Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

No one will do anything unnecessary, and no one will make provisions for unforeseen disasters.

The fact that the shantytown could accommodate tens of thousands of villagers shows that so many people once lived there, and that they are no longer here.

Before yesterday, Shan Zhongchu Jiu was unaware of the existence of the shantytown, indicating that not many people would have moved out of there.

There's only one truth: everyone is dead.

Uchiha Shisui asked in a panic, "Senior Chu Jiu, what about those villagers from yesterday...?"

Yamanaka Chukyu replied confidently, "Yesterday, someone abused their power and used extremely brutal methods to skip the struggle stage of insufficient income, kicking those villagers to the brink of death, and even impatiently using you Uchiha to send them to the final execution site."

"They obtained the property they had long coveted, leaving the Uchiha clan with the infamy of bullying the elder villagers and turning them into enemies in the eyes of the villagers."

Uchiha Shisui's face turned pale as he gritted his teeth and asked, "Senior Chu Jiu, do you know who is seizing the villagers' property and framing us, the Uchiha?"

"What will you do after you find out?" asked Chu Jiu from the mountain.

Uchiha Shisui's face flushed with anger, and he coldly snorted, "Of course, we'll report it to the Third Hokage and have him severely punish these bad guys!"

Shanzhong Chujiu: "..."

The image of the Third Hokage wearing the official robes of a seventh-rank official in the Ming Dynasty flashed through his mind, and a classic line echoed in his mind:

"Who here has filed a complaint against me?"

Shan Zhongchu almost burst out laughing, but quickly took a sip of tea to calm himself down.

After coughing twice, he prompted, "Zhishui, you saw the land certificate yesterday, do you remember the homeowner's surname on it?"

Uchiha Shisui's flushed face instantly turned pale again, and he uttered a surname through gritted teeth: "Sarutobi..."

Upon hearing that surname, Itachi Uchiha was also severely shocked. Trembling, he asked, "How could this be?"

"The Third Hokage was the best Hokage; he was the embodiment of the 'Will of Fire.' How could he possibly seize the villagers' land and houses?"

"Hahaha."

Yamanaka Hatsukyu laughed loudly, "Uchiha Itachi, you're so cute."

"But I have to say, your Uchiha's education system is really problematic. Didn't your elders tell you that Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sarutobi clan are not one entity?"

"Just like... the Third Hokage was never Shimura Danzo, and Root can never represent the Hokage."

There was another meaning that Yamanaka Chujiu didn't say: Conversely, Hiruzen Sarutobi cannot represent everything about Konoha Village.

But seeing the two pairs of blank eyes, Shan Zhong Chu Jiu knew that they could not understand the deeper meaning.

So he feigned utmost surprise: "Nobody's ever said that?"

Uchiha Shisui replied, "No, no one in the clan has ever said that..."

Yamanaka Chuuyu scratched his head: "Tsk, then it's not that your education is the problem, but that the Uchiha clan as a whole is the problem."

"A clan with a thousand-year-old heritage, are they really this naive?"

Shisui and Itachi blushed deeply, stammering and unsure what to say. They could only look awkwardly at Chu Jiu, hoping he would stop talking.

Chu Jiu understood what the two meant and said with a smirk, "Alright, I'll continue talking about the kill line."

The killing threshold for ordinary ninjas was due to the Hokage and ninja clans' monopoly on ninjutsu, and it didn't exist for very long.

Even before he became the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju founded the prototype of the Ninja Academy, which brought together the essence of the Senju clan's ninjutsu and made it available for everyone to learn.

Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique, Might Guy's Eight Gates Formation, and Maruboshi Kosuke's Three Seals Water Release were all obtained directly from this public channel.

During the Second Hokage's reign, the Ninja Academy not only taught all ninjutsu below Rank A, but outstanding students were even able to access forbidden techniques.

Thus, led by Orochimaru and Jiraiya, commoner ninjas began to rise to prominence.

A number of geniuses have emerged from the minor ninja clans, the most prominent being Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.

The situation of Konoha Village producing many geniuses was thus formed, but after the Third Hokage took office, the Ninja Academy only taught taijutsu, throwing techniques and six E-rank ninjutsu.

Ninjutsu of rank C and above has completely disappeared. The only way to obtain it is by becoming an apprentice or by purchasing it from the mission department at a high price.

This has resulted in the new generation of ninja academy graduates being weak, not only widening the gap with their predecessors, but also being completely inferior to the genin from Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure without a clan or master.

If you lack the strength, you can only perform C-level missions, and the meager bonus is barely enough to make ends meet.

Without money, one cannot purchase advanced ninjutsu; without ninjutsu, one cannot improve one's strength; and without sufficient strength, one cannot be promoted to Chunin, thus remaining impoverished forever.

A single serious injury or illness will bankrupt a Konoha genin, setting them into a spiral of elimination.

Unable to afford ninjutsu treatment, and unable to carry out missions due to injuries, they became even more desperate for money.

A serious injury can lead to disability, and a serious illness can turn into a life-threatening condition. Even if the person doesn't die directly, they will most likely be disabled and forced to retire.

Like the other villagers, they were forced to move out of their homes because they couldn't pay their rent and were forced to move to shantytowns by the curfew.

Retired ninjas, whose bodies are adapted to chakra circulation, are the Root laboratory's favorite living experimental subjects; they often die faster than villagers.

At this point, the two Uchiha boys had completely lost their senses, appearing dazed and absent-minded.

It felt as if he were being ravaged by a hundred burly men.

After venting her feelings, Shan Zhongchu felt much relieved of the pain in her heart.

He said to Uchiha Shisui, "How about we stop here for today? Continuing any longer will only cause more mental anguish."

Uchiha Shisui gritted his teeth and said tremblingly, "Senior Chu Jiu, I can still hold on, please continue."

Yamanaka Chuuji shook his head: "Uchiha Shisui, I'm not worried about you, but look at Uchiha Itachi's condition. Don't you know he suffers from mental illness?"

Uchiha Shisui suddenly turned his head: "How is that possible? How could Itachi have a mental illness?"

"He's always been normal..."

His words came to an abrupt halt because Itachi Uchiha looked terrible.

Itachi's eyes were bloodshot, his face was ashen, and his breathing was barely perceptible; he looked like a dead man with only one breath left.

Yamanaka Hatsukyu said, "Shisui, I am a ninja of the Yamanaka clan, and my judgment is infallible."

"Itachi Uchiha has been suffering from mental illness for at least a year. The reason he appears normal is because he is a genius and can suppress his mental abnormalities with willpower."

"Or perhaps he's just performing, acting out the role of a normal, gifted teenager."

"He's very strong, but he's also very tired."

"The death sentence described today is too dark. The mental stimulation it causes is no less than that of a battlefield. If we continue to let him listen, it may cause his will to collapse and his suppressed mental illness to explode."

"That would ruin him completely."

"I don't want to destroy the village's genius, nor do I want to become enemies with the Uchiha clan."

"Take Uchiha Itachi home."