Elsewhere in Konoha…
"My child… my baby…"
Countless middle-aged women collapsed to their knees in sobbing anguish—each and every one had lost a child during that time period.
Beside them, their husbands stood with bloodshot eyes, fists clenched.
And then, as if the grief wasn't enough, another bombshell dropped from Kaede's lips.
"This isn't even the full extent of Hiruzen's crimes!"
"When Orochimaru's atrocities were discovered, he received a tip-off and fled the village unharmed."
"But what none of you know is—on the day he fled, someone blocked his path!"
"That person… was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
Kaede raised his sword, pointing directly at Hiruzen, who looked utterly terrified.
How does he know that?!
Back then, I was the only one who caught up to Orochimaru!
The civilians and shinobi who heard this were frozen in confusion.
The Third Hokage had stopped Orochimaru? Then why had he never mentioned it?
Could it be that he lost and was too ashamed to admit it?
Kaede didn't let the doubt linger—he delivered the answer with a blade-sharp voice.
"At that time, your precious Third Hokage was still at his peak. Orochimaru was no match for him!"
"But because Orochimaru had been his beloved student for years, Hiruzen hesitated… and let him go!"
"What?!"
A shocked shout erupted from below—a chūnin who couldn't hold back his disbelief.
He wasn't the only one—others felt the same, he just reacted first.
Then came an overwhelming wave of noise—furious, chaotic, rising in intensity like a storm.
Judging by the reactions from the shinobi nearby and even the distant civilians in the safe zone, Kaede knew he had succeeded.
At that moment, Hiruzen lost the last of his support among Konoha's shinobi.
Revealing Orochimaru's horrific deeds had sparked righteous fury…
But exposing Hiruzen's deliberate choice to let Orochimaru go had redirected that fury squarely at him.
Hiruzen—the Hokage.
The man revered by all.
The man entrusted with protecting Konoha and all its people.
And yet, he had allowed a man who abducted and experimented on dozens—maybe hundreds—of innocent children to escape justice?
How could someone like that be worthy of the title "Hokage"?
Just as Hiruzen had feared, shinobi who'd lost family or friends during that time were barely holding back the urge to rush forward and strike him down.
And the civilians who hadn't made it to the scene yet?
Kaede couldn't guess their feelings exactly, but he had no doubt they would be even more furious.
After all, most of Orochimaru's victims had been their children.
Kaede's voice rang out again, throwing more fuel onto the blaze.
"Here's something else for you to think about!"
He looked down over the crowd, eyes gleaming.
"Look around—do you see anyone from the Sarutobi clan, or any of the elder families?"
The shinobi glanced around.
Now that Kaede mentioned it… none of those people were present.
"Did Kaede scare them off?"
"Not a single one?"
Kaede's lips curled upward.
"That's because they're all at the back—evacuating the civilians, of course."
Ohhh!
So they weren't fleeing after all.
The shinobi nodded—until their brains caught up to what that actually meant.
The four elders each represented major clans—all of them had gone to 'protect the civilians'?
Eyes widened.
They weren't idiots.
Even during an evacuation, entire clans didn't disappear from the front lines.
Look at the Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka… some of them had gone to assist, sure, but most of their capable fighters were still here!
When the Uchiha incident began, they had assumed it was an external invasion.
No time to think—they grabbed their gear and rushed to defend Konoha.
But where were the Sarutobi? The Shimura? The Mitokado?
Nowhere to be seen.
The realization was chilling.
The Hokage and elder clans had used the evacuation as a cover to completely avoid participating in the conflict.
Thinking back to past events—during the Nine-Tails attack, the Third Shinobi War…
These people were always on the sidelines, never in the line of fire.
Compared to clans like the Senju—who had almost wiped themselves out to blend into the village—these clans had kept their bloodlines secure.
And now, they were hiding behind civilians again?
Outrage boiled over.
No one could stomach this kind of selfishness from their supposed leaders.
"Ptui!"
A shinobi behind Koharu and Homura spat at them—right in their faces.
The two elders turned in fury, trying to see who dared insult them.
And then—
"Ptui!" "Ptui!" "Ptui!"
Spit after spit landed on them, until their clothes were soaked with it.
Koharu was about to shout back, "You—!"
But stopped when she saw the sea of furious eyes glaring at her.
They had enraged the crowd.
If they kept talking, they'd be torn apart on the spot.
Of course they had made preparations.
As the masterminds behind the Uchiha Massacre, they had planned for contingency.
A day earlier, they had told their clans to remain calm during any chaos.
If anything happened, they would escort civilians to safe zones—thus preserving their strength under the guise of heroism.
But Kaede had ruined it all.
Luckily for them, this was only about selfish evasion of duty.
If the shinobi suspected anything darker, those stares would turn murderous.
Hiruzen, thanks to standing up front and still carrying the "Hokage" title, was spared the worst of it.
The others restrained themselves… for now.
But he could feel the shift.
He could see it in their eyes.
They would no longer stand by him.
And without them—he didn't have the courage to face Kaede.
Then, even Itachi turned, looking at him in disbelief.
"Hokage-sama… did you really… let Orochimaru go?"
Hiruzen flinched, dodging the boy's gaze.
But Itachi had saved him several times. He was one of the few remaining allies strong enough to help him oppose Kaede.
If he defected too…
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and whispered so only Itachi could hear:
"Itachi! Don't let Kaede's words sway you!"
"Think of your father—of your brother! Kaede is the one threatening peace!"
At that moment, the mask Hiruzen had worn for decades shattered.
His face twisted into something monstrous—a demon straight out of hell.
Itachi's body trembled. He turned away, shaken.
Those same words… he had heard them before.
Manipulation. Threats.
Hiruzen was no different from Danzō.
And with those words, he had indirectly admitted—it was true.
He had let Orochimaru go.
(End of Chapter)
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