The next morning, heavy rain began to fall over Konoha.
The Hero Cemetery was still crowded with ninjas. Countless shinobi held black umbrellas, braving the pouring rain to attend the funeral of the Third Hokage, remaining silent amidst the mourning atmosphere.
The Third Hokage was not the First Hokage who created the Ninja Village, nor the Second Hokage who laid its foundation.
But he was the Hokage who ruled Konoha the longest. To put it bluntly, in the ninja profession, where the average life expectancy was barely forty-something years, the Third Hokage had remained in power throughout the entire lives of many ninjas.
During his long reign, the Third Hokage once led Konoha to its peak before it slowly began to decline.
Therefore, regarding the death of the Third Hokage, the first reaction of many ninjas was disbelief, followed by voluntarily coming to the Hero Cemetery to participate in the funeral of the Hokage who sacrificed himself for the village.
The ninjas attending the funeral included not only the higher-ups of the Land of Fire and Konoha Ninja Village, but also shinobi from other ninja villages.
Even the ninjas of Sunagakure were present. Looking at the place where the Third Hokage would be buried, their expressions were extremely complicated, and they didn't know what to say.
After surrendering to Konoha, they gradually learned that the true mastermind behind the Konoha Crush plan had been Orochimaru.
Although their Kazekage had also been dissatisfied with Konoha, before they even departed for the Chunin Exams, he had already died at Orochimaru's hands, and even his corpse had been used afterward. The humiliation left them feeling utterly miserable.
But compared to humiliation, reality was more important.
How to choose a new Kazekage after Rasa's death, and how to ensure that Sunagakure would not be expelled from the ranks of the Five Great Ninja Villages, were matters far more worthy of concern.
Besides Sunagakure, the members of the Sarutobi Clan were also deeply worried about their future.
Because their interests had declined, they wanted to obtain more benefits, so behind the Third Hokage's back, they secretly cooperated with Orochimaru and the Fire Daimyo, providing assistance for the Konoha Crush plan.
But what they never expected was that Uzushio Village would actually participate in the Chunin Exams.
Weren't all the ninjas of Uzushio Village supposed to be rebellious traitors? And shouldn't Uchiha Shisui hate Konoha as well? Why would he interfere in Konoha's internal conflict?
However, none of that was what truly shattered their mentality. What they found most unacceptable was that the Third Hokage, their own clan head, had also betrayed the Sarutobi Clan and chosen Konoha instead, making them look like complete clowns.
Yet it was precisely because the Third Hokage betrayed the clan that the Sarutobi Clan was not utterly doomed.
Seeing that the situation in the village was still unstable, and out of respect for the Third Hokage, the Fifth Hokage had not thrown them into the Anbu Prison for the time being, instead assigning a large number of Anbu to monitor them.
Because of this, although life for the Sarutobi Clan would become difficult in the future, it would still be far better than the fate of ordinary criminals.
Soon, the funeral entered the speech segment. Konoha's higher-ups and the heads of the major ninja clans stepped forward one after another to mourn the deceased Third Hokage and recount details of their interactions with him.
After several jonin came forward to give their memorial speeches, many ninjas in the audience took out tissues and wiped tears from the corners of their eyes.
When it was Kakashi's turn, he took out a draft sheet and slowly spoke before hundreds of Konoha ninjas:
"I feel deep sorrow over the death of the Third Hokage. I would like to share some of my experiences with the Third Hokage-sama…"
"First, there's the matter of the demon fox incident in the village. Everyone should remember that six or seven years ago, there was a child in the village called the Demon Fox. His true identity was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so calling him a demon fox wasn't entirely inaccurate."
"But aside from being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, that so-called demon fox was actually the son of the Fourth Hokage…"
The moment those words fell, the Konoha ninjas in the audience immediately exploded into an uproar. This was clearly the funeral of the Third Hokage, so why did the atmosphere suddenly become so strange? Kakashi didn't seem to be attending a funeral at all—he looked more like he was publicly attacking the Third Hokage.
However, many ninjas also reacted to the title "Demon Fox" and began recalling old memories.
Because of the Nine-Tails, many villagers had lost family members and property, so they vented their resentment on the orphan Naruto. They had always thought he was just another ordinary orphan found everywhere in wartime, never expecting him to actually be the Fourth Hokage's son.
They had poured all their hatred onto Naruto, and now, looking back on it, they felt genuinely ashamed.
But the greatest fault still belonged to the Third Hokage. Why had he hidden Naruto's true identity? Why hadn't he publicly announced that Naruto was the son of a hero? What exactly had the Third Hokage been thinking back then?
The members of the Sarutobi Clan sensed the atmosphere turning bad and quickly looked toward Jiraiya.
Kakashi was openly attacking the Third Hokage. Once the Third Hokage's image was damaged, those ninjas who had participated in the internal conflict might receive even harsher punishment.
Jiraiya also frowned. Just as he was about to stop Kakashi, Naruto's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear:
"Uncle Jiraiya, for the safety of Konoha Ninja Village, you'd better not stop Kakashi-senpai from speaking. Otherwise, Uzushio Village will no longer consider cooperating with Konoha."
Jiraiya glanced at the shadow clone beside him and whispered, "The Third Hokage-sensei is already dead. There's no need to throw dirt on his grave. Let him keep at least some dignity after death."
Naruto replied coldly, "What do you mean by throwing dirt? Kakashi is only stating facts. Or have you become as foolish as the Third Hokage and started tarnishing the Will of Fire?"
Hearing the phrase "Will of Fire," Jiraiya froze for a moment, but in the end, he still didn't stop Kakashi from continuing.
Seeing the atmosphere at the funeral changing, Kakashi took a deep breath and continued:
"The second matter concerns Orochimaru's defection. In addition to Orochimaru, Danzo was also involved in human experimentation and attacks on villagers."
"Yet back then, the Third Hokage not only failed to deal with Danzo, he also deliberately showed mercy to Orochimaru's subordinates and intentionally allowed Orochimaru to escape."
"Over the years, Orochimaru has continued conducting human experiments outside the village, and not long ago, he launched the Konoha Crush plan and attacked the village."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the ninjas present changed drastically, their faces becoming extremely grim.
The Third Hokage hiding Naruto's identity as the hero's son only made them feel guilt and regret for unintentionally mistreating him.
But Orochimaru was different. Orochimaru's crimes involved human experimentation on ninjas and villagers alike.
Many families of those victims were still living in Konoha. The fact that the Third Hokage had deliberately let Orochimaru go filled them with anger, and cracks also began appearing in their image of the bright and noble Third Hokage.
Over the years, many ninjas had been injured or killed while pursuing Orochimaru.
All of that blood debt was counted against Orochimaru, but the Third Hokage, who had intentionally allowed Orochimaru to escape, could not escape responsibility either.
Still, they did not immediately denounce the Third Hokage. After all, this was his funeral. Without sufficient evidence, these were merely Kakashi's one-sided claims.
Even though Kakashi had once served as the captain of the Anbu and was considered one of the Third Hokage's trusted subordinates, they still could not completely believe him.
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