Uchiha Kazuto's Faith Crumbles

"Lord Kazuto!"

Seeing Uchiha Kazuto lying on the ground, Uchiha Inaho hurriedly caught him, panic on his face and unbearable sorrow in his eyes.

"Lord Kazuto, you have to stay strong! Who could have imagined that the mastermind behind everything was our great Lord Hokage?"

At that moment, inside the Hokage's Office.

"What's going on?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in bewilderment at the villagers rioting outside. He had no idea what was happening. Things had been peaceful these past few days, and there hadn't been any trouble. How had it suddenly come to this?

Suddenly, an Anbu member walked over and threw a villager onto the floor.

"Lord Hokage, we've found out what happened!"

The Anbu member looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi strangely. The admiration he'd once felt for him was gone, replaced by deep contempt in the back of his eyes—if what the villagers were saying was true.

Then the Third Hokage he'd always admired was nothing but a hypocrite, a downright monster—and the murderer of the Second Hokage.

If he hadn't served as an Anbu for so long, developing a deep-seated habit of obeying orders, and if there wasn't a chance that some hidden circumstances were involved...

He would have attacked this so-called Hokage already.

"What happened? Tell me!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned at the Anbu member. He was beginning to feel that something was very wrong.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you monster! Did you think you could kill the Second Hokage and steal his position without anyone finding out? Well, I'm telling you, we know! And those monstrous things you had Shimura Danzō do—you even used our comrades in the village for experiments! I'll blast you to pieces! My little brother was killed by monsters like you!"

The villager on the ground roared, wriggling as he crawled toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even if he had to bite him, he was going to tear a chunk of flesh from that monster.

Some villagers in Konoha knew the truth, and they truly hated Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others. They'd thought their family members had simply gone missing. They'd never imagined that Root had taken them and turned them into test subjects.

Monsters! You monsters!

What was this? What did he mean, he'd killed the Second Hokage? What did he mean, he'd ordered Shimura Danzō to conduct human experiments? All right, it was true that he'd done that—but he'd stopped later!

What were they talking about?

Hearing the villager's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. Then he realized what was going on: rumors. Someone was spreading rumors.

"Lies! How could I have killed my teacher? He was killed by Kumogakure!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and spoke sternly.

Never mind. No matter what, he had to quell the riot in Konoha first, then explain everything.

"Where's Uchiha Kazuto? Hurry and notify him to suppress the riot! And send out every Anbu member to put an end to the unrest in Konoha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and waved his hand.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Kazuto has already taken the members of the Military Police Force to suppress the riot!"

The Anbu member lowered his head as he spoke. Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, he felt none of his former reverence. Clearly, he no longer believed the claim that the Second Hokage had been killed by Kumogakure.

He'd believed it once. But that was in the past.

Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi—since you were members of the Hokage's guard, you should have been the ones to die back then!

Your duty was to protect the Second Hokage with all your might, even at the cost of your lives—not to survive while the Second Hokage died protecting you.

If you'd said that before, everyone would have believed you. But now...

Heh!

Pfft!

Uchiha Kazuto bit through the blood capsule he'd prepared in his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. Clutching his chest, he felt tears run down the corners of his eyes. He was overwhelmed with sorrow, as if his faith had crumbled in that very moment.

Why?

Lord Hokage, I admired and respected you so much. But how did you repay me?

Lord Hokage, you've betrayed the Will of Fire! You've betrayed the village!

Why did it have to be like this, Lord Hokage?!

Uchiha Kazuto's lips trembled, his face etched with sorrow and pain. He seemed to be suffering more than he ever had before. Anyone who saw him would feel their heart ache. This loyal citizen of Konoha had watched his faith collapse before his eyes.

"Lord Kazuto, you have to stay strong! Konoha still needs you to hold it together! You can't let anything happen to you!"

Just then, several members of the Military Police Force walked over and supported Uchiha Kazuto, their faces filled with pain and grief. They tried to comfort him again and again. No one in all of Konoha was more loyal to Lord Hokage than Lord Kazuto.

Some people said that Lord Kazuto was nothing more than Hiruzen Sarutobi's dog.

Lord Kazuto must be devastated right now. He must be in so much pain.

That damned Hiruzen Sarutobi, that Innate Evil Old Ghost! He'd betrayed Lord Kazuto's trust! He was worse than an animal—a monster!

Uchiha Kazuto wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up, silent and grief-stricken. His lips trembled as he drew a deep breath, trying to calm his sorrow.

"The First Hokage once said, 'No matter who it is, if they dare harm the village or damage its interests, even if it's Hashirama Senju, I'll kill them without hesitation.' That is the great Will of Fire!"

Uchiha Kazuto's face gradually became calm—terrifyingly calm. Only someone in utter despair could make such an expression.

"First Unit, assemble!"

"Second Unit, assemble!"

"..."

"Ninth Unit, assemble!"

"Yes!"

Soon, a large group of shinobi appeared before Uchiha Kazuto. Some stood on the rooftops, others in the streets, but every one of them looked at him with adoration and reverence.

"Ninth Unit, guide everyone in the village to the plaza. Eighth Unit, notify the clans. The rest of you, come with me to the Hokage's Office. Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!"

"Loyalty!"

Soon, a surge of loyalty rose into the sky.

At the same time, Uchiha Kazuto fully activated all nine units.

The ocular power he'd accumulated during this time began to drain rapidly.

After they were activated, the key members of these units saw their chakra, physical strength, and reaction speed rise to Jonin level. The Genin among them also saw their overall strength climb straight to Chunin level, nearing Jonin level.