"Please! Trust me this once!"
Jiraiya said solemnly to Naruto.
Looking at Jiraiya's unusually serious face, and after venting his emotions through the Tailed Beast Transformation, Naruto recalled the days he had spent with Jiraiya before.
Naruto fell silent.
Indeed, Jiraiya was still trustworthy, and they had told him these things before coming here!
Thinking about it, the fact that Jiraiya and the others let him come to listen to this conversation itself showed their attitude.
Perhaps there were indeed some things he hadn't understood before!
"I'll remain silent, Pervy Sage," Naruto said.
"That's good, that's good!" Looking at Naruto, Jiraiya felt relieved.
Then, Jiraiya looked seriously at Kushina: "Naruto's outburst just now, I believe is the fault of us adults. What do you think, Kushina?"
"Therefore, for the upcoming conversation, let's avoid blaming each other. Let's keep it simple, Kushina. What exactly do you want?"
Seeing Jiraiya's serious expression, Kushina also reined in her emotions: "What I want, Jiraiya-sensei, I've made it clear! I want an explanation!"
"Naruto is 'my' son, and Minato's son. He is the son of Konoha's Fourth Hokage, a child of heroes. And he, who holds the Nine-Tails sealed within him, is a hero himself."
"So, tell me, why did Naruto receive such treatment? And where did our assets go?"
"I came here to ask these very questions!" Kushina said.
"I see." Hearing Kushina's words, Jiraiya nodded.
'Since Kushina's demands were as such, the next steps became clear.'
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya looked at Tsunade.
"Leave the next part to me."
Taking a deep breath, Tsunade stepped forward.
However, before responding, she first glanced at Asuma beside her, her eyes asking a silent question.
Asuma knew what Tsunade wanted to ask him.
It was undoubtedly about matters concerning the Third Hokage.
Asuma let out a long sigh and said to Tsunade: "Tsunade-sama, speak the truth as it is. A mistake must be acknowledged. That's a principle of the world. No matter one's status or position, it should be so."
"Of course, refusing to admit fault is also human nature, but it is wrong. It's just that when some people are in high positions, they often have the ability to cover things up."
"And that's when correction is needed!"
"So, Tsunade-sama, regarding past incorrect actions, please correct them!"
Asuma declared righteously.
Simultaneously, he thought to himself: 'Father, it's not that I don't want to help you, but the things you did were truly foul!'
'I hope Kurenai's opinion of me won't change because of all this...'
Asuma stole a glance at Kurenai, only to find that because of his recent statement, the look in Kurenai's eyes towards him had grown even deeper with emotion!
Instantly, a sense of pride began to swell in Asuma's heart!
Thus, though he had finished, Asuma added two more sentences: "As the head of the Sarutobi Clan, as the son of the Third Hokage, I am willing to cooperate fully with the village's investigation. All illegal acts will be brought to justice, and all misappropriated assets will be returned."
"I will oversee these matters!" Asuma said seriously.
"Asuma!" Looking at such a responsible Asuma, Kurenai's eyes shimmered.
At the same time, Tsunade was also very pleased: "Well said, Asuma. You are a true man!"
"Rest assured, I know that for most of your upbringing, you were not in Konoha Village. Your connection to your father's affairs is not significant!" Tsunade said.
Since Asuma had taken such a stance, Tsunade, for her part, would reciprocate the goodwill.
Not implicating Asuma… this was the guarantee Tsunade offered!
Turning back to face Kushina, Tsunade felt even more confident!
"Kushina, I can tell you quite responsibly that all of this is the Third Hokage's doing."
"It was he who confiscated your and Minato's house and assets, including the Ninjutsu scrolls and tools within your home, under the pretext of holding them in trust for Naruto."
"It was also he who allowed Danzo to spread the message that Naruto was the incarnation of the Nine-Tails, concentrating the villagers' hatred onto Naruto."
"He passed it off as Danzo's personal operation, but the Third's idea was actually quite simple: to make all of Konoha hostile towards Naruto, then extend a helping hand to Naruto during his darkest hour."
"This way, he could become the only light in Naruto's heart!"
"Therefore, because of the Third's selfish motives, Naruto suffered so many hardships!"
At this point, Tsunade apologized to Kushina: "I'm sorry. All these years, I wasn't in the village. We thought the old man at least wouldn't do anything to a child like Naruto."
"But we clearly underestimated the change in the old man. He had grown too old! He was no longer the [Professor] or [God of Ninja] he once was!"