Hiruzen Sarutobi froze awkwardly for a moment before forcing out a stiff reply.
"I understand. I'll adjust my mindset."
He felt miserable.
Seeing Minato still showing concern for him, Hiruzen could not help thinking of everything he had done to Naruto.
The hypocrisy.
The kindness on the surface.
The coldness behind the scenes.
He had treated Naruto as nothing more than an orphan to be shaped and tested.
"Hiruzen, what exactly are you trying to hide?"
At that moment, Hashirama, who had been watching coldly from the side, finally spoke.
"The last time we were revived through Edo Tensei, we learned plenty about what you did in Konoha."
"You truly disgraced the title of Hokage."
Tobirama's expression also darkened.
"I chose you as the Third Hokage so you could govern Konoha properly."
"And what did you do?"
"You schemed against the Senju Clan until it was practically erased."
Back when Hashirama and Tobirama were alive, they had indeed begun encouraging the Senju Clan to merge into Konoha.
They did it to prevent the clan from becoming too powerful and disrupting the village's stability.
But Hiruzen had taken that policy and twisted it.
After taking office, he used the Senju Clan as an example to suppress.
Even those who had already merged into other families were assigned dangerous missions again and again.
It was almost as if he would not stop until the Senju Clan had disappeared completely.
"Hmph."
Hashirama thought for a moment, then snorted coldly.
"We can set aside what you did to us for now."
"But what you did to Uzumaki Naruto… that was too much."
"Wait."
Minato's expression changed.
"First Hokage. Second Hokage."
"What does this have to do with my son, Naruto?"
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He and Kushina had sacrificed their lives to protect Konoha.
As the son of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto should at least have been treated as the child of heroes.
He did not need luxury.
But basic care, warmth, and dignity should have been guaranteed.
"Let Hiruzen explain it himself."
Hashirama looked displeased.
"The so-called strongest Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, did many things that were supposedly 'beneficial' to Konoha during his reign."
He emphasized the word beneficial with obvious sarcasm.
"Hahaha, Fourth Hokage, you still don't know?"
A laughed coldly.
"The Third Hokage was weak against outsiders but ruthless against his own people. He was quite the character."
Ōnoki gave a mocking smile.
"If the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, had not appeared, the Uchiha Clan would probably have followed the Senju Clan into extinction."
"With Hiruzen Sarutobi in charge, the other great villages lived comfortably. Unlike now, when Uchiha Ren wants to unify the shinobi world the moment he opens his mouth."
Orochimaru also showed a faint smile.
He did not say much, but his expression clearly showed that he was enjoying the spectacle.
Even Madara, Obito, Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, and the revived Kage revealed looks of amusement.
Everyone wanted to see Hiruzen make a fool of himself.
"Third Hokage."
Minato ignored the surrounding gazes.
He took a deep breath, his voice growing heavy.
"What exactly happened?"
"As Hokage, do you not even dare admit what you did?"
Hiruzen pointed at Minato, too angry to speak for a moment.
This was the first time Minato had questioned him with such a cold tone.
There was no respect.
No warmth.
Only icy anger.
But if Hiruzen had truly thought about what he had done to Naruto, he would have understood.
If Minato could still remain gentle after learning the truth, then there would be something wrong with him as a father.
"Speak."
Minato's expression became terrifyingly solemn.
"I want to know how Naruto truly lived."
"Fine. I'll speak."
Hiruzen's temper also rose.
"As the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Naruto was a risk."
"So I did not reveal his identity."
"I wanted to temper his mind from childhood."
"I allowed the villagers to call him a demon fox. A monster."
"I allowed others to isolate him."
"I ignored the fact that he drank expired milk and ate expired bread."
"In short, I only wanted to test whether Uzumaki Naruto was qualified to be a jinchūriki."
"If he proved unfit…"
"I would have dealt with him myself."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The room became deathly still.
Minato had never imagined that Hiruzen Sarutobi would treat his son like this.
Naruto had grown up as an orphan.
He had been treated as a monster.
Called a demon fox.
Isolated.
Given expired food.
At that moment, Minato felt something tearing inside him.
His Edo Tensei body should not have been able to feel pain.
And yet he did.
A pain that reached into his soul.
"Why?"
His voice trembled.
"Why did it become like this?"
"I gave my life for Konoha."
"Kushina gave her life for Konoha."
"I thought that, at the very least, Konoha would protect our son."
"I thought he would receive even the smallest amount of warmth."
Minato's eyes grew colder and colder.
"Kushina…"
"I'm sorry."
"It was my fault."
"I overestimated my place in Konoha."
"I overestimated the people I entrusted Naruto to."
"In the end, everything I believed in was nothing but an illusion."
The more he spoke, the more terrifying his expression became.
A cold killing intent gradually surfaced in his eyes.
For the first time since his revival—
the gentle Fourth Hokage was truly furious.
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