Chapter 246 – Minato's Fury: The Depths of Konoha's Corruption
Rage.
Overwhelming, uncontainable rage surged within Namikaze Minato.
He had always respected Sarutobi Hiruzen. During the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato willingly sacrificed himself and Kushina to protect Konohagakure, believing the village would uphold its ideals and care for his son in their absence.
But what had come of that trust?
His son, Uzumaki Naruto, instead of being honored, had been ostracized—treated as a monster, denied even the most basic necessities. Bread past expiration, spoiled milk—those were the luxuries his child grew up with. Minato's fists clenched, his body trembling.
A part of him, for the first time, wanted to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"You don't deserve to be Hokage. You never did," Minato shouted, his voice shaking with fury.
"As the Third Hokage, the things you did weren't leadership—they were betrayal. Everything the Fifth Hokage and Uchiha Rin'en have done to reform the village was the right path. Konoha was destroyed in your hands—and in the hands of Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Koharu Utatane."
Minato's heart had once held unwavering faith in Konoha's leadership. He had believed that the elders and Sarutobi Hiruzen upheld the Will of Fire—the ideal of protecting and nurturing the village. So much so, that even after becoming the Fourth Hokage, he allowed Hiruzen to govern from the shadows and let the Elder Council—Homura, Koharu, and Danzō—meddle in village affairs.
But that belief was now shattered.
Those ideals had long been corrupted. Sarutobi and his allies had twisted them for power, and the ones who paid the price were innocents—Naruto most of all.
"Fifth Hokage… you were right," Minato muttered bitterly. "The water in Konoha runs deep… too deep for me to control."
Minato recalled the first time he met Uchiha Rin'en, long before Rin'en rose to power. Back then, Rin'en had warned him: "The depths of the Leaf Village aren't something you can grasp. Even the highest tree can't see the roots beneath the surface."
At the time, Minato had laughed it off.
He was the Fourth Hokage, confident that no conspiracy in the village could escape his eyes.
Now he understood: he had been naïve.
He and Kushina had died believing they'd secured peace for the future. But Konoha had allowed their son to grow up in pain and loneliness. And the architect behind it all… was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Minato's respect had now turned to loathing. The betrayal cut so deeply that even his reanimated body—which should feel no pain—ached with heartbreak.
> "I want to rip him apart… make him bleed. For Naruto. For everything."
---
Around the room, the silence was broken by murmurs of disgust.
> "Hiruzen truly was heartless."
> "He used Minato's death to reclaim the Hokage title, then condemned his son to a life of misery. Despicable."
> "If he'd applied his ruthlessness outward, the ninja world might've been under Konoha's control long ago. But no, he turned it inward—against his own people."
Even shinobi like Orochimaru, Onoki, Fourth Raikage A, and others began to mutter coldly among themselves. They had expected harsh politics, but not this kind of cruelty from the man revered as the "Professor."
Even Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu, watching through the effects of Edo Tensei, couldn't help but smirk in grim amusement.
> "So, the revered Third Hokage was nothing but a hypocrite in the end."
---
Minato turned back toward Hiruzen, his voice low but venomous.
"As the Third Hokage, do you not even have the courage to admit what you've done?"
"You… you…" Hiruzen stammered, his aged body shaking. He tried to respond, but no words came.
He had never imagined Minato—the golden boy, the quiet, respectful genius—would one day speak to him like this.
But now, there was no love in Minato's eyes.
Only contempt.
"I want the truth," Minato demanded. "Tell me exactly what happened to Naruto."
Sarutobi's expression turned hard. "Fine," he said, his voice brittle. "As the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, Naruto was a danger. That's why I ordered his identity to be kept secret, even from him."
He hesitated, then continued, "To strengthen his mind, I allowed the people to treat him as a pariah… let them call him a demon. I ordered no interference. He had to grow tough, or die."
"I allowed him to live on spoiled food… in isolation… to see if he was worthy of being a Jinchūriki. If he failed—if he broke—I was prepared to end his life with my own hands."
---
Silence.
A suffocating silence gripped the chamber.
Minato stood still, his face pale. His lips trembled.
His son… his bright, brave little boy… had suffered alone while the village watched. No kindness, no warmth, no protection. And all of it had been deliberate.
Even as a reanimated soul, Minato felt his heart breaking.
> "Why?"
"Why did the village I died for… fail so completely?"
"Why couldn't they even give my son the most basic love?"
"Kushina… I'm sorry. I trusted the wrong people."
His entire body trembled. His gentle eyes were now full of fury.
---
Meanwhile, others in the chamber could barely speak.
Senju Hashirama, frowning, broke the silence with a sigh.
"Monkey… you've really lost your way."
Senju Tobirama snorted. "When the truth spreads, you'll be lucky if the villagers don't throw stones at your corpse."
Indeed, now that the Fifth Hokage – Uchiha Rin'en had taken control, Sarutobi's deeds would inevitably become public.
He would be remembered not as the wise Third Hokage, but as a manipulative coward.
---
"I… I…" Sarutobi Hiruzen finally tried to speak. His face was pale, twisted with regret, shame, and stubbornness.
But no words came.
He wasn't a fool. He knew what was coming. When he was resurrected, his legacy would be tarnished. He would return to a village that now saw him as a villain.
Still, in the back of his mind, he clung to one belief:
> "Everything I did was for Konoha."
> "Even if no one understands, I have no regrets."
---
To be continued...
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