Orochimaru Appears, Intercepting Sarutobi Hiruzen's Attack

Silence. Silence.

The comments that had been ongoing fell silent in an instant. They stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen with disbelief in their eyes.

They had never expected it.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had gone so mad.

He wanted to kill anyone he saw.

"If you have the guts, kill me now! Supporting you as Hokage back then was the wrong decision. You've gone insane now. No—in fact, you stopped being worthy of being Hokage years ago!"

At that moment, someone stepped out from among the civilians and roared furiously at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He voiced the Konoha villagers' dissatisfaction with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"That's right! Kill me if you can!"

"Ever since you established the Sarutobi Police Force, you haven't been worthy of being Konoha's Hokage!"

"You don't deserve to be Konoha's Hokage!"

"Unworthy!"

"You don't deserve to be Hokage! Kill me if you can! Even if I die, Konoha's villagers will still stand up!"

"Step down!"

"Step down!"

The initial silence shattered when someone stepped forward, and the crowd erupted once more. They were resisting Sarutobi Hiruzen.

At that moment,

among those imprisoned, though they were listless and dispirited, some were swept up by the atmosphere and stepped forward. "If you have the guts, kill me! Kill me! I don't want to live anymore either!"

"Sarutobi Hiruzen, I saw with my own eyes how you murdered Konoha's villagers for these experiments, using them to revive those Impure World Reincarnation undead... I already know my fate!"

"Kill me now! I'd rather die... than become one of your so-called sacrifices!"

"If the sacrifices you revive are unleashed, even more people may be harmed and die at the hands of those brought back by Impure World Reincarnation. That would make us sinners too!"

"Kill me!"

The man spoke with impassioned fervor. His eyes remained fixed on