"Naruto-sama is there!"
As time passed, more and more shinobi and civilians gathered behind Naruto.
Meanwhile, on the other side stood those ignorant and servile villagers and shinobi, unable to comprehend what was unfolding before them.
The sheer number of shinobi standing behind Naruto left the Hokage stunned.
When?
How?
Were they... the very same shinobi who had once stood by his side?
Each one had passed through his hands, yet now they had turned away from him.
"There is still one key figure left," Yuhi Kurenai suddenly spoke.
"Old man, isn't this all part of your plan?"
"First, the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and then the jōnin tasked with leading the next generation—Ino-Shika-Chō's mentor."
"You must have been confident that Asuma could defeat me, right? Why else would you entrust a mere genjutsu specialist like me, someone recently promoted to tokubetsu jōnin, with leading a team composed of Hyūga, Inuzuka, and Aburame?"
Anko Mitarashi stepped forward and kicked Asuma.
"Enough with the act. You've been awake for a while now. How long do you plan to pretend?"
Under the scrutinizing gazes of countless shinobi, Asuma could do nothing but sit up slowly. Taking in the state of Konoha, he let out a bitter laugh.
"Father... Hokage-sama wouldn't do this... There has to be a misunderstanding."
"Besides, hasn't Lord Hokage dedicated his life to Konoha? Isn't this the Will of Fire?"
Those words ignited fury in the hearts of many shinobi.
Will of Fire?
What a noble sacrifice.
"As for paving the way for me... No, Hokage-sama knows me. The position of Fifth Hokage will never be mine."
Asuma wanted to continue, but Anko kicked him again.
He turned to Kurenai. "Kurenai, you have to believe me. I never had such ambitions."
"You... all of you must have been deceived!"
Finally, the Hokage found his voice, desperately grasping at straws.
"Now that things have come to this... are you planning to divide Konoha?"
"Naruto, don't forget who saved you when the entire village hated you!"
"Konoha is whole—are you willing to see it destroyed?"
"Don't forget... you are also a shinobi of Konoha!"
Kushina let out a cold laugh.
"And who put him in such dire straits in the first place?"
"Old man, don't think for a second that Minato and I don't know the truth!"
"Will you only admit it after everyone is trapped in an illusion world?"
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's gaze landed on the battered Jiraiya.
"Hey, Kakashi, aren't you going to bring him here?"
"Honestly, Jiraiya, you're nothing more than an accomplice to Sarutobi-sensei."
"No wonder things ended up this way."
"If you weren't in chains right now, I bet you'd already be standing at Sarutobi's side."
Orochimaru's laughter rang out, sharp and mocking, piercing Jiraiya's heart.
Each word was a dagger.
Why did it come to this?
Minato, Kushina, Tsunade... Naruto...
I will find the Child of Prophecy.
"Yes! Once we find the Child of Prophecy, all of this will be set right!"
Seeing Jiraiya's torment, Orochimaru couldn't help but revel in satisfaction. Even if the plan to crush Konoha had been taken from him, this moment alone was worth it.
"Where are the Anbu?!" the Hokage roared.
Anbu operatives gathered—but they stood behind Naruto.
A flicker of desperation flashed across the old Hokage's face.
Even the Anbu...
No longer able to keep up pretenses, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression twisted into something feral.
"Old man!"
"Stop playing dead and answer me—what happened to the Uchiha clan?!"
From the crowd, Sasuke stepped forward, his voice sharp with accusation.
Hashirama Senju turned, staring at Sasuke with a dazed expression.
Madara...?
Tobirama Senju slowly rose from the ground.
Seeing the burning hatred in Sasuke's eyes, the words "born evil" died in his throat.
At this point, how could he, a seasoned politician, not recognize the Hokage's manipulations?
"Uchiha Ten... that child."
"The Will of Fire is their greatest weapon."
"It is also their tool to control Konoha."
"The extermination of the Uchiha clan, in my eyes..."
"It was nothing more than Konoha's higher-ups using the Will of Fire as a tool—to convince the village that the Uchiha were inherently evil."
"There were no signs of a struggle in the Uchiha compound."
"I suspect Konoha's elites identified promising Uchiha, indoctrinated them, and then turned them against their own kin. A combination of internal and external forces must have wiped out the clan."
Tsunade's eyes darkened as she added, "The Second Hokage is correct."
"Sasuke, your brother, Uchiha Itachi, was the blade forged by the Will of Fire."
"And Konoha's high council wielded that blade."
"The Uchiha massacre was ordered by Konoha's upper echelon."
"But at the same time, it was also a death sentence for Uchiha Itachi."
"No matter how powerful Itachi was, he couldn't have exterminated the entire clan overnight on his own."
"He had help."
Sasuke's blood boiled as his Sharingan flared, the tomoe spinning wildly, pupil power surging.
"That beast is not my brother!"
His face twisted in fury.
"Father and the Second Hokage are right."
"The Uchiha clan was marched to the execution block."
"They used the slow-boiling method—manipulating the Will of Fire to ensure the Uchiha were isolated, ensuring their coup was inevitable."
"In other words, the villagers and shinobi brainwashed by the Will of Fire... are all accomplices."
Sasuke staggered back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The hatred towards Uchiha Itachi reached its peak at this moment.
After a brief glance from Naruto, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
Buzz—
Sasuke was pulled into the world of Tsukuyomi.
The night of the Uchiha massacre replayed before his eyes.
"Ah—!!!"
Sasuke clutched his head, falling to his knees in agony, tears streaming down his face.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three times, he relived that night, each from a different perspective.
His eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness.
But everyone present saw it.
Before he fainted, his spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Two kunoichi with active Sharingan emerged from the crowd and carried Sasuke to safety.
Kushina frowned but shook her head. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
The Hokage still clung to hope. "No! This isn't how things are!"
"As Hokage, I tried to ease the conflict between the Uchiha and the village!" he protested. "It was their arrogance that led to thoughts of a coup—"
"Shut up!"
Senju Tobirama's growl silenced him.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, shifted his gaze to Naruto, his interest in Sasuke vanishing entirely. He licked his lips.
Then, Tsunade's fist sent him flying again.
The Hokage closed his eyes. "Naruto, when did you figure it out?"
"Does that question even matter now?" Naruto shot back.
The Hokage slumped to the ground, defeated. "Heh... Maybe if I had listened to Danzo back then, things wouldn't have escalated like this."
"Come on. I'm here. Let all your hatred out on me. Maybe killing me will give you closure."
Even the cockroaches found that laughable.
The Hokage's eyes darted to the gathered clan heads behind Naruto.
"You... all of you..."
"Drop the act."
Hyuga Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Not for a single moment have I forgotten what happened back then."
The Hokage trembled. The shock and disbelief in his eyes peaked.
These people didn't look like they'd just learned the truth.
No… They had known all along.
They had been planning for this day.
They had dragged him from the heights of power down into the abyss.
"Naruto… what do you want?"
Minato smirked. "Didn't you already figure it out?"
A flicker of doubt crossed the Hokage's face.
Minato scoffed. "Haven't you always had ANBU watching Naruto?"
"Haven't you been stoking the resentment of these foolish villagers, making Naruto the scapegoat for the Nine-Tails attack?"
"Just like you did with the Uchiha."
"What happened?"
"Have you lost faith in your precious Will of Fire?"
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki stands before you. Go on, try your luck. See if your Will of Fire can still control him."
The Hokage fell silent.
Seeing their leader's silence, the villagers and ninjas below dared not speak either.
Something felt… off.
"So, Monkey, you've been scheming all this time," Senju Tobirama sneered, pushed forward by Tsunade. "No wonder Minato's family resents you so much."
"The Fourth Hokage and Kushina sacrificed themselves to seal the Nine-Tails and maintain control over the Jinchuriki."
"And yet, their son was treated like garbage… until you swooped in at his lowest point, became his 'guiding light,' and fed him your Will of Fire."
Senju Hashirama frowned. "Has the Will of Fire become… this?"
The Hokage made one last attempt at justification. "Minato's reputation was too great… I hid Naruto's identity for his own safety… I only gave him 1,000 ryo a month…"
Kushina's voice was sharp. "And your grandson?"
"Didn't you practically brand 'Hokage's grandson' on his forehead?"
"And those clothes and tools he's using—Minato and I prepared them for Naruto, not for your brat!"
"Where's Minato's legacy?! Where's mine?!"
"You shameless old man!"
Her Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out, binding the Hokage tightly.
Naruto shook his head and smiled.
"So, you still had hope."
"Do you think you still have a chance for a comeback?"
"Is your comeback dependent on Danzo?"
"Or do you think Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu will save you?"
"You're mistaken. This is just the beginning. Danzo, Homura, and Koharu won't escape either."
At that moment, Asuma suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly interjected:
"That's not true!"
"Naruto's identity was deliberately exposed by Danzo!"
"Yes! This has nothing to do with my father!"
The shinobi around him looked at him with expressions of pity, as if he were deluding himself.
"Danzo wouldn't have dared to act without the Hokage's approval."
"Danzo… has he truly fallen so far?" Senju Tobirama frowned, a deep sense of unease creeping into his mind.
It was as if, with his actions, he had introduced four devils into Konoha.
And as for Uchiha Kagami, Tobirama was certain—he had been dead for a long time.
Maybe, once upon a time, he hadn't been so narrow-minded. But no, that wasn't right. If he weren't, he wouldn't have been Senju Tobirama.
"Old man, you're waiting for Danzo, aren't you?"
"Well, he's here."
Naruto's words had barely fallen when Danzo came flying through the air.
Yes, he had been thrown—by Naruto's Natural Sage Mode clone.
Danzo had attempted to flee the village but was intercepted and trapped within the Root organization's base. In truth, he had arrived a while ago, but Naruto's clone had immobilized him, rendering him unable to move or speak.
As Danzo landed, he quickly assessed the situation.
Looking down, he saw the gathered civilians and shinobi—many among them were his Root operatives and even Anbu hidden in the crowd.
A smirk formed on his lips.
He had been careless and allowed himself to be captured, but they hadn't killed him outright.
Uzumaki Naruto, you will regret this.
"Yes, it was I who ordered Naruto's identity as a Jinchūriki to be revealed!"
"And I was the one who incited the villagers to transfer their hatred of the Nine-Tails onto him."
"Hiruzen knew all of this. Nothing in Konoha escapes his notice."