Pieces of scattered information were sent to Orochimaru.
Ren defeated Kumogakure.
Expose Danzo's crime in public.
Take away Mangekyō Sharingan from Kagami Uchiha.
In custody Danzo.
Force Third Hokage to abdicate.
Impeach The bad debts left by Hiruzen Sarutobi for many years in power.
White Fang committed suicide, Tsunade fled away, Jiraiya left the village in despair, Orochimaru defected, Root was experimented on humans, Uchiha was suppressed, and Konoha's combat power was repeatedly lost.
These things were torn apart one by one by Ren in front of Konoha Leadership and other ethnic groups.
Orochimaru When he heard his name, his fingers slowly stopped.
He originally thought that he no longer cared about Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But when those old things were opened up by others from another angle, the long-rotted wound in his heart was forced out.
He was once the most valued disciple of Third Hokage.
One of Konoha Sannin.
His talent, record, research ability, and reputation are all enough to support him in competing for Hokage Position.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi respects him but also fears him.
Appreciate his talents, but fear his dangers.
When his reputation was at its highest, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to suppress him, guard against him, alienate him, and use Jiraiya's freedom, Tsunade's leaving the village, and Minato Namikaze's light to push him outside Hokage Position little by little.
It was at that time that Danzo reached out his hand.
Root, Experimental, Hashirama's Cells, Forbidden Technique, Human study.
At first, Orochimaru only thought that was the way to the truth, but now looking back, Danzo's wooing, Hiruzen Sarutobi's fear, and Konoha Leadership's acquiescence and cutting, were all a network that pushed him step by step to defect.
Orochimaru laughed softly.
That laughter was full of coldness.
"Ren-kun, you really dare to say it."
When he returned to the hotel, Kakuzu was still staring at the information about Super Amazing City.
"Building a city with five billion taels, Uchiha didn't even frown. Konoha has won three Shinobi World wars. Logically speaking, they should get more compensation from various countries."
Kakuzu raised his head, his voice full of doubts.
"Why was Konoha never so rich?"
Xie also looked at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru sat by the window, looking at the construction site still brightly lit in the distance, his voice was cold.
"Because Konoha has won wars, but has never really forced the enemy country to pay huge compensation."
Kakuzu frowned.
Orochimaru continued, "Teacher Sarutobi wants peace. As long as the enemy is willing to cease the war, he will be satisfied."
"He is unwilling to get things done, to hold people accountable, and to make compensation that would hurt the enemy country."
"At the end of every war, Konoha appears to be the winner, but actually gives away a lot of benefits."
"Hokage Tower would say that this is to avoid new hatred, for Shinobi World peace, and for the village to recuperate."
"But money doesn't just appear out of thin air."
"The enemy country does not have to pay a sufficient price, and the Land of Fire allocation has been divided by all parties. The village's senior officials, departments, families, and mission systems have passed hands at all levels. There will only be less and less things that really fall on the bottom ninjas."
He paused for a moment, his voice without any warmth.
"Konoha has won three Shinobi World wars, but Teacher Sarutobi has never been willing to truly pursue liability claims."
"As long as the enemy is willing to cease fighting, he will be satisfied."
"As for the pensions for those who died in war, the rest of their lives for those who were seriously injured, and how orphans and widowed mothers live, Hokage Tower will use various methods to cut the budget, delay payments, and take care of them step by step."
"In the end, after the war, pensions shrank step by step, making it difficult for the sacrificed and seriously injured ninjas and their families to make ends meet. In the end, only the lower-level ninjas suffered."
Orochimaru sat by the window, listening to Kakuzu's cold judgment, the corners of his mouth slowly opened.
"The winner will not take away the winner's interests, and the loser will naturally not remember the pain."
Kakuzu closed the information scroll in his hand with undisguised disdain in his voice.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, this Hokage, seems stupid to me."
Scorpion raised his head, but there was no emotion in the voice under the puppet shell.
"Stupid?"
Kakuzu snorted coldly.
"The root of war is never a few nice words or the so-called desire for peace."
"It's money."
"Ninja tools cost money, medicinal materials cost money, food costs money, intelligence costs money, and training ninja costs even more money."
"If a ninja village wants to start a war, it must first be able to support people, buy knives, provide supplies, and support post-war pensions."
"If they don't have to pay a heavy price for defeat, but just sign an armistice and recover in a few years, of course they will dare to do it again."
He raised his finger and tapped it heavily on the table.
"This is the root cause of the constant war in Shinobi World."
"It doesn't hurt if you lose, and the loser won't have a long memory."
"Today Konoha takes a step back, tomorrow Kumogakure dares to kidnap Kekkei Genkai."
"Today Hokage Tower talks about magnanimity, but tomorrow the enemy will feel that Konoha is weak and can be bullied."
"The so-called kindness, in a place like Shinobi World, often just pushes the cost of the next war to the lower-level ninjas."
Orochimaru chuckled lowly.
This is an ugly statement, but it is realistic enough.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's set of preaching peace to the outside world and patience to the inside sounds like the generosity inherited from Will of Fire, but it really falls to the bottom, that is, the families of those killed in the war cannot receive adequate pensions, seriously injured ninjas lose their future, orphans are randomly placed in villages, and the enemy countries can quickly sharpen their swords again because their blood has not been drained.
Scorpion said nothing.
He doesn't have a good impression of Konoha, nor does he have much nostalgia for Sunagakure, but he knows better than anyone what the war left behind.
My parents died on the battlefield, and the village could not recover.
Hatred will not disappear just because of the armistice.
Kakuzu continued, "Uchiha Ren did it right this time."
"If you win Kumogakure, you should squeeze Kumogakure dry."
"Sixty-seven hundred and seventy-eight billion taels of compensation, Chakra Metal, mineral contracts, trade route access, Secret Technique information, the price that the defeated country should pay cannot be less."
"Kumogakure has been exploited to this extent. Even if he wants to fight in a short period of time, he won't have the money to fight."
"No matter how tough a ninja is, if you have no money to buy ninja tools, no money to care for the wounded, no money to repair defense lines, no money to replenish armaments, what can you do to continue fighting?"
"This is true long-term peace and stability."
He looked at Orochimaru, with a cold light in his green pupils.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi has been fighting for decades, but he still can't even figure out such a simple account."
"Uchiha Ren is young, but he understands war better than him."
Orochimaru turned his attention to the window.
The Konoha street in the distance is still lively, the lights in the direction of the Super Amazing City construction site remain on, transport trucks pass by the street entrances one after another, and craftsmen, ninjas, and businessmen mix together, like a torrent that can no longer be suppressed by the Hokage Tower old rules.
He spoke slowly.
"Ren-kun is indeed very interesting."
"He doesn't look like Teacher Sarutobi, nor does he look like Danzo."
"Teacher Sarutobi wants everyone to take a step back and let their own people bear the price in the end."
"Danzo wants to hold all the darkness in his hands, and finally corrupt Konoha into his tool."
"But Mr. Ren is different."
"After he wins, the first thing he does is take away the benefits and then use them to reshape the order."