"Don't try to be clever and plot things you have no business plotting."
"If anyone dares stir up trouble at this critical moment-"
At this point, the last trace of warmth vanished from Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
"Don't blame me for disregarding our old ties."
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer the gentle, tolerant, kindly Third they knew.
He was the ruler who had held power over Konoha for decades.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu shuddered inwardly and fell silent at once, putting aside all their selfish motives and complaints.
Danzo's expression turned utterly grim. His fists clenched tightly, and resentment seethed within him.
They all knew perfectly well.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was not joking in the slightest.
If anyone dared obstruct Tsunade's rise to power or seize the chance to cause trouble, he would settle accounts without hesitation for the village's sake!
The office sank into a suffocating, deathly silence.
Within the Sky Screen, the silent standoff dragged on.
Finally, Tobi broke the silence first.
"All right, Sasuke."
"Do you really not want to know what happened on the night of the Uchiha clan massacre?"
"Don't you want to understand what your brother, Uchiha Itachi, bore throughout his life, what he endured, and what he sacrificed?"
"Aren't you curious why the brother who was so gentle with you, who protected you in everything and showered you with all his affection, changed completely overnight, becoming a cold-blooded killer who slaughtered his entire clan?"
Each question struck Sasuke's heart like a heavy hammer.
For years, he had wallowed in hatred, pursuing revenge and strength, stubbornly convinced that Itachi was a deranged criminal.
Yet deep down, those scattered inconsistencies had always remained questions he could neither answer nor let go.
The battle not long ago, in particular, had made him realize something