"Is that something a proper leader would do?"
"Therefore, in the future when I become Hokage—and even after I unite the ninja world—ninjas will no longer be tools or sacrificial pawns. They'll be able to live with their heads held high.
"They're living people with feelings too. They won't be treated differently anymore...
"Whether ninja or civilian, they will never be treated like sacrificial pawns to be thrown away for the greater good by a leader like you!"
"This is the future I want to create. This is the system I want to break. This is the reform I want!"
As Naruto's words fell, everyone present was deeply moved.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood frozen in place, carefully reflecting on every word Naruto had said.
Though he did not fully agree with those ideas, they had indeed shaken his worldview.
The Hokage-style way of thinking he had believed in, practiced throughout his life, and taught to the entire village—
The notion of preserving the greater good through compromise and the sacrifice of a minority when facing external pressure—was completely rejected and condemned by Naruto at this moment.
Had he truly been sacrificing innocent people again and again, without making any change at all?
"They will never be treated like sacrificial pawns to be thrown away for the greater good by a leader like me?"
After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally forced those words out through his hoarse throat.
That really did seem to be the case...
During the Hyuga incident, he had sacrificed Hizashi Hyuga alone in the name of Konoha's greater good.
Yet he had never made any changes.
When faced with the fierce conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village, all he did was stall and keep saying they should wait a little longer...
And so, the Uchiha