"Because of you ungrateful bastards, my older brother hasn't left the house in days. I only got him to come out today by telling him we were seeing Orochimaru off to the battlefield."
"If Orochimaru weren't heading to the battlefield-the only one of the Sannin who has strength, competence, and a sense of responsibility-my brother wouldn't have come out at all today."
Before Ling Tian could finish, Tsunade jumped in and interrupted him, her displeasure plain. "Hatake Xianyu, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Tsunade was very unhappy now. Fine, insult the old man. It would even be a good thing if it knocked some sense into him.
Fine, tear into the three Advisors. She had been sick of those three for ages anyway. It would be best if they resigned outright and took responsibility.
But why drag the Sannin into this?
Jiraiya and I have no competence or sense of responsibility?
Other than strength, we have nothing going for us?
"What am I trying to say?"
Ling Tian sneered at Tsunade. "Isn't it obvious? When everyone was smearing my brother's name, did you people who knew the truth come out and stop them? You knew perfectly well that losing my brother would do the village nothing but harm. Did you speak up for him?"
"Only Lord Orochimaru stood up for my brother. Was he the only one who thought this would merely weaken the village? Did you two have no idea what the name White Fang meant to this village? Or are you going to tell me you didn't know what your teacher and these Advisors were scheming?"
Ling Tian shouted, "Tsunade, Jiraiya, do you dare tell everyone here that you knew nothing about this? Do you dare?"
Silence.
After a moment, Tsunade glared at him again, murderous intent written all over her face. "Hatake Xianyu..."
"What, embarrassed enough to lash out?"
Ling Tian interrupted her, pointed at Jiraiya's face, and unleashed a torrent of abuse. "Jiraiya, you used to be just a commoner-a useless commoner who couldn't even learn ninjutsu. Yes, your teacher gave you what you have today, but the food, drink, and supplies he gave you were all bought with money earned by commoners. Without the villagers, would a once-worthless orphan like you have survived this long?"
"I, Hatake Xianyu, may have no strength. I may not be able to go to the battlefield. But I've contributed no less to this village than you two lofty Sannin. And apart from my brother, I've never made anyone sacrifice anything for me. What about you?"
Ling Tian gave a self-mocking smile. "I'm just a commoner. I have no say in the village's decisions, so all I could do was help the villagers in my own way. But I never imagined that after helping so many people, only these few would turn out to understand gratitude."
"Xianyu..." Guilt covered Jiraiya's face. He wanted to say something, but the words would not come.
Watching Ling Tian single-handedly point at everyone and curse them out made Hongsi envious.
He wanted a chance to show off in front of everyone like that too.
Then, under the admiring gazes of the Uchiha clan members and Fugaku's utterly horrified stare, he thrust his chest forward, looked down on the two with contempt, and declared arrogantly:
"Ling Tian, why waste so many words on people like these? One of them holds a high position, yet sits by while the higher-ups make a complete mess of the village. Not only does he have no sense of responsibility, he even has the leisure to peep into women's bathhouses every day."
"The other enjoys the blessings left by the First and Second, yet sits by as her teacher suppresses her two grandfathers' achievements and crowns himself the Strongest Hokage in history, even though he hasn't set foot on a battlefield since becoming Hokage. She doesn't even care about her grandfathers' reputations after their deaths, or the clan members who call her the Senju Princess."
"There's no point trying to reason with those two. They abandoned their shame long ago."
"And these villagers-you've only just realized they're ungrateful bastards. But other people aren't as kindhearted as you. A mob of ignorant fools who can never be satisfied-do you really think anyone would take responsibility for them?"
"Apart from Orochimaru, in the eyes of these higher-ups, aren't these ignorant villagers just
"people whose offerings they feast on in peacetime, whose money they use to fund wars, and whom they can stir up whenever they need them? Just like this business with White Fang-didn't these ignorant fools obediently help them go after him?" Uchiha Red Four thoroughly enjoyed having so many eyes on him. He swept his hand through the air. "And another thing, Ling Tian, why are you thinking so small? Aren't the higher-ups suppressing your brother because they're afraid of dying and don't dare go to the battlefield, while your brother has earned so much credit that he's become a threat to them?"
"As for Jiraiya and Tsunade, they have no sense of responsibility toward this village. Without doing a thing or suffering any consequences, they get to watch someone far better than them get crushed. Why wouldn't they enjoy that?"
"The Hokage sings his own praises, and the rotten higher-ups do nothing but eat away at this village. Among the Great Ninja Clans, the Uchiha don't dare do anything, while the other clans wash their hands of anything that doesn't concern them. Of the Sannin, only Orochimaru thinks of the village, yet the incompetent Hokage and higher-ups envy him. He has such incredible talent, but he even has to develop ninjutsu on his own. Why won't they give him the village's ninjutsu? Isn't it because they're afraid he'll become too strong to control?"
"If you ask me, there's no reason to stay in a village like this. Even if you turn against them, these ungrateful villagers aren't worth protecting."
"So, what are you planning to do? Why don't we build our own village and call it Red Four Village?"
With that, he turned to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, what do you say? Will you stay in this village that's already become a Power Struggle Arena, or leave with us?"
Only after finishing that speech did he stop.
From the moment he started speaking, everyone had stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Were the Uchiha dead set on following the Hatake Brothers down this road to the bitter end?
What exactly had the Hatake Clan promised the Uchiha?
How could it make them go this far?
Even if Fugaku Uchiha stepped forward now and said this fellow had nothing to do with the Uchiha, probably no one would believe him.
The villagers were stunned too. If White Fang, Orochimaru, and the Uchiha left, what would happen to the front lines?
Would they have to rely on a Hokage who hadn't been to the battlefield since taking office?
He used to be the strongest, but now we all know he was just singing his own praises!
Orochimaru did not answer. He merely smiled indifferently.
Tsunade glared furiously at them. Jiraiya still looked guilty, but he likewise said nothing, because he could not refute them.
Only now did the Third's expression darken.
He had been careless not to stop the Hatake Brothers from saying all this at the outset. Afterward, stopping them had become difficult, and gathering manpower also took time.
After all, he could not quite make sense of the Uchiha's current stance.
Danzo had originally intended to sit back and watch the two sides fight, but after Hongsi stepped forward and said all that, he made the same decision as the Third.
As far as he was concerned, only he could lead the village to glory by becoming Hokage. But the Uchiha and Hatake intending to rebel was something he could not tolerate.
So now, he spoke. "The Hokage naturally has his reasons for what he does. Even if he truly makes a mistake, it falls to us Advisors to reprimand him. It is not your place."
"..."
Before you continue