You Dare Talk to Me About Qualifications!

Habit was a terrifying force!

Sarutobi Hiruzen had ruled Konoha for nearly twenty years. The ninjas and clansmen, all of them servile by profession or blood, had long since grown accustomed to taking orders from the Third Hokage.

There was no helping it!

Even while Namikaze Minato was in office, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other members of F4 were still sticking their noses into everything. There was even the absurd existence of an Anbu unit directly under the Third Hokage. As far as Konoha's many clans were concerned, Minato had barely had a chance to establish any influence.

Besides, during Minato's brief tenure as Hokage, which lasted barely over a year, most of his time was spent trying to get his wife pregnant...

He'd been young, and his tenure had been short-lived. In reality, he'd been little more than a puppet under Sarutobi Hiruzen's control. So much for the Hokage's glorious image.

So even now, no one had ever questioned why Sarutobi Hiruzen still occupied the esteemed position of Hokage.

There was no suitable successor?

Jiraiya didn't want to become Hokage? Tsunade had left the village?

Those were supposed to be reasons? They showed utter disregard for Konoha's great clans and noble houses!

Perhaps that was the power of habit!

Uchiha Jin's disdainful gaze swept slowly across the shocked faces around him. His contempt for them had reached its peak.

Pathetic ninjas, with their despicable bloodlines...

If you couldn't break free of the servility in your blood, then let a noble soul from Zhonghua rule you—or...

Destroy you!

"You little Uchiha brat! How dare you slander Lord Hokage! Is the Uchiha Clan trying to rebel against its superiors?"

Utatane Koharu was the first among them to come to her senses. Only someone with her shrewish disposition was suited to handling a scene like this.

However...

Uchiha Jin wasn't about to indulge an old dog who rested on her laurels. Were ninjas really such weak and useless creatures?

Sharingan: Suppression!

Using the powerful ocular might of his Sharingan with practiced ease, Uchiha Jin forced Utatane Koharu back. He stood proudly, unyielding as steel, and continued to shout furiously at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, fought to protect Konoha until he was utterly spent and died!"

"The Second, Senju Tobirama, sacrificed himself on the battlefield to cover his subordinates' retreat, all for Konoha's future!"

"The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, fought to the death against the enemy who invaded the village to protect it. He even gave up his life and soul to seal the rampaging Nine-Tails Fox!"

"But you, Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

At this, Uchiha Jin stepped forward and pointed at Sarutobi Hiruzen's nose, cursing him furiously.

"You alone, the Third Hokage, caused countless young ninjas to die on the battlefield through your poor command of the war. Then, in the end, you voluntarily gave up the hard-won fruits of our victory!"

His pointed words rang across the entire room. Everyone present was shaken, staring at Uchiha Jin in utter shock.

Uchiha Jin looked Sarutobi Hiruzen straight in the eye, his gaze brimming with fighting spirit and utterly undisguised, as if hurling silent mockery at him again and again.

You've got the guts to go down with me, huh!

Faced with that gaze, brimming with madness and fighting spirit, even Sarutobi Hiruzen, a veteran of the political arena, was stunned. He'd never imagined Uchiha Jin would be so audacious.

Isn't he afraid...

I'm not afraid!

After that series of tests, Uchiha Jin had finally confirmed that Sarutobi Hiruzen had the mindset of a politician. His confidence had now climbed to seventy percent.

So...

I have nothing to fear now!

"Our Uchiha fought the Land of Water alone, while Konoha's other clans fought in blood against the other three nations. We won the Third Shinobi World War only after countless hardships, spending untold resources and money and sacrificing countless clansmen's blood and lives!"

Uchiha Jin was in high spirits. With nearly every clan head in Konoha present, he planted a foot on Shimura Danzō and pointed at Sarutobi Hiruzen as he cursed him.

"And because of your laughable cowardice, we lost the right to claim war reparations. What did you think our clansmen's lives were worth?"

"If I'd been born a few years earlier, you wouldn't have merely stepped down. What you did was outright treason against the village!"

"You!"

Uchiha Jin grew more agitated with every word. He advanced on Sarutobi Hiruzen step by step, his voice growing ever more impassioned and sharp, as if he were facing an enemy sworn against him for life.

"You! Were! Deposed!"

Each word rang out, forceful and emphatic, leaving the ordinary ninjas and clan heads present utterly stunned once more.

That was right!

According to the records, Sarutobi Hiruzen had indeed stepped down voluntarily. But how could they not know that he'd been forced into it by the daimyo and Konoha's clan leaders? They'd merely saved a little face for the "strongest Hokage" in public.

But Uchiha Jin's words had now torn away that fig leaf, exposing for all to see the secret Sarutobi Hiruzen least wanted known.

"Uchiha Jin, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was truly furious now. Having his dark side laid bare while being powerless to refute it was a predicament that even years of self-control couldn't fully contain.

But he couldn't strike back!

What Uchiha Jin had said was unpleasant, but every word was true. If he tried to argue, he'd only put himself in an even more awkward position.

"I admit that some of my decisions during the Third Shinobi World War were mistaken. But that's all in the past. And my current position as acting Hokage has the approval of everyone in the village!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to deliver a quick summary and steer the conversation away from this unfavorable ground.

"The past has nothing to do with today. I just want to ask whether you Uchiha are going to release them. Does Sarutobi Hiruzen have the authority to deal with these 'suspects'?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. Even someone who believed in "the art of compromise" needed firm measures to defend his interests.

"If it were the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato—or if today's matter didn't involve that piece of trash, Danzō—then the Uchiha wouldn't say a word. We wouldn't have the slightest objection!"

"But you!"

"You were once a member of the Second's Shadow Guard, yet you failed to complete your mission and protect the Hokage!"

Uchiha Jin stomped down hard on Danzō's face again, then turned and roared at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Then, when the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was attacked, you failed to protect him too, forcing a Hokage in his prime to use a jutsu that cost him his life!"

"And that piece of trash, Danzō, blocked the Uchiha Clan from rescuing the Fourth Hokage. Back then, all you did was depose him and confine him to his home for good!"

"And today, you went even further and let that man show his face here as if nothing had happened!"

"And now you ask me if you're qualified?"

"Qualified, huh?"

The sneer remained on Uchiha Jin's face. But at that moment, he released the ocular power pinning Danzō down, then delivered a powerful kick.

Thud!

As Danzō, the "Pot Kage," rolled to a stop at Sarutobi Hiruzen's feet, Uchiha Jin's disdainful words rang out once more.

"Do you think you're fit to talk to me about qualifications?"