Ryosuke Uchiha saw that there was no point continuing with the two advisers—he had already succeeded in stripping them of their Elder Council positions. A small but satisfying victory.
Now came the true trial.
He ordered his clansmen to bring in the main culprit.
Before long, two Uchiha guards escorted in the Third Hokage. The once-revered Sarutobi Hiruzen was tightly bound, hands behind his back, every trace of dignity stripped away.
The sight stunned the gathered clan heads. For a Hokage—the Hokage—to be paraded in like a common criminal… it was a humiliation unheard of in the history of the shinobi world.
And yet, knowing the charges that hung over him, not one of them spoke up in his defense.
Ryosuke's eyes locked onto the old man.
"Third Hokage, do you admit to killing Shisui?"
Hiruzen's face twisted with anger. There was nothing left to deny, and so he spat out his justification.
"Everything I did was to destroy you! You are the true scourge of the village. To fall into your hands today… just kill me quickly."
Ryosuke's anger flared. Even now, this man clung stubbornly to his self-righteous mask. Today, Ryosuke would rip that mask away.
"Then tell me this," he pressed coldly, "were you aware of Danzō's human experimentation?"
The Third's expression faltered, but he forced out a denial.
"I knew nothing."
Of course he would deny it. Human experimentation was the ultimate taboo in Konoha. If such a stain clung to him, his reputation would rot beyond repair. Even if he died at Uchiha hands, some villagers might still remember him as a decent man, cut down unjustly. That lingering shred of respect was the only legacy he could still cling to.
But Ryosuke's lips curved into a scornful smile.
"You expect us to believe that? The Hokage, with the ANBU under his command spread through every corner of the village, somehow knew nothing about Danzō building two enormous laboratories under your very nose? Do you think this is a joke, Hiruzen?"
"Danzō was your right hand. And you want us to believe you were blind to his crimes? Who would ever accept such nonsense?"
The accusation landed heavily, and Ryosuke pressed on. Today, he would drag Danzō's sins down onto the Hokage's shoulders, burying them both together.
The other clan heads exchanged uneasy looks. None of them believed Hiruzen's denial. The Hokage's authority was supreme; ANBU eyes and ears were everywhere. If he truly hadn't known, it only meant he was weak, incompetent, and unfit to lead. But if he had known—and simply turned a blind eye—then he was complicit in the atrocity of experimenting on children. Over fifty innocent infants had died in those labs. There was no greater sin.
Hiruzen's face turned ashen. He closed his eyes, refusing to answer further.
But Ryosuke would not let him retreat into silence.
"You think closing your eyes makes you untouchable? Let's set that aside, then."
His voice dropped cold and sharp as a kunai.
"During the Nine-Tails' attack… where were you, Third Hokage? Why did you not support the Fourth? Why did you instead station your forces at the gates of the Uchiha compound—blocking us from aiding the Fourth Hokage?"
Gasps rippled across the chamber.
Ryosuke's words cut deeper.
"Had the Uchiha joined the battle alongside the Fourth, the village would not have suffered such devastating losses. Minato and Kushina would not have had to sacrifice their lives so young. The truth is simple—the Fourth Hokage died because of you, Third Hokage."
His voice echoed through the chamber like a verdict.
The clan heads sat in stunned silence, minds racing. They had expected Ryosuke to harp on about Danzō's labs, but instead he had dragged the past back into the light. And when they thought about it… he wasn't wrong.
At that time, Hiruzen was still in his prime—an active kage-level shinobi. If both he and the Uchiha had fought alongside Minato, things could have turned out very differently. The Nine-Tails might have been subdued or sealed without such catastrophic damage. The Fourth and his wife might have survived. Many of their own clansmen might not have perished.
Ryosuke's accusation began to sound less like slander and more like an ugly truth they had never dared voice aloud.
The room grew heavy with resentment, eyes narrowing at the bound Hokage.
Even with his eyes closed, Hiruzen could feel the growing tide of hatred pressing in on him. They were staining his name, burying his legacy under mud. At last, he snapped.
"You dare accuse me of this? Nonsense! The Fourth's death was not my doing—you slander me!"
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