Chapter 58: The Truth and the Huge Amount of Stolen Money
Even though some of the money carried by Sarutobi Gōken, Sarutobi Miyagi, and Sarutobi Yoshiko was clearly illegitimate, it was not confiscated.
The remaining Sarutobi ninjas immediately relaxed and began queuing up for registration and inspection.
Soon, more than 1,000 Sarutobi ninjas had their assets inventoried and passed the genjutsu interrogation.
Box after box of wealth was carried out from the Sarutobi clan grounds.
More and more Konoha villagers gathered to watch. Their expressions shifted from shock, to anger, and finally to hatred.
Uchiha Tetsuka read aloud in a loud voice: "Registrant: Sarutobi Tōjō, jōnin, carrying 1.43 billion ryō in cash and various gold and silver jewelry…"
"Sarutobi Tōjō, head of the mission settlement department, embezzled 1.74 billion ryō in rewards…"
A limping jōnin pointed at the boxes in the Sarutobi clansmen's hands and roared: "Part of that money is mine! I carried out several S-rank missions on the battlefield, but they deducted half of my rewards!"
Uchiha Kawamo read loudly: "Registrant: Sarutobi Eiki, jōnin, carrying 1.53 billion ryō in cash and various gold and silver jewelry…"
"Sarutobi Eiki, head of the logistics department, embezzled 2.34 billion ryō in compensation funds…"
An old woman's voice trembled as tears rolled down her face: "My son's compensation money… They said the finances were tight and only gave me thirty percent…"
"Kill them!" Someone roared, picking up a stone and throwing it.
These Sarutobi clansmen were all jōnin. They easily dodged the stones.
Then Sarutobi Eiki sneered and deliberately shouted loudly: "What? You lowly commoners dare to raise your hands against me?"
Uchiha Police Force ninjas quickly stepped forward to stop the furious villagers.
"Uchiha! Are you protecting them?"
"They embezzled our money! Why should they be allowed to leave?"
Uchiha Sanpō shouted sternly: "They have already joined the daimyō's side. We cannot attack them arbitrarily. Moreover, 12,597 ninjas died in the Third Great Ninja War. If we experience another civil war, the four great nations will very likely start another war. Not only will Konoha Village be unable to survive, the Land of Fire itself may perish. So please endure for now. We will deal with them later when the opportunity arises!"
Uchiha Sanpō took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart: "Continue the registration."
After realizing the Uchiha didn't dare to act, Sarutobi Eiki became even more arrogant: "Uchiha Sanpō, you're nothing special either. And you lowly commoners… If I take your money, it's because I think highly of you."
With a loud "bang," Sarutobi Eiki was kicked more than ten meters away.
"Ah… ugh… it hurts… Uchiha Sanpō, how dare you lay a hand on me!" Sarutobi Eiki was still a jōnin after all. The kick only caused him minor injury.
Uchiha Sanpō gave him a cold look filled with killing intent: "Take your dirty money and get the hell out of here. If you say one more word of nonsense, I'll cripple you!"
Seeing that the other party was serious, Sarutobi Eiki called over a dozen clansmen to help him carry the stolen funds.
Looking at Sarutobi Shinobu in the distance, who was embracing his beautiful wife, Uchiha Sanpō waved his hand and said in a low voice: "Someone, go bring Kakashi here!"
Three minutes later, Kakashi was brought over.
"Kakashi, you've been in the Anbu for quite a long time. I believe you've had failed missions as well. May I ask why you didn't commit suicide?"
Hatake Kakashi said angrily: "Uchiha Sanpō, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Uchiha Sanpō smiled faintly: "You didn't commit suicide. So why do you think it was normal for your father to commit suicide?"
Kakashi's face instantly turned cold: "Don't joke about my father!"
"Kakashi, you've killed many people. You should know that the abdomen is not an immediately fatal spot. Seppuku is a slow process of death. Your father truly loved you. To avoid waking you, he endured hours of excruciating pain without making a sound until he bled to death."
Kakashi's eyes turned bloodshot: "Uchiha Sanpō, what exactly do you want to say?"
"Danzō Shimura used the mission failure to ruin your father's reputation, but your father didn't care. However, someone threatened your father with your life, and as a result, your father committed suicide. If you want to know the truth, help me kill two people later."
At this moment, the usually cold-blooded Kakashi secretly shed tears: "Who do you want me to kill?"
Uchiha Sanpō said in a low voice: "Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado!"
"Fine, I agree." Kakashi replied expressionlessly.
"Your father was a hero of the Second Great Ninja War and the head of the Anbu, so he was qualified to be a candidate for the next Hokage. Your father's existence blocked some people's path. In addition, your father did a lot of dirty work for Hiruzen Sarutobi, so he knew his situation was dangerous. In the end, he made a deal with someone using his own life. The result was that the 16-year-old Hiruzen Shinobu replaced your father and became the new head of the Anbu, while you, who had just become a chūnin, were placed into Namikaze Minato's genin team."
Kakashi said with hatred: "Was it Hiruzen Shinobu?"
Uchiha Sanpō said calmly: "It was Hiruzen Sarutobi. After all, he fulfilled the agreement with your father, so you cannot kill him, or it would tarnish your father's honor."
"Registrant: Hiruzen Shinobu, 24 years old, jōnin, carrying 3.14 billion ryō in cash…"
As soon as this number came out, the watching villagers erupted in an uproar.
"3.14 billion? How old is he?"
"The Hokage's son really is different…"
Uchiha Ryūka's Three Tomoe Sharingan spun. Hiruzen Shinobu trembled all over.
Immediately afterward, he began to confess uncontrollably: "I… I modified mission reports seventy-seven times… falsified the number of Anbu deaths… embezzled compensation funds for Anbu members…"
Just as the two were about to continue arguing, the entire scene suddenly fell silent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi personally escorted the last batch of assets out.
The Uchiha ninja responsible for registration even sounded a little shaky: "Sa… Sarutobi Hiruzen, 55 years old, Kage-level, carrying 24.7 billion ryō in cash, 110,000 taels of gold, 1.59 million taels of silver, and various gold and silver jewelry…"
A deathly silence enveloped the entire area.
The number 24.7 billion echoed in everyone's minds.
Uchiha Sanpō slowly stood up, walked to the mountain of banknotes, and casually picked up a stack.
He shook the banknotes in his hand: "Hiruzen Sarutobi, I remember last year when the village wanted to rebuild the orphanage, you said the funds were tight and didn't approve even a single ryō. And the year before that, when the Ninja Academy needed expansion, you said finances were difficult and made the students' parents raise 30 million ryō themselves?"
Angry curses began to rise from the crowd.
"Beast! My son goes to that school!"
"I donated 50,000 ryō — that was all my savings!"
Uchiha Sanpō turned to face the growing number of villagers and said in a loud voice: "Have you all seen it clearly? This is our beloved former Hokage! These are the 'adults' who have always accused the Uchiha of being 'evil'!"
The waves of anger grew louder and louder. Some people began throwing rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables at Hiruzen Sarutobi. Others even picked up stones and hurled them…
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