The Third Hokage was internally shaken; he hadn't expected the Fourth Raikage to actually reveal that information.
Damn it. He certainly couldn't admit to doing such a thing. If he confessed, he would undoubtedly be sentenced to death rather than just facing simple imprisonment. Seeing a glimmer of hope for survival earlier when people pleaded for his mercy, he knew he had to keep up the facade. Even if he could no longer be the Hokage, staying alive was good enough.
He immediately spoke up to deny the accusation. "I never did such a thing. This is a plot by the Fourth Raikage intended to incite internal strife within our village. It is a common and vicious trick used in the ninja world. Furthermore, even if such a thing occurred, it might have been Danzō's doing. I was completely unaware of it."
He shifted the blame to Danzō, fearing they might have evidence, though it was Danzō who had personally executed the plan back then.
Hyūga Hiashi did not listen to the Third Hokage's one-sided story. Instead, he looked at Ryōsuke. "Ryōsuke, with the cooperation of the Cloud Village captives, has there been any progress regarding the matter of the spies?"
Ryōsuke was also internally surprised. He hadn't expected this turn of events. Originally, his intention for controlling Mabui wasn't to investigate the spy matter; it was purely out of personal interest. He had previously felt that the timing wasn't right to topple the Third Hokage through the spy incident.
But now was a perfect opportunity.
He looked toward the heads of the Ino-Shika-Chō clans. "Regrettably, I haven't found any useful leads. Did the Ino-Shika-Chō search party find any evidence of Danzō dispatching spies when you searched his laboratory?"
The three men shook their heads. "No, we didn't."
Evidence of such collusion was difficult to leave behind, as it could be done through simple verbal messages or letters.
Hyūga Hiashi felt it was a pity. They hadn't found anything in Danzō's other laboratory either.
Hearing that nothing was found, the Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that nothing was found. Danzō was an old hand at this; how could he easily leave evidence behind?
Ryōsuke also found it a bit of a shame. This was the best piece of evidence to bring down the Third Hokage. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and a smile spread across his face.
"Isn't the Third Hokage standing right here? If we want to know if he knew about the spies, isn't it simple? We just need to use Mind Reading on him, right?"
The Third Hokage's face suddenly changed drastically. "You can't do that! I am the Third Hokage!"
Ryōsuke sneered. "Right now, you are nothing more than a prisoner. Although my Uchiha clan could use the Sharingan to force the secrets from your heart, doing so would turn you into an idiot or even kill you. We Uchiha aren't evil people, so I'll leave it to the Yamanaka Clan Head to use Mind Reading on the Third Hokage."
Yamanaka Inoichi immediately agreed. "Fine."
Perhaps he would have hesitated before, but with such a scandal coming to light, the truth had to be uncovered. If the Third Hokage had truly done such a thing, it was infuriating. If not, then this would clear his name.
The Third Hokage's expression twisted. He knew the Yamanaka clan's Mind Reading technique all too well. It was highly likely they would see the secrets in his heart, and potentially other secrets as well. If that happened, he would truly have no place to hide his shame.
He could only try to stop them. "Yamanaka, you can't do this. Have you forgotten how I helped your Ino-Shika-Chō families in the past? Without my support, where would your status be today?"
Inoichi sighed. He was well aware of the help the Hokage had given their three clans, but conspiring with outsiders against their own people—especially during a war that concerned the fate of the village—was a serious violation of the bottom line. It was a line that must never be crossed.
"Pardon me, Third Hokage. If you are innocent, I will plead for your punishment to be lightened."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and walked toward the Third Hokage.
Watching Inoichi draw closer, the Third Hokage grew increasingly panicked. "Don't come near me, you ungrateful scoundrel!" He struggled to prevent the other from performing the technique.
Inoichi felt a sense of disappointment. 'Is it possible the Third Hokage really became a traitor? Otherwise, why would he be so resistant?' He wanted to know the truth even more now.
"Please, members of the Uchiha clan, restrain the Third Hokage. Otherwise, I won't be able to find his memories."
Two members of the Uchiha clan immediately moved to pin the Third Hokage's body, preventing him from struggling. Unable to move his body and seeing Inoichi's hand getting closer and closer, the Third Hokage screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Stop! Don't use Mind Reading on me! I admit it! I was the one who sent the spies!"
Inoichi's hand paused. His eyes were filled with disappointment. Even the heads of the families who had supported the Third Hokage were now full of dismay.
Was this still their Lord Hokage? The image of a kind protector of the village was gone, replaced by a despicable villain.
Inoichi asked in a voice full of grief, "Why? Why did you do it?"
This wasn't just his question; it was the question on everyone's minds. How could a village leader do something so disgraceful?
The Third Hokage replied helplessly, "You actually ask me why? That bastard Uchiha Ryōsuke dared to throw my son into prison, causing me to lose face. How could I let them live happily? The Cloud Village is also a bunch of useless trash. Even with the strength of their entire village, they couldn't handle two clans."
Inoichi felt even more heartbroken. "Third Hokage, weren't you afraid that the two clans would be defeated or even annihilated? In the end, the Cloud Village would have demanded huge reparations from Konoha or even taken land from the Land of Fire!"
The Third Hokage explained, now that everything was exposed anyway. "We might have lost some money, but the Cloud Village would have paid a heavy price to eliminate those two clans. By then, they wouldn't have dared to start a war again. If they dared to go too far, it's not like we couldn't fight them."
Hearing this explanation, Inoichi felt even deeper disappointment. For such a reason, he was willing to ignore the interests of the village. He was naive enough to think the Cloud Village would retreat after paying a small price. How was that possible? The people of the Cloud Village were greedy.
He had originally felt that Ryōsuke's claims—attributing the deaths of the Second Hokage, the Fourth Hokage and his wife, and Hatake Sakumo to the Third Hokage—were a bit forced. But looking at it now, the man wasn't wronged at all. The Third Hokage simply didn't care about the deaths of the village's talents. He valued his stupid son even more.
The deeds of his son, Asuma, had already spread throughout the village. He had burned down an entire street and injured many people. Was there any justice if such a crime didn't result in imprisonment?
Inoichi said nothing more. He simply returned silently to his seat. It was truly chilling that the Third Hokage was such a person.
The other clan heads were equally incredulous. They hadn't expected the Third Hokage to actually do it. It was truly ridiculous—the Shadow of the village was actually a traitor.