"Mocking?" murmured the onlooking villagers and reporters in confusion.
The ANBU peered into the man's eyes—somehow they didn't seem fake. Suddenly, they too looked bewildered.
"According to shinobi family tradition: after marriage, a woman and her children typically adopt the husband's clan name.
If the children don't carry the clan name, it usually means they aren't considered legitimate heirs—or they have no formal connection to the clan."
"Everyone knows Lady Tsunade is part of the Senju clan—the granddaughter of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. Nawaki is her brother—meaning they should carry the Senju name.
But it's strange—they don't. Neither has 'Senju' before their name. Tell me—that's ridiculous, right?" the man sneered.
The villagers and reporters were left speechless.
He continued:
"A woman taking her husband's name is normal—unless the woman's clan is higher, or the husband marries into her clan—but here, Tsunade and Nawaki have no surname at all. That's deeply suspicious.
"In the shinobi world, having no name usually means one of these things: no legitimate inheritance, disdain for the mother's name, civilian status, or a deliberate plan to reclaim ancestral honor."
"Do you think Princess Tsunade and Nawaki are commoners?"
Even the ANBU swallowed hard—they recognized how Damning this was. They stared admirably at him.
"Here comes the truth. After years of investigation from Kirigakure, we've discovered that Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, after nearly wiping out the main Senju line during the Hashirama-cell experiments, abruptly halted the trials.
"He then officially took young Tsunade as his disciple—as guardian—under the name of the Hokage.
"As Tsunade's guardian and protector, and guardian to the young Nawaki, who in theory should have inherited Senju assets—who in the clan dared oppose this? So everyone reluctantly accepted it.
"That means the centuries-old Senju estate transferred directly into Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands."
He pressed on:
"Then the Second Great Ninja War broke out. Hiruzen discovered Tsunade had a boyfriend—and that Nawaki intended to become Hokage."
"Oh dear—what if Tsunade wanted to marry her assets to her boyfriend, Dan Katō?
And what if Nawaki actually became Hokage? What about Hiruzen's clan?
He couldn't risk that—so he sent them all—Tsunade, Nawaki, their lover Dan Katō, and the rest of the Senju into battle."
"And as you've seen, Dan Katō died. Nawaki and the rest of the Senju were annihilated. Tsunade fled Konoha—never to return. Coincidence? I think not."
"You're lying! The Third Hokage would never do this! That's not true!"
Konoha villagers were struggling to accept it—they could feel their faith shattering.
They thought of the Hokage as their symbol—is he secretly the mastermind?
"No, you fool!" someone shouted—but they had no real rebuttal.
He laughed:
"Lying? Why would I lie to you? What would I gain? As a reporter, I stand by my words.
"Let's not even discuss old events. More recently, Konoha has been powerful—four villages at once—but when the Uzumaki clan, a longstanding ally, asked for help, Hokage Hiruzen refused.
"The Uzumaki were left to fall—and then Konoha gleefully absorbed their property and sealing techniques. You really think that's clean?
"And again—look at Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Fourth Hokage. Everyone knows how he's lived.
The Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki were descendants of Uzushiogakure—they couldn't have been penniless.
"But after they died, Naruto was left at the orphanage, scorned as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Meanwhile, just look at Hiruzen's own grandson, Konohamaru—protected by a teacher, bodyguard, and forever pampered. That's contrast."
"And the Fourth couldn't lose everything? Naruto, a child, couldn't have spent it all.
The only answer: Hiruzen as guardian quietly confiscated the wealth of the Fourth and Uzumaki clan."
The villagers were speechless.
The shinobi felt their faith collapse. Naruto's suffering was real—they saw it. And the Uzumaki's fate—they never helped. Instead, Konoha took over their sacred shrines.
So—does the Senju's disappearance also prove this is real?
It made them shiver.
He added:
"Another twist—Hiruzen only resigned because he was pressured by Konoha's higher-ups—not of his own will.
"And when the Nine-Tails attacked, he was first back in office—how ambitious!
"Let me ask: besides Hiruzen, do Jiraiya, Tsunade, Uchiha Fugaku, or Hiashi Hyuga not deserve to serve? Is Konoha really lacking successors?
"No—they're all fine. It's just that Hiruzen refused to let go."
"A village without heroes is sad—but a village that fails to cherish its heroes is tragic."
"Your resources are the best in the ninja world. Your clans are the strongest. You're admired— even envied.
"But your Hokage destroyed them—Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyūga."
Those words hit hard.
"To be honest: your biggest truth-teller is not your friend—it's your enemy.
While planning how to defeat Konoha, we from Kirigakure studied long and hard. We found too many geniuses—to the point of despair.
"Konoha White Fang Sakumo Hatake; the Sannin—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade; the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze; Perfect Jinchūriki Kushina; Sharingan Kakashi Hatake; Byakugan Huyga Hiashi; Shunshin Shisui; Wicked Eye Fugaku… each could conquer a small nation alone.
"If we had those assets in Kirigakure, we'd have united the ninja world years ago.
"But we never expected that Konoha destroyed itself: White Fang's suicide, Orochimaru's defection, Jiraiya and Tsunade wandering abroad, the Ninth Tails' attack killing Minato and Kushina, Shisui's suicide...
"Even White Fang Sakumo Hatake—just a little public pressure, and Konoha pushed him to take his own life."
"Sometimes I can't help but wonder—were Hiruzen and Danzo secretly working for us in Kirigakure all along? I mean, they wiped out Konoha's top talent better than we ever could. It's like you didn't need enemies—you had them right inside your village."