"Hokage-dono, you look terrified."
Kaede spoke with a half-smile as he stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen's lips twitched, but he still put on a tough front. "Hmph! I'm not afraid of the words of a rebellious child!"
"Is that so?" Kaede said casually.
Let's see if you're still able to keep up that fake righteousness once I finish talking.
At that moment, the two elders standing behind Hiruzen frowned.
They also suspected Kaede might know something sensitive.
They couldn't let him speak any further!
Koharu immediately leaned in and whispered, "Hiruzen, we can't let Kaede keep talking. We should take them down now!"
"If he really reveals certain things…"
Hiruzen's heart tensed. He too realized the weight of the situation.
He raised his hand decisively and shouted, "Since you insist on defying the village, I won't show mercy!"
"Konoha shinobi! For the stability of our home, apprehend these rebels!"
The shinobi had been waiting for this order!
With the command given, they immediately prepared to attack.
To them, no matter how strong the Uchiha were, they couldn't possibly stand against an army dozens of times their size!
"Hmph."
Just as the attack was about to begin, Kaede let out a cold snort that echoed through the air.
In the next instant—spiritual pressure erupted!
Despite the overwhelming numbers on the Konoha side, the sheer difference in soul-level power caused many to instantly go pale!
What… what was this power?!
Even Hiruzen and the others were stunned—he had subdued thousands in an instant!
Was this even humanly possible?
Kaede glared coldly at the Konoha crowd. "Let's see which one of you dares move."
And then—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions suddenly rang out!
Everyone instinctively turned toward the source…
It was coming from the center of Konoha—the most prosperous district!
Screams, cries, and chaos drifted on the wind.
Even if they weren't there, they could imagine the devastation.
Hiruzen's face twisted in horror.
He pointed at Kaede in fury, coughing violently. "Kaede… cough cough… did you plant explosive tags in Konoha?!"
"Do you have any idea how many casualties that could cause?! cough!"
The Konoha shinobi's eyes turned bloodshot as they glared at Kaede.
This bastard! He didn't care about innocent lives at all!
Even Naoto and the others were shocked.
Not because Kaede was wrong—but because of his ruthless decisiveness!
Kaede showed no remorse. He even smiled.
"You wanted to wipe out the Uchiha… why should I be merciful to you?"
"Oh, and by the way… those explosive tags weren't planted by me."
"Konoha made a lot of enemies over the years. One of them managed to become an architect and buried those tags all over the village during construction projects."
"I just happened to find out about it, that's all."
Everyone froze.
"You mean… the entire village is rigged with explosives?!"
Thanks to his knowledge of the plot, Kaede had sent shadow clones hours ago to locate and control the tags.
What he detonated just now was only a portion.
If he blew up all of them… Konoha would be utterly destroyed.
Kaede didn't say it aloud, but every sharp mind in the crowd had already guessed.
As a result, no one dared make a move.
Who knew what he might do next? Would he bring all of Konoha down with him?
At that moment, Hiruzen's anger flared. He pointed at Kaede, shouting:
"The civilians were innocent!"
"What did they do to deserve this?!"
Kaede's smile faded, his expression darkening.
"And what did the Uchiha do wrong?"
"When Konoha was in danger during the Third Shinobi War, we were always on the front lines!"
"But after the Nine-Tails Night, you pinned the blame on us and exiled us from the village center, seizing our land and resources!"
"You even assigned an ANBU squad to monitor the entire Uchiha clan for eight years!"
"And to make the villagers hate us, you spread lies that none of the Uchiha helped during the Nine-Tails attack."
"When it was your order that kept us from the battlefield—we were told to protect the civilians!"
As Kaede exposed the truth from eight years ago, Naoto and the others were seething.
Yes! Why were they treated like criminals?
They risked their lives for Konoha, only to be betrayed by its leaders!
For many Konoha shinobi, this was their first time hearing any of it.
"What? The Uchiha were ordered to stay behind during the attack?"
"Then why did the Hokage remain silent when rumors painted them as cowards?"
"Wait… did the Hokage plan to wipe them out all along?!"
This revelation shook the foundation of their beliefs—even more than the explosions.
It challenged everything they thought they knew about their leaders.
Whispers of doubt began to spread.
Koharu and Homura quickly sensed the danger.
If Kaede kept talking, how could they convince the others to fight the Uchiha?
"Do it now, Hiruzen!" Koharu urged. "We can't let him reveal any more secrets!"
Her words jolted Hiruzen back to action.
But… what about the explosive tags?
If Kaede triggered them, Konoha would be destroyed…
Homura scoffed. "How do we even know he's telling the truth?"
"Besides, even if we let them go, what's to stop them from detonating everything as they leave?"
Koharu nodded in agreement.
Clearly, they didn't care about civilian lives.
To them, even if every civilian died, they could always recruit more from the Land of Fire.
As long as the shinobi forces remained intact, Konoha would endure.
And who wouldn't want to be a Konoha citizen?
Hiruzen hesitated… but he couldn't deny they made a point.
There was no guarantee the Uchiha would spare the village.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and roared:
"Take down the Uchiha! We can't let them keep detonating the explosive tags!"
…
But the response he received was… silence.
Most of the shinobi didn't move.
The noble clans had bodyguards. Even if there were explosions, they could minimize losses.
But regular shinobi?
Their families lived in Konoha. If the tags were real… their loved ones would die.
That was why no one dared make a move.
Kaede noticed, and burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Oh, Hokage-sama… you may not care about your own clan's lives, but don't drag the rest of these shinobi down with you."
"Their families are still in the village, after all."
Hiruzen's face turned ashen.
Damn it—Kaede had completely seized the initiative!
Ignoring him, Kaede turned to the crowd and chuckled.
"Since you've all been so cooperative, how could I not return the favor?"
"In that case, let me share a few little-known secrets with you…"
…
(End of Chapter)
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