Hearing Minato's words, the Jonin were shocked. Although they were very dissatisfied with Nine-Tails's breaking of the seal, they were far from asking Hokage to abdicate.
However, Third Hokage and partially informed Human Order understood the reason why Minato wanted to abdicate. Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was his wife Kushina. In order to protect her, Minato had to become the sinner.
It was just that in order to protect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki at that time, Kushina had not many insiders of Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so most jounin could not understand why Minato wanted to protect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Nine-Tails breaking the seal is a conspiracy of the enemy. The fourth generation of adults does not need to blame himself so much!"
"This is the mistake of Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and guard Anbu, and has nothing to do with the Fourth Generation!"
"Yes, this is all Jinchuriki's fault. The responsibility should not be borne by the fourth generation!"
The ninjas said that it took almost a year for the fourth generation to succeed to the throne. Although he could not make many practical changes due to time and manpower, his ideal of making Konoha better has long been recognized by everyone.
Third Hokage was quietly watching the ninjas admonishing him. Suddenly he felt something was wrong. There seemed to be some missing people among the ninjas present.
He whispered dissatisfiedly, "Where is the Danzo man? Such a big thing happened, and he is still hiding in his base to store his strength!"
After the battle, he discovered that the Root ninjas had never appeared. He looked around, frowning, looking for their traces.
But after he looked around, he was surprised to find that not only Danzo, but also Utatane Koharu and the jounin of their line were not present.
What makes Third Hokage even more uneasy is that even the jounin among the Sarutobi Clan who did not go to the front line have disappeared.
"Have the ninjas sent to notify Danzo and the advisors come back?" Third Hokage asked seriously. It is difficult to say that it is a coincidence that a large number of ninjas have lost contact at this time.
Several Anbu looked at each other and found that the colleagues who went to Root and Utatane Clan's house to notify them had not returned yet.
"Sir Third Hokage, what happened?" Minato heard the noise from Third Hokage, realized something was wrong, stopped talking, and asked him.
Third Hokage was about to speak, but was interrupted by a rush of footsteps.
Several Anbu Ninja rushed over, their faces full of fear and uneasiness, as if they had just witnessed some incredible horrific scene.
"The Fourth Generation, Master Third Hokage, Root, Utatane Clan, Shimura Clan, Mitokado Clan are all dead, and some of the Sarutobi Clan's ninjas also died together!"
Anbu came to them and said tremblingly, although they saw the picture of the record on the cross, they felt that the death of those ninjas was their own fault.
However, the enemy was actually able to kill more than a dozen Jonin and dozens of Chunins by himself. This power made the Anbus tremble with fear.
"What exactly happened?" Third Hokage's face became more solemn, and he asked urgently. Now it is not only Danzo's problem, but also related to his own tribe.
"We came to the Utatane Clan's clan land and found that there was no one there, and there was only a huge cross standing on it."
"I touched it out of curiosity, and some pictures appeared in my mind, they... they..."
Anbu Ninja's words began to become hesitant, and he didn't know whether he should continue speaking.
"What's wrong with them? Tell me!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was filled with anxiety and worry. His eyes were fixed on Anbu Ninja, waiting for their answer.
"They were taken to a prison-like place by Space-Time Ninjutsu. The enemy summoned the undead that were killed by them, and the undead began to take revenge on them, killing them all."
Anbu glanced at Third Hokage and continued, "Those undead souls are Konoha's ninjas and surrounding villagers."
Third Hokage After listening, his face turned blue and white. He was not ignorant of the darkness in the village, but facing such a situation, even he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
The elders have deep roots in Konoha, and their families have accumulated a huge chain of interests and influence during their twenty years in power.
If Third Hokage takes action against them, Konoha will inevitably fall into a tragic civil war.
What's more, many of the tasks performed by Root were tacitly approved by him behind his back. Those decisions that he could not make personally were taken by Danzo on his own initiative to complete those dark but necessary tasks.
Just like Danzo said, he is Konoha under the sun, and he is the root in the darkness.
In this complicated situation, Third Hokage could only barely grasp the direction and try hard not to let the elders' behavior deviate from the track and do something too excessive.
He thought about completely eradicating these forces, but after thinking about it again and again, he finally chose to give up.
Not everyone can be like Second Hokage, who can sacrifice his own family without hesitation for the benefit of the village.
After learning that Danzo and the clan members he left behind were all killed, Third Hokage's body involuntarily stooped, and his waist bent down, as if he had aged several years in an instant, revealing deep fatigue.
From Anbu Ninja's eyes full of hatred, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that the mistake Danzo had made might be far beyond what he knew.
"Are you saying that you saw everything happening by touching the cross?" Third Hokage braced himself, Konoha was attacked, his wife died, his best friend died, and most of his clan members died.
The continuous blows have made the old man a little overwhelmed, but it is not the time for him to rest yet. The demise of Root and the three major families must come to a conclusion.
"Yes, Master Third Hokage." Anbu replied, kneeling on one knee.
"Then Minato, let's go and see what happened." Third Hokage said to Minato. Then he looked at the curious Jonin around him and said tiredly:
"If you are curious, come along. This kind of thing should not be kept secret."
He thought helplessly: Now that he has retired, let's leave everything to the new generation. Let the sins of the past be completely resolved this time.
Everyone came to the cross inserted by the Utatane Clan and stretched out their hands one by one. Everything that happened before appeared in front of them.
"Is this how Dun died?"
"Yizheng didn't die from Kumogakure Ninja, but was killed by Root!"
"Uncle Caojie, Aunt Naicai, and Xiaosongzi were actually captured by Danzo and used as experimental subjects!!"
Looking at the accusations filled with blood and tears by the undead, many mysteries in the past have been solved, and the hidden truth is like a sharp knife, piercing everyone's heart.
Everyone's hearts were filled with hatred for their atrocities and the anger of being fooled.
Third Hokage's face looked particularly heavy in the dim light. His eyes slowly swept across the ninjas. Those eyes that were once full of reverence were now filled with silence and disappointment.
"In the past, under my leadership, the elders committed terrible crimes. It was all my fault. I decided to take the blame and resign and completely dissolve the elders body."
The Jonin were silent and silently accepted Third Hokage's resignation without anyone stopping him. Under the impact of the previous scene, they could no longer respect Third Hokage.
"Put this cross here. I will inform everyone about this later. Konoha All ninjas and villagers can come here to know their crimes."
Minato suppressed the anger in his heart and said calmly. He found that one of his friends was also treated as an abandoned son by Root's mission.
Third Hokage wanted to stop her loudly, but she opened and closed her mouth silently twice before giving up.
He didn't want his close friends and tribesmen to be nailed to the pillar of shame, but when his eyes fell on the faces of the victims' families, he knew that he was not qualified to say such things.