When Tobirama heard Hiruzen say that he had forcibly expelled Shin from the Ninja Academy, then framed him to drive him out of the Uchiha clan, and later even had him monitored for a long time, with the entire upper echelon eventually trying to eliminate him altogether, he was completely dumbfounded.
"You did all this? Were you not afraid that the Uchiha clan would rebel? Not afraid the people of Konoha would condemn you?"
"And wait... were those even my original orders?"
"Why did such a small matter require such a big commotion?"
"It was just about stopping one person from training, was that so hard?"
Not only was it not difficult, but it could've even been an opportunity to accomplish a lot of things.
So why, when it came to Hiruzen, did something so simple become such a mess?
Many things weren't as simple as they seemed. The relationships between the village and the clans weren't just about governance and being governed, they were tied up in exchanges of interests.
All Hiruzen had to do was, in his position as the new Hokage, proactively show goodwill toward the Uchiha clan, express that he valued them, and offer some benefits, like supporting reforms in the police force.
Then, bring up a plausible reason tied to Tobirama's "last wishes," perhaps something like: The Second Hokage suspected that Madara may have left behind some hidden method in Shin that could endanger the Uchiha clan.
But since there was no concrete evidence, and the child wasn't at fault, nothing could be done openly. Still, doing nothing would leave people uneasy.
At that point, Kagami could step in, publicly defending Shin while also suggesting that he shouldn't be allowed to continue his training. Then an elder from the clan could bring Shin into the family's business, compensating him economically and in terms of livelihood.
This way, without Hiruzen having to run around displeasing people, the goal could've been achieved in a smooth, logical manner.
It would've also increased Kagami's influence within the clan.
Hiruzen could've even taken the chance to strengthen relations with the Uchiha clan, laying the groundwork for future integration and unity.
At the time, Shin's talent was average. With Hiruzen showing goodwill and the clan gaining real benefits, simply barring one boy from training would never have triggered a major conflict.
So Tobirama was fuming with rage inside.
He had gone out of his way to leave Hiruzen so many backup plans and loopholes... for what?
Wasn't it exactly to help him win over hearts and minds, quickly stabilize the situation, and carry out the policy of integrating the clans into civilian society?
But this idiot destroyed all of his careful arrangements and called it "honoring his will"?
Hearing what Hiruzen and Danzō had done to the Uchiha clan made him grit his teeth in fury.
"Yes, I was wary of the Uchiha clan. But they were still a part of Konoha's strength. Did I ever ask you to plan their extermination?"
"If I really wanted that, I would've done it myself back then, why would I leave it to you?"
"My plan was to divide them, encourage individuality, reduce the threat level, not drive them to destruction!"
He always believed he could stay rational, but now he realized he had been wrong. Because what Hiruzen did to the Uchiha clan... that was only a small part of the filth.
The first thing that completely shattered his composure... was Kagami's death.
Back when Hashirama was still alive, Tobirama was already thinking about dividing the Uchiha clan.
At the time, he had selected and carefully nurtured Kagami, intending him to be the key to internal division within the Uchiha clan.
It was the ideal plan: induce internal division in the clan without starting a civil war, this would achieve the goal without weakening Konoha's overall strength.
But then Danzō, out of jealousy and greed for the Sharingan, killed Kagami only a few months after Tobirama's death. And then he deliberately provoked the Uchiha clan, pushing them toward a complete break with Konoha, leaving them no choice but to go to extremes.
Worse, even after Hiruzen found out Danzō was behind Kagami's death, he didn't even reprimand him.
He allowed Danzō to secretly slander the Uchiha clan, spreading false rumors and hatred among the villagers, and did absolutely nothing to stop it.
Why?
Because they wanted the Uchiha clan to be hated and isolated, so they could find a chance to exterminate them.
Then Danzō could seize the Sharingan, and the others could split up the Uchiha clan's wealth.
The worst part?
They did all of this in Tobirama's name.
After learning the truth, he felt dizzy and disoriented. Just thinking about how much effort he had poured into Kagami, grooming him as the key to solving the Uchiha problem, and now... Twenty years of careful planning... all ruined. Just like that.
Gone!
When he heard that the four top Konoha officials had used their power for personal gain and collectively embezzled a massive amount of the village's public resources, he thought he must've misheard.
Konoha's high-ranking officials... abusing power... large-scale embezzlement of public assets...
How on earth did these words even end up strung together?
Even though Hiruzen kept emphasizing that he had been dragged into it, that he never intended to go that far, did Tobirama look like someone so easily fooled?
If Hiruzen hadn't turned a blind eye from the start, if he had enforced real punishments instead of giving only lip service, if he hadn't tried to cover for them in order to look compassionate and loyal, things would've never escalated like this.
And didn't I tell you all, my greatest dream was to abolish the clans and turn everyone into civilians, to solve Konoha's problems at the root, and to establish centralized authority?
Yet what did you do?
Not only did you make the clans even more resistant to civilian integration, but because of your greed and selfishness, you even gave rise to four more clans!
What were you trying to do?!
Now that he had regained physical control over his body, he could hardly resist the urge to strangle Hiruzen on the spot.
But that still wasn't the most despairing part.
What broke him the most... was that Koharu and Homura, for the sake of profit, went so far as to sell off strategic materials from Konoha's reserve warehouses.
And when it all came to light, Hiruzen, in order to protect himself, turned against Koharu without hesitation and struck her down, disregarding even the bond of their shared past.
Then Danzō, trying to provoke internal conflict between Hiruzen and Tsunade, went as far as leaking confidential village information.
To suppress Tsunade, Hiruzen even sent assassins after her, incited war, and dispatched Danzō to the front lines, hoping to get Tsunade and those loyal to her killed.
Tobirama started off furious, but the more he heard, even his normally calm and rational self couldn't help but laugh.
He sat blankly on a stone bench, continuing to listen:
How Danzō caused the death of Hiruzen's own clansmen.
How Danzō staged a coup.
How Hiruzen faked his own death.
How he later killed Danzō.
How he even killed Homura...
So this is the successor I hand-picked.
The most honest and sincere of them, Torifu, stripped of all power, left to hide at home and study food for fear of being targeted, and if not for the war, he probably wouldn't have shown himself again.
The other four?
Colluded in corruption, abused their authority, enriched themselves at the village's expense, betrayed comrades, removed dissenters... And when everything was exposed, they turned on each other like wild dogs, descending into mutual betrayal and slaughter.
The ugliness of human nature was on full display through them.
Later, when Tsunade, full of responsibility and resolve, could no longer bear to watch and tried to fix everything and return the village to the right path, these people all turned on her.
Not only that, they tried to kill her multiple times, leaked village secrets, even initiated war, willing to lose the war if it meant eliminating her.
And in the darkest of moments, the one who stepped forward to support Tsunade, helped stabilize the Uchiha clan again, protected talents like Sakumo, cultivated the new generation of geniuses, and aided Tsunade in every way...
Was none other than the young Uchiha boy he once tried to destroy with a single word.
If not for him, Tsunade would've long been dead, buried under the schemes and filth of his so-called "students."
The ones who nearly dragged the village into a bottomless abyss were the very students Tobirama had placed his highest hopes in.
And the one who saved the village and brought it light, was the innocent boy he had tried to eliminate.
Thinking of this, he no longer even had the courage to meet Shin's eyes. He wished he could just crawl into a hole and disappear.
His students... his successors...
He wished more than anything... that all of this was just an illusion cast by Shin's Mangekyō Sharingan, that none of it was real.
But as smart as he was, he knew the truth.
As someone who loved Konoha deeply, someone who bore the village's hopes and carried immense responsibility on his shoulders, Tobirama truly wanted to die.
"I even risked my life to lure the enemy away for you people?"
"I swear... If I had known, I'd have just died with my brother back then. At least I wouldn't have had to see you all poisoning Konoha in my name, or trying to murder my grandniece."
In the end, faced with this relentless storm of absurdities and betrayals, Tobirama, a man so brilliant, found his mind crashing.
He looked utterly lifeless, as though all the strength had been drained from his body.
If it weren't for being resurrected via Edo Tensei, he probably would've already stabbed himself twice just to end it.