"An explanation?! Hiruzen Sarutobi, you don't honestly think this ends here, do you?!"
This fellow... wouldn't even call me Lord Hokage anymore?!
Hearing Bai Ye's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips twitched despite himself. He had still been clinging to a sliver of hope.
Suddenly, he felt this matter would not be so easy to resolve.
And from the looks of it, Bai Ye seemed intent on turning his attacks on him, too?!
That alone made Hiruzen Sarutobi realize something: Bai Ye probably had not come solely for Danzo today.
Having served as Hokage for so many years, Hiruzen Sarutobi had always possessed a keen political instinct.
How could he fail to understand?
Judging by the recording, Bai Ye had accompanied Shisui from the very beginning.
Clearly, everything Shisui had done had been orchestrated by Bai Ye.
It had started with recording Danzo stealing Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.
Then Bai Ye had caused a huge commotion, exposed the secrets hidden in Danzo's body, and turned his attacks on Hiruzen once again.
Looking at it step by step, everything seemed planned. To Bai Ye, it was almost as though he were saying this was exactly how things were supposed to unfold.
Had he been waiting for me to say those things?!
When that thought struck him, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a touch of absurdity.
He had never imagined things would turn out this way.
Once he pieced everything together, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi fail to see that he might well have been the ultimate target?
"I will certainly give you all a fair resolution!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a deep breath.
Although he had already guessed that Bai Ye's ultimate target might be him, he still clung to one last shred of hope.
After all, he was now at a complete disadvantage.
All he could do was pray that, with so many people watching, Bai Ye would let the matter rest for now.
As for Danzo...
Hiruzen Sarutobi was already developing a headache.
Now that everything had been exposed, saving Danzo was absolutely impossible, no matter how much he wanted to.
Stealing Sharingan and researching Hashirama cells were already enough to warrant a death sentence.
"What exactly is this fairness you speak of?!
Was it letting your student Orochimaru leave Konoha back then?!
You already knew about Orochimaru's secret experiments. You even broke into his laboratory. But what happened in the end?!
You took all those Anbu with you, only to let Orochimaru walk away.
Don't tell me you couldn't have stopped him back then!"
Bai Ye spoke coolly.
That kind of fairness?!
What a joke!
What was fair about this fellow?!
Then, without giving Hiruzen Sarutobi a chance to speak, Bai Ye continued, "And then there's your son, Asuma Sarutobi. He left Konoha in a fit of anger after arguing with you.
Just because you're the Hokage, that didn't make him a rogue ninja.
If one of our Uchiha shinobi had done the same, you would probably have branded them a rogue ninja long ago, wouldn't you?!"
Bai Ye's words left Hiruzen Sarutobi struggling to respond.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but did not know where to begin.
Even quite a few people nearby had begun discussing it.
Exactly!
Back then, Hiruzen Sarutobi had constantly talked about fairness.
But was anything he had done actually fair?!
How many atrocities had Orochimaru committed back then?!
And the result...
Hiruzen Sarutobi had simply let him go. Asuma Sarutobi was no different.
If he had been an Uchiha and left the village like that, he would probably have been branded a rogue ninja, wouldn't he?!
"And then there are Danzo's experiments. I don't believe you knew absolutely nothing. Plenty of what Root did probably had your tacit approval, didn't it?!
When all is said and done...
Root still needed the authority of the Hokage to operate.
This so-called light and darkness of Konoha simply meant you stood in the open, playing the noble, righteous leader, while Danzo handled the dirty work for you!"
In Bai Ye's view, many of Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions made no sense unless one assumed there was a conspiracy behind them.
He was either stupid or malicious!
Having served as Hokage for so many years, he could hardly be that stupid, could he?!
Then he could only be malicious!
From the very beginning, Bai Ye had never believed Hiruzen Sarutobi was ignorant of all this.
No matter how secretive Danzo was about Root, there was no way he could keep Hiruzen Sarutobi completely in the dark.
And wasn't much of what Danzo did precisely what Hiruzen Sarutobi could not, or preferred not to, do himself?!
"Honestly, I've always found you quite hypocritical. There are plenty of things you want done, but instead of doing them yourself, you leave them to Danzo.
Your supposed spotless perfection amounts to nothing more than finding yourself a suitable scapegoat."
What a vicious tongue...
The people around them felt their lips twitch as they listened to Bai Ye. Thinking about it, he really did seem to have a point.
It was not necessarily true that everything in the past had been something Danzo alone wanted to do.
Besides, some things would have been practically impossible without Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval.
So there was nothing wrong with what Bai Ye had said.
"You came to power because Second Hokage Tobirama Senju designated you as his successor. But unless I'm mistaken, the Hokage isn't a position someone can simply hand out, is it?! What gave Tobirama Senju the right to pick someone and declare him Hokage?
Does the Hokage belong to everyone, or is the position yours to pass around however you please?!
And when the Fourth Hokage died, why couldn't a new Hokage be elected? Why did you return to power instead? Even while the Fourth Hokage was still in office, you kept control of the Anbu.
Was it because you couldn't bear to surrender your power, or what?!"
If Danzo's reputation had not already been ruined, if he still had a chance, and if Bai Ye had not utterly screwed him over...
If his own ending did not look so grim...
He would have wanted to applaud right then and there.
What Bai Ye was saying...
He really was tearing Hiruzen Sarutobi apart!
Exactly!!
If Danzo had become the Fifth Hokage back then, how could there have been so many problems?!
The Uchiha issue would have been resolved long ago. It would never have dragged on until now.
Instead, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi who had caused his complete and utter defeat this time!
For the others, those events were already distant history.
But they also knew Bai Ye was right.
Back when Hiruzen Sarutobi had been designated the Third Hokage...
Many clans had been dissatisfied.
It was only later, when Hiruzen Sarutobi led Konoha to victory in the Second Shinobi World War, that things changed.
Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have been forced out of office back then.
After all, how could a Hokage be chosen like that?!
Tobirama Senju simply named someone, and that person became Hokage?!
What was the point of having all their clans, then?!
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression had soured.
He knew very well that, although this could hardly be considered a personal stain on his record...
If anyone truly pursued the matter, his rise to power could indeed be considered illegitimate.
It was just that so many years had passed that no one discussed it anymore. Now Bai Ye had brought it up again.
This fellow...
Was he doing this just to attack me?!
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could think further, Bai Ye continued.
"You weren't qualified to become Hokage in the first place, and you haven't been qualified in your performance as Hokage, either.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki died. Deaths in a shinobi war are, of course, unavoidable.
But he died deep behind our own lines. More importantly, his internal organs had been removed after his death. Even now, you still haven't produced any findings from an investigation.
Given Danzo's research into the Senju Clan's bloodline, don't I have grounds to suspect you were behind it?!
Then there's the death of the White Fang of Konoha. Yes, shinobi must face punishment for failing a mission.
But only two or three people knew about that mission. Yet in just one day, rumors had spread throughout the entire village.
I don't think I need to tell everyone who could spread rumors that quickly, do I?!
Then there's the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Unless I'm mistaken, you promised Kushina and Minato that you would take care of Naruto.
And how exactly have you taken care of him?!
Most people in the village now believe he's the Demon Fox. How many know he's the son of a hero?! The Fourth Hokage's son?!
You let him suffer scorn throughout the village, claiming Minato had made too many enemies and that those enemies couldn't be allowed to learn he had a surviving child.
Yet you tolerated 'the Demon Fox's son'... a name so outrageous that everyone would know he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?!
Did you think the other shinobi villages wouldn't try to seize the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?!
And Uzushio Village was Konoha's ally, yet you stood by and watched it be destroyed.
Then there's what happened to the Hyuga Clan. Kumogakure abducted Hinata, and Hyuga Hiashi killed the kidnapper to rescue his daughter.
When they used that as grounds for war, most of the village's clans wanted to fight. But you forcibly suppressed them, ultimately making Hizashi Hyuga die in his brother's place.
Perhaps you thought Hizashi Hyuga's death was preferable to a war that would kill more people.
Senju Nawaki's unexplained death, the persecution that drove Hatake Sakumo to his death, driving the Sannin away, allowing the 'Demon Fox's son' rumors to spread through the village, your obsession with power, and Hizashi's death.
You are inextricably linked to every one of them.
And over the years, how many benefits have your four clans received since the four of you joined Konoha High Command?!
You seized land that originally belonged to us Uchiha. How many ninjutsu resources did you take that never belonged to you?!
Hiruzen Sarutobi, just how shameless are you? Look at the Kage of other villages. The Third Tsuchikage leads from the front in every battle. The Third Raikage died fighting ten thousand Stone Shinobi alone. And you?!
You keep preaching the will of fire.
Do you even remember what the will of fire means?!
Where leaves dance, the fire burns on!!
The older generation of shinobi inspires the younger generation to protect the village through their sacrifice!
And what about you?!
During the Third Shinobi World War, you sent a bunch of fresh Ninja Academy graduates onto the battlefield.
Many of them had even graduated early.
Is that what you call protecting the next generation?!
Where were you during the Third Shinobi World War?!
In the rear?
Why couldn't you stand on the front lines like the other Kage?
What?!
Were you too old? Unwilling to sacrifice yourself?!
You don't seriously believe you've done a good job as Hokage, do you?!
Or does your idea of sacrifice only apply to people who have nothing to do with you?
Orochimaru and Danzo conducted these experiments without facing any consequences.
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Asuma left the village, and you could choose not to declare them rogue ninja.
But when it comes to other clans and other shinobi, the moment they pose even the slightest threat to your position, the moment you feel your power is threatened, you move against them?!"
When Bai Ye finished speaking, the entire gathering fell silent.
They had anticipated quite a few things Bai Ye might say. Some of these matters had even occurred to them.
But they had never expected Bai Ye to unleash such a relentless barrage!
He really was fierce!
Quite a few people felt that nothing he had said was wrong!
He really had been right about every bit of it!
Hiruzen Sarutobi had done so much over the years. Hearing Bai Ye lay out each incident, they suddenly felt just how horrifying it all was!
Especially Bai Ye's final remark. The more they thought about it, the more chilling it became!
Danzo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Asuma-strictly speaking, Jiraiya and Tsunade were not so bad.
The two had submitted reports before leaving the village, and they still belonged to Konoha.
But Danzo, Orochimaru, and Asuma were different!
Good grief!
It had never seemed like much until someone pointed it out. Now they suddenly realized just how freely Hiruzen Sarutobi wielded his double standards!
Wasn't this a complete and utter double standard?!
They had never thought that deeply about it before, but now that Bai Ye had brought it up, there was no way they could remain completely indifferent.
In light of all these crimes, many people now looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi differently.
"Exactly! I said it back then-he was clearly a hero's son, so why did they let everyone in the village call him the Demon Fox?! How was that protecting him?!"
"Right! Wouldn't being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki make even more people target him?!"
"What happened to White Fang was outrageous, too. I kept wondering why someone who'd been perfectly fine suddenly killed himself. The whole village was full of rumors back then!"
"And what about the Hyuga Clan? We all said we could fight, but they insisted we couldn't!"
"Now that I think about it, so many other people died for no apparent reason, too! There's seriously something wrong with all of this!"
As the people around him continued to discuss it,
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew increasingly grim.
He did not know what to say to Bai Ye about any of this.
After all, he could find no grounds to refute anything Bai Ye had said.
He let out a long breath, looked at Bai Ye, and said, "After today, I will take responsibility and resign as Hokage. I truly haven't been fit to serve as Hokage all these years..."
After saying those words, he seemed to have aged more than a decade.
Hiruzen Sarutobi admitted that the older he grew, the harder it became to let go of what little power he held.
But now, he also knew he had no choice but to step down.
His standing in the village was now in ruins.
No clan or ninja would accept his authority.
"No, no, no. The First died of complications from battle, the Second died in battle, and the Fourth died in battle...
I've known for a long time that you've had it in for us Uchiha.
Come on, then. Let's fight to the death. You, Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura-come at me together.
If you win, you get to live. If you lose... I'll send every last one of you to the grave!!!"
Before you continue