Uchiha Jin's eyes narrowed slightly.
Regarding Uchiha Amano's question, his mind began to race.
His influence had reached its limit. With Danzo's recent frantic actions, he had almost rallied everyone he could. The remaining Uchiha, like Fugaku and Shisui, were individuals he could never hope to win over.
So, now...
It was indeed time to be frank. After all, many of his subsequent actions would require the full cooperation of everyone present!
There was no other way.
Without a system or an Eternal Mangekyo, it was almost impossible for him to challenge Konoha alone. The only ones he could rely on were the Uchiha before him.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly began to speak.
"Elder Amano is right, I actually saw through it a long time ago!"
"It's just that the Uchiha Clan is a clan that speaks with strength. I was confident that even if I had spoken then, the clan members wouldn't have trusted me at all."
"Therefore, all I could do was protect myself!"
As Uchiha Jin spoke, everyone present slowly nodded.
Yes!
The Uchiha Clan relied on strength!
Even a Moderate Faction member like Shisui wouldn't listen to someone without any power.
Uchiha Setsuna then spoke, "Lord Jin's choice was not wrong. The Uchiha are indeed a bit extreme. Now is not the time to discuss such matters. Let's get straight to business."
"It's a common problem for all Uchiha to lack wisdom. Lord Jin, take this time to talk about the bigger picture."
"At the very least!"
"Let everyone have a basic understanding of the Village and the Clan!"
At these words, everyone nodded.
Everyone was indeed very interested in this matter, because whether they were from the Radical Faction, the Moderate Faction, or the Middle Faction, they generally didn't use their brains.
Now that they had the opportunity to understand these things, everyone naturally wanted to listen.
They also really wanted to know why Jin was so sure that the Village wanted to eliminate the Uchiha during the Third Great Ninja War.
And, in response,
Uchiha Jin didn't decline. He nodded and said, "Since everyone wants to hear, I'll just talk casually."
"That's great!" everyone said.
Uchiha Jin didn't waste words and directly asked, "Everyone knows that Senju Hashirama became Hokage by virtue of his strength that dominated the Ninja World. Although Senju Tobirama's strength was not as good as the First Hokage's, he was still top-tier in the entire Ninja World, not to mention his top-notch strategic and planning abilities."
"So—what about Hiruzen Sarutobi?"
"Could it be just because of his so-called 'Strongest Hokage' boast?"
Uchiha Jin's face was full of disdain.
After hearing this question, everyone present looked bewildered.
That's right!
They might have had limited knowledge of the First and Second Hokage, but they were quite familiar with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Say he was incredibly strong? They weren't so sure!
Because Hiruzen Sarutobi only went to the battlefield a few times during the Second Great Ninja War, and then he directly stayed in Konoha and no longer went to war. Even the Konoha F4 basically did not go to war either.
But... they firmly held the position of Hokage, and for so many years, no one had any objection, and everyone had even gotten used to it, not feeling that anything was wrong.
Now?
Only after Uchiha Jin mentioned it did they realize.
That's right!
This damn thing, it really was wrong!
Think about the Kage of other Villages: the Fourth Raikage, A, was invincible in close combat and could fight Minato Namikaze to a draw. If it weren't for the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato Namikaze wouldn't have been his opponent.
The Third Raikage, let alone him.
Ōnoki's Dust Release was not just for show.
Yagura Karatachi of the Hidden Mist and Rasa of Sunagakure, their strengths had also been tested on the battlefield.
What about Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Everyone said he was the Strongest Hokage, the Professor of Ninjutsu, but no one truly knew his actual strength.
"Yeah, why?"
"The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seems to only talk about the Will of Fire."
"They say he's a Ninja Hero, but he's rarely seen in action!"
"I don't get it!"
Everyone present spoke up.
Even the older Uchiha were now completely confused, shaking their heads, unable to explain.
Finally,
They could only turn their gaze to Uchiha Jin, awaiting their leader's explanation for this matter.
And, in response,
Uchiha Jin sighed softly.
"Actually, someone has already stated the answer."
"It's the Will of Fire!"
"And this wasn't determined at the very beginning, but rather by Hiruzen Sarutobi later on."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi's ascension to Third Hokage was partly due to Senju Tobirama's dying wish, but more so due to Uzumaki Mito's support."
"By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi truly became Hokage and was ready to make his mark, his heart had completely turned cold."
"The Senju Clan, under pressure from Uzumaki Mito, didn't deny him as Hokage, but they completely ignored Hiruzen Sarutobi, engaging in passive resistance and feigned compliance."
"The Uchiha, needless to say, looked down on him as Hokage!"
"With the Senju and Uchiha like this, let alone the other Ninja Clanss, it could be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi at that time was merely a puppet!"
"How did the situation change?"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, forced by circumstances and lacking true Hokage authority, could only go to the Ninja Academy to promote his damned Will of Fire, as he couldn't do anything else at the time."
"However, when the Second Great Ninja War broke out, Hiruzen Sarutobi's opportunity arrived."
"Does everyone remember Senju Nawaki? He was the hope of the Senju Clan, the most promising candidate to become the Fourth Hokage, but he was instantly killed by an explosive tag right after entering the battlefield."
"But, here's the problem!"
"What are the characteristics of the Senju Clan? Powerful Chakra and extremely strong vitality!"
"Even if an explosive tag directly hit an Uchiha, it would most likely only result in serious injury, with a very low chance of instant death. Yet, Senju Nawaki, who possessed formidable vitality, died, and even Tsunade, the medical genius, couldn't save him."
"Thus, the Senju Clan suffered a heavy blow!"
"Later, Hiruzen Sarutobi initiated the Hashirama cells experiment, claiming to revive the First Hokage's powerful Wood Release, which led to a large number of Senju Clan members dying tragically on the operating table."
"Coupled with the fact that the Senju Clan was mostly on the front lines in the early stages of the Second Great Ninja War, these two factors combined led to the exhaustion of the Senju Clan's elites. The remaining Senju Clan, in order to preserve their strength, could only use Tobirama's plan to integrate into Konoha. Some abandoned their surnames and became civilians, while others chose to pledge allegiance to the Land of Fire's Daimyo."
"At this point, the Senju completely vanished."
"But the Senju Clan's reputation remained, Tsunade and Uzumaki Mito were still there, and it was at this time that Kato Dan emerged."
"He and Tsunade fell in love, and relying on the Senju's foundation, his popularity to become the Fourth Hokage was very high."
"Then, he died!"
"The Uzumaki Clan was unwilling to join Konoha and was inexplicably annihilated during an attack. At that time, Konoha had masters like the Sannin and Sakumo Hatake, but only Uzumaki Kushina and the Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu inheritance were saved."
"Thinking about this, I just want to laugh. They couldn't save the people, but they could get back all the sealing jutsu inheritance."
"Everyone, isn't that interesting?"
"Next was Sakumo Hatake, who also had a high chance of becoming the Fourth Hokage, and then he inexplicably committed suicide."
"I'm baffled!"
"I remember Sakumo Hatake was on an S-rank mission, and even A-rank missions require secrecy. Yet, a dignified S-rank mission spread throughout the streets and alleys within a day; the so-called secrecy protocols were completely disregarded."
"Sakumo Hatake committed suicide, and no one was held accountable afterwards; it was just glossed over."
"Then Orochimaru was discovered conducting human experiments and defected. This, in my opinion, is even more ridiculous. Orochimaru came from a civilian background. Although he had the support of Ninja Clanss to become the Fourth Hokage, the problem is, these Ninja Clanss wouldn't support him in conducting human experiments, would they?"
"Conducting human experiments costs money, and various high-end equipment require astronomical figures."
"Where did the money come from?"
"If you say there was no Village support, I certainly don't believe it!"
"Considering that before Orochimaru's defection, he was the most popular candidate for Fourth Hokage, it goes without saying that this was certainly filled with the machinations of the Konoha Leadership."
"They didn't want Orochimaru to become Hokage, because even though Orochimaru was a civilian, he was ruthless and persistent in his actions; he would not become Hiruzen Sarutobi's puppet!"
"So, he either defected or died!"
"Finally, Minato Namikaze is even more interesting. It's well-known that he came from a civilian background, and Hiruzen Sarutobi letting him become Hokage was inherently hoping he would be a puppet."
"But the problem is, Minato Namikaze had his own convictions. Since he became Hokage, he also wanted to pursue his own goals."
"So he placed Kakashi in the Anbu to create his own Hokage Guard. Wasn't this an attempt to seize power from Hiruzen Sarutobi?"
"Then, he died!"
"Have you all noticed now? Anyone who tries to seize power from the F4 almost invariably ends up dead, with only Orochimaru becoming a Rogue Ninja!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi controls Konoha with the Will of Fire, and anyone who might affect their power eventually dies for various reasons."
"Now, it's the Uchiha's turn!"
"On one hand, the Uchiha are disobedient, powerful, and have unpredictable personalities. Plus, the Village is very short on money right now, so this fat piece of meat is naturally due for slaughter!"