"Hm?"
Hearing this, Sakumo frowned. "The Third Hokage? You think this incident—the current surge of public opinion—is also connected to the Hokage?"
Kakashi also turned to look at Shiro Akira.
He only understood part of their conversation, but even that was enough to shake his worldview.
The Third Hokage and Danzo… weren't good people?
They were targeting his father?
"Of course."
Shiro Akira let out a cold laugh and nodded. "Teacher, you don't seriously think this is only Danzo's doing, do you? Without the Third Hokage's tacit approval, how could Danzo push things this far?"
"If the Third Hokage truly didn't approve, he would have stepped in personally long ago to clarify things and suppress this wave of public opinion."
"In the end, your reputation in the village is simply too high—it already threatens his authority and position."
"Didn't I say this over a month ago? Back then, there were already many voices in the village calling for you to become the Fourth Hokage. Do you really think the Third Hokage would willingly hand over that position at this time?"
"You should know that the Hokage position has always been passed down within the Hokage's own faction. You're not part of his direct lineage."
From the original timeline, this was obvious—Fourth Hokage Minato, Fifth Hokage Tsunade, Sixth Hokage Kakashi.
And Kakashi only became Hokage after Sakumo had long passed away and after becoming Minato's disciple, effectively joining the Hokage faction.
The current Third Hokage wasn't even that old yet—there was no way he would give up power so easily.
"The Third Hokage shouldn't be that power-hungry or selfish, right?"
Sakumo frowned, still trying to defend him.
"How is he not?"
Shiro Akira said helplessly, "Just look at how the Sarutobi clan has grown over the years."
"During the Second Hokage's time, what was the scale and strength of the Sarutobi clan? And what about now?"
"Teacher, don't think too highly of people."
"Just tell me—do you agree or not?"
Shiro Akira wasn't blindly slandering the Third Hokage.
He had indeed contributed a lot to Konoha during his tenure.
But he also had his share of faults.
Clinging to power, suppressing dissent, fearing capable individuals… these weren't baseless accusations.
After thinking it through, Sakumo realized that Shiro Akira was right.
Over the years, not only had the Sarutobi clan expanded significantly, but so had the Shimura clan—Danzo's faction—as well as the families of the two Hokage advisors.
Dangerous missions were often assigned to other clans first.
Safer ones were reserved for their own people.
As for major clans like the Uchiha, they had been subtly suppressed all along.
"They've gone too far. Konoha should belong to all its villagers—not be treated as their private property."
Sakumo muttered with a frown, then looked at Shiro Akira. "Alright. I agree. Should we guide public opinion first, or should I resign first?"
Seeing that he had successfully persuaded him, Shiro Akira felt a surge of joy and immediately replied, "We guide public opinion first. Let it ferment for two days, then you resign."
"Alright."
Sakumo nodded. Having made up his mind, he felt much lighter. A long-lost smile appeared on his face as he looked at Shiro Akira and Kakashi.
"Resigning might not be a bad thing. It means I'll have plenty of time to train you both in the future."
He wanted Shiro Akira and Kakashi to grow as strong as possible.
After years of dedicating himself to the village, he had only now realized that everything had been under the calculations of the Third Hokage and Danzo.
He had gained nothing in the end.
His life shouldn't be like this.
Without wasting any time, Shiro Akira and Sakumo immediately created multiple shadow clones, using Transformation Technique to disguise themselves as ordinary villagers. They blended into the crowd and began spreading and guiding public opinion.
Shiro Akira had seen this kind of operation countless times in his previous life—he was very familiar with it.
In less than half a day, Danzo's public opinion offensive began to reverse.
A large number of voices supporting and sympathizing with Sakumo emerged.
At the same time, rumors began to spread that the mission had failed because someone within the village had betrayed Konoha, selling out its interests and setting up a trap to frame Sakumo and ruin his reputation.
And that person pointed directly at Danzo of Root.
In an instant, Danzo became famous throughout Konoha.
Someone who had previously remained in the shadows was suddenly known by everyone.
Most villagers only now realized that such a scheming figure existed in the village's underbelly.
He was said to be someone who benefited himself at the expense of others, manipulating people for his own gain.
Rumors also spread that he used mind-control techniques to control Root ninja, allowing him to act without restraint.
On top of that, he allegedly used the authority granted by the Hokage to secretly threaten various clans, seizing their talented members and brainwashing them into tools.
Some even claimed this was all part of a deliberate effort to suppress major clans by ruining their future generations.
The rumors grew increasingly exaggerated.
After two days, no one even cared about Sakumo's failed mission anymore.
Instead, Danzo had become the villain in everyone's eyes, widely condemned.
Clans across Konoha began to grow wary of both Danzo and the Third Hokage, becoming more cautious and guarded.
Eventually, a group of clan representatives gathered and went to the Hokage Tower to lodge complaints.
They claimed that Danzo had previously threatened them and taken away many of their talented children.
Those children had never returned—and no news had ever been heard from them again.
They demanded that the Hokage give them justice and force Danzo to return their children.
"Everyone, I will give you a satisfactory answer regarding this matter. Please return for now and give me three days."
The Third Hokage had no choice but to make this promise.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage. We will await your good news."
Led by the Yamanaka clan, the representatives expressed their thanks before leaving the Hokage Tower.
"Bang!"
Only after they had gone far did the Third Hokage slam his hand onto the table in anger.
Whether his anger was directed at those who pressured him, at Danzo, or both—it was unclear.
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