I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Besides Sunagakure, the Sarutobi clan ninjas were also worried about the future.

Because their profits were dwindling, they wanted to gain more benefits, so they secretly colluded with Orochimaru and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire behind the back of the Third Hokage to help with the Konoha Collapse Plan.

Unexpectedly, Uzushio Village interfered in the Chunin Exams.

Aren't all the ninjas in Uzushio Village rogue ninjas? Uchiha Shisui should also hate Konoha, so why did he interfere in Konoha's internal strife?

These weren't the things that broke their spirits. What they found most unacceptable was that the Third Hokage, who was also the clan leader, had betrayed the Sarutobi clan and chosen Konoha, making them utter clowns.

However, it was precisely because the Third Hokage betrayed his clan that the Sarutobi clan was not completely destroyed.

Considering the unstable situation in the village and out of respect for the Third Hokage, the Fifth Hokage did not imprison them in the Anbu prison for the time being, but instead dispatched a large number of Anbu members to monitor them.

In this way, although the future of the Sarutobi clan will not be easy, it will still be much better than that of ordinary people.

Soon, the funeral proceeded to the eulogy segment, where Konoha's high-ranking officials and the heads of various ninja clans came forward to commemorate the deceased Third Hokage and recount their interactions with him during his lifetime.

After several Jonin went on stage to pay their respects, the ninjas below took out tissues and wiped away tears from the corners of their eyes.

When it was Kakashi's turn, he took out a draft paper and, in front of hundreds of Konoha ninja, slowly said, "I am deeply grieved by the death of the Third Hokage. After much hesitation, I have decided to share with you my experiences with the Third Hokage over the years..."

"First, there's the incident about the fox spirit in the village. You should all remember that six or seven years ago, there was a child in the village who was called a fox spirit. His true identity was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a fox spirit."

"But besides being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, that fox spirit was actually the Fourth Hokage's son..."

Upon hearing this, the Konoha ninja below the stage erupted in commotion. This was supposed to be the Third Hokage's funeral, so why did the atmosphere suddenly become so strange? Kakashi wasn't attending the funeral; he was using it as an opportunity to slander the Third Hokage.

However, many ninjas noticed the name "Demon Fox," which triggered their past memories.

Because of the Nine-Tails, many villagers lost their families and property, so they vented their resentment on the orphan Naruto. They thought he was just an orphan they could find anywhere, but they never expected that he was the Fourth Hokage's son.

They actually took their anger out on Naruto; looking back now, that was really wrong of them.

But the biggest mistake was made by the Third Hokage. Why did the Third Hokage hide Naruto's true identity? Why didn't he reveal Naruto's identity as the son of a hero to the public? What was the Third Hokage thinking at the time?

The Sarutobi clan ninjas sensed something was amiss and quickly looked in the direction where Jiraiya was.

Kakashi was attacking the Third Hokage. If the Third Hokage's image is damaged, the ninjas who instigated the internal strife will likely face even harsher punishment.

Jiraiya frowned, and just as he was about to stop Kakashi, Naruto's voice rang in his ears:

"Uncle Jiraiya, for the safety of Konoha, you'd better not stop Kakashi-senpai from speaking, otherwise Uzushio Village will not consider cooperating with Konoha."

Jiraiya glanced at the shadow clone beside him and whispered, "The Third Hokage is already dead. There's no need to smear him anymore. Let's leave him some good reputation after death."

Naruto said coldly, "What do you mean by 'slinging mud'? Kakashi was just stating some facts. Have you become as muddle-headed as the Third Hokage, and also want to tarnish the Will of Fire?"

When the Will of Fire was mentioned, Jiraiya paused for a moment, but ultimately did not stop Kakashi from speaking.

Seeing the change in the atmosphere of the funeral, Kakashi took a deep breath and continued:

"The second thing is Orochimaru's defection. Besides Orochimaru, Danzo was also involved in human experiments and harming the villagers."

"The Third Hokage not only did not deal with Danzo, but also showed mercy to Orochimaru and deliberately let him escape."

"Orochimaru has continued to conduct human experiments outside all these years, and recently launched the Konoha Collapse Plan, attacking the village."

Upon hearing this, the ninjas present all changed their expressions, their faces becoming extremely solemn.

The Third Hokage concealed Naruto's identity as the Son of a Hero, and his unintentional insults towards the Son of a Hero caused them immense guilt, but it was nothing more than guilt.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, was guilty of conducting human experiments on the village's ninjas and villagers.

Many of the victims' families are still alive in Konoha. The Third Hokage's deliberate release of Orochimaru has angered them and made them doubt the Third Hokage's noble character.

During the years of pursuing Orochimaru, many ninjas were injured or killed.

All of this is attributed to Orochimaru, and the Third Hokage, who deliberately let Orochimaru go, is also implicated.

However, they did not immediately begin to condemn the Third Hokage, after all, this was the Third Hokage's funeral, and without sufficient evidence, it was only Kakashi's side of the story.

Even though Kakashi had served as the captain of the Anbu and was a confidant of the Third Hokage, it was impossible to completely trust him.

Chapter 251 The Truth About the Uchiha

Kakashi had anticipated the skeptical reaction of the Konoha ninja present.

As the Third Hokage who ruled Konoha for decades, Hiruzen Sarutobi's image as a ninja hero is deeply ingrained in people's minds. Even though the Third Hokage's decisions have been somewhat flawed over the years, people still firmly believe that the Third Hokage's original intentions were good.

However, due to his youth, he seemed a little senile.

However, if the Third Hokage could be brought down so easily, Kakashi wouldn't have delayed until now, only joining the plan to target the Third Hokage's reputation after Naruto extended an invitation.

After a slight pause, Kakashi continued, "The third thing is about the truth of the Uchiha Night. Itachi Uchiha wasn't the one who wielded the sword against his own clan that night, but there was tacit approval and guidance from the village's higher-ups behind the scenes..."

As Kakashi lowered his voice, everyone present pricked up their ears to listen.

Although the 'truth' revealed by Kakashi was somewhat shocking, it successfully piqued their curiosity, making them eager to know the rest of the 'truth'.

Upon hearing Kakashi proclaim the so-called truth, Tsunade's expression changed repeatedly.

Several times she wanted to go on stage and stop Kakashi from speaking, but Jiraiya stopped her with a look each time. This made her unsure of Jiraiya's attitude and whether Kakashi's behavior was at Jiraiya's behest.

After all, Jiraiya had changed a lot in the two years since he became Hokage, and gradually became a qualified Hokage.

Tsunade could still hold back, but Jonin Sarutobi clearly panicked. Ignoring the Anbu's attempts to stop him, he rushed straight to Kakashi and shouted:

"Kakashi Hatake, these are all rumors. Lord Hiruzen never did these things."

"A rumor?"

Kakashi smiled without saying a word, quietly watching Jonin Sarutobi, who suddenly gained courage and shouted:

"When the Uchiha Night happened, you were on a mission to protect the Jinchuriki. How could you possibly know the specific details at the time? Do you know how much effort the Anbu put in to stop the Uchiha massacre?"

"You have no idea what's going on; you're just a traitor who betrayed Lord Hiruzen!"

As he finished speaking, Jonin Sarutobi became extremely agitated. He had to stop Kakashi from speaking, or they would be doomed.

“I don’t know much about the Uchiha clan back then, but there’s someone who knows more about them than I do. Now it’s his turn to tell you about that long-buried past.”

Kakashi chuckled as he glanced at Shisui in the crowd.

Following Kakashi's gaze, everyone quickly noticed Shisui, dressed in Uzushio Village attire and wearing a half-mask, as they watched him walk from the crowd to the front of the stage.

Many ANBU ninjas recognized this mysterious Jonin from Uzushio Village.

If the opponent hadn't been piloting the Blue Giant to fight the Tailed Beast, the area destroyed by the Tailed Beast would definitely have been much larger than just the arena area. But could the opponent have some connection with the Uchiha clan?

Soon, the ANBU ninjas made a connection: the blue giant might be the Susanoo that only the Mangekyou Sharingan can use. If so, the identity of the Jonin of Uzushio Village would be obvious.

In front of all the ninjas, Shisui removed his mask, revealing a weathered face. He then looked at Jonin Sarutobi and introduced himself:

"I am Uchiha Shisui. I once served as the Third Hokage's ANBU member. I know a little about the truth of the Uchiha Night."

Shisui's self-disclosure of his identity left Jonin Sarutobi stunned.

The gazes of the other ninjas also converged on Shisui. They clearly remembered that Shisui had disappeared seven or eight years ago, so how could he suddenly appear in Konoha now, as a ninja from Uzushio Village?

At this moment, many ninjas recalled the rumors associated with Uzushio Village.

According to rumors circulating in the black market, Uzushio Village, which has maintained close ties with Konoha in recent years and is active in the ninja world, was actually founded by a group of Konoha ninjas and is a pawn planted by Konoha for its external expansion.

The three clan leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Hiashi Hyuga exchanged glances, their faces showing seriousness.

As the clan leaders, they had many additional channels for obtaining information and knew that the establishment of Uzushio Village was related to the Uchiha clan and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, as evidenced by the recent Chunin Exams.

If it weren't for Uzushio Village helping Konoha, Konoha would have suffered even greater losses and might have collapsed as a result.

However, they are not worried that Konoha will fall into chaos again. Although Uzushiogakure is an independent ninja village, they still consider it part of Konoha. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha might come back to compete for the Hokage position.

The Jonin Sarutobi, regaining his senses, glanced at Shisui and was about to curse him as a traitor when Shisui's gaze made him stammer and his legs tremble.

His intuition told him that if he continued to talk nonsense, Uchiha Shisui would definitely not let him off the hook.

After intimidating the Jonin of the Sarutobi clan, Shisui looked at the many ninjas in front of him and began to recount his journey of trying to save the Uchiha clan.

"The story begins eight years ago. Due to the impact of the Nine-Tails incident and the Konoha leadership's budget cuts, the Uchiha clan conceived the idea of ​​launching a coup and becoming the Fifth Hokage..."

Contrary to what the ninjas present had imagined, Shisui did not deny the Uchiha's idea of ​​launching a coup.

In the village at that time, it was common knowledge that the Uchiha clan was dissatisfied with the higher-ups' desire to become the Fifth Hokage. Shisui's initiative to admit this only increased the credibility of his words.

Moreover, the Third Hokage was only acting Hokage at the time, and the current Fifth Hokage is not a normal succession.

"When Itachi Uchiha was working to maintain peace between the village and Konoha, I also became the Third Hokage's ANBU, and we worked together for peace between the village and the Uchiha clan, until I revealed my Mangekyou Sharingan and was ambushed by Danzo, who stole my eyes."

"If I hadn't met Master Menma back then, I might have chosen to commit suicide long ago."

"But it was precisely because I was lucky enough to survive that I, who had retreated behind the scenes, was able to see the true faces of the Third Hokage, Danzo, and Itachi Uchiha."

At this point, Shisui paused, deactivated his Sharingan which had transformed into Kotoamatsukami, and continued:

"Just a few months later, at Danzo's behest, Itachi Uchiha received the mission to massacre his clan and maintain peace in Konoha."

"To avoid conflict with Konoha, and to prevent more clansmen from dying, I led my clansmen away from Konoha... and joined Lord Menma's Uzushio Village. The Uchiha clan now has a new home and new ideals."

"I don't want to deny that the Uchiha wanted to launch a coup, but before launching the coup, the Uchiha were massacred by Danzo and his high-ranking officials, as well as Itachi Uchiha."

"During this period, the Third Hokage did virtually nothing and tacitly allowed these things to happen."

Chapter 252 The Sarutobi Clan Betrayed the Village

Shisui's words left many of the ninjas present puzzled.

It wasn't that they didn't believe Shisui's statement, but rather that Shisui's words were too objective. He didn't mean to slander the Third Hokage or speak up for the Uchiha clan; he merely criticized the Third Hokage's bias and inaction.

However, these words resonated with many Konoha Jonin.

Unlike ordinary Chunin and Genin, they had access to the Third Hokage and sometimes truly understood the disgusting nature of his inaction.

In particular, a hint of gloom flashed in Hyuga Hiashi's eyes, but he quickly calmed down.

In the incident involving the Hidden Cloud Envoy, the Hyuga clan was clearly the victim, yet they were forced to hand over the murderer. The Third Hokage seemed to have given the Hyuga clan a choice back then, but in reality, they had no choice at all.

If the 'culprit' is not handed over, the Hyuga clan will be held responsible should war break out.

Faced with such provocation, the Third Hokage acted far too weakly, completely unbecoming of his role as Hokage.

In a corner of the crowd, Sasuke's face was ashen, his fingernails digging deep into his flesh, and even the cursed seal on his body seemed to be activating, ready to spring into action.

"You two, don't stop me! I need to go and find out what's going on!"

Sasuke screamed hysterically, and even Karin and Haku's combined efforts couldn't calm him down. In the end, it was Kushina who stepped in and stabilized Sasuke's chakra.