Ever since Uzumaki Mito married Senju Hashirama, the Uzumaki clan had done countless things for Konoha.
Yet in the end, with the tacit approval of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, they were reduced to the tragic fate of a destroyed nation and an exterminated clan.
Back then, she had been young and knew nothing of the truth behind it all.
Later, as she grew older, although resentment and bitterness filled her heart, there was nothing she could do.
But she had never imagined that one day, she would hear Konoha's people personally offer their apologies.
Although what happened to the Land of Whirlpools could no longer be changed, Konoha's remorse was, at the very least, able to soothe her heart somewhat.
Kushina Uzumaki lifted her head and glanced at Uchiha Yuzuru, only to find him smiling faintly as he looked at her.
She instantly understood.
Placing this particular crime squarely on Sarutobi Hiruzen's head must have been something Yuzuru had planned long ago.
He… wanted to help the Uzumaki clan reclaim justice.
A warm feeling rose in Kushina's chest.
If not for the situation, she truly wanted to throw herself into Yuzuru's arms and savor that warm embrace.
Seeing Kushina smile through her tears, Yuzuru withdrew his gaze and continued with the judgment.
"As those in power, you cowered outwardly while striking hard internally. Win or lose, you only ever thought of ceding territory, paying reparations, and burying matters."
"This is the Sixth Sin!"
At his words, the fury in Konoha's crowd flared even higher.
As Konoha's ninja, they had suffered deeply from this.
Ever since the Uchiha clan left the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had begun their series of outrageous maneuvers.
Lose a war—pay reparations.
Win a war—still pay reparations.
Each time, it amounted to tens of billions of ryō.
The ninja who bled and sacrificed for the village not only received no compensation for injuries or death, but were even forced to pay out of their own pockets to compensate the enemies who had killed their friends and family.
Worst of all, because of economic collapse after defeat, many of them lost all sources of income.
Every year, countless people froze or starved to death by the roadside.
Yet while Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo were weak toward outsiders, they were ruthlessly strong internally.
Anyone who voiced even a few complaints was immediately thrown into prison.
When Danzo had just seized power, he had even allowed Anbu to massacre protesting villagers.
In the past, Konoha's people had been afraid.
But now, they could finally vent the resentment bottled up in their hearts.
They glared viciously at Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, roaring hoarsely, "You deserve to die! You deserve to die!!!"
If not for the Cloud Village ninja desperately holding them back, someone would have already rushed forward to slaughter Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo on the spot.
Seeing the crowd descend into chaos, Yuzuru frowned, and a terrifying aura spread instantly.
"Silence. Anyone who disrupts the order… dies."
The moment his voice fell, the scene went deathly quiet.
Before the infamous Uchiha Yuzuru, no one dared provoke him.
Yuzuru snorted coldly and continued, "During Sarutobi Hiruzen's reign, he extorted and plundered relentlessly, sucking the marrow from bones, leaving the Land of Fire littered with corpses and starving masses."
"This is the Seventh Sin!"
As his words fell, whether Konoha ninja or Cloud Village ninja, all showed expressions of anguish.
Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama frowned and looked toward Tsunade at their side.
"Tsunade, the Land of Fire… is it really as Uchiha Yuzuru says?"
The Land of Fire was vast and fertile, rich in resources. No matter what, it shouldn't have fallen to the point of corpses strewn everywhere.
Tsunade sighed and nodded. "Compared to reality, words are painfully inadequate."
"As we advanced, we witnessed countless tragedies."
"If even Konoha's ninja starved or froze to death, how much worse do you think it was for ordinary civilians?"
"In many places, it even reached the point of parents eating their own children."
After hearing Tsunade's account, Hashirama and Tobirama felt as if their hearts had been struck by a heavy hammer.
When they had been in power, the Land of Fire had been prosperous and peaceful. In the blink of an eye, it had become a living hell.
"Monkey… should be killed."
Tobirama's voice was icy.
As Hokage, he had indeed done many things in the shadows during his tenure.
Developing forbidden techniques. Conducting human experiments.
That was because he had long foreseen that the Land of Fire's fertile lands would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of other nations.
Everything he did was so that after his brother's death, Konoha would possess enough strength to protect itself.
Even toward the Uchiha clan he despised, he had never intended to drive them into rebellion.
After becoming Hokage, he granted them the right to form the Military Police Force and took the genius ninja Uchiha Kagami as his disciple, all to placate them.
As for the other great clan—the Senju—he had ordered them to abandon the Senju surname altogether.
He had thought that Sarutobi Hiruzen could rely on his plans to lead Konoha toward steady development.
Never had he imagined that, for personal gain, Sarutobi Hiruzen would drag both Konoha and the Land of Fire into such ruin…
Truly deserving of death!
Tobirama had not deliberately lowered his voice, so Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, and the others heard every word clearly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's body trembled, as if he had been stripped naked, overwhelmed by shame with nowhere to hide.
Shimura Danzo, however, felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Teacher, you didn't choose me back then. You bear responsibility for that as well!
Seeing the effect grow stronger, Yuzuru continued, "These four were jealous of talent and suppressed dissent. To solidify their power, they persecuted and excluded the village's strongest, leaving Konoha without successors…"
"This is the Eighth Sin!"
There was no need for further explanation.
Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's rule, Konoha had lost countless geniuses and powerful figures.
From the older generation—Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Yuzuru, Kushina Uzumaki…
To the younger generation—Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Shisui, Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy…
If these people had not left Konoha back then, how could they have been trampled and mocked by Cloud Village ninja?
"Conducting human experiments, stopping at nothing for power, even using forty thousand living people as sacrifices to activate the Reanimation Jutsu…"
"This is the Ninth Sin!"
The corpses on the ground were still before their eyes.
Faced with such inhuman acts, anyone with even a shred of conscience would feel rage.
That was forty thousand living people, slaughtered by their own kind…
Looking at the pairs of eyes below, ferocious like wolves and tigers, even Yuzuru was momentarily stunned.
If he were not here to hold the line, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura would have been torn to pieces by the furious crowd in an instant.
Clearing his throat, Yuzuru said in a deep voice, "Constantly preaching the Will of Fire, yet failing to lead by example, using it merely as a tool for brainwashing."
"After committing so many monstrous acts, you still put on a façade of benevolence and kindness."
"Chasing false fame. Lying through your teeth!"
"This is the Tenth Sin!"