It's just… a real shame.
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's shouts, no one offered him the slightest trust.
Danzo's chain of logic was too perfect, and Hiruzen had the motive; therefore, even without a shred of evidence, the blame was fixed firmly on him.
As for Danzo?
Although he too held the Flying Thunder God scroll in his hands and could obtain a Mangekyo Sharingan, making him seem like a prime scapegoat, the truth was this pot was a little too heavy for him to carry.
Because if the mastermind were really Danzo's man, then given Danzo's obsession with the Hokage seat, he would never have let Minato Namikaze's death pass so easily and allowed Hiruzen Sarutobi to retake power.
'Enough stop arguing!'
'Let me add a few words.'
'First, by the principle of "whoever benefits most is most suspect," the one who gained the greatest advantage from the fourth hokage's death is unquestionably the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.'
'He seized the chance to reclaim the Hokage's authority, and the moment he regained office he completely repudiated the Fourth's policies.'
'Everyone knows that when Minato became Hokage he reached out to the Uchiha, negotiated, and tried to integrate them into the Village; at that same time the Ino–Shika–Chō clans had risen to top posts thanks to their excellence.'
'Yet the instant Hiruzen returned, the Uchiha's integration was shattered, and they were subjected to harsher suspicion than ever before.'
'If the Uchiha case were an isolated incident, the subsequent purge of Ino–Shika–Chō, the dismissal of the Jōnin Squad Leader and Intelligence Division chief, would prove that what happened to the Uchiha was no mere clan issue.'
'It was a political liquidation!'
'If Hiruzen had only targeted the Ninja Clans it might be understandable, but does anyone still remember the members of Minato's Hokage guard platoon?'
'Hah no one remembers!'
'And that alone confirms my point: from the way Hiruzen wiped the slate clean the moment he returned, it's obvious he loathed Minato; otherwise he wouldn't have erased every trace of Minato's influence the instant he took office!'
'Secondly…'
'The likelihood that it was Danzo is actually slim he gained virtually nothing.'
'Though I hate that bastard Danzo with a passion, I have to admit: that night Danzo and Root were locked in confrontation with the Uchiha. If he were the culprit he should have spent that time plotting how to seize the Hokage seat afterward, not wasting it on a standoff with the Uchiha.'
'When Hiruzen later became Hokage again, Danzo didn't raise a fuss; if Danzo had truly been the murderer he wouldn't have given up so easily after all, why pay such a price just to tailor the robe for Hiruzen?'
'Given that Danzo once even tried to assassinate Hiruzen for the Hokage seat, the odds of his being the killer are extremely low.'
'As for the Shimura clan, they gained no benefit either.'
'So while I hate Danzo, as an Uchiha I scorn lies: the probability that he is the murderer is small.'
'Conversely, the greatest possibility points to Hiruzen Sarutobi!'
'Do you still remember? On the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, Hiruzen Sarutobi contributed almost nothing.'
'Apart from whacking the Nine-Tails out of Konoha with a single staff, he did virtually nothing else. For someone hailed as the "strongest hokage," that's pathetic.'
'If he truly believed in the Will of Fire and was willing to devote himself to the Village, he should have performed the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in Minato's place—he was the withered leaf meant to burn for the Village, while the young Minato was the Village's tender bud.'
'Yet reality was the exact opposite!'
'In the end it was Minato, the tender bud, who died, while Hiruzen, the withered leaf, survived and regained the Hokage seat.'
'By now you should all understand.'
'The so-called Will of Fire of Old Konoha was a joke, nothing but a slogan the rulers used to exploit the common folk.'
'That's why the New Konoha I created does not promote the Will of Fire.'
'Because I find it meaningless; we Uchiha scorn such things. Instead I advocate that merit and reward be proportional however much you give, so much you should receive.'
'Fair, legal, honest for all ages!'
Uchiha Jin spoke loudly, smoothly launching into a full speech.
Not only did he nail Hiruzen Sarutobi to the pillar of shame, he also took a swipe at Old Konoha while openly praising the merits of New Konoha.
For a moment
everyone listening couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Clearly
compared with Old Konoha, which only preached devotion without reward, Uchiha Jin's New Konoha earned far more goodwill.
Exactly!
Though Senju Hashirama founded Konoha and cherished the Village enough to kill his own brother Uchiha Madara,
all the same
he didn't care who held power; so long as the Village could shelter the children as they grew, he was content.
Therefore
even if the Old Konoha he built was gone, this Village was still home to the children of the clans and Civilians, and that was enough for him; titles like First Hokage meant nothing.
Uzumaki Mito had long been disgusted with Hiruzen's conduct and cared even less whether the Village lived or died.
Sakumo Hatake was even simpler:
he had already been heartbroken by Old Konoha; whether it lived or died was irrelevant—so long as Kakashi lived well, that was enough.
As for Kushina?
Hah!
She and her husband had died for the Village, her child was living like a stray dog, and as a member of the Uzumaki who had only later joined Konoha—guess how much nostalgia she felt for Old Konoha?
Only Senju Tobirama felt deeply aggrieved.
Unlike the simple-minded Hashirama, he truly cared for Old Konoha, and seeing it ruined left him stifled. Yet when he recalled the fine mess his own students had made, he had no way to refute Uchiha Jin.
Besides, his granddaughter Tsunade had joined New Konoha and, judging by appearances, had even become a top figure.
So forget it.
With a helpless sigh he naturally couldn't be bothered to say more.
Let it be.
If anyone present felt the most wronged and aggrieved, it was unquestionably the accused Hiruzen Sarutobi.
There was nothing he could do
he knew perfectly well he truly was not the mastermind!
But alas
no one cared about his shouts or protests; they simply moved on to the next stage of the proceedings.