The Third Hokage found himself in an awkward position—he wanted to say something, yet he didn't know how to start.
Seeing this, Tsunade folded her arms, let out a couple of scoffs, and sat silently to the side.
"Takuya, right? Why don't you tell us? I'm quite interested."
Senju Hashirama seemed to understand something as he stepped forward, patted Takuya's shoulder, and whispered, "Don't take Tobirama too seriously. He's always been like this. Sometimes, his brain doesn't quite—"
"Big Brother!!!"
Senju Tobirama was absolutely livid.
Saying something like that right in front of him—was that really appropriate?
Besides, what did he do wrong? What did he mean by his brain doesn't quite work right?
As expected, neither of these brothers were all that normal.
Without drawing attention to himself, Takuya took a step back.
He had no interest in dealing with Senju Tobirama, nor did he want to get involved with Hashirama.
Hashirama might usually seem like a rational man, but when certain matters were involved, his bottom line became nonexistent.
Tsk—what a troublesome guy.
Why did you have to pick someone like him?
He's not even the least bit likable.
Hashirama turned to glance at Tsunade, only to receive an exaggerated eye-roll in response.
"Since no one wants to speak, I might as well say a few things."
Takuya clapped his hands together, meeting Tobirama's unamused gaze with a smirk.
"Your precious disciple sure did a lot of 'good deeds.' Using the excuse of keeping the Uchiha in check, he practically pushed them to the brink of rebellion."
Tsk tsk tsk, monitoring them even while they ate, slept, and used the bathroom—truly impressive."
"What?"
Before Tobirama could even react, Hashirama's expression darkened.
It was true that Uchiha Madara had left Konoha, but the Uchiha clan as a whole hadn't followed him.
Hashirama had always treated them fairly!
Before his death, Tobirama hadn't dared to overtly oppress the Uchiha, let alone enforce such strict surveillance or aggressive suppression.
Tobirama's reaction was relatively calm, but he had already guessed what methods his so-called 'good disciple' had employed.
It was one thing to uphold his ideology, and it was good that his disciple took the Uchiha matter seriously.
But—
I never taught you to go this far!!!
"If the Uchiha had truly been left with no other options, given that they hold a tenth of the village's total strength, I don't even want to imagine the chaos that would have erupted in Konoha."
"Of course, this is just a minor issue. It hardly matters. At least, according to our esteemed Third Hokage, none of this is worth mentioning."
"After all, they've gotten quite comfortable using this excuse."
Once Takuya started talking, he showed no intention of holding back.
Diplomacy?
Sorry, he had no idea what that meant.
If they had the audacity to do these things, they should be prepared to hear about it.
He couldn't care less about how the Third Hokage felt at this moment, nor whether his expression was pleasant to look at.
Takuya continued, "Honestly, I don't even know where to begin listing these crimes. There are just too many."
"For example—bypassing the Hokage to embezzle village funds, pocketing money for personal gain, digging up the First Hokage's grave for experiments, conducting human experiments within the Root organization, abducting villagers for live experimentation, attempting to assassinate the Hokage, secretly copying forbidden techniques, researching prohibited jutsu…"
A torrent of accusations spilled from his lips, and as each one landed, the Third Hokage's face grew paler. Tsunade, on the other hand, was seething with anger.
A glint of danger flashed in Hashirama's eyes as he fixed his gaze on the Third Hokage.
There was no use talking about it now—the man was already dead.
But Danzo's greatest mistake, the one that was utterly unacceptable, was attempting to assassinate a Hokage.
Especially when that Hokage happened to be his own granddaughter!!!
"You bastard!!!"
Tobirama was trembling with fury.
If Danzo were still alive, in his current state, Tobirama would have undoubtedly dragged him out for a severe beating.
"Of course, the Hokage he attempted to assassinate wasn't Tsunade—it was the Third Hokage, his so-called best friend, his brother-in-arms."
Takuya spread his hands, looking at the Third Hokage with mock amusement.
"As for why he wanted to assassinate him? Because he wanted to become the Fourth Hokage himself."
"And then there's the infiltration of the ANBU, the manipulation of various departments, the misappropriation of village resources to benefit his own clan—these are hardly worth mentioning anymore."
With each crime Takuya listed, Tobirama's blood pressure spiked a little higher.
Good thing he was still in the Edo Tensei state. If he were truly alive, he might have suffered a stroke on the spot.
"Koharu and the others were accomplices as well, which is why Tsunade has significantly curtailed their authority."
"As for the Third Hokage, the main reason he was forced into retirement was his cover-up of Danzo's crimes, his incompetence during the war, and the public outrage from the villagers, which ultimately drove him out of office."
"The Elder Council was originally established to prevent the Hokage from making dictatorial decisions that could harm the village's interests. Instead, it became a stage for a select few to consolidate their power."
"And let's not even get started on the whole mess with the Uzumaki Clan."
"The fact that the Uzumaki Clan was nearly wiped out due to their so-called 'cooperation' with outsiders? I won't say much about that."
"After all, Lady Mito approved of it."
"..."
This kid really dares to say anything, huh?
Hashirama's forehead was covered in black lines.
Tobirama, who had been in the middle of cursing up a storm, suddenly felt the need to take a deep breath and calm himself.
Before, he hadn't understood why the Third Hokage had resigned so suddenly.
Now?
Very wise decision.
"Monkey, how could you... sigh."
Tobirama wanted to berate the Third Hokage, but the words caught in his throat.
Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen's increasingly wrinkled and aged face, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
After a brief pause, Takuya continued,
"I won't deny that he's made many mistakes. However, over the years, he has also contributed a lot to the village. Credit is credit, and blame is blame."
"Hahaha…"
Hashirama suddenly burst into laughter, looking at Takuya with admiration.
"You're more interesting than I thought. I assumed you'd only acknowledge the crimes and ignore the contributions, but it seems I was mistaken."
At first, he thought Takuya was too extreme.
Now, he realized that wasn't the case.
At the very least, Takuya wouldn't distort the truth.
Facts were facts.
"I, too, have made many mistakes. But if I made them, I must acknowledge them. At the same time, I've also made contributions to the village. That's something that should be acknowledged as well."
"Kid, do you hate me?"
Tobirama suddenly asked.
He could feel it.
From the moment Takuya had appeared, his attitude toward him had been unfriendly.
In fact, he could see frustration and resentment in Takuya's eyes.
"Yeah."
Takuya answered honestly.
"Thanks to you, I grew up as an orphan. Your policies, your disciples, they all targeted me."
"Good thing Tsunade protected me, and good thing I grew fast enough. Otherwise, the grass on my grave would be three meters tall by now."
"You… Are you from the Uchiha Clan?"
Tobirama's face turned serious, his expression suddenly shifting into one of grave concern.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING