After weighing the pros and cons, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to retreat. But his eyes stayed fixed on Uchiha Izuna, and he kept his hands behind his back, ready to form Hand Seals at any moment.
Just then, Hyuga Hiashi spoke up in a clear voice. "Sarutobi, tell me: do you still remember why the village was founded?"
At the sound of his voice, Sarutobi Hiruzen trembled and turned his head. A man dressed in white was slowly stepping out from the crowd: Hyuga Hiashi. His voice was stern and solemn.
"Hyuga Hiashi, don't tell me you want to get involved in this too! Don't say I didn't warn you: if you fail, your Hyuga Clan will end up just like the Uchiha Clan!" Sarutobi Hiruzen had never feared Hyuga Hiashi, and he feared him even less now.
The veins at Hiashi's temples bulged. He looked toward Uchiha Izuna, who nodded, then whistled. In an instant, two figures smashed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Hokage's Office and flew inside.
At the same time, two Susanoo arms shot out. One was blue-green, its massive hand brimming with vitality; the other was crimson, its massive hand radiating devastating power.
Both hands reached out at once and seized Sarutobi Hiruzen by the arms.
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze. He immediately channeled chakra and tried to muster his strength, but the skeletal hands of Susanoo had him firmly in their grasp. He couldn't do a thing.
"You—you Uchiha are trying to rebel? Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, you traitors! After all the trust I placed in you, you actually joined forces with Uchiha Izuna to subdue me!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was full of fury and indignation.
Although he was berating Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, he was really looking at Uchiha Izuna.
If his guess was right, the Uchiha Clan's change of attitude and Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi's change of sides were both the doing of the young man before him.
After Shimura Danzō's schemes had nearly cost Uchiha Shisui his Mangekyō Sharingan, and Uchiha Itachi had witnessed his close friend being hunted down, neither felt the slightest guilt over Sarutobi Hiruzen's words.
You were the one who betrayed us first. Don't blame us for returning the favor. If the Third hadn't tacitly approved, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi would never have believed Shimura Danzō would dare recklessly strip someone from his own village of their Kekkei Genkai!
Still, the two of them were wrong to blame Sarutobi Hiruzen for this. He truly knew nothing about it. This time, he was taking the fall for Shimura Danzō.
Hyuga Hiashi looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with satisfaction. This was the kind of pathetic state that suited him. Hiashi still remembered the way Sarutobi Hiruzen had half-threatened and half-bullied him back then.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had been so self-righteous, preaching benevolence and morality while sacrificing his own village's shinobi for the sake of peace. He was unforgivable!
Hiashi looked toward Uchiha Izuna. Izuna smiled and extended his right hand, gesturing for him to go ahead.
The next moment, with everyone watching, Hiashi walked toward the restrained Sarutobi Hiruzen. He assumed a fighting stance, then roared, "Sarutobi Hiruzen, when you sacrificed my younger brother's life, did you ever think this day would come?"
Hiashi thrust out his right hand and struck a chakra point on Sarutobi Hiruzen's body!
Thud!
Sarutobi Hiruzen grunted in pain. His right arm immediately went limp, and he could no longer draw on his chakra. He knew the Hyuga Clan's ability to seal chakra points.
But this was the first time he had ever been on the receiving end. He sneered. "Traitors and rebels! You're just like the Uchiha Clan, a bunch of traitors and rebels against Konoha!"
"Holy shit, say that one more time!" Uchiha Izuna laughed in disbelief. He strode right up to Sarutobi Hiruzen and slapped him hard across the face!
Smack! The sharp crack made the villagers and shinobi clans, already stunned into silence, shudder. They looked at one another.
The Hokage had just been slapped—no, the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had been slapped????
Sarutobi Hiruzen was dumbfounded. Fine, you could hit him in the body, even strike his chakra points, but his face? He stared blankly at Uchiha Izuna as his formerly kindly, hypocritical expression twisted into something hideous.
"Uchiha Izuna, you snot-nosed brat, you dare lay a hand on me? Do you know that without me, Konoha would have suffered devastating losses in the Second Shinobi World War?"
"You're someone who just reaped the benefits. How dare you lay a hand on me? Were you the one who fought in the war? You weren't even born back then, were you?" Sarutobi Hiruzen launched into a tirade.
"Heh. Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, no one denies your contributions during the Second Shinobi World War. But have you ever heard the saying: merits are merits, faults are faults. One cannot cancel out the other."
"Are you going to keep living off your past accomplishments, draining the lifeblood of Konoha? Oppressing innocent heroes and bullying their children?"
"I remember your Will of Fire includes the words, 'Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on. Wherever the leaves dance, blazing flames will rise. The fire will light up the village, and the leaves will sprout anew.'"
"The point is to pass things on. The older generation keeps making sacrifices for the new shoots, so that the next generation can thrive through their efforts. Isn't that right?" Uchiha Izuna said, his face dark.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened. He stared at Uchiha Izuna in utter disbelief, never imagining that Izuna understood his ideals so deeply.
His resentment began to fade, and his expression as he looked at Izuna grew complicated.
Uchiha Izuna suddenly raised his voice. "Lord Hokage! Tell me: has everything you've done since the Second Shinobi World War truly stayed true to your original purpose, to the ideals you hold in your heart?"
"All these years, we've kept giving away our interests for the sake of peace, and everyone's standard of living has plummeted. Is that really the Will of Fire?"
Uchiha Izuna's words made Sarutobi Hiruzen's face twitch. Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered the man he used to be and the ideals he had once held.
In that moment, he no longer wanted to fight back. He wanted to surrender. He even felt like dying.
"I... What have I done all these years?" Sarutobi Hiruzen came to a sudden realization. He looked at his hands, trembling all over.
Uchiha Izuna signaled for Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui to let go. The two exchanged a glance, then nodded.
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell to his knees and looked at his hands, weeping bitterly. From that moment on, he was no longer the high-and-mighty Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was just an old man who had rediscovered his original ideals!
Seeing this, Hyuga Hiashi wanted to strike again, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He had grown up listening to Sarutobi Hiruzen's lessons, after all.
He knew how hard the young Sarutobi Hiruzen had worked, how determined and ambitious he had been. Everything he did had been for Konoha. But later, power had blinded him, and his original ideals had been swallowed by his lust for power.
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