The words coming from the opposing village's reporter hit the people of Konoha like burning embers.
Their faces felt scorching with shame—what disgrace, how deeply embarrassing—especially that sneering smile, so maddening they could've stabbed him on the spot.
"The ancients said: Dying in war is honorable; a life of cowardice is disgraceful.
The burden of disgrace weighs lightly on oneself, but heavily on one's village.
When calamity besets the land, a shinobi must sacrifice for the village!
A strong village won't let its people suffer — and a strong people won't let its village be shamed."
"Under our Third Raikage, he took down the Eight-Tails in a single strike, forcing it to bow and swear fealty. He ushered the village into a golden age—he was the embodiment of Kumogakure."
"In contrast, your Third Hokage battled the Nine-Tails… and lost most of Konoha's military power in the process.
"Even Minato was forced to die sealing the beast!"
"How ironic that your Third Hokage survived. A healthy man burying his own—don't you find that absurd?"
The Konoha villagers fell silent, heads bowed with shame.
The reporter from the Land of Lightning pressed on, relentless:
"Meanwhile, our Third Raikage never allowed anyone to harm the village or its people—it was his governing principle. Such unwavering resolve made him both the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield. His formidable presence is our fortress and pride."
Watching him speak with such haughty confidence, Konoha's own villagers and shinobi felt a painful disconnect. Once, they had extolled Minato, Jiraiya, and Sakumo with similar fervor. But now… every moment since then left them all disgusted and broken.
"During the Third Great Ninja War," the reporter continued, "our Third Raikage singlehandedly diverted enemy forces, standing against tens of thousands of shinobi from the Land of Earth for three days without faltering—defending our borders even unto death.
"Tell me, which shinobi leader in the world could match such greatness? Which Kage would sacrifice themselves to buy time for comrades, fighting until utterly spent?"
His words rang like a gong that shattered their illusions. Even those from Konoha who had come to defend their leader stood tight-lipped.
They wanted to say Tobirama had done the same—but he'd only protected cowards when he rescued them.
So the reporter struck again:
"But your Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi…" he sneered. "He's pathetic!
"He fled from the Land of Lightning with tail between his legs during the First Great Ninja War—hiding under Tobirama's shadow.
"The moment the Second and Third Wars came, he didn't fight. He was frozen with fear, cowering inside Konoha—never stepping foot on the battlefield!
"And he dares call himself the Professor of Ninjutsu, the Strongest Hokage? What a joke. He who can't even defend his own villagers—does he not have any scruples?
"If he were so strong, how did the Nine-Tails maul his village? If he's truly the strongest… why couldn't he defeat it?
"Had the Raikage of our village been in charge, you'd have had a true hero leading you.
"And you had those human experiments, foul beyond belief—not only did he fail to handle them properly, he refused all responsibility.
"Look at him—someone who can't safeguard his own people, can't control his own subordinates. So tell me, what good has he done for Konoha or the Shinobi World?
"'Old and refusing to die'—that's not wisdom, it's a crime!
"With leadership like this, life is worse than death.
"I feel nothing but sorrow for your village. If your village had any pride, you'd replace such a man. Stop embarrassing yourselves!"
Each barb struck like an arrow. The most terrifying thing? Not one villager or shinobi could refute him. Their faith in Hiruzen was crumbling.
Doubt flickered across their faces.
They began doubting Hiruzen.
Seeing their faltered belief, the reporter—a clone cast by Itachi—knew he had succeeded.
"Alright, disperse now. If I go any further, you'll say I'm inciting chaos—censorship will say I've broken the law.
"After all, your Third Hokage is far more sensitive than our Raikage."
He turned to the ANBU and grinned:
"Come on, I've said my piece. Feel free to take me in for questioning. If you can pry any information from my mouth—I'll admit defeat.
"But you better treat me well. I'm going to be the most famous journalist in the Land of Lightning—self-proclaimed king of the internet, the sharpest tongue, the valley's voice… heck, the entire shinobi world's troll-in-chief.
"If I become a problem, my country WILL intervene. One mistake, and it could ignite war.
"Then I'm sure Hiruzen and Danzo—all in the name of 'peace'—will gladly make you the scapegoats.
"Just like Hizashi Hyūga from the Hyuga clan—forced to die for a false peace."
"This isn't the first time, after all," he said with an insidious smile.
The ANBU guarding him drew in a sharp breath—once bitten, forever wary. They knew all too well what Hiruzen and Danzo were capable of.
If something truly happened to this person, causing a diplomatic dispute, and the Land of Lightning exerted pressure, given the Third and Danzo's compromising nature, they would certainly be held accountable. At that point, they would definitely be the ones to take the fall.
The ANBU suddenly realized—they were holding a hot potato.
"Captain—should we hand him over to Root? Doesn't matter who questions him, as long as they get the information."
"Yeah. And if the Third asks, we'll just say we were intercepted halfway by Lord Danzo."
"Besides, it's not like this is the first time Root has done this. What's one more time? Let them take the heat."
"Right, right."
"Since everyone agrees, then we'll hand this man to Root."
The ANBU captain gritted his teeth. He too was tempted.
Once everyone was on board, they delivered the reporter to Root headquarters.
"Please hand this person over to Lord Danzo. He's a reporter from the Land of Lightning. We suspect he's connected to the posters and reports that flooded the streets last night," the ANBU said bluntly.
"You're being that generous?" Root's ninja eyed them with suspicion. They were from different factions and rarely cooperative—this sudden handover reeked of ulterior motives.
"What are you saying? We're all serving Konoha. I know Root is good at interrogation. Right now the situation is urgent, and Hokage-sama is demanding intel. We had no other option, so we're coming to you.
But after you finish interrogating him, we want a copy of the intel. We need something to report back to Hokage-sama."
"Really?"
"You ANBU that kind-hearted? You're not just handing us a timebomb so we take the blame, are you?" Root ninja remained wary.
"Hey, watch your mouth! If Hokage-sama hadn't been urgently demanding intel, and if we weren't short on available interrogators, do you think we'd even bother coming here?
If you don't want him, we'll take him back. If Lord Danzo asks, don't blame us for not giving you a chance to shine." The ANBU pretended to be angry, tugging the Lightning reporter as if about to leave.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin