Jiraiya was also checking the seals on Ishishu's body and the Nine-Tails chakra inside him.
He placed his hand on Ishishu's abdomen and in an instant arrived at a vast prison.
He immediately saw the Nine-Tails tightly bound by chains.
"ROAR!"
The Nine-Tails let out an angry roar that directly knocked Jiraiya back.
Jiraiya's face showed some shock, he had never before seen the Nine-Tails in a sealed state.
At this first sight he perceived the enormous Nine-Tails chakra within.
'Even such a powerful Nine-Tails is bound immobile by chains.'
And those chains were the Four Symbols seal he was familiar with.
Coming back to himself, he asked Ishishu, "Can you now use the Nine-Tails' power?"
Ishishu nodded slightly, and immediately the Nine-Tails chakra flowed along the Four Symbols seal Senku had carved and transmitted into his limbs.
He very easily activated the tailed-beast cloak; red Nine-Tails chakra immediately surfaced on his body.
Jiraiya was a little stunned, 'This... already a half-tailed transformation?'
Suddenly Ishishu clutched his head, and the Nine-Tails chakra cloak on his body abruptly subsided.
Jiraiya anxiously asked if he was all right.
Ishishu breathed twice and returned to normal, "The Nine-Tails' will is too violent. It takes some time to adapt."
Jiraiya was already quite satisfied. After all, Ishishu had only just had the Nine-Tails sealed into him.
Where on earth did Senku come from? Their methods for controlling a tailed beast were too mature.
But at this moment Senku was only slowly toying with the Buddhist beads at his neck.
He had other puzzling matters.
The Third Hokage was very wealthy, but he was no fool. He would certainly have his funds invested or earning through other channels.
Even for the Third Hokage, producing several billion in cash at once would be extremely difficult.
Not to mention the thirty billion in cash he had directly handed to the Sand before.
So the question was, where did the Third Hokage get so much money?
Or rather, by what means did the Third Hokage produce such large sums in cash?
Among all sealing techniques in the ninja world, Rengoku was the highest; the seals made were, of course, watertight.
Someone like Jiraiya, second-in-command, naturally couldn't find a flaw.
And the Nine-Tails' frenzied chakra completely deceived Jiraiya.
After all, the Nine-Tails in a Jinchuriki state and the fully unleashed Nine-Tails are two different things.
As for Senku, Jiraiya both admired and feared him.
But in terms of personality, Senku wasn't someone easy to make an enemy of.
Jiraiya's demeanor toward Senku remained fairly good.
On the other side, Kakuzu had already quickly finished counting the money.
Then he stored the mountain of cash back into the massive storage scroll.
"Payment settled, pleasant cooperation."
Kakuzu's voice was full of delight. Although he was interested in the conflict between the Third Hokage and the Uchiha, he had to run immediately, there was no time to gawk.
Jiraiya looked deeply at Senku, unsure whether this person's existence would be a blessing or a curse for the ninja world.
"Pleasant cooperation. I hope there will be opportunities to work together again."
Then he turned to Senku and said, "Master Senku, take care."
Polite formalities still had to be observed; Jiraiya greeted Senku.
Senku returned the salute and, with Kakuzu, quickly departed the scene.
Jiraiya and Ishishu and the others also hurried back toward Konoha.
They still needed to inscribe on Ishishu the array-form brought from the Sand to counter the Uchiha's Mangekyo.
———
[Uchiha Territory]
[Conference Room]
All the Uchiha high-ranking members were gathered here. Even the usually busy Orochimaru appeared.
Because of Naruto's situation, the Uchiha of course wanted to strike back.
How to strike back, that decision was left to Rengoku.
Moreover, that day Hiruko and the specters had also attacked the Uchiha clan.
The incidents were not few.
Although Hiruko's and the specters' matters were also pressing, they had to be set aside for the time being.
"I'm preparing to convene a high council meeting tomorrow to push for electing the Fifth Hokage."
No one was surprised by Rengoku's words; after all, everyone knew the plan.
But regarding Naruto and the Nine-Tails, Rengoku didn't explicitly explain; even many of the high-ranking members didn't know the exact workings.
Rengoku only said that at this time the Nine-Tails had little immediate use.
In fact, the Nine-Tails' strongest state was the Sage-Fox Naruto form, but the premise was that the Jinchuriki and the Nine-Tails be mentally attuned.
If the Jinchuriki and the Nine-Tails cannot achieve that mental resonance, then the Nine-Tails wouldn't actually threaten the Uchiha's Mangekyo.
Within the Uchiha clan, there were as many as five Mangekyo Sharingan users, Rengoku, Fugaku, Itachi, Shisui, and Kaori.
That doesn't even count the idle Mayumi.
Although Kaori had the least combat experience, five Mangekyos meant they could outright control the Nine-Tails.
So while they wouldn't entirely underestimate the Nine-Tails, since Rengoku's plan required sending the Nine-Tails away, there was little objection and everyone acquiesced.
To nominate the Fifth Hokage, currently only Rengoku could win.
After all, Tsunade had already been bought off by Rengoku; now only Rengoku remained.
Orochimaru leaned against the wall instead of sitting and smiled, "Why not just forcibly remove the Third Hokage from office?"
Rengoku raised an eyebrow, "How could I remove him alone?"
Such a forced removal meant the Third Hokage had committed serious errors and at least two Elder Advisors must vote to strip the sitting Hokage of his position.
During forced removal, the Hokage's powers are suspended and he becomes a subject under investigation.
This was established when Konoha was founded by Tobirama Senju.
But because the Elder Advisors were all the Third Hokage's old teammates, all in the same pocket, it naturally became a dead letter.
Although Rengoku had already forced Danzo down and taken one Elder Advisor seat, he still lacked one more vote.
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and twirled it; he was somewhat interested in toppling the Third Hokage.
"Rengoku, have you forgotten? There's still an Elder Advisor lying in our hospital."
Rengoku suddenly remembered: Akimichi Torifu was likewise an Elder Advisor.
But Torifu's personality clearly couldn't compete with Danzo and the other old money-men.
Most of his authority had been stripped; he was basically only a name who collected pay.
Not to mention when the Nine-Tails went wild later he was gravely injured and naturally unable to manage affairs.
Everyone tacitly assumed Akimichi Torifu would draw that salary until death, so no one cared about him.
Even Rengoku had forgotten that Akimichi Torifu still held an Elder Advisor title.
Although the change of Jinchuriki was the Third's unilateral action, the Nine-Tails nominally belonged to Konoha as property, and the Third could always find excuses.
But forced removal of the Third Hokage was a different matter.
If Rengoku and Torifu's votes were cast, the Third Hokage would be directly stripped of his Hokage title.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions were fully exposed, he would be forced from office in the most disgraceful way.
That was necessary.
After all, the Anbu leaders had long obeyed Hiruzen's orders.
How many others truly remained loyal to Konoha was unclear.
So the more humiliating Hiruzen's removal, the more cleanly he could be separated from Konoha.
At that moment someone knocked and entered, "Clan head, Hyuga Sota requests an audience."
Rengoku smiled faintly, "Oh, another supporter has arrived."
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