded.
"Bring her back."
"We're out of options; we must install Tsunade as Fifth Hokage at once."
"Don't worry—Koharu has already left for the Capital; the daimyo will approve."
"The Jōnin Council is no concern either."
"Even if every clan has sided with the Uchiha, we still hold four-tenths of the jōnin."
"Tonight's standout Anbu and the border guards will be fast-tracked to jōnin rank."
"Once the Jōnin Council votes, Tsunade becomes Fifth Hokage!"