What, you thought I wasn't talking about you?

By then, outside the Four Violet Flames Formation, everyone's eyes had turned red.

It wasn't just anger. It was the humiliation of having been deceived for decades.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, say something!"

"Why did we have to send so many children to war?!"

"My brother died in the second shinobi world war! He was only ten when he died! Ten!"

"The will of fire? Bullshit! It was just an excuse to send us to our deaths so your Sarutobi Clan could stay in power!"

"Liar! Give me back my son's life!"

Stones flew from the crowd again, but this time, they weren't aimed at Shuofang Si. They were aimed at Hiruzen Sarutobi inside the purple barrier.

The stones struck the barrier and were instantly scorched by its intense heat, but the villagers' anger could no longer be contained.

The Anbu exchanged looks. A few quietly retreated several steps, no longer standing in the crowd's way.

They no longer knew whom they should protect.

One young villager, sobbing bitterly, completely lost control. He screamed a torrent of curses, sparing Hiruzen not a shred of dignity.

"Fuck you! Stop putting on an act! We see through you now!"

"Your so-called will of fire just means burning everyone else to light the way for your Sarutobi Clan!"

"I can't believe you used that righteous bullshit to fool me for all these years, you incompetent, useless fool!"

"Exactly! Back then, the Kumogakure delegation was kidnapping people right here in the village, and we still had to send someone to die as compensation!"

"You act all kind and benevolent from your lofty perch, but whenever something happens, all you do is throw low-ranking ninja's lives at it! If you're so capable, go yourself!"

"You spent decades boasting that you were the strongest in the shinobi world! I'd say you're the most useless deadweight in the shinobi world!"

"Konoha was a perfectly good village, and you've spent decades dragging it further into the dirt!"

"Why should we die for your stupidity, incompetence, and rotten decisions?!"

"What did we ever do to deserve this?! Why should we suffer like this?!"

"Hurry up and die, you old bastard! Atone for what you've done to the village! Every day you stay alive holds Konoha back and hurts more people!"

For a moment, furious curses filled the air as countless savage, frenzied insults assailed him.

Countless villagers recalled the faces, voices, and smiles of those who had died. Once, they had seen those sacrifices as the will of fire. Now, all they saw was Hiruzen Sarutobi sacrificing others to brighten his own clan's future, and they unleashed their anger without restraint.

Every ninja stationed there and every Anbu member felt chills run through their bodies, their scalps prickling as they listened.

They wanted to rebuke the villagers and preserve some dignity for the Hokage.

But they were facing more than two hundred villagers who had utterly lost their minds, consumed by hatred.

No one dared step forward and provoke them. Did they want to keep living in this village or not?

Watching it all unfold, Shuofang Si felt a rush of sheer delight.

It worked. That's Konoha's villagers for you.

They really are a vicious bunch, but once a fight starts, they all jump right in. Not a single coward among them. Is this the tyrant's will?

The crowd surged, and the endless denunciations left Hiruzen Sarutobi looking as though every ounce of strength had been drained from him.

The Third's veneer of benevolence had been utterly torn apart.

Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, Hashirama Senju slowly turned to face Hiruzen Sarutobi. The anger had left his face, replaced by exhaustion and disappointment.

"Monkey..." He opened his mouth. That old nickname he had once used for Hiruzen Sarutobi now carried an indescribable weight.

"No, Third. So this is how you've been governing Konoha?"

Tobirama Senju stood silently beside him, but his eyes blazed with fury.

He did not stop his elder brother's questioning. He had misjudged Hiruzen and entrusted the village to this bastard.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips trembled. He leaned on the Adamantine Staff, its end planted against the ground, to support a body that could barely remain standing.

He looked at the two men he respected most, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Their gazes pierced deep into his heart.

"Lord First... Lord Second... it isn't like that... I can explain..."

His voice sounded aged and feeble, like an old man whose lies had been exposed in public.

"Explain?" Hashirama Senju shook his head.

"Monkey, let me ask you something. Is the Senju Clan really... gone?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing.

His silence was answer enough.

Hashirama Senju closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was no longer any desire to defend his successor, only an inexpressible pain.

"The Uchiha Clan Massacre, the decline of the Senju, the destruction of the Uzumaki... yet the Sarutobi Clan alone has three thousand members. Third, you've done a wonderful job."

That "Third" was no honorific. It was a severing of ties.

Hiruzen Sarutobi trembled violently, disbelief filling his eyes.

He had been barely holding himself up with Enma, who had transformed into the Adamantine Staff. At those words, his whole body jolted.

His hand released the Adamantine Staff, and he crumpled to the ground.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the roof tiles beneath him red.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but before he could speak, a shrill laugh interrupted him.

Orochimaru was laughing.

His shoulders shook slightly, his lips curling into a cold smile.

Yet his snake-like eyes gleamed with a light never seen there before: the satisfaction of finally understanding, mixed with a trace of complexity even he had not noticed.

He glanced at his teacher, then at the young villager outside.

"Heh..." Orochimaru's husky, silken voice rang especially clearly through the silent Four Violet Flames Formation.

"Teacher Sarutobi, what a shame. I'd intended to give you a glorious end as the Shinobi Hero, fighting to protect the village."

He slowly stepped forward, failing to notice the gleam that flashed through another man's eyes nearby.

This was exactly the line Shuofang Si had been waiting for. He looked at Orochimaru and rebuked him.

"What, you thought I wasn't talking about you? You used the people of this village for your twisted experiments, and now you've got the fucking nerve to put on an act?"

Contempt filled Orochimaru's eyes. An insect who can't even mold chakra dares provoke me?

"Senju Nawaki," Shuofang Si said, enunciating every word. "He was your teammate Tsunade's younger brother, and your student. He was on your squad when he died, wasn't he?"

Orochimaru's smile froze for an instant.

But everyone saw that fleeting stiffness.

He turned around and, for the first time, gave the young villager standing outside the barrier a proper look.

The purple curtain of light cast an eerie glow across his face, leaving his expression unreadable against his paper-white skin.

"What?" Orochimaru's voice was husky and silken, like a snake's tongue brushing an ear. "You suspect my teacher and I-no, the Third and I-set him up together?"

Shuofang Si's heart gave a sudden leap.

Orochimaru is actually engaging with me. This man is the shinobi world's entire tech tree.

Hashirama Senju and Tobirama also turned their eyes toward Shuofang Si.

He took a deep breath and met those snake-like eyes, keeping his voice as steady as he could. "No. Quite the opposite. I believe you knew nothing about it."

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Not only did you know nothing, you actually wanted to protect him," Shuofang Si continued, his tone certain.

"Everyone knows Senju Nawaki was your student, under your personal care. But he died on the battlefield. Saying you bore no responsibility simply doesn't make sense."

He paused, his gaze shifting between Orochimaru and the Third lying on the ground.

"After all, with an expert like you beside him, how could he have stepped into an explosive tag trap? Unless someone on the inside tampered with things. And who would least want to see the Senju Clan rise again..."

As Shuofang Si's words fell, everyone around him drew a sharp breath.

The ninja, too, turned their gazes toward the Third Hokage in unison.