" Lord Hokage, is it really as Naruto said?"
Hearing Kakashi's questioning tone, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Kakashi already had the answer in his heart; the questioning was just him seeking confirmation from him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled helplessly. The main reason was that what Naruto was telling was the most authentic truth; he even described everyone's situation at that time.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi, I..."
Although he had a vague idea, Kakashi felt a sharp pain in his heart after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi admit it himself. He never expected that his father had forced him to make such a choice, and he never imagined that the kind-faced Third Hokage was actually this kind of person.
He didn't know what to say, whether he should be angry, sad, or happy to clear his father's name. He knew he was conflicted.
It was Guy who noticed Kakashi's distress and immediately came to his aid as Kakashi was about to fall.
"Kakashi, Kakashi tape."
Kakashi shook his head, but the look of utter despair on his face made Guy feel a pang of heartache. His good friend had finally escaped the shadows, only to find out that the truth was like this.
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Tobirama Senju became even angrier and immediately stepped forward to slap Hiruzen Sarutobi twice across the face.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was slapped in public, felt embarrassed. After all, he was the longest-serving Hokage. In particular, there were many more people present than before. Most of the clans in the village had come. After repelling or imprisoning the enemies, they had all come here.
Especially after hearing the First Hokage and Second Hokage teach the Third Hokage, everyone came to watch the show. Now, it can be said that all the prominent figures in Konoha have come.
Tobirama Senju scolded him with obvious disappointment:
" Monkey, is this how you manage Konoha?"
"Teacher, I..."
Don't call me teacher, it's embarrassing.
Just as Tobirama Senju was confronting Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo jumped out again. After all, Naruto's words earlier were practically accusing him of being the murderer. Didn't Shimura Danzō have any pride? He was, after all, a high-ranking official in Konoha!
That's right. Up until now, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, they all thought this reprimand was just a simple admonition. What if things went badly? They could be dismissed, imprisoned, or, of course, killed.
"Teacher, how could you believe a mere child? Children this age are at the age where they're full of lies."
Seeing Danzo's nonsensical boasting, Tobirama Senju felt a nameless anger burning within him. He approached Danzo with a grim expression and asked with a forced smile:
"Oh? Why do you think that?"
Hearing his teacher's question, Danzo glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a smug look. "See? That's why the teacher beats and scolds you, but not me. See, Monkey? That's the difference."
"That's of course..."
Before Danzo could finish speaking, he heard Tobirama Senju's words.
"Of course, that means you were already a liar at that age. You take yourself as the benchmark, so everything you see reflects your own self-image. Because you're wicked yourself, you assume everyone else you see is also wicked."
"Teacher, I... I'm not like that."
Just as Danzo was about to explain, there was a loud slap.
Tobirama Senju slapped him across the face.
"What, you insulted him but not you?"
Danzo was completely stunned by the slap; this wasn't how he expected things to go.
Ignoring Danzo's Danzo, Tobirama Senju already knew that the old man was no normal person, so he simply slapped him and told him to go and be sad somewhere else.
Just as Tobirama Senju was about to continue interrogating Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto spoke up again.
"Second-generation grandfather, can you please let Grandpa Third go? He made a great sacrifice to protect our village."
Hearing Naruto's words, not only Hiruzen Sarutobi, but also Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru were somewhat surprised. Naruto's words had just been incisive and deadly; why was he now pleading for Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Everyone was confused, even Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely bewildered. However, that didn't stop him from looking at Naruto with a grateful expression. "I knew it! I didn't spoil you for nothing!" He glanced at Danzo, who was still covering his face, and said smugly, "See? Danzo, I told you Naruto is an excellent inheritor of the Will of Fire. You didn't believe me?"
Tobirama Senju also looked at Naruto with curiosity, not believing that this cunning kid could have such good intentions.
"Tell me, how did he save Konoha back then?"
The question was posed to Naruto, but Naruto did not answer. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Hyuga family, or more precisely, to Hyuga Hiashi, his future father-in-law.
Hyuga Hiashi was a little confused when he felt Naruto's gaze, but he quickly realized that Naruto was giving him the opportunity to complain, since he was also a victim in a way.
Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward, casting a grateful glance at Naruto.
" Lord First, Second, I am the head of the Hyuga Clan. I think I should know what Naruto is talking about."
"Oh? Then you tell us."
"It happened a few years ago. My daughter was quite young then. It just so happened that an envoy from Kumogakure was on a Hyuga Clan to Konoha. Who would have thought that those people from Kumogakure and kidnap my daughter while she was still asleep? When I found out, I immediately sent people to chase after them. Fortunately, the envoy was not strong enough and I eventually killed him, and my daughter was saved."
"But later, the Kumogakure used the fact that its delegation members had died in Konoha to pressure Konoha. The Kumogakure Village delegation actually made the head of our Hyuga Clan exchange lives with the delegation members. Putting all that aside, the fact that the Kumogakure delegation's attempt to obtain Konoha's Kekkei Genkai failed shows their wolfish ambitions."
"And what did our Lord Hokage do? He bowed and scraped to the people of Kumogakure, but then launched a heavy attack on the Hyuga Clan, telling them to deal with it themselves or else they wouldn't be able to Hyuga in Konoha. In the end, my brother died in my place. As for Naruto's claim of making a huge sacrifice, it probably just means he was subservient to the people of Kumogakure. After all, I really can't imagine what kind of sacrifice this Lord Hokage, who is all bark and no bite, could possibly make."
"What?"
Even Hashirama Senju, who was watching the show from the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore. He never expected that this Monkey would do such a thing.
He's subservient to foreign powers but ruthless at home; does he deserve to be Hokage Position?
"You, you, you're really something, Monkey! I never thought you could do something like this."
At this moment, the so-called respect in everyone's eyes when they looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi had completely disappeared, replaced by deep contempt. The once glorious Hiruzen Sarutobi from grace and everyone was pushing him down.