After decades of political maneuvering—forming alliances and eliminating rivals—Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had thoroughly consolidated his rule over Konohagakure.
While the village might not have been completely unified under him, his position as Hokage had long since become firmly secure.
Given Hiruzen's prestige within Konoha, if not for the current war, he might very well have remained Hokage until the day he died.
But several decades ago, the situation in Konoha had been very different.
At that time, the village had only recently been established. Many of the policies implemented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had only just begun to take effect.
Konoha's primary military strength still came from the great ninja clans.
Although the Sarutobi Clan, to which Hiruzen belonged, was considered a prominent clan, it still couldn't compare to powerful clans such as the Uchiha, Senju, or Hyūga.
The Senju Clan, in particular, held unmatched prestige.
Not only were they one of the founders of Konoha, but they had also produced two Hokage in succession. Their reputation within the village was at its peak.
Under such circumstances, when Tobirama Senju died under mysterious circumstances, and Hiruzen returned with Tobirama's supposed final words naming him as successor…
It was easy to imagine how much suspicion and doubt that decision provoked.
Uchiha Ren continued,
"In short, Hiruzen Sarutobi's path to becoming Hokage was far from smooth. During that time, he faced considerable resistance from many of the great clans."
"And among them, the Senju Clan raised the strongest objections."
"However, the most powerful figure in Konoha at that time chose to prioritize the village's stability."
"She forcefully suppressed the dissenting voices."
"Only then was Hiruzen able to temporarily secure his position as Hokage."
"The strongest person in Konoha?" Minato asked, suddenly realizing something. "You mean… Lady Mito?"
"That's right—Mito Uzumaki."
Ren nodded.
"Lady Mito was the first jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails in Konoha. Her strength was likely second only to Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Even compared to the Second Hokage, she was probably evenly matched."
"Not only that—she was also the wife of the First Hokage."
"Her prestige within both Konoha and the Senju Clan was extraordinary."
"To put it bluntly—if Lady Mito had possessed the ambition, even the position of Third Hokage might have been within her reach."
Minato nodded deeply in agreement.
He had personally met Mito Uzumaki before.
Even now, he still remembered their first meeting vividly.
The mere aura she unconsciously emitted had nearly made it difficult for him to breathe.
Her strength was truly unfathomable.
Ren continued,
"Our Third Hokage truly is a natural politician."
"After ascending to power, he quickly demonstrated his political skill and rapidly stabilized his position."
"Perhaps after experiencing the initial resistance, Hiruzen came to see the great clans as potential threats to the village's development."
"Once his authority was secure, he began implementing a series of targeted policies against those clans."
"And the first target…"
"…was the Senju Clan, which at the time was the most powerful."
Hearing this, Minato recalled every time he had visited the Senju clan compound.
The place had been quiet.
Desolate.
Almost tragic.
The Senju Clan, which had endured for thousands of years during the chaotic Warring States Period, had survived countless wars between rival clans.
And yet…
After the founding of Konoha, they had vanished within just a few decades, leaving behind only a single surviving descendant.
Who could believe there was nothing suspicious about that?
Ren continued,
"The exact details may have already been lost to history."
"But according to certain records preserved by the Uchiha Clan, most of the Senju's young adults died on the battlefield."
"And many Senju infants and children simply disappeared within the village."
"Disappeared within the village?" Minato frowned. "How is that possible? Didn't the village investigate?"
"Oh, they investigated," Inuzuka Gaku interjected.
"But it wasn't only the Senju Clan. Children from several other clans also went missing at the time."
"In the end, no culprit was ever found. And since the ninja world was extremely tense back then…"
"The matter was eventually dropped."
Akimichi Dōdō also spoke in his deep voice.
"I remember hearing about that too. I was still a kid at the time."
"My family said enemy spies had infiltrated the village and warned me not to wander around outside."
Minato's brows furrowed deeply.
He had been born later and had never known that such incidents had once occurred in the village.
After a moment of thought, Ren spoke in a low voice.
"There's no such thing as a secret that never leaks."
"I happen to know some of the truth behind this."
The moment those words were spoken, everyone present turned to look at him.
Ren didn't keep them waiting.
"After the deaths of the First Hokage and Second Hokage, Konoha was still the strongest village in the ninja world."
"But it had already lost the overwhelming dominance it once possessed."
"So the Konoha leadership—headed by the Third Hokage—decided to restart a human experimentation project."
"Human experiments… restarted?" Minato immediately caught the key words.
"Ren, what exactly does that mean?"
The others also looked shocked.
After all, human experimentation was a major taboo in the shinobi world.
None of them had imagined that the Third Hokage and the village leadership would dare to cross such a forbidden line.
Ren explained calmly,
"This research project was originally proposed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju."
"Because of the unique nature of Hashirama Senju, even after his death, the cells in his body retained terrifying vitality."
"Tobirama was a passionate researcher. When he discovered this, he began studying Hashirama's cells while attempting to recreate Hashirama's Wood Release."
"And since those were the cells of the First Hokage, the most suitable test subjects were naturally members of the Senju Clan, who shared his bloodline."
"But the problem was that Hashirama's cells were far too invasive."
"Almost no one survived the experiments."
"Eventually Tobirama came to his senses and shut the project down before it went any further."
"But later, for various reasons…"
"The Third Hokage and several other high-ranking leaders restarted the project."
"And they expanded the pool of test subjects, no longer limiting it to the Senju Clan."
Naturally, those experiments centered primarily on the Senju Clan, but they were not limited to them.
Otherwise, they would never have discovered the connection between the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and Hashirama's cells.
Minato's usually gentle face twisted with anger.
"The Third Hokage… how could they do something like this?!"
Grinding his teeth, he said,
"How can they possibly claim to uphold the Will of Fire after doing such things?!"
Minato recalled Hiruzen Sarutobi's kind, grandfatherly face.
He had never imagined that behind that benevolent appearance lay something so cold and ruthless.
Minato had once believed he understood the darker side of the world.
But now he realized—
He had been far too naïve.
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