The Third Hokage Apologized with His Death

The three of them wore dark expressions, their eyes fixed intently on the Third Hokage.

If the Third Hokage told the truth about this matter as well, it would mean putting their filthy deeds out in the open.

It would mean exposing Konoha's dark side completely to the light of day.

It would mean tearing away the last scrap of cover over their shame!

Moreover, if this sort of thing were exposed to the public, Konoha could very well be thrown into a panic.

After all, not everyone—not every clan—could accept something like this.

Where there was light, there was darkness. The light was truly light, and the darkness was truly dark!

Nara Shikaku, the Anbu representative, and the representatives of the Land of Fire held their breaths, eager to learn these hidden truths.

Although they were all high-ranking members of Konoha, they were still very curious about Ye Fan's question.

In fact, before this, they had never imagined that this matter could have been a political ploy.

They had always thought the claim that Ye Fan was the Uchiha Clan's Plague God had originated within the Uchiha Clan.

But, judging by the situation now, it seemed there was far more hidden behind that matter.

As they searched through memories long buried, they suddenly realized that after Ye Fan made his move, everything really had happened far too conveniently.

One thing had led to another, right up until the Uchiha Clan was destroyed!

At the question, the Third Hokage slowly closed his eyes and fell silent.

Danzo and the other two were like ants on a hot pan, shifting restlessly in their seats.

They had already decided in advance to kill everyone who knew these secrets.

But now that the secrets were about to be made public, they still couldn't help feeling uneasy and nervous.

Some things could be known by everyone without causing any trouble, so long as nobody spoke of them. Once spoken aloud, however, there would be a price to pay.

And Ye Fan's question concerned something known to only four people in all of Konoha!

"Hmph!" Ye Fan snorted in derision. "What happened, Lord Third Hokage? Didn't you just say you'd tell me everything? Why are you lost for words now?"

The Third Hokage remained silent, his expression growing heavier by the moment.

After two or three minutes, the Third Hokage sighed and slowly spoke.

"Ye Fan, this matter involves far too much. I can only tell you part of it."

"The rest concerns Konoha's safety and the lives of certain people. I'm afraid I can't tell you."

At the last sentence, Ye Fan immediately understood what he meant.

The Third Hokage's second sentence was clearly referring to Uchiha Itachi!

Others might not know, but Ye Fan knew very well.

Although Uchiha Itachi appeared to be a rogue ninja, he was actually a shinobi utterly loyal to Konoha.

Whether back before the Uchiha Clan was destroyed, when the Uchiha leadership treated him as a spy and placed him in the Anbu,

or later, after he became Konoha's S-rank wanted criminal and was put on the kill-on-sight list, he remained absolutely loyal to Konoha.

Uchiha Itachi had been willing to raise his blade against his own family, his beloved, and his clan for the sake of the village. Ye Fan, a mere ordinary person, could never understand such a thing.

It was that devotion to the greater good of his village and country that made Ye Fan regard him with new respect.

Sometimes, Ye Fan wondered what kind of devotion to the greater good it took for someone to give up so much.

What could make someone willingly bear the accusation of being disloyal, unrighteous, and unfilial, while still loving so deeply the very thing he protected?

Sometimes Ye Fan even wondered whether Uchiha Itachi had been caught in Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami Genjutsu, making him love Konoha so much.

The saying "Konoha may mistreat me a thousand times, but I still treat it like my first love" could not have suited Itachi better!

"You only need to tell me what I want to know. I'm not interested in anything else." Ye Fan looked at the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage took a deep breath. "You're right. Calling you the Plague God was indeed a political ploy."

At those words, the Konoha higher-ups reacted in different ways, their expressions complicated. Danzo and the other two looked especially uncomfortable.

"This was indeed, just as you said, a means I used to sow discord within the Uchiha Clan and consolidate my power."

"I planned and carried out the entire thing alone. No one else in Konoha knew about it."

"I bear some responsibility for your parents' deaths and even the destruction of the Uchiha Clan. I cannot shirk it."

After he said this, the Third Hokage seemed relieved, as though a huge stone that had weighed on his heart for years had finally been lifted.

When Shimura Danzo and the others heard this, they first froze. Then their brows relaxed, and their spirits lifted.

They hadn't expected the Third Hokage to say something like that.

"Oh? Was it really only you?"

Ye Fan had taken in every change in Danzo and the others' expressions.

In fact, he had already guessed more or less what was going on from their behavior.

Ye Fan would never believe that the Third Hokage had done this alone.

The Third Hokage was weak and indecisive. He would never have used such heavy-handed methods for something so serious.

"Yes. It all began with me." The Third Hokage spoke calmly. "Ye Fan, I'm sorry. If it weren't for my decisions, your childhood wouldn't have been so bleak. Perhaps your parents wouldn't have died, and the Uchiha Clan wouldn't have been destroyed."

"Causing the Uchiha Clan's destruction through my foolish decisions was the gravest mistake of my life."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage slowly walked up to Ye Fan and bowed deeply. "I apologize to every member of the Uchiha Clan for my poor decisions."

"I know that an apology alone cannot make up for the mistakes I've made."

"Once this matter is settled, I'll pass the position of Hokage to Jiraiya, then atone with my life."

The Third Hokage's voice was exceptionally calm. He had already made up his mind.

The Konoha higher-ups were shocked by his words and hurriedly tried to dissuade him. The Hokage's Office descended into chaos.

Shimura Danzo, however, had heard only one thing: that the Third Hokage would pass the position to Jiraiya.

In an instant, countless thoughts flooded his mind, and a plan to seize the position of Hokage took shape.

"Heh. Lord Third Hokage, do you think you can shoulder all the blame by yourself?"

Ye Fan's voice rang out amid the uproar in the Hokage's Office. "Someone else must have been behind that incident, right?"

Ye Fan's gaze swept over Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura.

The moment his gaze fell on them, the three of them instinctively looked away.

Only after doing so did they realize that Ye Fan wasn't Uchiha Fugaku—he was just a child. What did they have to hide from him?