Hiruzen Sarutobi's Moment of Despair

"What exactly are you trying to do, Uchiha...?"

While everyone hesitated in terror, the leading Akimichi Jonin, that huge fat man, forcibly suppressed every emotion rising within him. With determination in his eyes, he stepped out of the formation and walked alone toward the giant god before him.

He held both hands out in front of him, showing that he was not secretly forming hand seals to cast ninjutsu, nor taking any defensive measures. Completely unguarded, he walked forward as if he had cast life and death aside.

Faced with an enemy he could never resist head-on, he decided to use his own life to try and establish a channel for communication.

Even if nothing else came of it, he had to stall for as long as possible until Lord Hokage and the other powerful shinobi arrived.

Before then, he absolutely could not let the village and its people suffer too much harm.

As the only Jonin present, and for the honor of the Akimichi Clan, he bore that responsibility!

The Akimichi Jonin was so nervous that sweat streamed down his plump face. His mind had even begun flashing through scenes from his life before death.

He even regretted sleeping in too late that morning and dying without having eaten a proper meal.

Then, in the next instant, he froze!

"Shisui Uchiha" planted the Spiral Greatsword in his hand into the ground before him. His clear, resolute voice rang throughout Konohagakure and beyond.

He said, "From beginning to end, the Uchiha Clan has never had any intention of harming Konohagakure.

"Konohagakure is also the homeland we Uchiha love dearly!

"I said from the very beginning that I did not come to harm or take revenge on Konohagakure. The Uchiha Clan, who loves Konohagakure so deeply, would never do such a thing.

"I, Shisui Uchiha, came here to reason with you.

"Do you believe me now?"

Everyone inside and outside Konohagakure looked up at the towering giant god, who could cleave mountains with a wave of his hand and destroy the entire village with a casual movement.

Yet they could not think of a single word to refute him. There was no other reason—absolute power was absolute proof!

Such overwhelming strength carried unquestionable persuasive force.

The countless civilians and shinobi in the plaza, who had only now barely recovered from their stupor, looked at the bloody mountain of Uchiha corpses beside them. Then they compared it to the deep love for Konohagakure, the pain of the clan's downfall, and the desperate restraint in "Shisui Uchiha's" words.

An unparalleled sense of guilt rose uncontrollably in all their hearts, along with deep pity and sympathy for this Uchiha youth.

The feeling was so intense that they even began to entertain a rebellious thought.

"Could Shisui Uchiha be telling the truth? Did the Third Hokage... really do something wrong? Did he send Anbu shinobi to ambush and wipe out their fellow villagers, the Uchiha Clan?

"And perhaps... perhaps he really was connected to the Nine-Tails' Rampage and the death of the Fourth Hokage? Did he play some shameful role in it? Did the Uchiha Clan discover it, forcing him to kill them to silence them?"

They themselves were startled by their own thoughts. The image of the Hokage, forever righteous and untouched by any stain or blemish, suddenly no longer seemed perfect. It now bore an indelible mark.

At the very least, they felt that the Third Hokage definitely had some kind of problem.

There might have been misunderstandings, but Hiruzen Sarutobi surely had some shameful secrets of his own.

They could no longer believe in the Third Hokage completely and wholeheartedly!

A crack had appeared in their trust!

In another layer of "reality," invisible to anyone in the real world, the towering Green Giant was instead completely black. The transparent mirror on its chest rippled with layer after layer of light, spreading outward without regard for distance and covering all of Konohagakure and the surrounding region.

Daren Yi had not forcibly implanted emotions or thoughts into people's minds. He had merely used the emotional impact brought about by reality to guide them, steering countless people's emotions in the direction he needed.

Like spring rain carried on a breeze, it silently seeped into the entire world without stirring the slightest mental or psychological vigilance or resistance.

In theory, certain people from both past and present lives, blessed with charisma and speaking talent beyond that of ordinary people, could achieve the same thing with nothing but their mouths, without relying on any supernatural ability.

Unfortunately! Daren Yi's speaking skills were still just a tiny bit short of that level, so he had no choice but to rely on brute force and use the emotional guidance of a massively wide-range genjutsu as a supplement.

Fortunately, the results were not bad!

Daren Yi was a practical person. He did not dislike this at all. He was even considering whether to "solidify" this ability onto himself and give himself a Talk no Jutsu ability.

Or perhaps call it "Max-Level Oratory" or "Human Charm Technique"?

During this time, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finally arrived at the scene with his personal guard squad. He stared in shock at the towering emerald giant god before him.

He had personally seen Madara Uchiha's Perfect Susanoo before. He could also tell that the "Shisui" before him had reached the same level as the two gods of the Shinobi World who had once swept aside the chaos of war and founded Konohagakure.

Perhaps he was still somewhat weaker, but Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer distinguish such heights. To all other shinobi, they were both invincible. How could he possibly tell which one was more thoroughly invincible?

In an instant, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave up any thought of resisting by force. Unless the other side intended to directly destroy Konohagakure, he would lead the Konoha Ninjas in a fight to the death.

Otherwise, negotiation and compromise would be his constant and only choice.

"Are you Shisui? Itachi told me you committed suicide."

Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have completely forgotten the anger he had felt upon hearing the other party's "slander." The short old man strained to raise his head, once again wearing the kind and benevolent smile most often seen on his face.

He smiled just as he had when he once promised Shisui Uchiha that he would surely grant the Uchiha Clan a peaceful and beautiful future.

He tried to make the other party remember the warmth of those days, to pull time back to when they trusted each other and worked together to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konohagakure.

Shisui Uchiha was Kagami's descendant, a dependable shinobi who believed in the Will of Fire. His trust in Hiruzen Sarutobi had even surpassed his trust in Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha!

Unfortunately, he failed. Hiruzen Sarutobi could not understand the expression on "Shisui Uchiha's" face. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always considered himself skilled at reading hearts, began to panic.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, are you disappointed that I'm still alive?

"Because I died, you decided to wipe out the Uchiha Clan and kill everyone who might know the truth, continuing to conceal the fact that seven years ago, in order to reclaim the position of Hokage, you deliberately released the Nine-Tails and drove the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife to their deaths?"

"No, no, no, it's all a misunderstanding! I never gave such an order! The ones who killed the Uchiha Clan were not Anbu—it was, it was Itachi Uchiha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned green. He frantically waved his hands and desperately explained himself. That blame did not belong to him! This was too absurd—he had lived so long, yet he had never seen anyone falsely pin such an outrageous accusation on someone!

Danzo? Where is my Danzo? Where did you run off to? Without you, where am I supposed to dump this blame?

"Ha! Hahahaha!

"Itachi Uchiha killed the entire Uchiha Clan? Hiruzen Sarutobi, there should at least be a limit to the lies you make up!

"Hahahaha..."

"Shisui Uchiha" trembled uncontrollably with rage, letting out a bitter, self-mocking laugh as his emotions neared collapse.

He had clearly been driven to fury by Hiruzen Sarutobi's nonsense. Even his voice choked with emotion.

Standing atop the giant god, this youth somehow seemed pitiable yet stubborn. With tears in his voice, he asked, "Itachi Uchiha is the Uchiha Clan Heir. The Uchiha were his kin, friends, and family who had lived and grown up alongside him. The entire Uchiha Clan would have been his in the future.

"He slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan? He's only thirteen this year. Is that even possible?

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, why not say that we Uchiha killed ourselves, young and old, men and women alike, just to frame you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell speechless. It did sound incredibly absurd, but that was the truth! He was telling the truth, so why did none of them believe him?

Just as he was about to continue explaining, he saw the enraged "Shisui Uchiha" raise that enormous, long, spiral-shaped "Great Principle" in his hand once more.

The Konoha Ninjas all panicked. They knew he had "reason," but did he have to keep raising it and waving it around? It was terrifying! Calm down, calm down—let's put the "Great Principle" down and have a proper talk!

The many Clan Heads and Konoha High-Ranking Officials who had arrived behind him hurriedly stopped and held Hiruzen Sarutobi back, secretly signaling for him to stop provoking "Shisui Uchiha," who had lost his entire clan.

He had a several-hundred-meter-tall, huge, thick "hard truth"!

Among the Clan Heads, Choza Akimichi, a plump and honest-looking man, wore an expression of pity and sympathy for the youth from his village. He could not help but speak up to persuade him.

"Third Hokage... sigh, please say a little less."

"...Even you don't believe me?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi could hardly believe it. He abruptly turned and looked toward the Clan Heads and high-ranking officials present, finally fixing his gaze on Choza Akimichi.

Sweat nearly seeped from Choza Akimichi's plump face. His eyes darted about evasively, and he did not even dare meet Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze.

The other Clan Heads also lowered their heads in silence, saying nothing.

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart went cold.

He trembled with anger. Despite the scorching weather, cold sweat covered his entire body, and his hands and feet turned icy.

It's true, everything I said was true! Why won't any of you believe me?