Shikaku lay back, looking as lazy as ever, and was quite in agreement with Uncle Torifu’s lengthy explanation.
"Ah, no matter what Master Tobirama did, we can’t deny one fact: Konoha was no longer the super-village it had once been. The psychological gap between being the supreme shinobi village and merely being one of the ordinary great villages isn’t something everyone can accept."
Torifu nodded repeatedly.
"A Konoha that had to learn how to compromise and communicate could no longer satisfy everyone."
Shikaku also began making excuses for Torifu.
"An Ōkage who can’t give everyone an exalted position is a failed Kage."
With Shikaku’s support, Torifu finally relaxed.
As long as the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance remained the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance, there was nothing for him, Akimichi Torifu, to fear.
"A failed Kage naturally deserves to die!"
For an elderly Torifu, the words came out especially harshly.
Shikaku nodded.
All of his suspicions had been confirmed by Torifu.
"Haha. Then the Second Hokage’s death was a murder that everyone participated in, and the bait used to carry out that murder instead became the hero!"
The bait naturally referred to Sarutobi and the others who had accompanied him.
"Uncle Torifu, back then, you probably didn’t realize that your group was embarking on a diplomatic mission where you had only a one-in-ten chance of survival. Do you think the Third Hokage has figured out what really happened back then now that he’s reached this age?"
It had only been a few years since the clan wars had ended.
Who didn’t have connections outside their own clan?
Creating a diplomatic incident involving people on both the inside and outside was far too easy.
Especially when the consequences were handled with such a conspicuous raising of the sword and gentle lowering of it afterward.
Konoha lost its leader and loudly declared:
"We must avenge the Second Hokage!"
Then—
"What? You were victims of a coup as well, and Kinkaku is dead?"
"Oh. In that case, never mind."
Thinking about it now was almost amusing.
Now that Torifu had finally relaxed, the guilt he had carried for so many years had been released.
But once guilt was released, it was no longer guilt.
It had become hatred.
"What’s the point of figuring it out or not? Whoever reopens that old account will be the one who suffers. Even if the Second Hokage came back to life, he’d have to grit his teeth and accept it himself. Who told him that he was so much worse than his elder brother, not to mention inferior to Madara? He was the one who wronged everyone else. He simply wasn’t worthy of his position."
Uncle Torifu had practically given up trying to justify himself.
"He may have felt wronged, but everyone in Konoha felt wronged too. What about the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique and the Flying Thunder God Technique? They were all developed with the Uchiha in mind. His intentions toward the Uchiha couldn’t have been more obvious.
"Today he could target one shinobi clan. Who knew whether, after dealing with that clan, there would be another?"
There was still a certain sense of a fallen rabbit is mourned by its companions among the shinobi clans.
At least when they needed to justify their own actions, that sentiment existed.
Torifu had even attributed the conflict between Hashirama and Madara to Tobirama’s hostility toward the Uchiha.
"Perhaps when he died, everyone in Konoha thought that if he hadn’t interfered so much, Konoha would still have been a super-village under Madara’s leadership. They could still have enjoyed that feeling of, ’We’ve apologized to you, so the matter is over.’"
Shikaku was willing to indulge the old man as well.
"Haha! Given Madara’s personality, Konoha might not even have needed to go through the step of apologizing!"
"Ah..."
The two men sighed together.
History had no what ifs.
So all their dissatisfaction had to be vented against the person who had supposedly caused this historical outcome.
At that time, all the shinobi clans of Konoha hated the Second Hokage.
"So that’s why such a Second Hokage became an incompetent Kage—a Kage who ruled internally through an iron fist while compromising externally. Killing him became the common objective of all the shinobi clans in Konoha?"
Shikaku continued trying to get Torifu to confirm his theory.
Torifu nodded firmly.
"Yes. After all these years, that secret from back then is no longer really a secret among the elders of the shinobi clans."
Torifu took another bite of his peach.
With Shikaku’s support, the psychological burden he had carried for so many years finally began to lift.
"Back then, all the shinobi clans arranged that mission. Sarutobi Hiruzen and the rest of us were merely tools. Even Master Tobirama’s sister-in-law, Mito Uzumaki, contributed behind the scenes.
"She had descendants, while Tobirama was still young.
"And so, this collective murder was carried out."
After saying this, Torifu fell silent.
When Hashirama and Madara were around, nobody had thought much of it.
But once they were gone, everyone began longing for the Konoha that had possessed both Hashirama and Madara.
The Konoha of that era had even been arrogant in the way it apologized.
Therefore, someone inevitably had to take responsibility for Hashirama’s death, Madara’s departure, and Konoha’s decline.
The "incompetent" Senju Tobirama became the primary culprit.
Unfortunately, Tobirama’s death did not improve Konoha’s circumstances.
The shinobi clans that no longer had anyone powerful to rely on could only band together.
Everyone was a murderer.
Everyone possessed leverage over everyone else.
And because of that, no one would ever again allow a strong-willed Hokage to take the throne.
That was why Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had falsified the orders, came to power.
The shinobi clans had never taken the several candidates seriously.
They were just children, after all, and none of them came from particularly prestigious backgrounds.
Naturally, the great clans assumed they would be puppets whom the major clans could manipulate at will.
With a few children occupying the position, everyone could feel secure.
The children held the positions, while the clans divided the actual power among themselves.
In reality, it was simply a case of:
If I can’t benefit from something, then naturally I won’t allow anyone else to benefit from it either.
Sarutobi was merely the candidate pushed to the forefront after the shinobi clans reached a compromise.
But as time passed, that child became increasingly secure in the position of Hokage.
And that collective murder gradually changed from a piece of leverage held by everyone into a piece of leverage that Sarutobi could use to control everyone.
Everyone present except Chōza understood.
Inoichi continued questioning him.
"But what does any of this have to do with what happened today? So what if the Third Hokage’s claim to the position was illegitimate? That doesn’t change the fact that the Sarutobi Clan is powerful today."
Shikaku became interested.
"Hahahaha! If the Sarutobi Clan were really that powerful, there would have been no need to put on such a massive display.
"I think Sarutobi Hiruzen himself understands just how strong the Sarutobi Clan actually is beneath the surface."
"What do you mean?"
Neither Inoichi nor Torifu understood.
"What I mean is that the Sarutobi Clan’s massive display today wasn’t actually intended to force the shinobi clans to choose sides.
"He was simply putting everything the Sarutobi Clan possessed on full display before those Uchiha outside the village."
Shikaku toyed with his fingers as he spoke.
"Whether those Uchiha see the Sarutobi Clan’s strength or its weakness, either way, the purpose is the same—to pressure or tempt the Uchiha into making a move."
"Why?"
Inoichi still didn’t understand.
"The Sarutobi Clan wants the Uchiha to rebel.
"And a rebellion always needs a justification.
"What justification could possibly be more righteous than the fact that the Third Hokage’s position was illegitimate?"
Inoichi found this unbelievable.
"You mean Uchiha Kei also knows the truth about the Second Hokage’s death?"
Shikaku nodded.
"Once Danzō, one of the people who knew the truth, returned alive from Uchiha Kei’s hands, I’m sure Lord Sarutobi became certain that whatever price Danzō paid for his life was that very secret."
Shikaku twisted his neck before continuing.
"No matter how Danzō explains his survival, Lord Sarutobi could never believe his story that easily.
"But for Lord Sarutobi, whether Uchiha Kei knows this secret or not isn’t important."
Shikaku stood up, seemingly preparing to end the conversation.
"What’s important is that once Uchiha Kei moves against the Sarutobi Clan, he must raise a banner to justify his actions.
"And when that happens, if Uchiha Kei uses the secret Danzō handed him—the secret concerning how to attack and undermine the Sarutobi Clan—as his banner, then he will become the enemy of every shinobi clan in Konoha."
After all, everyone was a murderer.
Using that incident to deny the legitimacy of the Sarutobi Clan would mean placing oneself in opposition to every other shinobi clan.
If Uchiha Kei attacked the Hokage without that justification, then the Uchiha would simply be the villains.
And when dealing with a rebel, everyone would gladly participate in delivering swift justice.
The moral high ground would always belong to the Sarutobi Clan.
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