Naraku's voice rang out, seemingly naive—yet laced with suspicion.
"I wonder… how did we defeat the four great shinobi villages one after another in the past wars?"
He tilted his head, brows raised in false curiosity.
"I remember Konoha had a lot of high-level combat power."
"Where are our Sannin now? Didn't we crush our enemies in the Second Shinobi War thanks to them?"
Though Naraku's tone mocked ignorance, the Third Hokage sighed and answered with forced calm.
"Jiraiya and Tsunade are both out on long-term missions. They cannot abandon their duties."
"Missions?" Naraku echoed. "I wonder what kind of missions are so important they can't return—even when war with Kumogakure is at our doorstep."
He paused.
"Or is it that… they can't return?"
A beat.
"Or perhaps… they don't want to come back?"
The words hung heavy in the air.
Everyone present had some idea of the truth. Tsunade had vanished years ago, haunted by trauma and losses she never recovered from. Jiraiya… well, his loyalty to the village was undeniable, but his movements had always been free-spirited.
Naraku didn't stop there.
"Let's not even mention Tsunade. But Jiraiya's attitude toward you, Hokage-sama, has always been… curious."
"Wasn't it strange? When Orochimaru attacked the village, Jiraiya didn't show up at first. Yet the moment you died, he returned almost immediately."
He continued, unbothered by the Hokage's tightening expression.
"How did Jiraiya break through the Four Violet Flames Formation, a barrier said to be nearly impenetrable from the outside?"
"And what of the Four Crimson Rays Formation—an elite-level barrier used only by Kage-tier shinobi?"
"If even Jiraiya's Super Sage Rasengan couldn't break through that, are we truly to believe Sound Ninja managed such a feat?"
A tense cough came from the Third Hokage.
"All of that falls under classified S-rank mission details," he said, voice slightly hoarse. "Tsunade's… public behavior is merely cover for her mission."
Naraku raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. Who would question a top-secret mission that involves gambling, debt collectors, and carrying around a pig?"
That earned him a few suppressed snickers from the younger clan heads. But the elders remained stone-faced.
Everyone knew. The cover story was paper-thin.
Naraku shifted again.
"Fine. Let's leave the Sannin aside."
"Where's Orochimaru?"
The Third Hokage's face darkened.
"Orochimaru… deserted. He was caught performing inhumane experiments on Konoha's citizens."
Danzo finally spoke.
"His actions went far beyond the sanctioned experiments. He used civilians, even children."
Naraku nodded slowly.
"I see. So his crime wasn't experimentation itself, but who he used for it."
The Hokage's stare turned cold, but he said nothing.
They understood what Naraku was implying — experiments on prisoners or enemies were fine, but touching Konoha's own people had crossed an unspoken line.
"Still," Naraku continued, "even without the Sannin, didn't we win the Third Shinobi War only a few years ago?"
"At that time, the Sannin were still active. The Yellow Flash was dancing across the battlefield!"
His voice dropped slightly.
"And yet… on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, when the Fourth Hokage was fighting to protect the village—how was it that no one else could help seal the beast?"
"You say we don't have the strength to resist Kumogakure's Raikage and Jinchūriki, but I ask—what happened to our strength?"
A murmur swept through the room.
Namikaze Minato — the legendary Fourth Hokage.
Uzumaki Kushina — a powerful Jinchūriki in her own right.
They had both died suddenly, on the very night the Nine-Tails rampaged.
No reinforcements. No backups.
The official version never quite satisfied anyone.
Naraku's voice became colder.
"Minato defeated over a thousand shinobi. He held back the Ay-Bee brothers with ease."
"Kushina's Adamantine Chains could restrain even the Nine-Tails."
"If they were still alive today, would we still be talking about war with Kumogakure?"
No one spoke.
The silence was damning.
The aging Third Hokage looked wearier than ever.
"Don't twist the truth!" Homura Mitokado suddenly snapped. "They died for the village!"
Koharu added sternly:
"You should adopt their Will of Fire — and be ready to sacrifice, like they did!"
Naraku smiled faintly.
"Speaking of sacrifice… what about the White Fang?"
Gasps.
Several clan heads turned toward him in surprise.
Even Kakashi, who stood silently in the shadows near the council table, flinched.
"Sakumo Hatake," Naraku said, voice calm, "wasn't he forced to commit suicide after 'failing' a mission that supposedly caused great losses to the village?"
The Third Hokage finally responded.
"That case was settled. Sakumo chose death because his mission's failure endangered many lives."
Naraku narrowed his eyes.
"The White Fang died in Konoha's 41st year — years after the Second War ended. What mission, during a time of supposed peace, could have been so disastrous?"
Kakashi's fingers curled slightly.
He had never known the full truth behind his father's death.
"It's a village secret," the Third Hokage replied coldly. "No further comment."
Naraku chuckled, low and soft.
"Strange, isn't it? The moment his mission failed, rumors spread like wildfire across the village."
"I remember someone even barging into the Hatake home, yelling that the White Fang was a disgrace to Konoha."
"All… just coincidence?"
No one answered.
The air in the room had grown thick, heavy with old blood and buried guilt.
Naraku had said nothing directly offensive — but every word was an arrow.
And they had all struck deep.