Fury.
Extreme fury.
For as long as he could remember, Minato had respected Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply.
That was why, during the Nine-Tails' attack, he had barely hesitated before choosing to sacrifice both himself and Kushina to save Konoha.
But what had happened afterward?
After he and Kushina died, his son received no protection at all.
Naruto had been treated as an orphan.
As a monster.
When Minato thought of his son growing up in misery, eating expired bread and drinking spoiled milk, his fists tightened on their own.
For the first time, he truly wanted to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"You were never worthy of being Hokage."
Minato's voice was almost a roar.
"Not at all."
"As the Third Hokage, everything you did was a disgrace."
"The Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, was right."
"Konoha was ruined in your hands."
"And in the hands of Danzō Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane."
For years, Minato had trusted Konoha's elders.
He had believed that Hiruzen, Danzō, Homura, and Koharu were people guided by the Will of Fire.
That they truly worked for Konoha's peace and development.
Even after becoming the Fourth Hokage, Minato had tolerated Hiruzen's influence behind the scenes.
He had allowed the elder council to interfere in village affairs.
Because he had believed they all acted for Konoha.
But reality had slapped him hard.
Hiruzen, Danzō, Homura, and Koharu had long since rotted under the weight of power.
They were not guardians of the Will of Fire.
They were its traitors.
"Lord Fifth Hokage, you were right."
Minato suddenly remembered something and laughed bitterly.
"Konoha's politics really were too deep for me to handle."
Long before Ren revealed his true strength, back when he was still quietly developing in the shadows, Minato had once met him.
At the time, as Fourth Hokage, Minato had only exchanged a few simple words with him.
During that conversation, Ren had said something strange.
He had said Konoha's waters were deep.
That the waters surrounding Konoha's higher-ups were even deeper.
That Minato could not grasp them.
Back then, Minato had not taken those words seriously.
He had been confident.
He was the Fourth Hokage.
No matter how complicated Konoha's politics were, he believed he could handle them.
Now, he finally understood.
Konoha's politics truly had been deeper than he realized.
Deep enough to destroy both him and Kushina.
And even after their deaths, those waters had swallowed Naruto too.
The one responsible for all of it was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
From that moment on, Hiruzen's image completely collapsed in Minato's heart.
The respect he once held became hatred just as deep.
He wanted Hiruzen to pay in blood.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi… as expected of a politician. Ruthless, calculating, and poisonous."
"More than ruthless. He used Minato, regained the Hokage seat, and then abused the Fourth Hokage's son. That kind of behavior is disgusting."
"Fortunately, Hiruzen only struck hard against his own people. If he had acted that way toward other villages, the shinobi world might have suffered disaster long ago."
"Those who achieve great things cannot worry over small details. In a way, his actions are understandable."
As the gathered Kage listened to Minato and Hiruzen, many could not help commenting in amazement.
No one had expected the supposedly upright Hiruzen Sarutobi to have done so many dirty things in the dark.
But when they thought of the current Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, they felt speechless.
Hiruzen had schemed against the Uchiha Clan from the shadows, intending to wipe them out.
Instead, he had forced Uchiha Ren to rise.
Cause and effect.
One action led to another.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's retribution was Uchiha Ren.
And the shinobi world's retribution was also Uchiha Ren.
"Monkey, you really are something."
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Hashirama spoke with clear displeasure.
"As the Third Hokage, you truly disgraced Konoha."
"Hmph."
Tobirama snorted coldly.
"When we return to Konoha, you will suffer."
Without a doubt, after Uchiha Ren took power, Hiruzen's deeds must have been widely publicized.
At the very least, Hiruzen Sarutobi had probably become a public disgrace—
hated and cursed by everyone.
"I… I…"
Hiruzen's old face twisted with humiliation.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
He was not stupid.
He knew that after his death, all the arrangements he had spent years building must have collapsed.
He could already imagine what would happen when he appeared in Konoha again.
Even so—
Hiruzen did not regret what he had done.
Someone who had never held his position could never understand his burdens.
Besides, history was written by the victor.
He had acted for Konoha.
For his Will of Fire.
Now that he had failed, his lifelong reputation had been destroyed and dragged into the mud.
But even then—
he did not regret it.
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