Itachi Uchiha stood aside, his face still calm, but his fingers clenched silently.
Many people in the conference room changed their faces.
Some people have heard of this and some have not.
But now that Ren said it in public, everyone could feel the biting humiliation.
A child in the same village was targeted by a foreign enemy. Konoha Leadership did not want to blame the foreign enemy, but wanted to hand over his own child to calm the storm.
This kind of thing would be enough to make people feel chilly if it happened to any ninja clan.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment, his voice low.
"If time went over again, I would still make the same choice."
As soon as these words came out, many people in the conference room looked at him suddenly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not avoid those eyes.
"Hokage must consider the safety of the entire village."
"Not long after Konoha experienced Nine-Tails' Attack at that time, the fourth generation was killed in battle. ANBU suffered heavy losses, and the major ninja clans have not fully recovered. Kumogakure took the opportunity to put pressure on Konoha. If Konoha starts a war immediately, the whole village will bear the price."
He looked at Ren, his eyes a little deeper.
"As for the strength Uchiha showed today, Hokage Building didn't know about it at that time."
"If Uchiha has had such combat power for a long time, but never let the village know the real situation, then it is not surprising that Konoha Leadership made a judgment based on the intelligence at the time."
This was said very firmly, but everyone could understand the meaning behind it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi is implying that Uchiha deliberately concealed his strength, which allowed the senior management to misjudge the situation.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions softened slightly.
But Ren sneered.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you describe your weakness as considering the overall situation, and you describe Hokage Building's incompetence as Uchiha's failure to take the initiative to tell the truth."
"Is this what you have been able to do for decades in power?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened.
Ren's voice then rose in pitch, overpowering the breathing of everyone on both sides of the long table.
"Where is Konoha?"
"It is Shinobi World's first ninja village. It was established after Hashirama and Madara Uchiha teamed up to end Warring States's troubled times."
"It defeated First Shinobi World War and survived the second time, Third Shinobi World War. Even if it paid a heavy price, it is still one of the top powers of Shinobi World."
"But in your hands, dignified Konoha, faced with the crime committed by Kumogakure, his first reaction was to sacrifice his own kind for stability."
"You don't dare to draw your sword against foreign enemies, you only dare to attack your own people."
"You don't want to make Kumogakure pay the price. You just want to push Itachi Uchiha out, bury the shame in the clan's land, and tell everyone that this is for peace."
Ren put his hands on the table, his gaze fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi like a knife.
"This is not peace."
"This is called kneeling down to beg for breath."
"Konoha has gradually transformed from the top power of Shinobi World into a weak village that even the village children have to negotiate with. The root cause lies in the improper decision-making of you high-level officials."
"You disregard the dignity of your tribe, compromise and give in when things happen, give in and give in externally, and suppress internally again and again."
"This way of governing is itself a serious fault."
"This alone is enough to constitute grounds for impeachment and removal of Hokage."
There was complete silence in the conference room.
The Jonin who wanted to speak for Hiruzen Sarutobi just now moved their lips but could not say a word.
Because Ren said it too bluntly and too painfully.
What was Konoha in the past?
Shinobi World The first ninja village, the winner of three Shinobi World wars, Land of Fire's strongest force, a behemoth that once made other ninja villages fearful.
But what about now?
Kumogakure dared to come to Konoha to kidnap people, dared to bite Konoha back, and dared to use the threat of war to force Konoha to hand over his fellow villagers.
And Hokage Building's choice back then was actually to give in.
Shikaku Nara lowered his head and pressed his fingers on the table unconsciously.
Inoichi Yamanaka's face tightened.
Choza Akimichi's chest rose and fell heavily.
Hyuga Hiashi looked even colder, because Hyuga clan was also forced like this by Kumogakure back then.
That humiliation is not limited to Uchiha.
Many Konoha Ninja felt as if they had been severely whipped.
They were once proud of Konoha.
But after Ren laid out the old accounts, they discovered that Konoha's concessions over the years had already caused them to lose too much dignity in front of foreign enemies.
Seeing the situation being suppressed by Ren, Utatane Koharu stood up suddenly.
"Enough!"
She stared at Ren with a sharp voice.
"You make it sound like all the problems lie with Hokage Building, but what did Uchiha do back then?"
"If Uchiha had not deliberately concealed his strength, and if you had shown the combat power of Temple today, would Hokage Building still make that judgment?"
"It was you, Uchiha, who sealed off your tribe and were unwilling to share your true power with the village, which led to the high-level misjudgment of Kumogakure."
"Now you use today's combat power to accuse Hiruzen, don't you think it's ridiculous?"
Mitokado Homura also answered the call immediately.
"That's right."
"If Uchiha really had the strength he has today in the past but kept hiding it, then you are also responsible for Konoha's passivity back then."
"We can't wait until Uchiha wins Kumogakure and then put all the responsibility on Hokage."
Ren looked at the two of them, his expression unwavering.
"You still want to pass the blame to Uchiha."
"Then let me make it more clear."
"Uchiha Shrine The strong people today are not the Kage Level who hid in the past, nor are they the old Monster who deliberately stood aside when Konoha was in danger."
"Most of them are the new generation who grew up after the war."
"Nanami, Tekka, and those Temple disciples were just the young Uchiha in Military Police Force who were monitored, excluded, and suppressed by you."
"The reason why they have today's combat strength is because I reorganized the family training after succeeding Clan Leader, established the Temple system, integrated Chakra training, Sharingan cooperation, and formed battle formations, and then brought them to the battlefield, polished from blood with sword and fire."
"This is not Uchiha deliberately hiding his clumsiness in the past."
"This is the power that Uchiha gained step by step after being pushed to the limit by you and forced to save and strengthen itself."
Utatane Koharu's face changed.
Ren didn't give her a chance to interrupt.
"After Nine-Tails' Attack, what did you do to Uchiha?"
"Without finding out the truth, the suspicion that Nine-Tails was manipulated was pinned on Uchiha."
"Forcibly relocated the clan area and drove Uchiha from the core area of Konoha to the edge of the village."
"Cut off Uchiha's original business contacts and cut off the clan's real estate industry one by one."
"ANBU and Root keep an eye on the clan area day and night, and even Uchiha's children have their whereabouts recorded when they go out."
"Military Police Force is supposed to be a department that maintains order in the village, but you have gradually turned it into a wall that separates Uchiha from the villagers."
"If the tribe is strict, the villagers resent Uchiha; if the tribe is lenient, the senior officials say Uchiha is derelict in his duties."
"While you let Uchiha maintain public order in the village, you incited the villagers to hate Military Police Force, and then used this disgust to prove that Uchiha is not trustworthy."
Ren's voice is getting colder and colder.
"In these years, you have not been governing Uchiha, but you have been pushing Uchiha to be the opposite of Konoha little by little."
"The tribe is angry and Military Police Force is disappointed. The elders of the tribe believe that the village will take action against Uchiha sooner or later. The coup ideas that you forced out are not just a matter of days or two."
"It was only thanks to my efforts to comfort Clan Leader after taking over that the situation was stabilized."