Uchiha Jin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Tenno Elder's question sent his mind racing.
His faction had already reached its limit. With Danzo's recent frenzied actions, he had drawn in nearly everyone he could. The remaining Uchiha, people like Fugaku and Shisui, were individuals he could never win over.
So now...
It truly was time to speak from the heart. After all, many of his future actions would require the full cooperation of everyone present!
He had no choice.
Without a system or the Eternal Mangekyo, it was practically impossible for him to take on Konoha alone. The only people he could rely on now were the Uchiha before him.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly spoke.
"Tenno Elder is right. I actually saw through it all long ago!"
"However, the Uchiha are a clan where strength speaks. Even if I had reluctantly spoken up back then, the clansmen would not have placed any trust in me."
"Therefore, all I could do was protect myself!"
As Uchiha Jin spoke, everyone present slowly nodded.
That was right!
The Uchiha Clan relied on strength!
Someone without any strength, even someone from the Moderate Faction like Shisui, would never listen to a word you said.
Uchiha Setsuna then spoke as well. "Jin-kun made the right choice. The Uchiha can indeed be rather extreme. This is not the time to discuss that, so let's get straight to business."
"It's a common flaw among all Uchiha that we lack wisdom. Jin-kun, take this opportunity to explain the bigger picture to everyone."
"At the very least!"
"Let everyone gain a basic understanding of the village and the clan!"
After hearing that, everyone nodded.
They were indeed very interested in this matter. Whether they belonged to the Radical Faction, Moderate Faction, or Middle Faction, they generally did not bother thinking too deeply.
Now that they had a chance to understand these things, they naturally wanted to hear more.
They truly wanted to know why Jin had concluded during the Third Shinobi War that the village intended to eliminate the Uchiha.
And regarding that...
Uchiha Jin did not refuse. He nodded and spoke. "Since everyone wants to hear it, I'll just talk about it casually."
"Good!" everyone said in unison.
Uchiha Jin did not waste words and directly asked, "Everyone knows that Senju Hashirama became Hokage through his overwhelming strength across the Shinobi World. Senju Tobirama may not have been as strong as the First Hokage, but he was still among the strongest in the entire Shinobi World. Not to mention, his schemes and planning abilities were also first-rate."
"So—what about Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
"Did he become Hokage just because of that so-called title he bragged about—the strongest Hokage?"
Uchiha Jin's face was full of disdain.
After hearing this question, everyone present was dumbfounded.
That was right!
They might not have known much about the First and Second Hokage, but they were extremely familiar with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Was he exceptionally powerful? They did not really know!
Sarutobi Hiruzen had only gone to the battlefield a few times during the Second Shinobi War. After that, he remained stationed in Konoha and never returned to the front lines. Even the Konoha F4 had basically stopped going to war as well.
But...
They had firmly held the Hokage Position. For all these years, no one had objected, and everyone had even grown accustomed to it. They had never felt that anything was wrong.
But now?
After Uchiha Jin pointed it out, they finally realized it.
That was right!
This was fucking suspicious!
Look at the Kage of the other villages. Fourth Raikage A possessed an invincible physique and could fight Namikaze Minato to a draw. If not for the Flying Thunder God Technique, Namikaze Minato would not have been his match.
The Third Raikage was even more obvious.
Ōnoki's Dust Release was no joke either.
Kirigakure's Karatachi Yagura and Sunagakure's Rasa also possessed strength that had been tested on the battlefield.
What about Sarutobi Hiruzen?
People called him the strongest Hokage and the Professor of Ninjutsu, but no one actually knew how strong he was.
"Yeah, why is that?"
"The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, only seems to talk about the Will of Fire."
"They call him a Shinobi Hero, but you rarely see him fight!"
"I can't figure it out!"
Everyone present spoke up one after another.
Even the older Uchiha were completely confused. They shook their heads, unable to explain it.
In the end...
They could only turn their eyes toward Uchiha Jin, waiting for their leader to answer.
And in response...
Uchiha Jin let out a soft sigh.
"Someone actually already gave the answer just now."
"It's the Will of Fire!"
"And this was not something established from the beginning. It was something Sarutobi Hiruzen only established later."
"At first, Sarutobi Hiruzen became the Third Hokage partly because of Senju Tobirama's dying orders, but more importantly, because of Uzumaki Mito's support."
"When Sarutobi Hiruzen truly took the Hokage Position and prepared to make a grand display of his abilities, his heart went completely cold."
"Back then, the Senju Clan had been pressured by Uzumaki Mito. While they did not deny him as Hokage, they simply ignored Sarutobi Hiruzen and openly complied while secretly resisting."
"Not to mention the Uchiha. They simply did not think highly of him as Hokage!"
"If the Senju and Uchiha were like that, then there was no need to mention the other Shinobi Clans. At the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen was nothing but a puppet!"
"So how did the situation change?"
"At the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice. Without any real Hokage authority, he could only go to the Ninja Academy and promote that damned Will of Fire, because there was nothing else he could do then."
"But later, the Second Shinobi War erupted, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's opportunity arrived."
"Do you all remember Senju Nawaki? He was the hope of the Senju Clan, the person most likely to become the Fourth Hokage. Yet the moment he arrived on the battlefield, he was directly blown to death by an Explosive Tag."
"But here's the problem!"
"What were the Senju Clan's defining traits? Powerful Chakra and incredibly strong vitality!"
"Even if an Explosive Tag hit an Uchiha head-on, it would most likely only cause severe injuries. The chances of directly killing them would be extremely low. Yet Senju Nawaki, who possessed such formidable vitality, died. Even Tsunade, a master of medical ninjutsu, could not save him."
"With that, the Senju Clan suffered a devastating blow!"
"Later, Sarutobi Hiruzen launched the Hashirama Cells experiments, claiming he wanted to recreate the First Hokage's powerful Wood Release. What followed was the tragic death of large numbers of Senju Clan members on the operating table."
"Furthermore, during the early stages of the Second Shinobi War, most of the Senju Clan charged at the front lines. These two factors combined to exhaust the clan's elite. To preserve their strength, the remaining Senju could only rely on Tobirama's plan to integrate into Konoha. Some abandoned their surnames and became Commoners, while others chose to seek refuge with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."
"At that point, the Senju completely vanished."
"However, the Senju Clan's reputation remained. Tsunade and Uzumaki Mito were still alive. It was at that time that Dan Katō began to rise to prominence."
"He became romantically involved with Tsunade, and with the Senju's foundation behind him, calls for him to become the Fourth Hokage grew louder and louder."
"Then, he died!"
"The Uzumaki Clan refused to join Konoha. When they were besieged, their clan was wiped out under unclear circumstances. At the time, Konoha had experts like the Sannin and Hatake Sakumo, yet they only rescued Uzumaki Kushina and the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu inheritance."
"Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh. They couldn't rescue the people, but somehow they managed to bring back the entire Sealing Jutsu inheritance."
"Everyone, isn't that interesting?"
"Next came Hatake Sakumo. He was also highly favored to become the Fourth Hokage, and then he committed suicide for unclear reasons."
"I really don't get it!"
"I remember that Hatake Sakumo was carrying out an S-rank mission. Even A-rank missions required strict confidentiality, yet an S-rank mission spread through every street and alley within a single day. Did the dogs eat their so-called confidentiality procedures?"
"Hatake Sakumo committed suicide, and no one was held accountable afterward. They simply brushed it aside."
"Then came Orochimaru. His human experiments were discovered, and he defected. In my opinion, this is even more fucking ridiculous. Orochimaru came from a civilian background. Although Shinobi Clan support stood behind his bid for the Fourth Hokage Position, would those clans support him in conducting human experiments?"
"Human experiments cost money. All kinds of high-end equipment required astronomical sums."
"Where did the money come from?"
"If there was no support from the village, I certainly don't believe it!"
"Considering that before Orochimaru defected, he was the most favored candidate for the Fourth Hokage Position, it goes without saying that this was filled with the schemes of the Konoha Higher-ups."
"They did not want Orochimaru to take the position. Although Orochimaru was a Commoner, he acted ruthlessly and had principles. He would never become Sarutobi Hiruzen's puppet!"
"So, he either had to defect or die!"
"Finally, Namikaze Minato was even more interesting. As everyone knows, he came from a civilian background. Sarutobi Hiruzen allowed him to become Hokage because he wanted him to be a puppet."
"But Namikaze Minato had his own principles. Since he had become Hokage, he wanted to accomplish his own goals."
"So he placed Kakashi in the Anbu and formed his own Hokage Guard Unit. Wasn't that an attempt to seize power from Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
"Then, he died!"
"Have you all noticed now? Anyone who wanted to seize the F4's power ultimately died almost without exception. Only Orochimaru became a Rogue Ninja!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen used the Will of Fire to control Konoha. Anyone who might threaten their power would ultimately die for one reason or another."
"And now, it was the Uchiha's turn!"
"On one hand, the Uchiha were disobedient, powerful, and temperamental. On the other, the village was short on money. Naturally, this fat piece of meat had reached the time for slaughter!"
Before you continue