Shisui's Faith Collapses!

Konoha.

Senju Clan compound.

"Lord Chiba, please ask."

Shikaku Nara's voice trembled slightly.

He knew the real test had arrived.

What Chiba was about to expose was undoubtedly the ugliest shame hidden by Konoha High Command.

"Konoha has many ninja clans."

"Among them are the Sarutobi Clan, Shimura Clan, Utatane Clan, and Mitokado Clan."

"These four clans are the clans to which Konoha High Command belongs!"

"How many registered ninja do they have in total?"

Chiba crossed his arms and looked down at Shikaku Nara.

In an instant.

Shikaku Nara's mind went blank.

Because Chiba's question was too deadly!

These were the four clans of the high command!

Normally.

No one dared touch upon such a taboo subject!

"Th-this is classified village information..."

Shikaku Nara tried to make one last struggle.

"Answer me!"

A cold glint flashed in Chiba's eyes.

Shikaku Nara's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.

Beside him, Aburame Shibi also raised his head, his gaze beneath his sunglasses filled with complicated emotions.

He wanted to know the answer too.

Even Shisui Uchiha turned to look over.

Seeing this.

Shikaku Nara understood.

If he did not give them a proper answer today, he would never walk out of this door.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

"The Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado Clans..."

"Among their registered ninja..."

"There are nearly a hundred Jonin."

"More than five hundred Chunin."

"And just over a thousand Genin..."

With every number Shikaku Nara reported.

The atmosphere in the hall grew more oppressive.

Shisui Uchiha was stunned.

The four clans combined had nearly seventeen hundred ninja!

What an enormous force that was!

Many mid-sized ninja clans had only one or two hundred ninja in their entire clan.

Even the Uchiha Clan, hailed as the foremost great clan of the Ninja World, had only a little over five hundred ninja.

"Very good."

"Seventeen hundred ninja."

"One hundred Jonin."

"These four clans truly have quite the impressive lineup."

Upon hearing Shikaku Nara's words.

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Chiba's lips.

"Then."

"The next question."

"During the Third Shinobi World War."

"Konoha fought on multiple fronts, and its manpower was nearly exhausted."

"Even a ten-year-old student like me was sent to the battlefield."

"These four deeply established clans..."

"How many ninja did they send to the various front lines in total?"

At this point.

Chiba stared directly into Shikaku's eyes, leaving him no chance to evade the question.

Shikaku Nara's face turned ashen.

He began trembling uncontrollably.

He did not want to say it.

He truly did not want to reveal that chilling number.

Once that number was exposed.

The glorious image Konoha High Command had painstakingly cultivated for decades would collapse in an instant.

All the lies and all the disguises would be ripped apart completely.

"Speak!"

Chiba barked sharply.

Shikaku Nara's psychological defenses collapsed.

He closed his eyes, and two streams of tears slid down his cheeks.

"N-not even a hundred..."

Shikaku Nara's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Yet in this pin-drop-silent hall, it was no different from a devastating earthquake.

Boom!

The last string in Shisui Uchiha's mind finally snapped.

His entire body went limp, and he slumped directly into his chair.

His eyes were hollow and lifeless, as though his soul had left him.

Fewer than a hundred!

A massive alliance of clans with seventeen hundred ninja!

At the very moment the village faced life and death, they had sent fewer than a hundred people to the front lines!

Where had the remaining sixteen hundred gone?

They had hidden in the village.

Hidden beneath the protection of the Hokage Office!

Yet they enjoyed the peace the soldiers on the front lines had bought with their blood!

And what about the Uchiha Clan?

As long as someone in the clan could refine chakra, nearly all of them had been sent to the Mist Battlefield!

They had suffered devastating casualties!

There was no need to even mention the civilian ninja.

Batch after batch of children who had just graduated, who had never even seen blood, were sent to fill the trenches.

"Hahaha..."

"Hahahahaha..."

Shisui Uchiha suddenly laughed like a madman.

His laughter was filled with desolation and despair.

Tears mixed with blood streamed from his scarlet Sharingan.

This was the Will of Fire he had sworn to defend with his life!

This was the Third Hokage he had revered so deeply!

It was all a lie!

It was all lies meant to preserve their clans' rule!

Aburame Shibi remained seated.

He said nothing.

But his tightly clenched fists and trembling shoulders exposed the extreme turmoil in his heart.

In truth, many clan heads of the great clans knew this perfectly well.

But no one dared say it.

Because Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Hokage and held the moral high ground in his hands.

Whoever dared raise doubts would be branded a traitor to the village and meet the fate of having their family destroyed.

Today.

This veil of shame was finally torn down mercilessly by Chiba.

Chiba watched the collapsing Shisui Uchiha with cold eyes.

He felt no sympathy whatsoever.

A fool who had been completely brainwashed could only be awakened with the fiercest poison.

"Do you understand now?"

A moment later.

Chiba's gaze swept across the three below him.

His voice was as cold as ice and carried terrifying killing intent.

"Konoha's Roots have been rotten for a long time."

"Those old dogs led by Sarutobi Hiruzen have turned Konoha into a blood-and-sweat factory for their clans."

"They use the lives of civilians and ninja clans like yours to exchange for their own clans' prosperity."

"My Senju Clan founded Konoha."

"I will never allow the hard work of the First and Second Hokage to be destroyed by this trash."

"Now."

"There are only two paths before you."

At this point.

Chiba raised two fingers.

"First."

"Walk out through this door."

"Go back and continue being Sarutobi Hiruzen's dogs."

"Then pray that when I purge Konoha, your clans will not be implicated."

Chiba lowered his first finger, and his gaze became exceedingly dangerous.

"Second."

"Stay."

"Redefine Konoha's rules."

"Sweep those bloodsuckers completely into history's garbage heap."

"..."

As Chiba's words fell.

The hall once again sank into deathly silence.

Shikaku Nara's mind rapidly weighed the gains and losses.

Chiba's strength was beyond doubt. He absolutely had the power to crush Konoha head-on.

Moreover, Chiba held the legitimacy of the Senju Clan in his hands.

More importantly.

Chiba was a lone commander.

He needed manpower.

Choosing a side now would be a true contribution to the rise of a new ruler!

As long as Chiba won.

The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans would leap up to become Konoha's new core!

"The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans."

"Are willing to serve Lord Chiba with utmost loyalty!"

The next moment.

Shikaku Nara walked before Chiba.

Without the slightest hesitation, he dropped to one knee.

"The Aburame Clan."

"Will obey Lord Chiba's commands."

Aburame Shibi also rose from his chair.

He walked to Shikaku Nara's side and likewise dropped to one knee.

Chiba nodded in satisfaction.

Then.

He turned his gaze to Shisui Uchiha, who was still slumped in his chair.

"And you?"

"Genius of the Uchiha Clan."

"Will you continue clinging to your ridiculous Will of Fire and drown in it?"

"Or will you stand up and seek justice for your Uchiha Clan?"

"..."

Shisui Uchiha braced himself against the armrest and rose to his feet with difficulty.

He wiped the bloody tears from his face.

Those Three-Tomoe Sharingan gleamed with an eerie red light in the darkness.

After his faith had crumbled.

All that remained was the fury of vengeance.

"Shisui Uchiha..."

"Willing to become the blade in Lord Chiba's hand and cut down all the rot in Konoha!"