Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

The Shimura family is truly finished.

Although they were furious at being mocked by Orochimaru and their arguments grew louder, no one rushed out to respond with a fight.

The ninjas from the Utatane and Mitomon clans, though not verbally mocking, grew increasingly arrogant and looked down on the Shimura clan.

The Shimura clan has few ninjas and they're cowardly; they're no longer worthy of being on equal footing with the three of us.

What? You're saying neither of us dares to go?

Pooh!

Can they be the same?

The Konoha ninjas were on high alert, gripping their weapons and explosive tags tightly, their chakra gathering, and their eyes gradually brimming with fighting spirit.

The Sarutobi clan has enjoyed too many resources and lived too comfortably. The thought of possibly having to endure hardship in the future, like ordinary Konoha ninjas, drives them crazy.

Although the Shimura clan was relaxed, it was because they were frightened by Danzo's devastating losses; their hatred was genuine.

The Utatane and Mitomon clans understood that, given the interests of their own clans, they had no other choice.

Tobirama Senju's return is not a bad thing, but his return with Orochimaru means that the four major clans' monopoly on power in Konoha will be broken.

Their excessive interests built on power will inevitably be seriously threatened.

Therefore, regardless of whether they knew Tobirama Senju or not, they had no choice but to stand by the Sarutobi clan and fight against Tobirama Senju together.

Orochimaru sighed deeply. He used the Second Hokage's technique to project his voice to everyone's ears, conveying his disappointment into the hearts of the ninjas.

His voice was hoarse but clear: "It's utterly ridiculous. You people keep talking about Konoha and the Will of Fire, but when the Second Hokage appeared and asked you questions, you turned a blind eye."

"In order to protect the excessive profits you have seized, you desperately protect your accomplices who share the spoils, and treat the ninjas who are loyal to Konoha as enemies."

"You turn a blind eye to Danzo's collusion with foreign enemies, killing Konoha ninjas, and suppressing Konoha's allies."

"The Sarutobi clan monopolizes power and attempts to turn Konoha into their private property. You should keep quiet about it."

"The Cloud Village ninjas are defecating and urinating on your heads, and you can just lower your heads and endure it, and even demand that the Konoha ninjas comfort the unreasonable Cloud Village ninjas with their lives."

"Now that I have invited the Second Hokage back, you have the audacity to attack him en masse..."

Yamanaka Chuku took a deep breath, mimicking Orochimaru's technique, and mocked, "You all cowered before the Cloud Village ninjas, but Orochimaru and I defeated them."

"You were terrified of the Hidden Mist ninja, but Orochimaru and I destroyed the Hidden Mist Village."

"Now, with me, Orochimaru-sensei, and the reanimated Second Hokage, you not only dare to draw your weapons, but you also dare to clamor to annihilate us."

"They can't distinguish between the strong and the weak, or friend and foe; they only care about whether or not it harms your interests."

"How should I describe you? Are you hopelessly stupid?"

Sarutobi Masao shouted sternly, "Shut up!"

He stared intently at Orochimaru, his eyes filled with resentment at being exposed and murderous intent fueled by rage.

"You little brat, what do you know?"

"Orochimaru, you traitor! How dare you let a child defend you? Have you no shame?"

"If it weren't for the Third Hokage's mercy, you, an orphan back then, would have long since perished. Now you're even manipulating puppets to confuse the public..."

"Today, I will tear you to pieces!"

He turned to look behind the encirclement and roared, "Third Hokage!"

"Don't hesitate any longer!"

"This must be a fake Second Hokage, it must be Orochimaru's trick!"

"Orochimaru has revealed his true colors; he is a complete and utter enemy who threatens the peace of Konoha!"

"I implore the Third Hokage to order the complete eradication of the enemy and the protection of Konoha's peace!"

He didn't say he was protecting the interests of our four races, but everyone knew it.

Including Hiruzen Sarutobi!

The ninjas slowly parted, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in the Hokage robes, stepped out from behind the crowd.

Orochimaru was surprised to find that his teacher seemed to have aged ten or even twenty years in an instant.

His hair was completely white, the wrinkles on his face were the marks of time, and even his gait was unsteady.

His eyes were filled with pain as he looked at Tobirama Senju, his gaze a mixture of reverence as a disciple, guilt as Hokage, and a hint of barely concealed panic.

Tobirama Senju looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said in an icy tone, "Hiruzen, I was willing to die in battle to protect you and pass the Hokage position to you because I believed that you could protect Konoha, which my brother and I built with our own hands, that you could treat people fairly, protect every ninja in the village, and that you could overcome clan prejudices and make Konoha more prosperous."

But you have disappointed me utterly.

"You condoned Danzo, suppressed dissidents, and made Root a tool for you to eliminate political enemies."

"You tacitly allowed the four clans to monopolize power, turning Konoha into a battlefield where clans fight for power and profit."

"You drive immature children to the battlefield, where they die meaningless deaths. You exchange the fruits of war gained by the bloodshed and sacrifice of Konoha ninja for a peace that is devoid of sincerity from Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure."

"Is this how you repay my expectations of you?"

"Is this how you fulfill your promise to me?"

"Or is your understanding of the Hokage's duties—that they don't need to protect the Konoha ninja, but only their classmates and clansmen?"

"Oh no, you don't even protect your classmates..."

Tobirama Senju reached out, and Orochimaru presented the test tube containing the Sharingan with both hands.

When the Second Hokage saw the Sharingan, his tone became even colder, as if it were mixed with ice shards: "This is the Sharingan that I personally pried out of Danzo's eye socket. Its owner was named Uchiha Kagami."

"Now, tell me, how did Uchiha Kagami die?"

"How did his eyes end up in Danzo Shimura's eye sockets?"

"You, Hiruzen Sarutobi, do you know, or do you not know?"

"Or...did you play an even more dishonorable role in Jing's death?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was terrified by the questioning; his legs trembled, and he slowly bent over, collapsing to his knees with a thud.

He braced himself on the ground with both hands, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto the floor.

"Teacher, I...I made a mistake!"

If it were anyone else, Hiruzen Sarutobi could have argued that everything he did was for the sake of Konoha!

At most, it was a momentary lapse in attention that allowed Danzo to exploit the situation.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it in front of Tobirama Senju.

The Second Hokage died in battle precisely to protect him, which is why he fought desperately against Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure, even though he could have escaped easily.

It's important to know that Tobirama Senju, who possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, was the first ninja in the ninja world with super speed. As long as he didn't want to risk his life, no one could stop him.

As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi has even a shred of conscience, he can't face Tobirama Senju.