Wood Release, Wood Release Again

Tobirama Senju's words—"Monkey, you've already lost the people's hearts"—made Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart give a violent tremor.

In that instant, he seemed to hear the sound of something deep inside him shattering completely.

He opened his mouth shakily, his cracked lips moving, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to make a sound, tried to defend himself.

He wanted to say the Uchiha clan's rebellion had already been unavoidable, wanted to speak of Danzo's pressure and extremism, of the pressure from the great nations watching from outside, of how difficult it was to maintain Konoha's peace and prosperity...

But countless words surged to his lips, only to lodge in his throat when he met the disappointed look in Teacher Tobirama's eyes, that look of hating iron for not becoming steel.

He looked again at the First Hokage, at that teacher who had always smiled so heartily and possessed a heart as vast as the sea.

But now, Teacher Hashirama's face no longer held its old sunlight. All that remained was heavy silence. One long sigh made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel more powerless and desolate than any reprimand could have.

Explain?

What was there left to explain?

Facts spoke louder than words.

Konoha was suffering its most serious invasion in decades under his tenure, and he, the Hokage, was trapped here. Aside from a few direct Anbu subordinates, not a single organized reinforcement unit had arrived in time.

His teachers, in the bodies of the dead, had witnessed this turmoil and had also seen through the alienation and division within Konoha under his rule.

All excuses, at this moment, seemed so pale and laughable—nothing more than a futile attempt to save face.

A deep sense of exhaustion instantly drowned Hiruzen Sarutobi's entire body like a tide.

It was weariness of the heart, the