"Fourth Hokage, you—you can't slander me..."
Though Mitokado Homura felt extremely uneasy, he still gritted his teeth and argued back against Minato Namikaze.
"That's right, Minato. Mitokado Homura and the Mito Clan behind him have both made great contributions to the village. Without evidence, you can't slander a loyal servant who has served the village so well."
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing beside Minato, also came to Homura's defense. He was implying that Minato had slandered the other man without evidence.
But since Minato had dared to say it, he had clear proof. He had received it from Shisui Uchiha the previous year.
Minato had refrained from making the evidence public because he had been concerned about maintaining stability in the village, and the problem had already been resolved.
But now the situation had reached this point. It was no longer something that could be settled by putting the greater good first.
Minato offered no further explanation. Instead, he took out a scroll and placed it on the table at the dais.
"This contains the evidence I obtained that the Mito, Utatane, and Shimura Clans colluded with outside forces a year ago, invaded the village, and seized the Nine-Tails. It also implicates the three clans in an attempt to use those outside forces to overthrow the village government."
Minato's words caused an uproar throughout the conference room.
For someone with the other man's standing as Hokage to say these things outright and present evidence to support them meant the truth was almost certainly as he had described.
"What?!"
It wasn't just Mitokado Homura. Utatane Koharu and Shimura Ketsuzo, who had been sitting until then, also stood up in alarm, trying to get a look at the evidence on the dais.
Hiruzen, on the dais, was also staring at the evidence.