Orochimaru was actually a good person?

"Shameless!"

Not only was Utatane Koharu furious, but Mitokado Homura beside her was furious too.

This Orochimaru was unbelievable!

He had no shame whatsoever.

"Don't get worked up, you two. Hear what the villagers have to say first."

Orochimaru turned toward the crowd behind him.

Soon, several ninja rushed out of the crowd.

"I can testify! Lord Orochimaru is a good person!"

"Yes, yes! I can testify too!"

"Lord Orochimaru cured the chronic pain in my legs that I'd had for ten years!"

"Lord Orochimaru cured my inability to get it up!"

"Lord Orochimaru cured my problem with not lasting long enough!"

"Lord Orochimaru..."

Five or six ninja gathered together, each chiming in after the next. They were only a raised hand away from shouting, "We can never repay Orochimaru's kindness!"

Gua fell silent.

He had no idea whether any of this was true.

Was this a public opinion campaign, or had these ninja come forward of their own accord?

He couldn't tell.

Even Gua, who had lived two lives, couldn't make sense of it, much less the other villagers.

Public opinion soon began to reverse.

Orochimaru's reputation showed signs of hitting its daily upper limit in no time.

"Orochimaru is actually a good person!"

"Holy shit! I really didn't see that coming!"

"Is science really that amazing?"

"I want to try the power of science too. This herniated disc has been bothering me for years!"

"Orochimaru is fucking awesome!"

"..."

After hitting its daily lower limit for several days straight, his reputation shot upward.

That surge drowned out every dissenting voice, and everyone blindly jumped on the bandwagon.

Orochimaru's reputation had been bad enough to put him at the same table as the Uchiha, yet in less than fifteen minutes, he had left them far behind.

That got Gua thinking too.

Was it possible that the Uchiha's reputation might turn around one day as well?

But after glancing at the Third Generation, Gua felt that was unlikely.

The Third Generation already had a poor opinion of the Uchiha, and behind him was Danzo, who did his dirty work.

Danzo truly never did anything decent. He wanted to smear the Uchiha over everything, always talking about doing things for the village or for peace. Ask him for a solution, and it was always, "Eliminate the evil Uchiha."

A complete moron.

As though eliminating the Uchiha would bring peace to the world and stability to the Shinobi World.

With the voices of support rising below and Orochimaru's witnesses present, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were momentarily out of options. All they could do was glare in outrage.

"Right! Where's Fugaku?"

Utatane Koharu searched the crowd below for Uchiha Fugaku.

Although they sided with Danzo and took a hard line against the Uchiha, cracking down on them,

sometimes, the enemy of one's enemy was a friend.

The whole Orochimaru affair had come to light because his conflict with the Uchiha had erupted.

Could Fugaku really hold his tongue at a time like this?

Utatane Koharu soon spotted Fugaku in the crowd.

She stood up.

"Clan leader Fugaku, as captain of Konoha's Police Force and someone who personally experienced the Orochimaru incident, won't you come up and say a few words?"

Everyone immediately turned.

Only then did they realize that Fugaku, the Uchiha's clan leader, had been standing silently among them all along.

Gua turned and also spotted clan leader Fugaku near the front.

Fugaku's expression was grim. He was no fool. How could he not see that Utatane Koharu was trying to use him as a weapon?

They hadn't included him in the questioning.

Now that they were losing ground, they suddenly remembered him?

But everyone was watching him now, and Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were members of Konoha High Command whose authority was second only to the Hokage's. If he said nothing at a time like this, he would offend them beyond repair...

Just then, he spotted a certain child standing in the very front row.

Gua.

Fugaku had no idea when Gua had made his way to the front.

From what he knew of Gua, the boy shouldn't have enjoyed joining a crowd.

His behavior today was rather unusual.

Fugaku was about to look away when he suddenly froze. What had he just seen?

Gua was shaking his head slightly at him.

The meaning couldn't have been clearer.

Don't go up.

Gua didn't know whether Fugaku would understand what he meant, but at least he was doing his small part for the Uchiha.

He was a member of the Uchiha Clan, after all, and he still felt a strong sense of belonging.

He also had a great deal of goodwill toward Fugaku, the clan leader who had rescued him from Orochimaru back then.

At a time like this, he absolutely didn't want Fugaku to go up.

Today's situation couldn't have been clearer. No matter what happened, Orochimaru wasn't going to die. Even if those witnesses hadn't come forward today, they would have found a way to move the matter behind closed doors afterward.

In the end, it would merely come down to a private contest between the Third Generation and Danzo.

Now that the advantage had swung entirely toward Orochimaru and the Third Generation, Utatane Koharu wanted the Uchiha to stick their necks out.

It would be fine if she stood with the Uchiha after using them, but the reality was that, in all likelihood, they would go right back to suppressing the Uchiha once they had served their purpose.

Then the Uchiha would truly be trapped between a rock and a hard place.

They would offend the Third Generation and Orochimaru by advancing, while gaining nothing from Danzo's side by retreating.

Joining in now would merely give Utatane Koharu and her side more bargaining chips.

They absolutely must not do something like that!

Fugaku had clearly seen him shake his head, but he was still hesitating.

Gua sighed inwardly.

Let's hope the clan leader isn't that foolish.

At that moment, Fugaku's feelings were complicated too.

Honestly, he didn't want to go up. But Utatane Koharu had put him on the spot, and refusing would offend her and the other higher-ups.

Although Fugaku occasionally stood his ground, most of the time, he still hoped to coexist peacefully with the village.

So even a little pressure from Utatane Koharu made him want to offer a gesture of goodwill.

Even though he was unwilling deep down.

But after seeing Gua's gesture, a strange feeling suddenly rose within him.

Gua was a child who had surprised him.

Declared a failure of the Uchiha from birth, he had later caught up even to Fugaku's own son, Uchiha Itachi, through his own hard work.

Perhaps this child saw a different world from everyone else.

Ever since Fugaku had rushed into Orochimaru's laboratory and rescued Gua, he had acknowledged the boy.

Gua was an outstanding Uchiha.

Fugaku didn't move.

On the platform, Utatane Koharu's expression darkened.

Just as she was about to speak again, the Third Generation gently exhaled a smoke ring.

"Clan leader Fugaku has already entrusted this matter to us, which shows his faith in our village. All we need to do now is handle it impartially. Let's not make things difficult for him again. What do you think, Koharu?"

The Third Generation's gaze settled on Utatane Koharu.

Utatane Koharu forced down her resentment and glanced at Fugaku in the crowd below. In the end, she nodded along with the Third Generation's words.

"Then how do you think we should rule on this, Third Generation?"

"Suspension pending review."

The Third Generation spoke calmly.

Utatane Koharu's eyes widened.

Isn't this blatant favoritism?

A heated discussion erupted among the crowd below as well.

"Just suspension pending review?"

"What do you know? That's Lord Orochimaru we're talking about. This is already a very serious punishment, okay?"

"How is it serious? Isn't this just paid leave?"