"The son of a hero!
The son of the Fourth Hokage who sacrificed himself to protect the village!
And this is how they treated him?!"
"This isn't just stupidity anymore—this is evil down to the bone! Filthy people in power!"
"No wonder that Naruto in the sky screen wanted to destroy the world! If it were me, I'd wipe it all out too!"
A hot-tempered ninja shouted at the top of his lungs, and his words instantly sparked waves of agreement.
"Exactly! His father saved the village, yet he himself was treated like trash—who could endure that?"
"I heard the Fourth Hokage's estate and house were completely swallowed up by the Sarutobi faction! Absolutely shameless!"
"He couldn't even eat properly, surviving on expired milk and instant ramen? And he's the Hokage's son? Konoha's face has been dragged through the mud!"
"I heard Naruto Uzumaki was the shortest kid in his class!"
More and more details were dug up and spread. Every new revelation intensified the shinobi world's contempt for Konoha's former leadership—and deepened their sympathy for Naruto.
Konoha, the behemoth that had always proclaimed itself the embodiment of the Will of Fire and the Number One Hidden Village, instantly became a colossal joke in the court of public opinion: an ungrateful village, rotten at its core, that had driven a hero's descendant into rebellion.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the old Konoha power bloc he represented didn't just lose all standing within the village—they suffered complete social death across the entire shinobi world.
Their names became synonymous with stupidity and baseness.
As for Naruto Uzumaki—once regarded as a terrifying threat because of the sky screen—his name now carried an added layer of tragic heroism in the world's narrative.
People began to realize that the future "destroyer of the world" might not have been born evil at all.
He was more likely a pitiful child, driven step by step toward the brink by a twisted and unjust environment.
Tsunade's move to "restore his name" was not merely setting things right within Konoha.
On the battlefield of shinobi public opinion, it seized a crucial moral high ground—for both Konoha and Naruto.
In stark contrast to the former Konoha leadership, who were now infamous and universally reviled, the reputation of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, skyrocketed in an astonishingly short time.
No matter which village they came from, shinobi and civilians alike couldn't help praising the newly appointed Fifth Hokage during their idle conversations.
This kind of recognition that crossed village and factional lines was exceedingly rare in shinobi history.
The reason was simple: the major actions Tsunade took after assuming office were spectacular.
"Just look at the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade!"
In a tavern, a wandering ninja gulped down his wine and gestured excitedly, his face full of admiration.
"The moment she took office, she directly branded Danzō Shimura—one of the true culprits behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre—as an S-rank missing-nin! What is that called? That's setting things right! That's purging the rot!"
"And that's not all!" someone beside him added immediately, eyes shining.
"She basically told Sasuke Uchiha, 'I've marked your enemy for you. When you're strong enough, go kill him yourself.'"
"She preserved the Uchiha's right to vengeance and eased tensions around one of Konoha's future top-tier combat assets! The finesse! The vision! Incredible!"
As for how she handled Naruto Uzumaki, it pushed Tsunade's popularity in the shinobi world straight through the roof.
"And then there's Naruto! My gods—hiding the identity of a hero's son and letting him be abused? Just hearing that makes my blood boil!"
"Lady Tsunade revealed the truth, restored his name, pulled him out of the mud, and gave him sunlight and care!"
"She dug out the very root of the so-called 'world destroyer'!"
"Beautiful and fearless, decisive in life and death—this is what a true Kage should be like!"
"Exactly! I'm sold! She's way better than the one in our village—the gloomy one / the muscle-brain / the blood-mist maniac / the stubborn little old geezer!"
"Look at other people's Kage!"
The shinobi world's public opinion was always this blunt and pragmatic.
They might oppose Konoha—but they worship strength.
And when it came to Tsunade, there was one more thing people simply couldn't ignore:
Her looks.
More importantly—eternal youth.
At this moment, the personal prestige of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, reached an unprecedented height.
Through secret channels, Orochimaru learned of Konoha's recent developments and the overwhelming direction of public opinion. He licked his lips excitedly, golden slit pupils glinting with pleasure and calculation.
"Hehehe… Tsunade, I didn't expect you to go this far. As expected of you."
"Branding Danzō a traitor and pointing the way for the Uchiha survivor's revenge…"
"Restoring Naruto Uzumaki's name and trying to defuse the cause of world destruction… such beautiful—and ruthless—methods."
"Tsk tsk. Old fool Sarutobi-sensei really left you a perfect stage to perform on."
At the same time, outside a temporary Akatsuki hideout—
Itachi Uchiha stood alone beneath the bleak moonlight, his figure indescribably lonely.
The intelligence brought by Zetsu, coupled with the nearly one-sided tide of opinion sweeping the shinobi world, struck his already tattered heart like countless poison-tipped kunai, stabbing again and again.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were idiots…"
"Persecuting a hero's descendant—unforgivable…"
"If it were me, I'd destroy the world too…"
These words of contempt and condemnation, coming from every corner of the shinobi world, echoed in his ears, magnified without end.
If…
If even the entire shinobi world believed that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō Shimura's actions were foolish, wrong, and beyond redemption—
Then what was Itachi Uchiha?
The man who obeyed the orders of these "idiots"…
Who personally slaughtered his entire clan…
Whose hands were stained with the blood of his parents, his relatives, his people…
What did that make him?
An overwhelming sense of absurdity and self-doubt surged over him like an icy tide.
Itachi had always believed he was a lone walker in the darkness, enduring everything for a noble goal.
But now, the sunlight outside told him:
The "Konoha" he protected was rotten to its core.
The "leadership" he served made decisions of staggering stupidity.
The "crime" he committed had its necessity completely denied.
Then what was the blood on his hands worth?
What was the hatred he forced Sasuke to bear worth?
"Kh—"
Itachi let out a muffled groan, suddenly clamping a hand over his mouth as a violent coughing fit seized him. Dark red blood seeped through his fingers.
The doubts he had suppressed for so long—about his choices, his guilt toward his clan, his anger at fate, and his regret over that foolish decision—
All of it roared within his chest like molten lava, threatening to consume him entirely.
Itachi felt as though he could barely hold on.
"Sasuke… what should I do?"
"The path I chose for you—can you still walk it?"
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