Tetsu Harada's sudden outburst left many people baffled.
Even if the Hidden Cloud had a perfect jinchuriki, that was just a special case, right?
For most villages, dealing with a jinchuriki's rampage was the norm. What was there to be so angry about?
Maybe the death of a comrade had pushed him over the edge…
Only Hiko Tachibana and Koshi Yamada could half understand how Tetsu felt.
"Tetsu, maybe you should get some sleep…"
"I'm perfectly clearheaded." Tetsu Harada snorted and met everyone's eyes. "You're wondering why I'm this mad, aren't you?"
"Because our Hidden Leaf could have had a perfect jinchuriki just like the Hidden Cloud!"
"Huh?!"
Everyone stared, mouths agape.
Someone couldn't help blurting, "What do you know? Spit it out."
"Yeah—what do you mean 'we could have had a perfect jinchuriki'?"
"Be quiet, we in the back can't hear anything."
To make sure all could hear, Tetsu Harada stood and shouted at the top of his lungs: "The reason the Hidden Cloud has a perfect jinchuriki is that the Uchiha clan's Sharingan suppresses the Tailed Beast!"
"You all know this."
"Back then, Uchiha Madara used the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and attack the Leaf village!"
"The Sharingan's power naturally restrains Tailed Beasts."
"What should've been our advantage became the Hidden Cloud's bragging rights—and with a Tailed Beast's strength they killed my comrade…"
"Now even our village has been wrecked by that monster."
"Tell me—shouldn't I be furious?!"
For a moment the crowd was stunned silent—then emotions exploded.
"He's not wrong. Madara controlled the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan, and only after the First Hokage defeated him did our village obtained the beast."
"So if the Uchiha hadn't left us, today's disaster could have been avoided?"
"Dammit—why did they leave? Wasn't this village founded because of them in the first place?"
"What happened between the village and the Uchiha? Lord Hokage owes all of us an explanation!"
"That's right. I don't believe the Uchiha would defect without cause. We have the right to know the truth."
"For this Nine-Tails incident, the Third Hokage should shoulder responsibility. During the First and Second's time, the beast never broke its seal!"
Hearing the crowd grow more extreme—and begin to blame the Third—Anbu moved in to restore order.
They approached Tetsu Harada, examined him carefully for a long time, but found nothing unusual.
In the end, they could only take Tetsu and the others away and order everyone present to stop discussing the matter.
But for villagers who had just endured a calamity like this, once a vent had been found, it was impossible to stop it up again.
In the shadows of a corner, Yuzuru Uchiha's lips curled into a cold smile.
'Hiruzen Sarutobi—how will you handle this?'
'Don't start regretting things too soon. That would be far too boring…' (T/N: true… after all of this, and he regrets it now would be unsatisfying xD)
'I've prepared plenty more for you ungrateful lot to savor.'
Space rippled, and Yuzuru vanished.
Next phase: attack the Hidden Leaf village.
——
——
"Sensei, what happened to the village?"
Fresh from Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya was stunned by the Hidden Leaf's state.
The village…
How had it ended up like this?
Hiruzen Sarutobi drew on his pipe and ignored him.
Only when the tobacco burned out did he speak in a flat voice. "Jiraiya, after being away so long, I thought you weren't coming back."
Jiraiya shifted, uneasy. "I've been searching for the Child of Prophecy from the Great Toad Sage's dream…"
"Did that Great Toad Sage of yours foresee the Leaf being destroyed like this?"
"If you'd been here at the time…"
Hiruzen sighed.
Not one of his three students could be relied on.
Tsunade had left the village without a word, gambling everywhere.
Jiraiya wandered the shinobi world, hard to find.
In recent years Orochimaru had grown darker by the day—either locked in his lab or vanishing mysteriously for stretches…
If, on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had been present, would he have needed to risk himself on the front line?
Would the village have ended up like this?
Seeing Jiraiya fall silent, Hiruzen walked out. "Come with me."
They made their way to an underground chamber beneath the Hokage Building, where Jiraiya saw Tetsu Harada, Hiko Tachibana, and Koshi Yamada.
Iron chains had pierced their collarbones, and all three dangled half-dead in the air.
"Do you know these men?"
Snapping back, Jiraiya frowned. "I do. What happened to them?"
"They incited the villagers and endangered public order," Hiruzen said mildly. "Unfortunately, we got nothing from the interrogation."
"Do you know anything?"
"I don't." Jiraiya fought to keep his temper. "If you learned nothing, doesn't that mean they're innocent?"
"No." Hiruzen shook his head. "According to their account, Yuzuru Uchiha held back on purpose during the battle. That little brat is ruthless—he killed Anbu even while still in the village. There's no reason he'd spare these few."
"I suspect the masked man by the Nine-Tails that night was Yuzuru. Only he could slip through the barrier unseen."
"When he deliberately let Tetsu and the others go, he already meant to use them to stir up the villagers."
"After all… after witnessing a perfect jinchuriki, saying such things isn't surprising."
"I thought there had to be more we'd missed, but now that you can corroborate parts of it, the facts likely match our findings."
Jiraiya said, "If that's the case, then release them and get the medics in here!"
"No." Hiruzen shook his head again. "What they said has already turned the villagers against me. If I let them go without charges, what happens to my image as Hokage?"
"What are you going to do?"
"I want you to testify that the three of them were controlled by Yuzuru Uchiha's genjutsu."
Jiraiya's fists clenched. "Absolutely not!"
"As you wish. But…" Hiruzen headed for the door. "Jiraiya, for the sake of the village, it's time you grew up."
Watching his teacher's retreating back, Jiraiya's face sagged with defeat.
'Sensei…'
'How did you become like this?'