The Hokage Must Take Responsibility!

Harada Tōru's sudden outburst left many people utterly bewildered.

Even though Kumogakure had a perfect Jinchuriki, that was only an exception, wasn't it?

For most shinobi villages, being plagued by Jinchuriki rampages was the norm. What was there to be angry about?

Perhaps his companion's death had been too great a shock for him...

Only Tachibana Hiko and Yamada Kōshi could somewhat understand how Harada Tōru felt.

"Tōru, maybe you should get some sleep..."

"I'm perfectly awake." Harada Tōru snorted coldly and spoke under everyone's gaze. "You must all be wondering why I'm so angry, right?"

"Because Konoha could originally have had a perfect Jinchuriki just like Kumogakure!"

"Huh?!"

Upon hearing Harada Tōru's words, everyone present gaped in shock.

Someone could not help saying, "What exactly do you know? Explain it clearly."

"Yeah, what do you mean by 'we originally could have had a perfect Jinchuriki'? What does that mean?"

"Quiet down, we can't hear anything back here."

So that everyone could hear him, Harada Tōru stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The reason Kumogakure has a perfect Jinchuriki is because they have the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan helping suppress it!"

"You should all know this, shouldn't you?"

"Back then, Uchiha Madara used the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and attack Konoha!"

"The Sharingan's power naturally restrains Tailed Beasts."

"What should have been ours was instead used by those Kumogakure bastards as something to brag about. They used the Tailed Beast's immense power to kill my companion..."

"And now, even the village has been wrecked beyond recognition by the Tailed Beast."

"Tell me, shouldn't I be angry?!"

After hearing Harada Tōru's explanation, everyone present was stunned for a moment before their emotions suddenly erupted.

"That does sound right. Uchiha Madara controlled the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan back then. It was only because the First Hokage defeated Uchiha Madara that our village obtained the Nine-Tails."

"So if the Uchiha Clan hadn't left Konoha, today's disaster could have been completely avoided?"

"Damn it, why did those people leave the village? Wasn't Konoha founded because of them in the first place?"

"What exactly happened between the village and the Uchiha Clan? Hokage-sama must give all of us an explanation!"

"That's right. I don't believe the Uchiha Clan would have collectively defected without any reason. We have the right to know the truth."

"The Third Hokage should also bear responsibility for this Nine-Tails rampage. During the First and Second Hokage's terms, the Nine-Tails never once broke through its seal!"

Hearing the crowd's remarks grow increasingly extreme, with some even beginning to blame the Third Hokage, the Anbu members responsible for maintaining order immediately stepped in to stop them.

They went before Harada Tōru and examined him carefully for quite some time, yet found nothing unusual.

In the end, they could only take Harada Tōru and the others away, while ordering everyone present not to discuss the matter.

Unfortunately, for Konoha's residents, who had just endured such a tragic event, once they found an outlet for their emotions, it became impossible to seal it back up.

In the shadows of a corner, a faint sneer appeared on Uchiha Yuzuru's lips.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, how would you deal with this next?

Don't regret it too soon. That would be far too boring...

I still had plenty prepared for you ungrateful bastards to savor.

With a ripple in space, Uchiha Yuzuru vanished.

The next step of the plan: attack Konoha!

"Sensei, what happened to the village?"

After returning from Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya was stunned by the sight of Konoha.

The village...

How had it become like this?

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe and ignored Jiraiya.

Only after the pipe in his hand went out did he speak faintly. "Jiraiya, you've been away from the village for so long. I thought you had no intention of coming back."

Jiraiya looked somewhat uncomfortable as he explained, "I've been searching for the Child of Prophecy from the Great Toad Sage's dream..."

"Did the Great Toad Sage you speak of foresee Konoha being destroyed to this extent?"

"If you had been here then..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

Of his three disciples, not a single one could be relied upon.

Tsunade had left the village without even saying goodbye and wandered everywhere gambling.

Jiraiya had been traveling throughout the Shinobi World, impossible to track down.

In recent years, Orochimaru had grown increasingly gloomy. He was either holed up in the Laboratory or mysteriously disappearing for stretches of time...

If Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had been there on the day the Nine-Tails went berserk, why would he have needed to personally go up and fight to the death?

And how could the village have ended up like this?!

Seeing Jiraiya fall silent, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked outside. "Come with me."

They made their way to a secret chamber beneath the Hokage Building, where Jiraiya saw Harada Tōru, Tachibana Hiko, and Yamada Kōshi.

The three of them had iron chains driven through their collarbones and hung in midair, all barely clinging to life.

"You know these people?"

Jiraiya came back to his senses, anger creeping into his voice. "I do. What happened to them?"

"They incited the villagers' emotions and disrupted the village's stability," Hiruzen Sarutobi said flatly. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to get anything out of them."

"Do you know anything?"

"I don't." Jiraiya suppressed his emotions. "If you couldn't get anything out of them, doesn't that prove there's nothing wrong with them?"

"No. According to their statements, Uchiha Yuzuru deliberately held back during the battle." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "That brat is ruthless. He even dared to kill Anbu ninja while he was in the village. There's no reason he would have spared the three of them."

"I suspect the mysterious person who appeared beside the Nine-Tails that night was Uchiha Yuzuru. Only he could enter and leave the barrier without anyone noticing."

"When he deliberately let Harada Tōru and the others go, he must already have planned to use them to stir up the villagers' emotions."

"After all... after seeing a perfect Jinchuriki, it wasn't strange for them to make such remarks."

"Originally, I thought there must have been something we hadn't uncovered. But now that you can testify to it, the truth should be more or less the same as the investigation results."

Hearing that, Jiraiya said, "Since everything is clear now, you can let them go, right? Hurry up and have Medical Ninja treat them!"

"No." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head again. "Those remarks they made have already stirred up the villagers' dissatisfaction with me. If I release them without charge, what will happen to my image as Hokage among the villagers?"

"What are you planning to do?"

"I want you to testify that the three of them were controlled by Uchiha Yuzuru's genjutsu."

Jiraiya suddenly clenched his fists. "Impossible!"

"Do as you please, but..." Hiruzen Sarutobi walked toward the exit. "Jiraiya, even for the sake of the village, it's time you grew up a little."

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi's retreating back, a defeated expression appeared on Jiraiya's face.

Sensei...

How had he become like this?

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