After a few minutes of silence, watching the fire die down and the whispers among the crowd grow louder, Uchiha Yue finally stepped forward once more. His voice cut through the growing noise, and immediately, attention returned to him—eyes filled with awe, fear, reverence, and doubt.
"First of all," Yue began calmly, his Mangekyō Sharingan slowly fading as his tone shifted to solemnity, "as the new head of the Uchiha clan, I sincerely thank you all for your recognition and support. The Uchiha clan will continue to honor its duty, and we will strive to contribute positively to Konoha's future."
He paused briefly to let the words settle before his expression turned sharper, more focused.
"However, the purpose of today's gathering is not merely a political address. Today, we are here to judge the high-ranking officials of the previous Third Hokage's administration, to unearth and reveal their crimes one by one—and to exonerate those wrongfully accused, to return honor to the names of true heroes long buried under lies."
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd as Yue continued. "So let us now direct our attention to those former Konoha elders, and let us examine their deeds—not as myth, not as propaganda, but as facts backed by evidence."
The gaze of thousands fell back on him—no longer just passive or curious, but intense, searching. Yue acknowledged the shift with satisfaction and a nod of gratitude, then gestured subtly.
Immediately, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stripped of his Hokage robes, came into focus. His aged frame stood silently, weathered by time but more so by shame.
A professional tribunal member stepped forward, holding a thick dossier. "Let us begin with the indictment against Sarutobi Hiruzen."
As the crimes were read aloud, one by one, various forms of hard evidence—archival documents, surveillance photos, mission records from the Anbu archives—were presented on projection seals visible to all.
The evidence was damning.
It was revealed that although Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo appeared to cooperate closely, in truth, each had accumulated extensive blackmail material on the other. While Hiruzen allowed Danzo to operate Root unofficially, he simultaneously retained enough leverage—detailed files of Danzo's unauthorized experiments, assassinations, and manipulations—to control and suppress him.
Danzo, in turn, had kept his own insurance—records of Hiruzen's willful negligence, especially during critical incidents like the Uchiha Clan's marginalization after the Nine-Tails' attack, and the sanctioned inaction during the massacre that followed.
It was disclosed that Danzo, frustrated by his political castration, once secretly approached Hatake Kakashi and subtly hinted at the idea of assassinating the Hokage—an event that, in the manga, was ultimately defused by Kakashi's loyalty. This incident became yet another weapon in Hiruzen's arsenal, further binding Danzo in chains of guilt and fear.
Additionally, Danzo intentionally left behind evidence of covert operations conducted on Hiruzen's behalf, including missions targeting defectors and silencing internal opposition, knowing that if he were sacrificed, Hiruzen would fall with him.
The web of mutual destruction was clear: blackmail, manipulation, and a long-standing cold war of power between the village's "guardians."
Likewise, council members Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, though largely absent from the spotlight in recent years, were far from innocent. They had signed off on Danzo's Root activities, gave tacit approval to the Uchiha surveillance, and in internal memos—now recovered—advised delaying intervention during internal clan disputes to avoid "political contamination."
Yue had seized this entire cache of incriminating material when he stormed their estates and archives under the authority of the new Uchiha leadership.
As the evidence was made public, the once-ambiguous crimes of the elders took solid form. There was no longer room for doubt.
The image of Sarutobi Hiruzen—once revered as the "Professor," the wise Third Hokage—crumbled.
A dark hush fell over the villagers and shinobi gathered.
They had known rumors, had suspected incompetence, but what they saw now… was evil wrapped in benevolence. A mask peeled off before their very eyes.
"He must die!"
"Unforgivable—how could someone so respected be this rotten?!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen is the sinner of Konoha!"
"Not my Hokage! Never was!"
The reading of crimes continued, each statement more disturbing than the last. The masses, once angry, now reached boiling outrage. Rotten vegetables, rocks, and insults flew toward the three disgraced elders, pelting their bodies and staining their silence.
Seeing the fury nearing chaos, Uchiha Yue raised a hand, his chakra pressing down like thunderclouds.
"The complete records of their crimes will be released to the public archive for inspection," he announced. "But their punishment will not wait."
Without delay, he declared that the three—Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu—would be executed immediately, before the eyes of the village they betrayed.
He did not prolong it. There was no torture, no sadism. In a swift, decisive moment, their heads were severed—clean, painless, symbolic.
Uchiha Yue had no intention of showing cruelty, especially in front of children and the next generation. The Uchiha were already rebuilding their reputation—he would not stain that progress with bloodthirst.
As their heads rolled and silence returned, the fury of the crowd ebbed slightly. But not all could let go.
Some had lost family to the manipulations of those three. For them, vengeance had come—but healing would take far longer.
"…Teacher… sigh…"
From the shadows, Jiraiya watched the severed head of his mentor tumble from the execution block. His face was unreadable, his eyes full of conflicting emotions.
Just yesterday, he had nearly been swayed by Uchiha Yue's words. But today, watching Hiruzen's actions—his last-minute protections, his subtle nod of acceptance before death—Jiraiya felt his heart waver.
He wanted to intervene, to stop the execution, to scream that Hiruzen had loved the village. But every piece of evidence that rang through the air struck him like a kunai to the soul.
He couldn't tell anymore—was this the man who raised him? Or a stranger wearing his teacher's skin?
"…Maybe I've always been too naive," Jiraiya whispered, his shoulders slumped. "Even the teacher I thought I understood… his true face was something I never imagined."
And yet, despite it all, there were traces of love in that cruelty. A man who had made horrific decisions, but had shown care, warmth—even self-sacrifice.
As the crowd continued jeering, Jiraiya turned away, unable to watch anymore.
"This is the burden of truth," Uchiha Yue thought, watching him disappear into the background. "Human nature was never simple. Light and darkness live within us all. It's just a matter of which side you let take control."
He said nothing more.
The plaza quieted again—quiet, but never peaceful.
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