After Ibiki finished speaking, the entire conference room fell so quiet that they could have heard a pin drop.
Although Konoha was not directly subordinate to the Land of Fire, its people still considered themselves subjects of the country. Now that they knew the daimyo they acknowledged had secretly feared them and placed bounties on their heads all along, the ninjas struggled to accept it.
"Lord Hokage, what do you think?"
In the end, Uchiha Fugaku was the one who put the question to Madara.
Fugaku believed that since Madara had presented this problem to everyone, he must already have reached a conclusion.
"Why would the Daimyo of the Land of Fire treat us like this?!"
Before Madara could answer his father's question, Naruto, his blood boiling, stepped forward with another question for him.
"Naruto, calm down!"
In the end, Jiraiya held the impulsive Naruto back. He looked at the bewildered boy with sympathy, while also studying Madara's expression.
What exactly is the Fifth Hokage trying to do?
Whether it was letting Naruto decide how to deal with the Sand Ninjas three years ago or letting Naruto and the others learn the truth about the Bounty Exchange Office this time, there was something behind it.
Although all of it seemed coincidental, Jiraiya kept feeling that Madara was deliberately exposing Naruto and the others to the true darkness of the shinobi world. In Jiraiya's view, Naruto had no need to know about these things.
"Naruto, the shinobi world isn't a game of make-believe. If you want to become Hokage, you need more than the strength to stand in the light. You also need the resolve to shoulder its darkness."
Hearing Madara speak to Naruto like that left Jiraiya incredulous once again.
As he saw it, Sasuke was the successor Madara was