The battle had finally ended, but the arguments in the clearing showed no sign of stopping. Civilians and the ninja who had stayed behind shouted at each other until their faces turned red. Tempers flared hotter with every exchange, and neither side would give an inch.
Just then, hurried footsteps came racing in from afar!
Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai Yuhi-Konoha's four key jonin-were the first to arrive!
Right behind them, the entire upper echelon of Konoha's leadership appeared in force!
Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi-the heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans-had all gathered!
Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga Clan, arrived with his people!
Even the representative of the Uchiha's remaining members who had stayed behind hurried to the edge of the scene-yes, just Sasuke!
All of Konoha's highest-ranking figures had assembled, their expressions tense and grave.
Their eyes instinctively swept the area, immediately landing on Hiruzen Sarutobi, lying on the ground without a trace of breath.
The old Hokage who had governed Konoha for decades was utterly lifeless.
Everyone present felt an inexplicable surge of genuine grief and heaviness, yet somehow, it also felt as though they had expected this all along.
After all, during Orochimaru's Konoha Crush operation, most of the ninja attacking from other directions had only been genin, aside from those on Orochimaru's side. Yet these leaders had only just arrived. That alone said a great deal.
Their sorrow lasted barely two seconds.
The harsh, clamorous voices around them instantly flooded their ears!
"Let's call it what it was-he killed himself to escape punishment!"
"He trained a village-destroying menace like Orochimaru himself! We exposed him, and he couldn't take it, so he threw a tantrum and went off to die instead of dealing with it!"
"He raised a tiger that turned on the whole village! He couldn't clean up his own mess, so he used his death to fool us all!"
"That wasn't a sacrifice! He just couldn't face living anymore! The Third is dead, and you're still doing nothing? Are you too scared even to die?"
In an instant, every member of the leadership stood dumbfounded!
The grief, regret, and sorrow froze on their faces.
Shikaku was utterly stunned, his mind racing with bewilderment.
Killed himself to escape punishment? What was going on?
Before the leaders could digest that explosive revelation, the argument beside them escalated again!
The villagers surrounded the rank-and-file ninja who had stayed behind, furiously cursing them for their cowardice. They accused them of watching Orochimaru stroll away without daring to strike an enemy right in front of them, disgracing all of Konoha!
Those ninja were already frustrated beyond endurance.
"Why should we kill ourselves to atone?! We didn't do anything wrong!"
"Exactly! The Third Hokage was the one at fault! What does that have to do with us? Aren't ninja people too?"
"Like hell! You didn't even move back there! You don't deserve to call yourselves ninja!"
Seeing the civilians and ninja argue ever more fiercely, nearly coming to shoves and blows, the ninja clan leaders exchanged looks and prepared to step in to quell the chaos.
Shikaku Nara stepped forward, raised a hand, and called out firmly:
"Everyone, quiet! The village has just endured a major battle, with heavy casualties. We must not fight among ourselves! We can discuss all grievances once the aftermath has been dealt with!"
Hyuga Hiashi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi also stepped forward, ready to help bring the situation under control and calm the crowd.
They had assumed that, as Konoha's leaders, their intervention would at least contain the situation and settle the argument.
But none of them had expected this!
At the very moment the major ninja clans moved to mediate-
The civilians and low-ranking ninja who had been arguing all this time instantly fell silent!
The two groups, which had just been hurling insults at each other and itching for a fight, immediately formed a united front!
Every ounce of anger, every accusation, swung as one toward the ninja clan leaders who had stepped forward to intervene!
Miki Yūya, who had been relentlessly firing off insults at the front of the crowd, paused. He had gotten so caught up in the argument that he had forgotten about this bunch.
He stepped forward, his booming voice ringing across the clearing as he led an all-out verbal assault.
"Drop the act! You're only stepping in now to cover up your dereliction of duty and the fact that you avoided the fighting!"
"While the whole village was getting attacked, you hid in the back to protect your own clans!"
"Now that the fighting's over, you come out to play peacemaker and pretend you're fair-minded leaders?"
"Where were you when the chaos broke out? You've got some nerve showing yourselves now!"
With Miki Yūya taking the lead, the entire crowd erupted!
The two sides that had been trading insults instantly reached an unprecedented agreement!
Now that every major clan head and elite jonin had arrived, their pent-up resentment could no longer be contained!
They turned their accusations on the leaders, confronting them head-on!
"Now you show your faces and pretend to be the good guys?!"
"When Orochimaru was still here, when things were at their most dangerous, you leaders and major clans were nowhere to be found!"
"The Hokage killed himself to escape punishment, and now you all come swarming out!"
"You monopolize the village's best resources and enjoy the greatest privileges every day!"
"But when something goes wrong, we're the ones who have to die and take the blame! Why?!"
"Exactly! These major clans and leaders shirked their duties!"
"They hide at home to save their skins when trouble comes, then come out afterward to act magnanimous!"
The ninja who had stayed behind joined the furious barrage:
"You didn't show up when we were holding the streets and getting cursed at!"
"Now we're demanding justice, and you come out to shut us down? Not a chance!"
In an instant!
All the crowd's fury poured onto the leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, the Hyuga Clan, and the Uchiha-still just Sasuke! Don't ask. He had shown up at the edge of the crowd, and once people saw him, he was going to get yelled at.
What had started as a "civilians versus ninja" spat
Had turned straight into the ultimate team battle: "ordinary villagers plus low-ranking ninja versus Konoha's elite clan leadership"!
[Ding! Conqueror's Haki +6!] [Ding! Conqueror's Haki +6!] [Ding! Conqueror's Haki +6!] [Ding!...
The clan heads' faces instantly turned livid. The situation had spiraled completely out of control.
Shikaku Nara's scalp prickled, and he hurried to explain:
"We did not avoid the fighting! The enemy invaded on every front. Our clan members were scattered throughout the village, rescuing civilians and sealing off the battle lines. We couldn't break away!"
Hyuga Hiashi immediately followed with his own defense: the Hyuga Clan had held the eastern battlefield, suffered considerable casualties, and never once retreated.
Asuma and the others hurried to speak as well, explaining that they had rushed to the front lines the moment the battle began and fought for their lives. They had certainly not hidden away or slacked off.
But everyone there was now blinded by rage. Who was going to listen to explanations?
For every word of defense, dozens upon hundreds of people fired back ten!
Doubts, curses, complaints, and condemnations swallowed the entire stretch of ruins!
The conflict kept growing, and resentment multiplied wildly!
Waves of pure, searing power surged through every part of Miki Yūya's body!
His physique, force of will, and perception were skyrocketing!
Amazing!
This felt absolutely incredible!
That was the power of truly vicious trash talk.
"Compensation! You have to compensate us! This was your failure!"
Miki Yūya's roar was the final spark that ignited the powder keg!
Hundreds of villagers and low-ranking ninja instantly roared along with him, their voices making the entire stretch of ruins tremble!
The two groups that had been at each other's throats moments earlier, arguing as though their lives depended on it, were now completely united. All their fury was fixed squarely on Konoha's elite clans and senior jonin!
At a secluded corner by a wall on the outskirts of the crowd.
Konohamaru stood alone in the shadows, his eyes red and his small body trembling uncontrollably.
His ears were filled with angry voices slandering his grandfather and questioning Konoha's leadership.
In his heart, his grandfather had worked diligently, toiled his entire life, and spent that life protecting the village,
Yet now the whole village called him negligent and cowardly, saying he had killed himself to escape punishment!
He wanted to argue, to explain, to rush out and defend his grandfather's name!
But faced with that dense, furious crowd, he was small and helpless. All he could do was clench his fists, his eyes reddening as he fought back tears, his heart filled with hurt, confusion, and disbelief.
He could only direct all his resentment toward Miki Yūya, the civilian who had led the uproar and shouted the loudest.
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