Koharu Utatane took over the conversation: "Why did you do such a thing in the Grass Village? And why didn't you report it when you left the village? Don't you know that leaving the village without permission is not allowed?"
"I forgot."
"Forgot?"
Tōshirō said casually: "I'm getting old, my memory isn't so good."
"Getting old?"
"I'm almost 50. Isn't that normal?"
It would have been better if Tōshirō hadn't said anything. But when he did, everyone couldn't help but look at his youthful face, and the corners of their mouths twitched. With a face that looked 12 or 13, how could he say that with a straight face?
The frustrating part was that while Tōshirō's appearance was inexplicably young, his age was indeed what he said it was.
In terms of seniority, besides the four elders on the stage, everyone else was his junior.
Koharu Utatane was the most frustrated by Tōshirō's face.
No woman is indifferent to her appearance. After all these years, Tōshirō was getting younger and younger, which made her feel jealous.
Homura Mitokado took a deep breath. "Even if you really forgot, what's the meaning of causing a big disturbance in the Grass Village?"
Tōshirō said lightly: "Compensation for emotional distress."
"????"
Tōshirō explained what happened to Karin and her mother and then said in a clear voice: "The Uzumaki clan has always been our most steadfast ally in Konoha. Plus, they have made special contributions to our village. Now that they are in trouble, I see them as part of our village and stand up for them. What's wrong with that?"
Although Tōshirō's way of doing things was overbearing, his intentions were ultimately good. After hearing his explanation, everyone felt there was nothing wrong with it.
"That's not right. It seems you also specified and took their village's valuable secret jutsu."
Upon hearing the words "secret jutsu," everyone present was both shocked and curious about what kind of jutsu would make Tōshirō specifically steal it.
This pushed Tōshirō into the spotlight. Homura wanted to see how Tōshirō would explain himself, as the fact that he specified which jutsu to take clearly showed that he was after it.
Tōshirō fell into silence.
Homura thought Tōshirō was flustered and was overjoyed. He launched another attack: "Why did you take their village's secret jutsu?"
Tōshirō looked up, a puzzled expression on his face: "Is it necessary to explain something like that? When you see something you like from another village, isn't it standard procedure to just take it?"
This overly blunt answer completely stumped Homura: "W-what...?"
"It's normal procedure to take something you want from a small ninja village, then wipe out the village without leaving any evidence. I didn't wipe them out, which is already very kind of me. What more could they be dissatisfied with?"
Tōshirō spoke in a carefree manner, as if he were talking about the weather.
Tōshirō wasn't showing off. He was stating a fact.
In the original story, when the Cloud Village saw a secret scroll passed down through generations in the Village of the Cedars, they sent a team to steal it by force. When the Village of the Cedars didn't submit, they hired the Xuanyuan Group to retaliate. After a lot of trouble, they angered the Raikage, who returned with his men and completely annihilated the village.
This shows that such things were very common.
However, Tōshirō's composed demeanor was seen differently by the people in the room.
On the raised platform, the four elders' faces turned grim when they heard this.
They, of course, knew such things happened.
But they felt that Tōshirō's words were more about showing off his own strength, and in a way, intimidating them.
Their suspicion was quickly proven.
"But seriously, you don't need to make such a big deal out of me just taking something from the Grass Village, do you?"
Tōshirō looked very confused. Then, as if he understood something, he pretended to hit his palm with his fist, and his face lit up with understanding: "Oh, I see. You're upset that I didn't do a clean job, aren't you?"
Tōshirō nodded to himself, a look of frustration on his face: "You're right. After all, as one of the Five Great Nations, our reputation is very important. This is my fault for being too compassionate. But don't worry, I know what to do next. I won't leave any loose ends and tarnish the village's reputation."
A premonition of something bad stirred in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart: "What are you planning?"
"What else? I'm going back to wipe out the Grass Village," Tōshirō said nonchalantly. "I'll make some preparations and leave tomorrow. What do you think, Lord Hokage?"
Hiruzen's eyes widened. This guy...
Seeing the other party's expression, Tōshirō frowned: "What? Is Lord Hokage saying that's too slow?"
He then sighed with a helpless expression: "Fine. As soon as this meeting is over, I'll go and destroy the Grass Village. Is that good enough?"
As if worried that they wouldn't trust him, Tōshirō flicked his fingernails and added: "Don't worry. Even though it's a bit rushed, with my strength, there won't be any accidents with a small matter like this."
After hearing this brazen boast, everyone's eyes widened. They all took a sharp breath, and their expressions were beyond words.
Judging by this guy's tone, he was planning to wipe out the entire Grass Village by himself.
This guy must be joking.
Although the Grass Village was weak, it was still a ninja village.
And it was one of the more reputable small ninja villages.
The population was not small.
Forget about that many people, even if you were tasked to kill that many pigs, you would probably get exhausted.
Kakashi, as a top-tier ninja, asked himself. With his strength, even if those people stood there motionless, he would probably be exhausted from having to kill each one of them with his blade.
And if this guy wasn't joking, then what kind of strength had he reached?
But what made him more uneasy than his strength was his personality. Was he really this brutal?
When he first met him, he seemed like a very kind person.
Seeing the frightened looks on the faces of those around them, Yashiro and Inabi felt a surge of pride.
You see? This is the true power of the Uchiha. A strength on a different level than what any of you have.
Jiraiya's eyes were wide in shock. He looked at Tōshirō as if he were a complete stranger.
Jiraiya did not doubt that Tōshirō had this kind of power.
He had seen Tōshirō at his peak. Wiping out the Grass Village with just a few Tailed Beast Bombs would be effortless.
What he couldn't understand was how Tōshirō had become so cruel, treating human lives as if they were nothing.
His current demeanor made Jiraiya think of another friend—Orochimaru.
Jiraiya could trace the reasons why Orochimaru turned out the way he did, but how did Tōshirō become this way?
What happened to him to make his personality so cold and ruthless?
He could so casually and effortlessly say something as brutal as wiping out a village.
Danzō's body trembled slightly. This guy was definitely saying these things on purpose, using his powerful strength to intimidate them to satisfy himself.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyebrows furrowed, and he slammed the table hard to vent his anger: "Don't be reckless. Things are not what they used to be."
Tōshirō spread his hands, showing his helplessness.
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and said: "In short, you will return the secret jutsu to the Grass Village first. The village will handle the rest of the matter properly."
He originally wanted to add an apology but considering Tōshirō's personality, an apology was probably out of the question.
However, he had still greatly underestimated the other party's arrogant and overbearing attitude.
"Return the secret jutsu?"
Tōshirō's eyes widened, his expression one of disbelief: "I stole the secret jutsu with my own power. Why should I give it back?"
Everyone: ...
Is that something a person would say?
To describe robbery in such a fresh and refined way, he must be the only person in the world to do it.
Even third parties who had no grudges with Tōshirō felt that he was going a little too far, and his behavior completely shattered their image of this senior ninja.
Tōshirō's attitude completely subverted Hiruzen's understanding. He was about to spit blood.
Hiruzen still had a strong impression of Tōshirō's behavior as a child.
However, as he grew older, this guy's behavior went in a completely different direction.
Now, this guy's face was practically screaming "I look down on everyone."
Sometimes, Hiruzen had to admire how Tōshirō had been so good at keeping his true self hidden at such a young age that he had even fooled him perfectly.
Thinking of this, he truly regretted not listening to Danzō's advice and killing this guy.
Now, the other party had fully grown.
Forget about the village, there probably wasn't anyone in the world who could firmly control him.
After Tōshirō's "justified" refusal to return the secret jutsu, he continued his "justified" actions: "Besides, I also need this jutsu to revive Tsunade. So, returning it is out of the question."
"What—!"
These words were like a bomb. Everyone who had just been condemning Tōshirō's overbearing actions was now a little shaken.
Even the four old men on the platform couldn't sit still anymore: "Did you just say 'revive'?"
(End of Chapter)
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