The Truth

As Danzō's voice fell, the Third Hokage immediately looked at him, surprise in his eyes.

He had thought Danzō already knew what happened in the Forest of Death.

It appeared that besides the Anbu representative and himself, no one else present knew about this matter.

The Third Hokage pondered, and everything suddenly made sense.

He had just been wondering why, among the few individuals radiating killing intent, everyone except the Anbu representative showed disdain.

"Oh? So, if my power grows, I'll become a threat to Konoha, even destroy it?"

Ye Fan looked at Danzō with amusement and said, "Honestly, I have no great interest in destroying Konoha, nor in your so-called peace."

"I'm simply a little interested in you old guys."

"I'm only here today to clarify some things. If the truth is as I suspect, I don't mind killing a few more people."

"I, Ye Fan, am not a bloodthirsty person, but I am definitely not someone who lets an offense go unpunished!"

"You scoundrel! Do you think this is your backyard? How dare you speak such nonsense, aren't you afraid of the wind and sticking out your tongue!" Mitokado Homura shouted.

Danzō and Utatane Koharu also stared at Ye Fan with malice. They naturally understood what Ye Fan meant by 'offense'.

This statement only strengthened their resolve to kill him.

In their eyes, Ye Fan was already a cold corpse.

Whether their immense killing intent towards Ye Fan was truly for the sake of peace or to cover up some dirty secrets was unclear.

Danzō and the other two shared a common thought: even if they couldn't kill Ye Fan now, they would strike the moment he was away from the Third Hokage's protection.

Listening to Ye Fan's words, the Third Hokage realized something, his expression growing heavy with mixed emotions.

A long-buried memory surged into his mind like a tide.

The Third Hokage sighed deeply, offered Ye Fan a chair, and said, "Ye Fan, ask whatever you wish. As long as it doesn't involve Konoha's highest secrets, I will tell you everything."

The Third Hokage had made up his mind; it was indeed time to give Ye Fan an explanation.

Danzō and the others were horrified upon hearing this and quickly tried to stop the Third Hokage.

They could roughly guess what Ye Fan would ask, and the truth behind those matters was meant to be buried forever, not discussed openly!

"Hm?" The Third Hokage cast a look at the three, silencing them.

How could the Third Hokage not know the importance of these matters? But he had carried this burden for so long, and he was tired.

He felt that some secrets should not remain hidden in darkness forever.

Ye Fan took the chair, placed it where everyone could see him, and sat down casually, crossing his legs.

Mitokado Homura and the others found Ye Fan's posture extremely displeasing, but they could only endure it.

Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu exchanged glances, communicating their thoughts.

It was now a foregone conclusion that the Third Hokage would reveal some secrets; it could not be changed.

They could only eliminate those who heard the secrets, as some secrets were not meant for just anyone to know.

Once known, there was only death!

"Uchiha... Steel Plate Penetrator·Ye Fan, ask what you wish to know."

The Third Hokage looked directly at Ye Fan, his tone gentle, his demeanor kind, his face full of benevolence.

Ye Fan paid no attention to all this.

Whether it was true benevolence or false righteousness, Ye Fan didn't care to dwell on it.

He knew the Third Hokage was no saint either, and had likely ordered Danzō to do countless unspeakable deeds behind the scenes.

Sometimes, such people were far more detestable than those like Danzō.

It was like some people stood bathed in the light of morality, making it impossible to distinguish human from dog at first glance.

The only thing that surprised Ye Fan today was the Third Hokage's candor.

He could see from the Third Hokage's eyes that he genuinely wanted to tell him some things.

He had originally expected to use some methods to get the information he wanted, but it turned out to be much easier.

On the chair, Ye Fan, with his legs crossed, looked at the Third Hokage and slowly asked some of the questions in his heart.

"You know who I am, right?"

"Yes, you were Uchiha Ye Fan before, and now you are Steel Plate Penetrator Ye Fan."

Their tones were both extremely calm, and the Hokage's office became utterly silent, save for their voices.

Ye Fan continued, "What else?"

The Third Hokage thought for a moment and said, "When you were a child, the villagers also called you the Plague God."

"A good-for-nothing without any Kekkei Genkai. This situation is especially severe within the Uchiha Clan."

"How did my parents die?"

As this question was asked, Danzō and the others showed clear emotional fluctuations.

Ye Fan took all of this in.

"Suicide. To be more precise, they died in your place," the Third Hokage replied.

"Why did they want to kill me back then?" Ye Fan asked.

"When you were born, you had no Uchiha bloodline. Then, the Nine-Tails' Rampage occurred in Konohagakure, and the Uchiha Clan was assigned to live in the most remote area, unable to participate in any of the village's major or minor affairs. Most of the Uchiha attributed the cause of these events to you, the Plague God. They wanted to stop the situation from worsening by killing you."

"That's why they wanted to kill you, and your parents chose to commit suicide so you would remember to live on."

"After your parents died, the Uchiha Clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, protected you."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage's face was filled with sorrow, whether out of pity for Ye Fan's experiences or a thought of the nearly extinct Uchiha Clan.

"Heh, Hiruzen Sarutobi, it seems you know these matters very well."

Ye Fan didn't address him as the Third Hokage but called him by his name.

"Then, where did the notion of me being a Plague God begin? Did it start within the Uchiha Clan, or did it spread from you, the so-called Konoha higher-ups?"

"Was this matter truly just a rumor, or was it a political tactic you used to instigate internal strife within the Uchiha Clan!"

Ye Fan roared, his gaze sweeping across the room, killing intent emanating from his entire being.

Ultimately, the primary reason for his parents' deaths was this very matter. If this rumor hadn't appeared, his parents wouldn't have died. Even if Uchiha Itachi had started the massacre, Ye Fan could have saved his parents' lives!

Although Ye Fan was a transmigrator, he was able to come to this world because his parents gave him life! To this day, he still remembered his parents' smiles, their gentleness. He had to avenge his parents' deaths, and he would do so tenfold!

Upon this question, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu's faces changed drastically, and they could no longer sit still.