Harada Toru's sudden outburst of anger left many people baffled.
Even if the Hidden Cloud Village had perfect Jinchuriki, that was just an exception, wasn't it?
For most Ninja Villages, being troubled by a rampaging Jinchuriki was the norm, so what was there to be angry about?
Perhaps the death of his comrades had stimulated him too much... Only Tachibana Hiko and Yamada Koushi could somewhat understand Harada Toru's feelings.
"Toru, maybe you should get some sleep..."
"I'm perfectly awake right now," Harada Toru snorted coldly, meeting everyone's gaze as he spoke, "You must be wondering why I'm so angry, right?"
"Because our Konoha Village could have also had perfect Jinchuriki, just like the Hidden Cloud Village!"
"Huh?!"
Upon hearing Harada Toru's words, everyone present gasped in astonishment.
Someone couldn't help but say, "What exactly do you know? Hurry up and explain."
"That's right, what do you mean by 'we could have also had perfect Jinchuriki'? What are you implying?"
"Quiet down, everyone. Those of us in the back can't hear anything anymore."
To ensure everyone could hear clearly, Harada Toru stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The reason the Hidden Cloud Village has perfect Jinchuriki is because the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan helped suppress them!"
"Everyone should be very clear on this, right?"
"Back then, Uchiha Madara used his Sharingan to control the Nine-Tailed and attack Konoha!"
"The power of the Sharingan naturally counters Tailed Beasts."
"The treatment that should have belonged to us was used by those bastards from the Hidden Cloud Village as a bragging right, using the Tailed Beast's immense power to kill my comrades..."
"Now, even the Village has been destroyed beyond recognition by the Tailed Beast."
"Tell me, shouldn't I be angry?!"
After hearing Harada Toru's explanation, the crowd was stunned for a moment before their emotions suddenly erupted.
"What he said seems right. Back then, Uchiha Madara controlled the Nine-Tailed with his Sharingan. The First Hokage defeated Uchiha Madara, and that's how our Village acquired the Nine-Tailed."
"So, if the Uchiha Clan hadn't left Konoha, today's disaster could have been completely avoided?"
"This is outrageous! Why did those guys leave the Village? Wasn't Konoha Village established because of them in the first place?"
"What exactly happened between the Village and the Uchiha Clan? Hokage-sama must give all of us an explanation!"
"That's right, I don't believe the Uchiha Clan would collectively defect without any reason. We have the right to know the truth of the matter."
"The Third Hokage should also take responsibility for this Nine-Tailed rampage incident. When the First and Second Hokage were in power, the Nine-Tailed never broke through its Seal!"
Hearing the crowd's increasingly radical remarks, which gradually began to blame the Third Hokage, the Anbu members responsible for maintaining order immediately began to intervene.
They walked up to Harada Toru and thoroughly examined him for a long time but found no abnormalities.
In the end, they could only take Harada Toru and the others away, and ordered everyone present to refrain from discussing related topics.
Unfortunately, for the Konoha villagers who had just experienced such a tragic event, once an outlet for their emotions was found, it became difficult to block it again.
In the shadows of a corner, Uchiha Yuzuru's lips curved into a cold sneer.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, how will you deal with this next?
Don't regret it too soon, that would be too boring... I've prepared many things for you ungrateful guys to savor.
With a ripple in space, Uchiha Yuzuru's figure disappeared.
The next step of the plan: attack Konoha!
----
----
"Teacher, what happened to the Village?"
After returning from Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya was shocked by the sight of Konoha Village.
The Village... how did it become like this?
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, ignoring Jiraiya.
It wasn't until the pipe in his hand went out that he spoke faintly, "Jiraiya, you've been away from the Village for so long, I thought you weren't planning to come back."
Jiraiya felt a little uncomfortable and explained, "I've been searching for the Child of Prophecy from the Great Toad Immortal's dream..."
"Did the Great Toad Immortal you speak of predict that Konoha Village would be destroyed to this extent?"
"If you had been here then..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
None of his three Disciples could be relied upon.
Tsunade left the Village without a word, gambling everywhere.
Jiraiya had been traveling the Ninja World, his whereabouts hard to trace.
In recent years, Orochimaru had also become increasingly gloomy, either staying in his laboratory or mysteriously disappearing for periods... If Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had been present on the day of the Nine-Tailed rampage, why would he have had to personally fight?
And how would the Village have ended up in its current state!
Seeing Jiraiya's silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked out, "Follow me."
They arrived at the underground secret room of the Hokage Building, where Jiraiya saw Harada Toru, Tachibana Hiko, and Yamada Koushi.
These three men were impaled through their shoulder blades with iron chains, all hanging half-dead in mid-air.
"Do you know these people?"
Jiraiya snapped back to attention, somewhat angrily, "Yes, I do. What happened to them?"
"They incited the villagers' emotions and disrupted the Village's stability," Hiruzen Sarutobi said faintly, "Unfortunately, nothing was extracted from them."
"Do you know anything?"
"I don't know," Jiraiya suppressed his emotions, "If nothing was extracted from them, doesn't that mean they're innocent?"
"No, according to their accounts, Uchiha Yuzuru intentionally held back during the battle," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, "That brat is ruthless; he dared to kill Anbu Ninja when he was in the Village. There's no reason he would let them go."
"I suspect the mysterious person who appeared near the Nine-Tailed that night was Uchiha Yuzuru. Only he could enter and exit the barrier without anyone noticing."
"When he deliberately let Harada Toru and the others go, he had already thought of using them to incite the villagers' emotions."
"After all... it's not strange for such remarks to be made after seeing a perfect Jinchuriki."
"Originally, I thought there must be other things that hadn't been investigated, but now with your testimony, the facts should be similar to the investigation results."
Hearing this, Jiraiya said, "Since the matter is clear now, can they be released? Hurry and have medical Ninja treat them!"
"No," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head again, "The statements they made have already caused dissatisfaction among the villagers towards me. If I release them without charge, what will happen to my image as Hokage among the villagers?"
"What do you intend to do?"
"I want you to testify that the three of them were controlled by Uchiha Yuzuru's Genjutsu."
Jiraiya clenched his fists tightly, "Impossible!"
"Suit yourself, but..." Hiruzen Sarutobi walked away, "Jiraiya, even for the sake of the Village, you should mature a little."
Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi's retreating figure, a look of dejection appeared on Jiraiya's face.
Teacher... how did he become like this?