The Sarutobi Clan Was the Strongest?

"Sasuke was too young. He always thought killing Itachi and becoming the strongest would restore the Uchiha Clan. His perspective was far too narrow!"

"One person's strength alone can't sustain an entire clan!"

"No wonder Orochimaru could serve as commander-in-chief during the Shinobi World War. Young Sasuke couldn't begin to match his vision and perspective!"

Meanwhile, countless female shinobi marveled at the adult Sasuke's looks, admiring his cold, striking beauty and unparalleled presence.

"Sasuke Uchiha is so handsome!"

"I'm in love! I'm in love!"

Inside the Akatsuki base, Uchiha Itachi stared fixedly at Orochimaru, his eyes dark.

"Orochimaru, you actually dared to show yourself again!"

A chill quietly spread around Itachi, his presence growing ever more bone-chilling.

"Orochimaru, surely you don't really think I can't kill you?"

Sensing the murderous intent in Itachi's gaze, Orochimaru shrugged helplessly, looking utterly innocent. "Don't look at me. I have no malicious intentions right now."

"Besides, I'm a clone. Hmm, perhaps I was also hoping to see whether you had any weaknesses."

"And don't ask me anything else, either. How would I know why my future self would say those things?"

Itachi's expression remained impassive, but an icy gleam and murderous intent had already gathered in his eyes.

If Orochimaru intended to twist Sasuke's true nature and lead his younger brother down an unknown path...

He wouldn't mind tracking down Orochimaru's real body and eliminating that threat once and for all before it could materialize.

On the Sky Screen!

Sasuke remained silent for a long time. His black eyes, long stripped of youthful innocence and left with only cold sharpness, fixed on the weakened Orochimaru lying in bed. He spoke in a low voice.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

He admitted that the question had stumped him.

He couldn't answer Orochimaru's question!

Revenge, reaching the pinnacle, becoming the strongest-these had been his obsessions all these years.

But Orochimaru's remark, "Once you die, the Uchiha will be gone," had torn open the deadliest flaw in those obsessions.

Orochimaru didn't answer directly. Instead, he raised his eyes slightly, his gaze unfathomable, and slowly posed another question.

"Sasuke, which clan do you think is the greatest in the Shinobi World?"

Sasuke didn't hesitate in the slightest. His voice was certain, carrying a pride etched into his bones. "The Uchiha."

In his heart, the Uchiha were the strongest!

At that, Orochimaru narrowed his long, slender eyes slightly. A cold smile curled across his weakened face, every word cutting to the bone.

"I'm talking about now."

"And even seven years ago, the Uchiha weren't necessarily the greatest clan in the Shinobi World."

Those words instantly crossed Sasuke's line!

His gaze abruptly chilled, and fierce murderous intent instantly locked onto Orochimaru. His brows drew tightly together, his voice brimming with displeasure and accusation. "What do you mean? Orochimaru, are you looking down on the Uchiha?"

Orochimaru was utterly unbothered by Sasuke's cold, almost confrontational stare.

He had long since seen through the young man's ingrained arrogance and narrow-mindedness, and continued questioning him at the same leisurely, unhurried pace.

"Let me ask you this."

"Back then, how many registered shinobi did the Uchiha have?"

"Two hundred? Three hundred? Or five hundred?"

Sasuke pressed his lips together, instantly at a loss for words.

How would he know any of that?

They were the strongest regardless!

Seeing Sasuke hesitate in silence, Orochimaru didn't press him further. Instead, he abruptly changed tack, presenting a comparison that would completely overturn Sasuke's understanding.

"Then do you know how many shinobi that rotten old man's clan has? I'm talking about Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and his Sarutobi Clan."

Sasuke's brows knitted tightly. Filled with impatience, he felt these trivial details were utterly meaningless. "What does the Third Hokage's clan have to do with me?"

"A great deal."

Orochimaru raised himself slightly. Though his breathing was weak, every word struck like thunder, making the ears tremble.

"On the surface, the Sarutobi Clan never competes or fights for anything. They call themselves the civilian faction and keep a low profile."

"But in reality, including the clan's unregistered shinobi, they have a full one or two thousand."

"What?!"

At that moment, Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes flew wide. For the first time, shock and disbelief appeared on his face!

One or two thousand shinobi!

That number completely shattered his understanding!

As far as he knew, the Uchiha towered over ordinary clans and already represented the pinnacle of Konoha.

Yet even they certainly hadn't had a thousand shinobi!

But the seemingly insignificant Sarutobi Clan, which appeared to rely solely on the Hokage, actually had several times as many shinobi as the Uchiha Clan!

Watching the shock spread across Sasuke's face, Orochimaru's smile deepened. He lightly licked the corner of his lips, his voice carrying a hint of mockery born of clear understanding:

"That's right."

"Doesn't it seem utterly unbelievable?"

"The Uchiha you've always been so proud of were supposedly the strongest in the Shinobi World."

"But in terms of the clan's size, the continuation of its bloodline, and lasting prosperity..."

"They fall far short of even a shinobi clan you've never taken seriously."

Sasuke froze completely, his head buzzing. He was utterly dumbstruck by what he had heard.

Outside the Sky Screen, the entire Shinobi World had already erupted into an uproar, leaving countless people speechless with shock!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could the Sarutobi Clan have so many shinobi?!"

"That makes no sense! How could they possibly hide such enormous numbers?!"

"Exactly! And with so many shinobi off the books, how could they afford to support them?"

"Everyone thought the Hyuga were Konoha's largest clan and the Uchiha were its strongest fighting force! It turns out we were all wrong!"

Someone calmly offered an explanation. "You're all too naive!"

"It's child's play for a major clan to conceal how many shinobi it has!"

"Especially when Hiruzen Sarutobi held the Hokage position for decades, controlling the entire village's resources and intelligence!"

"If he wanted to conceal his clan's true reserves of strength, who could uncover them?!"

Realization instantly dawned on everyone, and they gasped.

"My goodness! How many resources would it take to raise one or two thousand shinobi?!"

"Despite the losses of three Shinobi World Wars, the Sarutobi Clan didn't decline. Instead, their reserves of strength became this terrifying!"

"They kept such a low profile! They stayed behind the scenes the whole time, never seeking the spotlight, quietly building their strength!"

The people of the Shinobi World were in complete uproar, the contrast suddenly painfully stark.

"The supposedly mighty Uchiha and Hyuga were only strong on the surface! Showy, high-profile, the center of everyone's attention!"

"Only the Sarutobi Clan kept quietly putting down roots in the shadows, growing like mad and accumulating strength!"

"Compared to them, the Uchiha and Hyuga are practically child's play!"

"As expected, Hiruzen Sarutobi really is something else."

"Exactly. He truly deserves to be called the strongest Hokage. If any other Hokage disagrees, let them bring out their clan members and compare."

Discussion swept across the world.

But the greatest shock struck Konoha itself!

Countless villagers and shinobi were left dumbfounded, their entire worldview overturned.

They had lived in Konoha for decades, yet none of them had imagined that the most terrifying clan was actually the Third Hokage's Sarutobi Clan!

Quite a few people even began silently doing the math-

Konoha's standing shinobi force numbered only ten or twenty thousand.