Chapter 252: The Village Did It—The Village Did It Again
Madara's pupils contracted violently. He never imagined his plan would be known to the person before him.
Where had things gone wrong?
His thoughts raced, quickly identifying the problem.
Nagato remained completely ignorant of everything. Zetsu was his ninjutsu creation—incapable of betrayal. That left only one weak link: Uchiha Obito.
"Hmph. Dead-last remains dead-last. Truly worthless!"
"Was choosing Obito as my executor a mistake from the start?"
"But where did Zetsu go? Why hasn't he fulfilled his responsibilities?"
He rapidly formed seals, beginning to summon Zetsu.
Meanwhile, Hashirama approached Kazuma with Tobirama, demanding:
"Are you Konoha Village's current Hokage?"
"Who authorized use of a forbidden technique like Edo Tensei?"
Hashirama's imposing aura descended like a crushing weight. Immediately, Kazuma's breathing became labored, his heart pounding wildly.
However, for the daimyo's dignity, Kazuma refused to lose face. Stiffening his neck, he shouted:
"What Hokage?"
"The current Konoha Village abolished that position long ago! All shinobi now pledge loyalty to the daimyo and obey his commands!"
"Nani?" Hashirama's brow furrowed sharply. He erupted with fury: "The One Nation, One Village system was jointly established by me and the First Daimyo of the Land of Fire!"
"How dare you destroy it arbitrarily?"
"What do you mean we destroyed it arbitrarily?" Kazuma shot back indignantly: "This was clearly proposed by your Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen himself—trading the Hokage title for support from the daimyo and nobility!"
"To achieve this, His Excellency the Daimyo even agreed to land reparations!"
"Land reparations?" Even Tobirama lost his composure at this.
Tobirama stormed furiously before Sarutobi Hiruzen, releasing his Edo Tensei control before berating him:
"Damn monkey! What have you done?"
"What's this about land reparations?"
Facing his furious teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen dared not lie. Wearing a bitter expression, he briefly explained his plan before sighing:
"My original plan was flawless. After completing Konoha Village's reconstruction, I'd pay additional costs and negotiate a new agreement with the daimyo to resolve everything."
"But who could have known..." He sighed helplessly. "Who knew that immediately upon returning to Konoha Village, I'd be assassinated by members of the Hyuga Main House!"
"However, before dying, I passed the Hokage position to my student Jiraiya..."
While speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to find his beloved student. But after scanning the area, he saw no sign of Jiraiya. He asked in surprise:
"Where's Jiraiya?"
"Did he remain in the village to stand guard?"
The moment he asked, everyone averted their gazes. No one dared meet his eyes.
Tobirama's political acumen was exceptional. Halfway through Sarutobi Hiruzen's explanation, he'd understood everything. Without any pleasantries, he glared at his student and barked:
"Your tenure as Hokage consisted entirely of scheming conspiracies—not one ounce of magnanimity!"
"A Hokage's most important quality is always strength!"
"If you possessed my brother's prowess, who would dare look at Konoha Village sideways?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen—an elderly man of considerable years—now stood scolded like a child. But knowing himself at fault, he dared say nothing. He could only bow his head obediently and apologize.
"I am deeply sorry!"
"Everything is my fault!"
"Hmph!" After finishing with his student, Tobirama continued pressing: "What happened to the village's strength? Why such catastrophic losses?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed:
"A rogue ninja emerged from the village—that Uchiha Yasushi over there. He conspired with the Akatsuki organization from Rain Village, led by Nagato, to attack."
"That Nagato possesses the Rinnegan—the same eyes as the Sage of Six Paths. His strength is formidable. Many village jonin died in that battle."
"Hmph! The Uchiha are truly evil!"
Tobirama cursed furiously before his eyes gleamed with an idea:
"Rogue ninja from the Uchiha clan should be handled by the Uchiha clan."
"You should have mobilized the Uchiha clan head to lead a team and clean up their own mess!"
"Well..." Sarutobi Hiruzen's aged face reddened as his gaze began wandering.
"Huh? That expression... Is there a problem?" Tobirama asked suspiciously.
Itachi, maintaining a low profile behind Kazuma, couldn't help stepping forward to explain for the Third:
"The Uchiha clan was narrow-minded and failed to understand the bigger picture. The village ordered their complete elimination long ago."
"That cursed Uchiha Yasushi is a survivor from the massacre night."
"Lord Tobirama, don't blame Lord Third Hokage. Blame me instead."
"I was the mission executor. I failed to eliminate the roots completely. Everything is my fault."
"Massacre?" Tobirama turned his head woodenly to glance at Itachi before swiveling back to stare intently at Sarutobi Hiruzen. He asked, enunciating each word: "You gave that order?"
"Well..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth, wanting to argue that Itachi had acted independently. But knowing such deception couldn't fool his shrewd teacher, he deflated, lowering his head and admitting fault quietly.
"I failed to maintain proper balance."
"Huff..." Tobirama inhaled deeply before exhaling heavily. Finally, he pointed toward the Uchiha legion glaring with blood-red eyes and demanded:
"So those Uchiha over there are the ones the village massacred?"
"Yes."
After hearing this, Tobirama's expression darkened considerably. But ultimately, he suppressed his inner resentment.
"Fine. At least you eliminated an unstable element from the village."
He pointed toward the Byakugan legion on the other side, asking:
"And what about these Hyuga clan members?"
"Don't tell me the village massacred them too?"
"Uh..." The Third grew even more embarrassed.
Seeing this, Mizuki stepped forward to actively "share" the Third's burden, explaining:
"The conflict between Hyuga Main House and Branch House grew too acute. Eventually, both sides clashed."
"The village ultimately chose the Main House and eliminated the rebellious Branch House."
"Oh, incidentally—immediately after suppressing the rebellion, Lord Third was assassinated by members of the Hyuga Main House."
"They were actually massacred by the village?" Tobirama laughed bitterly at the absurdity.
He laughed toward the skies for some time before extending his palm and slapping Hiruzen's shoulder forcefully several times.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
"You're truly something special!"
"I never should have made you Hokage!"
"Even letting Shimura Danzo become Hokage would have been better than this!"
****
80+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces