After making up his mind, Uchiha Kō led the Anbu Ninja and the girls away from the village, while Kitsuchi left some people behind to clean up the mess, and led the majority of the people to follow.
On the way back Uchiha Kō remained silent, and Kitsuchi was too embarrassed to bring up the matter of new equipment again. After all, they had managed the village so badly that even the human traffickers hadn't noticed.
This is no longer a matter of dereliction of duty; it proves that they are a bunch of good-for-nothings. They allowed a criminal gang to commit such heinous acts right under their noses for so long. The Rock District ninjas are practically no different from just eating rice!
After settling the girls into their temporary lodgings, the group returned to the Tsuchikage Building. Ōnoki greeted them with a smile, but Uchiha Kō didn't even look at him and went straight inside. Ōnoki's face stiffened, but remembering Yamanaka Inoichi's phone call earlier, he fell silent.
One last look at Kitsuchi head was bowed, Ōnoki sighed and followed him inside, with Kitsuchi close behind, until they reached the office.
After everyone was seated, Uchiha Kō slammed his hand on the table. "This is utterly lawless! I want to ask Ōnoki, can you still hold this position as vice minister? Such a horrific thing happened in your jurisdiction, and you, the vice minister in charge of law and order, knew absolutely nothing about it? Are you blind?"
Uchiha Kō spoke with a veiled barb, and Ōnoki stood up, hesitant to speak, but finally lowered his head. "Lord Hokage, rest assured, Rock District will definitely strengthen the management of public consciousness from now on, and we will intensify our efforts to address various problems within Rock District's territory, ensuring the safety of the people of Rock District."
Uchiha Kō understood that Ōnoki was very politically astute. Now that Onoki had said so, there was no need for him to continue to hold a grudge, since only Uchiha Madara was in the leadership of Rock District.
There's no need to put pressure on his Great Grandfather. Otherwise, all the officials in Rock District will hate Uchiha. Uchiha Kō nodded, glancing at Ōnoki, his expression gradually improving. "Alright, I believe the vice-captain will be able to correct his mistakes after this incident."
At the same time, Uchiha Kō looked at Uchiha, who stood up. "I also bear responsibility for this! As the head of the Rock District, I have an inescapable duty!"
Uchiha Kō was taken aback, but seeing Uchiha bowing his head in apology, he hesitated for a moment before speaking, "In that case, Uchiha will be fined one year's salary and will work with Vice Minister Ōnoki on the political and legal reforms! Any further mistakes will result in both of them being dismissed!"
After speaking, Uchiha Kō sat down, his face gloomy. He had been putting on an act all along. It wouldn't be right not to punish Uchiha, even though he didn't actually manage things, he was the nominal head of the household.
If he is not punished, and only Ōnoki and the other members of the original Iwagakure are punished, then people will basically not submit to Konoha, let alone Uchiha, the minister who was assigned to Rock District by Konoha.
Ōnoki glanced at Uchiha Kō with a complicated expression. He thought to himself, "Uchiha Kō may be young, but his political acumen is no less than mine."
He looked around and noticed that many of the Rock District ninja and management members looked at Uchiha Madara with much gentler eyes. With Uchiha leading the way, they trusted Uchiha even more.
Uchiha didn't care about this. Money wasn't that important to someone of his rank. Besides, although Uchiha Kō punished him in public, he still gave him plenty of money on a daily basis.
As for the annual salary, it's just a drop in the bucket!
Uchiha spoke up at this moment, "Then, Lord Hokage, about the equipment." He smiled, adopting a very humble posture. If it were anyone else, Uchiha wouldn't even give them a second glance, but since it was his grandson, he didn't mind yielding.
At this moment, Nara Rokumei, acting as a mediator, spoke up, "Don't worry, Madara-sama, since it's something the Lord Hokage promised, he will never go back on his word!"
Uchiha nodded and sat back down. This action earned him the favor of many ninjas, who looked at Uchiha with gratitude in their eyes.
They desperately want Konoha's new equipment. Look at the equipment of the Anbu, and then look at the equipment of the Rock District. Tsk tsk, they're not even in the same league!
Uchiha Kō reiterated the reforms in the political and legal system, as well as the decrees he was about to promulgate. The people of Iwagakure expressed their support for the Lord Hokage's opinion and were willing to be the first pilot unit to fully implement the Lord Hokage's policies.
As the saying goes, "a favor is a favor," and since Uchiha Kō was willing to sell new equipment to Rock District naturally had to actively respond to and implement the Lord Hokage's policy.
Ōnoki had no objections either; his eyes were filled with respect and approval as he looked at Uchiha Kō.
After another two hours of meeting, Uchiha Kō, along with the Anbu and the women from the Land of Fire, boarded the subway. This time, they left in a hurry, or rather, they didn't want anyone to notice their departure.
So they quietly arrived at the high-speed rail station, and with the help of staff and various green channels, they boarded the train. Uchiha Kō and the Anbu Ninja stood and gave their seats to all the girls.
The girls were flattered, and several of them stood up to offer Uchiha Kō a seat. Uchiha Kō simply smiled and replied, "We are all ninjas, and we have great stamina. Standing for a while is nothing. Please sit down!"
The girls hesitated for a moment, but just then, the all-knowing Nara Rokumei began to persuade them. He was a smooth talker and quickly convinced the girls, and the carriage remained quiet for the rest of the journey.
Upon learning that the Lord Hokage had returned home with a group of abducted girls, the Konoha High-Speed Railway Station immediately began preparing a green channel. The station manager personally came to direct the process, leaving the other passengers stunned.
After Uchiha Kō and his men got out of the car, the station manager quickly led the senior executives forward. "Lord Hokage, you've worked hard. Please follow me! The green safety passage is ready!"
Uchiha Kō nodded and followed. During this time, he did not see any Konoha villagers or villagers from other departments. At the exit, Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke had been waiting there for a long time.
During this time, each of them was followed by more than fifty ninjas. Uchiha Kō looked over and said, "Make sure the girls are safe and sent home."
"If the girl has no relatives, then take her back to Konoha and find her a good job so she can make a living!"
"At the same time, I expect you to treat them with respect and courtesy. If I find out who it is..." Uchiha Kō didn't finish his sentence, but instead gave the three of them a cold look.
The three quickly bowed and said, "It's Lord Hokage! We will certainly fulfill Lord Hokage's request!"
The three of them learned about the women's background, but they didn't look down on them at all. After all, they had experienced something similar when they were young, except that back then it was thieves.
Their methods were even more ruthless, so they only felt sorry for and sympathized with these girls, and had no other thoughts at all, only hoping that they could live well in the future.
Uchiha Kō glanced at the three of them, then laughed, "I trust you to handle things. Go ahead. When you come back, come to my house for dinner. Also, invite Minato, Choza, Nara Shikaku over."
"Oh, by the way, Inoichi will be coming straight home with me. Thank you for your hard work on this trip!" Uchiha Kō turned to look at Yamanaka Inoichi, Yamanaka Inoichi lips curled into a smile, "Serving my teacher is something I do willingly!"
Uchiha Kō nodded, then gave a few more instructions before taking Yamanaka Inoichi home. These seven people were the future leaders of various departments in Konoha that he had chosen, and they were all his disciples, so naturally they had to get together from time to time for a meal.
Hatake Sakumo was about to take Kakashi back when Uchiha Kō called him back, "Sakumo, and Kakashi too, you should come along."
Hatake Sakumo nodded, then patted Kakashi on the head. "Silly boy, hurry up and thank the Lord Hokage for the invitation!"
Kakashi snapped out of his daze and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you, Lord Hokage!"
Uchiha Kō waved his hand. "This isn't work time. Sakumo, we're brothers, so Kakashi should call me uncle, by all accounts."
Kakashi was somewhat agitated. He looked at his father, Hatake Sakumo, Hatake Sakumo, seeing his son's spineless state, laughed and scolded, "Hurry up and call for help!"
Kakashi quickly bowed and said, "Hello, Uncle!"
Uchiha Kō smiled and nodded, then handed the Senjutsu Chakra training method he had summarized to Kakashi Hatake: "This chakra refining technique is different from those of the major clans in the Ninja World. It's more of Senjutsu Mode than a refining technique."
"Once you master it, you can draw chakra from the elements of heaven and earth at any time for your own use. It's a kind of immortal technique unique to us humans! It's also the method I cultivated before. Consider it a gift to you!" Uchiha Kō took out the scroll and handed it to Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi Hatake's breathing became heavy; he dared not accept it, yet the longing in his eyes was almost overflowing. Even Hatake Sakumo's expression changed; Uchiha Kō's chakra extraction—no, it was Senjutsu!
This opportunity is too great! Recalling Konoha's records of Senjutsu, he quickly said, "Brother, isn't this too precious? Kakashi, he..." Hatake Sakumo wanted to say something more.
Uchiha Kō stopped him, saying, "What's the rush? It's not for you! It's for the child!"
Then Uchiha Kō turned to Kakashi: "Kakashi, I hope you can train hard and master this Sage Art as soon as possible, and then protect the villagers of Konoha. As you saw on this trip, although Konoha has unified the Ninja World, there are still people under Konoha's rule suffering in places we can't see!"
"I hope that in the future you will be able to lead your subordinates to make your own contributions to the stability of the Ninja World and the stability of Konoha!" Uchiha Kō laughed.