Shisui's speech caused many of the Konoha ninjas present to fall into doubt.
It wasn't that they didn't believe Shisui's testimony. Rather, his words were too objective. He showed no intention of slandering the Third Hokage or blindly defending the Uchiha Clan. Instead, he merely criticized the Third Hokage's favoritism and inaction.
However, those words resonated deeply with many of Konoha's jonin.
Unlike ordinary chunin and genin, they had direct contact with the Third Hokage, and at times they had truly felt the frustration caused by that kind of indecisiveness.
Especially Hiashi Hyūga. A dark glint flashed through his eyes before he quickly calmed himself down.
During the Kumogakure envoy incident, the Hyūga Clan had clearly been the victims, yet they had been forced to hand over the "culprit." The Third Hokage had appeared to give the Hyūga a choice, but in reality, they had no choice at all.
If the "culprit" was not handed over and war broke out, the Hyūga Clan would have borne the blame.
Faced with such blatant provocation, the Third Hokage's response had been far too weak and completely unworthy of someone bearing the title of Hokage.
In a corner of the crowd, Sasuke's face had turned extremely pale.
His fingernails dug deeply into his palms, and even the Curse Mark on his body seemed to stir restlessly, eager to activate.
"Don't stop me! I want an explanation!"
Sasuke roared hysterically.
Even Karin and Haku together could not calm him down.
In the end, Kushina stepped forward and stabilized the chakra raging within Sasuke's body.
"You foolish child," Kushina said helplessly, "don't forget that your clansmen are still alive in Uzushio Village."
Hearing those words, Sasuke gradually calmed down.
Yet the truths he had just heard were firmly etched into his mind.
Three key figures had been responsible for the Uchiha Massacre.
Uchiha Itachi, who personally slaughtered the clan.
Danzō, who guided and manipulated Itachi.
And the Third Hokage, who stood by and did nothing.
Of them, the Third Hokage was already dead, while Danzō's whereabouts remained unknown.
Only Uchiha Itachi remained.
If he wanted revenge, then he could only grow stronger as quickly as possible and personally settle the score with Itachi.
After finishing his speech, Shisui quietly stepped back behind Kakashi and waited for him to continue.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Kakashi's mouth as he stepped forward and said:
"Everyone should now understand the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre."
"The truth I'm about to reveal next may actually be more familiar to all of you, because it happened only a few days ago."
"It concerns the truth behind Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha."
The moment those words were spoken, the Sarutobi jonin's fear reached its limit.
Even Sarutobi Asuma frowned slightly.
Although he and his father had never gotten along particularly well, he still didn't want to see his father's reputation ruined after death.
"After everything that happened, everyone should already know that Orochimaru allied himself with Sunagakure, murdered the Fourth Kazekage, and launched an attack on the village during the Chunin Exams."
"But have you ever wondered why Orochimaru's invasion proceeded so smoothly?"
"Is it really possible that no one noticed?"
"With so many sensory ninjas and Anbu in the village, could everything truly have gone completely undetected?"
As he spoke, Kakashi's gaze settled on the Sarutobi jonin.
The implication could not have been more obvious.
The defeated Sarutobi jonin could no longer endure it.
Having completely lost his composure, he pulled a kunai from his waist, activated the Body Flicker Technique, and rushed onto the stage, attempting to kill Kakashi despite him being an elite jonin.
Kakashi remained motionless.
Shisui transformed into a blur and instantly kicked the Sarutobi jonin away.
Immediately afterward, his Sharingan shifted into its three-tomoe form.
A simple Sharingan genjutsu controlled the Sarutobi jonin, and Shisui drove a kunai directly into his thigh.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The intense pain broke the genjutsu, and the Sarutobi jonin looked at Uchiha Shisui with terror written across his face.
Although he was not as strong as the heads of Konoha's major clans, he was still a jonin.
Yet Shisui had subdued him with nothing more than a glance.
Was this the terrifying power of the Mangekyō Sharingan?
If Shisui knew what he was thinking, he would probably smile knowingly.
That had not been a Mangekyō genjutsu at all.
It had merely been an ordinary Sharingan genjutsu.
The difference was simply that the gap in strength between them was far too great.
"Get lost."
Shisui's voice was ice-cold.
"Next time I won't show mercy. It won't be your thigh getting stabbed—it'll be your neck."
The Sarutobi jonin's face turned deathly pale.
Moments later, he was berated by Asuma and once again taken into custody by the Anbu.
After the Sarutobi jonin's outburst, almost every ninja present understood who had colluded with Orochimaru.
No wonder so many Anbu from the Sarutobi Clan had been gathered around the funeral of their clan leader.
At first, people had assumed it was simply to comfort the family members.
Now it seemed the Sarutobi Clan had betrayed Konoha.
At the same time, Shisui's appearance and explanation regarding the Uchiha Massacre finally provided a reasonable answer to many lingering questions.
Forced out by the Third Hokage's leadership, he had left with the Uchiha Clan and now returned only to witness the downfall of the Sarutobi Clan.
After all, although the Uchiha had considered launching a coup, they had never actually carried it out, nor had they colluded with outside forces.
The Sarutobi Clan, on the other hand, had cooperated with Orochimaru.
That was even worse.
At this point, the only remaining question was whether the Sarutobi Clan had truly betrayed the village.
And beyond them, whether other Konoha ninjas had also joined forces with foreign enemies.
The only people capable of confirming that now were Jiraiya and Tsunade, who held Konoha's military and political authority.
Many observant ninjas had already noticed that since Kakashi stepped onto the stage, neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade had spoken.
They neither supported Kakashi's claims nor opposed them.
Under countless gazes, Jiraiya felt a pressure unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Every word he spoke today would determine Konoha's direction for the next ten years—or even longer.
Would he uphold the Will of Fire and handle this matter fairly?
Or would he favor his own people, just as his teacher had done?
Emotionally, the Third Hokage was his mentor.
The man who had raised him from an orphan into one of the Legendary Sannin, and who had ultimately helped him become the Fifth Hokage.
Today, with the Third Hokage's bones not yet cold and his coffin resting before him—
If he acknowledged that the Sarutobi Clan had betrayed the village, then perhaps his teacher would never rest peacefully in the Pure Land.
After all, in the final moments of his life, the Third Hokage had fought Orochimaru to protect Konoha.
But if he denied the Sarutobi Clan's betrayal, then the already fragile Will of Fire would become even more unstable.
It might even be extinguished completely.
That outcome would betray his ideals far more deeply.
Every instinct in his body urged him not to choose.
To avoid making a decision altogether.
For a brief moment, he wanted to abandon the position of Hokage, return to being a wandering Sannin who only took missions, and travel the world once more in search of the Child of Prophecy destined to save it.
But then Jiraiya saw Naruto.
And beside him, he saw the reanimated Minato Namikaze.
The people he had once believed to be the Children of Prophecy were all looking at him.
Watching silently.
Waiting for him to make a choice.
Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya finally addressed everyone present:
"Kakashi's statement is correct."
"According to the Anbu's investigation and the evidence currently available to us, the Sarutobi Clan did indeed collude with Orochimaru and betray the village."
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