Chapter 19
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Chapter 19: The Embarrassed Sarutobi, Second Hokage Began to Doubt
Fourth Raikage: "The man behind the scenes is finally exposed!"
Ohnoki: "Hahaha, Sarutobi, let me see how you explain this time!"
Terumi Mei: "Our Mist Shinobi is bright and black, while Konoha is dark in the shadows!"
Uchiha Madara: "Hehe! Senju Tobirama, you have a good apprentice."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Slander, utter slander!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was shaking all over. Uchiha Sasuke in the parallel world had actually thought to check the situation of the Uchiha tribe! He had no way to justify this matter!
Senju Tobirama: "Monkey, tell me what's going on."
The Second Hokage spoke.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart trembled. Swallowing his saliva, he tried to think fast. He couldn't tell, at least not about the Uchiha tribe! The Uchiha clan's land, with its shops, residential areas, and a large number of Sarutobi family emblems, was clearly occupied by the Sarutobi clan! The Uchiha clan may be exterminated, but this occupation of land was hard to justify. How could he justify such a thing? He had to try and deflect with something else!
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Teacher, I admit I have been lenient in controlling the clan. After the Nine Tails Rebellion, the village lost many elite ninjas. The situation was severe, and I was under immense pressure. I was busy with official duties every day, receiving intelligence, responding to it, and arranging for ninja defense. The pressure was too great, and there was no time to manage the clan's affairs. I honestly didn't know what my people were doing. If I had known, I would have definitely restrained them strictly!"
Shimura Danzō: "Teacher, I can vouch for that. After the Nine Tails Rebellion, other villages were looking to invade the Land of Fire! The Cloud, Rock, and Mist shinobi all tried to invade. We were under great pressure, so it's understandable that Sarutobi failed to control his tribe."
Now, Danzō had to stand with Sarutobi Hiruzen. If Sarutobi fell, he, as the leader of the Root, Anbu, would meet his demise!
In Iwagakure, Onoki couldn't help but curse angrily. That old guy, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was a master at sweet-talking! He turned such a disgraceful situation on its head. From being seen as the mastermind behind infighting, he painted himself as a dedicated Hokage who merely lacked oversight. If Onoki didn't know Sarutobi well, he might have believed him!
In the chat room, some Konoha shinobi supported Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Iruka: "I believe in the Third Hokage. The Sarutobi clan may indeed have lacked control..."
Ebisu: "I also trust the Hokage. Surely, the Hokage can't be the one manipulating things from behind!"
Might Guy: "I agree. How could Konoha be so dark!"
...
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The image he had maintained over the years was proving to be useful.
Most fans of the Konoha Shinobi still trust him. In the Underworld, the pure land, Senju Tobirama frowned. With his political savvy, he would not completely believe what was said. In fact, he concluded that his disciple must be hiding something from him.
Regardless of the reason, the Hokage, the monkey, had been indulgent in allowing his own tribe to expand recklessly, which was a serious dereliction of duty. "Sarutobi, don't disappoint me too much," Senju Tobirama murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly. The truth would slowly come to light in the live broadcast room. He would read it slowly.
After some commotion, the gold-framed screen continued to play.
"Sasuke composed himself, as if nothing had happened, and went straight home. He knew his current strength was insufficient compared to the whole of Konoha. If anything unusual happened, he feared he might disappear that very day! The only option was to continue building his strength.
But in Sasuke's mind, his view of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the village had changed completely. He now saw that Konoha was not as peaceful as it appeared. Behind this façade of tranquility lurked countless acts of bloodshed, with many historical truths deliberately buried by some.
"Keep working hard to improve your strength," Sasuke thought to himself. One day, he would uncover the truth about the Uchiha genocide.
After this, Sasuke's daily routine remained much the same as before, but he practiced even more diligently. He refined his chakra, enhanced his chakra control, and practiced chakra nature transformation. He also kept up with his gymnastics and physical exercises.
He regularly spent time with the beautiful girls at school, growing closer to Hinata, Sakura, and Ino. Graduation at age 12 was fast approaching.
The playback on the gold-framed screen stopped, marking the end of the parallel world Sasuke's experiences for now.
"The difference is quite clear," commented Senju Tobirama. Even with his animosity towards the Uchiha clan, he had to admit that the Sasuke from the gold-framed world was a true genius and a versatile talent. Although the Sasuke in this world was also a genius, the difference between the two when compared was stark. The parallel world Sasuke would definitely have the strength of a Jōnin upon graduation, with almost no serious shortcomings in any aspect of his abilities. He possessed a mature mind, strong learning capability, outstanding thinking skills, and even a touch of good fortune.
"Damn it all," muttered Uchiha Sasuke, his eyes reddened with emotion. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails were nearly piercing his skin. He couldn't understand why there was such a drastic difference between his parallel self and him. He believed he could do just as well at any time.