Akashō took a deep breath. "My name is Uzumaki Akashō, the last orphan of the Uzumaki clan, and the adopted son of the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato!!"
"I believe that hearing this will only make you more furious. Why would I, as Minato's adopted son, not protect the Hidden Leaf Village, but instead attack the Hidden Cloud Village envoy, sabotage these peace talks, and risk reigniting the war, right?"
Akashō spoke rapidly, not giving the audience any time to think deeply.
The first step was to reveal his identity, what he had done, and the consequences it brought—stirring up the civilians' anger so it could be redirected later.
"But do you know that just yesterday, those bastards kidnapped the Hyūga clan's heiress, and when Hyūga Hiashi stepped in to stop them, they shamelessly turned the blame around and demanded that we hand him over to them?"
The second step was to present the core conflict—the only thing that could truly turn public opinion in Akashō's favor.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's thinking wasn't wrong. Compared to the decades of trust he had built among the Hidden Leaf Village's people, Akashō—who had only appeared in the public eye a little over a year ago with nothing particularly outstanding—could never compete.
But Akashō had no intention of overthrowing Hiruzen or forcing him to step down. All he wanted was the civilians' support in this particular peace negotiation incident.
Focusing on a single breakthrough point made things much easier.
"Maybe some of you already know this, but you think that compared to sacrificing one person, ending a war that could claim many more lives is obviously the better choice."
That was exactly what Hiruzen believed. Choosing to sacrifice someone unrelated to yourself in order to reduce the risk of being dragged into war—most people would make that choice.
"But what if the one being sacrificed was you? Would you still choose the same?"
"If the one kidnapped was your daughter, would you still remain indifferent?"
The third step: pull at their emotions and strengthen their sense of immersion.
"Hyūga Hiashi is also a member of the Hidden Leaf Village. He is also a father!"
"Do you know why the Hidden Cloud Village kidnapped Hyūga Hinata? Because the Hyūga clan fought bravely on the Lightning-Fire battlefield, killing many Hidden Cloud ninja to protect you. That's why they're hated. And now, you want to hand over a hero who protected you—a father who only wanted to protect his comrades and his daughter—to the very enemies who want to harm you!"
The fourth step: invoke moral judgment, strike at their conscience, and make them hesitate with a mix of guilt and doubt.
"So this is the Hidden Leaf Village the Hyūga clan has been protecting? This is the village Namikaze Minato sacrificed his life for? Do you even have any sense of shame as human beings!?"
By now, the forces that had previously blocked Akashō's path—and those who had secretly helped him—had all arrived. Many of them bore injuries, light or severe.
But at this moment, none of that mattered. Like the civilians, all their attention was fixed on Akashō.
Root, Anbu, the Hyūga clan, civilian ninja, and even Kakashi's group all stood atop nearby rooftops, silently listening to his speech.
"Tell me— is the Hidden Leaf Village really this kind of village?"
"No!!!"
Suddenly, a civilian ninja in the crowd roared in anger, drawing the attention of many who had lowered their heads in silence.
Good.
Akashō curled his lips slightly. The public support belonging to Hiruzen's side had begun to waver. Once there was a first, there would soon be a second.
Humans are creatures that follow the crowd. A single spark can start a prairie fire—once the first snowflake falls, what follows is an avalanche.
There was nothing inherently wrong with the villagers wanting to sacrifice one individual to protect the greater good. The problem was—what exactly was this so-called "greater good"?
Money, resources, life.
Most people would define benefits in these three terms. But beyond material things, there were other kinds of value.
Reputation, honor, peace of mind—some things were considered more important than life itself. Akashō didn't entirely agree, but at this moment, it worked perfectly.
From a public perspective, the world contains both good and evil, and what gains the people's support must be good and just. After all, people instinctively want to see themselves as being on the righteous side.
But now, driven by selfishness, the Hidden Leaf Village had nearly become a gathering of villains. Yet from an individual perspective, though they were acting evil, that evil had, in their own minds, become justice.
For most people in this world, they are neither absolutely righteous nor absolutely evil. They exist somewhere in between.
This isn't about being "gray," but rather about constantly shifting—sometimes good, sometimes evil—like grass bending in the wind. That's from a public standpoint. From their personal standpoint, they always believe they stand on the side of justice.
These ignorant, easily swayed people didn't need much. For something like this—not a matter of life and death, but a single incident—Akashō only needed to give them a slight push, and they would topple to the other side.
What Akashō needed to do now was simple: redefine the narrative. Turn what they currently saw as good into evil—and turn what he was doing, which seemed evil, into justice.
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