Chapter 82: The Truth Behind the Fall of Uzushiogakure and Naruto’s Miserable Situation

Hearing Reiji mock the Will of Fire, someone in the conference room couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up in rebuttal:

"The fact that the Third Hokage’s Will of Fire was fake doesn’t mean everyone else’s Will of Fire is fake too!"

"Is that so?"

Reiji sneered and brought up another matter.

"Back when the White Fang incident happened, many of you here probably weren’t even jonin yet, so your words didn’t carry much weight."

"But what about the incident between Kumogakure and the Hyuga clan? That happened only a few years ago, didn’t it?"

Hyuga Hiashi’s expression froze.

He hadn’t expected the topic to suddenly involve his own clan.

The others also recalled what Reiji was referring to.

Everyone present was basically a jonin.

Regarding the Kumogakure delegation incident several years ago, the village had prohibited the matter from being spread among civilians, but those at the higher levels were all aware of it.

The leader of the Kumogakure delegation had attempted to kidnap the Hyuga clan leader’s daughter, only to be killed instead.

Kumogakure then threatened war, and in the end, the village sent Hyuga Hizashi, the younger brother of the Hyuga clan leader, to Kumogakure as an explanation.

"For the sake of peace throughout the village, you sent a Konoha shinobi who had done nothing wrong to his death. Is that the Will of Fire? Ridiculous!"

Reiji’s expression was filled with disdain.

Someone couldn’t help but argue:

"But if we went to war with Kumogakure, even more people from the village would have died!"

"Then what if you were the one being handed over?"

Reiji immediately shot back.

The person who had spoken fell silent.

No one would want to be pushed out to die despite having done nothing wrong.

"This was only because Clan Head Hiashi successfully killed the leader of the Kumogakure delegation."

"But, Clan Head Hiashi!"

Reiji turned toward Hyuga Hiashi and smiled.

"What if Kumogakure had actually succeeded in kidnapping your daughter?"

"What if they turned your daughter into a breeding tool and used her to create a second Hyuga clan in Kumogakure?"

"Do you think Hiruzen Sarutobi would go to war with Kumogakure over your daughter alone?"

Hyuga Hiashi froze.

After thinking about it briefly, he arrived at the answer.

Impossible!

Judging by Hiruzen’s actions during the Hyuga incident, at most he would negotiate with Kumogakure.

If Kumogakure refused to return Hinata, Hiruzen absolutely wouldn’t have the courage to go to war with them!

Reiji watched Hiashi’s expression, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"Looks like you already know the answer."

"So, what would you do then?"

"Take people with you and try to rescue your daughter, only to send even more Hyuga shinobi to Kumogakure?"

"Or sit back and watch your daughter become a breeding tool for Kumogakure without doing anything?"

"She only has to be one daughter, right? You can just have another one."

"After all, didn’t you also watch your younger brother go to his death without doing anything?"

"Poor Hyuga Hizashi. He’s probably still lying on some experimental table in Kumogakure right now. His corpse may already be riddled with holes."

Buzz!

The veins around Hyuga Hiashi’s eyes bulged as his emotions surged. His Byakugan instantly activated.

Yet there was nowhere for the anger in his heart to go.

Take it out on Uchiha Reiji?

Setting aside the difference in strength, what had Reiji done wrong? He had merely spoken the truth.

Take it out on Hiruzen?

The man was already dead.

He himself had been weak and incapable, only able to watch as his younger brother was sent to his death according to the arrangements of the village and the Hyuga clan’s elders.

"...I’m sorry. I lost my composure."

After thinking it over, he could only blame himself.

He silently deactivated his Byakugan, and Hyuga Hiashi’s voice became low. His entire spirit seemed to sink.

The others in the conference room exchanged glances.

They had gained a clear understanding of just how vicious Reiji’s tongue could be.

With only a few words, he had provoked the normally calm and restrained Hyuga Hiashi into losing his composure and activating his Byakugan!

Yet when everyone thought over what Reiji had said, they found themselves completely unable to refute him.

He really had only spoken the truth.

"Forget it. Let’s continue digging up Hiruzen Sarutobi’s dirty laundry."

"The next matter has nothing to do with anyone here, so everyone can relax a little."

"Come on. Let’s talk about the destruction of Uzushiogakure."

Reiji leaned back in his chair, looking completely at ease.

Uzushiogakure?

Everyone was puzzled.

How many years ago had that happened?

When Uzushiogakure was destroyed, the Second Shinobi World War hadn’t even begun. It had been more than twenty years ago.

Could there really be some unknown truth behind it?

Koharu Utatane spoke mechanically, like a puppet:

"Uzushiogakure was destroyed jointly by Kumogakure and Kirigakure. They wanted the Uzumaki clan’s sealing techniques."

"However, Hiruzen had already received a request for assistance from Uzushiogakure at the time, yet he deliberately delayed for a while before sending aid..."

"In the end, he only managed to save one girl. That girl was Uzumaki Kushina, who later became the wife of the Fourth Hokage."

Clap! Clap!

Reiji couldn’t help applauding, his face filled with amusement.

"What a coincidence. He just happened to save one person, and that person happened to be a female member of the Uzumaki clan."

"Once that girl became the Nine-Tails’ jinchuriki and developed a greater sense of belonging toward Konoha, she could then marry a Konoha shinobi and have a child."

"That way, Konoha would always have a loyal candidate for the position of jinchuriki, allowing it to maintain control over the Nine-Tails’ power."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly planned things well."

Just by looking at the map of the shinobi world, one could see that Uzushiogakure was located overseas, with the Land of Fire being the closest.

The Land of Lightning and the Land of Water came next.

Uzushiogakure was destroyed by Kumogakure and Kirigakure, yet Konoha only managed to rescue a single girl!

It was practically a joke!

Why did Uzumaki clan members such as Karin and Nagato choose to live in places like the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain rather than come to Konoha?

Clearly, they had lost their trust in Konoha, Uzushiogakure’s ally!

"The Third Hokage was already this dark back then?"

Nara Shikaku couldn’t help scratching his head.

How old had he been when Uzushiogakure was destroyed?

At most six or seven years old, right?

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already done such shameful things back then?

Nearby, Akimichi Choza let out a long sigh without saying anything.

If he hadn’t realized that Hiruzen and Danzo had gradually changed, why else would a disciple of the Second Hokage choose to return home and live in seclusion?

"The Fourth Hokage and his wife died sealing the Nine-Tails, but what about their child?"

"Don’t tell me you don’t know about Uzumaki Naruto!"

"A child who knew nothing was treated as though he were a demon fox."

"Every day, he was pointed at and whispered about whenever he walked down the street. When he went to buy something, some people refused to sell to him, while others went even further and sold him expired food!"

"Did you ever do anything about that?"

"The villagers always say that our Uchiha clan is arrogant and difficult to get along with, but at least Uzumaki Naruto’s situation had nothing to do with our Uchiha clan."

The moment Reiji finished speaking, the Uchiha shinobi immediately voiced their agreement.

At least Uzumaki Naruto’s miserable situation had nothing to do with the Uchiha.

Whenever they accidentally approached Naruto, they would be warned by the ANBU!

And they still dared to say that there was something wrong with the Uchiha clan’s character?

At least the Uchiha had never beaten or verbally abused a child!

And this child was even the orphan of the Fourth Hokage!

"...The Third Hokage didn’t allow us to approach him. There was nothing we could do."

Someone couldn’t help complaining.

Basically everyone present knew Naruto’s identity.

At the very least, they could restrain their own families from pointing at Naruto or subjecting him to various forms of violence.

However, many ordinary shinobi and civilians couldn’t do the same.

Reiji nodded and didn’t argue. He continued questioning the two elders:

"What was Hiruzen Sarutobi’s plan for Uzumaki Naruto?"

Homura Mitokado spoke with lifeless eyes:

"Danzo intended to bring Uzumaki Naruto into the Root organization and train him into a loyal tool."

"But Hiruzen disagreed. His plan was to spread rumors throughout the village, causing Naruto to be ostracized. Then he would approach Naruto himself and make Naruto grow attached to him."

"That way, Hiruzen could use emotional bonds to control the power of the Nine-Tails’ jinchuriki."

The entire room erupted into an uproar!

Everyone present had truly had their eyes opened today!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually gone so far as to manipulate even a child?

He wanted everyone to ostracize a little boy, only to approach him afterward and win him over through affection!

He could actually do something like this!

Wasn’t he afraid that if things went wrong, Uzumaki Naruto would become twisted, turn evil, or even commit suicide?

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