But some people still voiced their concerns.
"An ordinary person judged according to the Police Force regulations, indeed, there is no problem. But this is the Third Hokage. I'm afraid judging him according to the Police Force regulations is inappropriate, right?"
Uchiha Ryosuke frowned. It seemed that the opinions were still not unified. Not unified—then it was not perfect.
Previously, he thought that the matter of Shisui's death was enough to nail down the Third Hokage. But that was obviously not enough. He even went on to throw all kinds of dirt onto the Third Hokage.
Although it severely damaged the Third Hokage's reputation, causing his image to suffer greatly, there were still some clan leaders who stood up to oppose it.
It seemed that higher-ranking individuals needed to take the lead.
He looked toward Hyuga Hiashi. "What is the Hyuga clan's opinion?"
Hyuga Hiashi was also somewhat indecisive. Ever since the Kumogakure incident, he no longer trusted the Third Hokage. Even the later espionage incident made him even more vigilant. Today, he had to get to the bottom of it.
"Third Hokage, back then, our two clans were forced to face Kumogakure's massive army at the border alone. After capturing the Fourth Raikage, he personally admitted that someone from Konoha's high ranks was passing military intelligence to them."
"Third Hokage, were you aware of this?"
The other clan leaders present were also greatly puzzled. Back then, forcing these two clans to fight against the overwhelmingly powerful Kumogakure—it would have been very difficult to win, right?
This was a major issue concerning the village. Even if some people believed it was a mess caused by the Hyuga clan, they still thought such a decision was utterly absurd.
How could these two clans bear such a heavy responsibility? If they lost the war, the consequences would be terrifying.
There were even rumors in the village that Kumogakure had paid the Uchiha clan a large sum of compensation—so much that it had severely hindered Kumogakure's development for decades.
From then on, Kumogakure might never recover. But if Konoha had lost instead, it would also have had to pay massive reparations. What then?
Such a huge sum of money meant that the funds the clans received from the village would be significantly reduced.
They looked at the Third Hokage with questioning eyes, wanting to see how he would explain the espionage issue.
Some clan leaders even directly questioned him.
"Third Hokage, were you aware?"
The Third Hokage's heart trembled—he hadn't expected the Fourth Raikage to reveal this. 'Damn it!'
He absolutely couldn't admit to doing such a thing. If he admitted it, there was no doubt he would be sentenced to death—not just imprisoned.
At this moment, he saw a glimmer of hope for survival—there were still people pleading for him. Even if he could no longer be Hokage, staying alive was good enough.
He immediately denied it. "I didn't do such a thing. This is the Fourth Raikage's scheme—his goal is to incite internal strife within our village. This is a cruel trick commonly used in the ninja world."
"Besides, even if it happened, it was probably Danzo who did it. I wasn't aware."
He shifted the blame to Danzo, afraid that they might have some evidence. After all, Danzo had personally handled this matter back then.
Hyuga Hiashi didn't believe the Third Hokage's one-sided story. Instead, he turned to Ryosuke. "Ryosuke, with Kumogakure's captives cooperating, is there any progress in the espionage investigation?"
Ryosuke was also startled. He hadn't expected this twist. Originally, his plan to control Mabui had nothing to do with investigating spies—it was purely his personal interest.
Previously, trying to take down the Third Hokage through the espionage case was clearly premature. But now, it was the perfect opportunity.
He looked toward the leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. "Unfortunately, I haven't found any useful clues. Then, did the three clan leaders find any evidence of Danzo sending spies while searching his laboratory?"
The three shook their heads. "We didn't."
Such acts of colluding with enemy spies could be accomplished with just a message or a letter, making it very difficult to leave behind evidence.
Hyuga Hiashi also felt regret. They hadn't found anything in Danzo's other laboratory either.
Hearing that nothing had been found, the Third Hokage secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was no evidence, he was safe.
Danzo was a seasoned veteran—how could he possibly leave behind any evidence so easily?
Ryosuke also felt it was a pity. This could have been the best piece of evidence to bring down the Third Hokage. Suddenly, an idea struck him. A smile appeared on his face.
"The Third Hokage is right here, isn't he? If we want to know whether he knew about the spies, isn't it simple? Just use Mind Reading Jutsu on the Third Hokage."
The Third Hokage's face changed drastically."You can't do that! I am the Third Hokage!"
Ryosuke sneered. "You are nothing more than a prisoner now."
"Although my Uchiha clan can use the Sharingan to extract the secrets from your mind, doing so would leave you brain-dead, or even kill you."
"My Uchiha clan is not an evil clan. Let's have the Yamanaka clan leader perform the Mind Reading Jutsu instead."
Yamanaka Inoichi immediately agreed. "Alright."
Perhaps he would have hesitated before, but after such explosive revelations, the truth had to come to light. Even if it turned out that the Third Hokage was innocent, at least they would clear his name.
The Third Hokage's expression darkened. He knew very well how powerful the Yamanaka clan's Mind Reading Jutsu was.
It was highly likely to expose the secrets buried deep in his heart—even other secrets could be uncovered. That would be truly humiliating.
He had to stop it. "Yamanaka, you can't do this! Have you forgotten how I helped your Ino-Shika-Cho clans? Without my support, would you have the status you enjoy today?"
Yamanaka sighed. He was well aware of the Third Hokage's assistance to their clans, but conspiring with outsiders to harm their own people—especially during a war that determined the village's fate—
This crossed a serious boundary. It was absolutely unacceptable. "Third Hokage, forgive me. If you are innocent, I will plead for leniency on your behalf."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and walked toward the Third Hokage.
Watching Yamanaka approach, the Third Hokage grew increasingly anxious. "Stay away from me, you ungrateful traitor!"
He struggled to prevent the jutsu from being used.
Yamanaka felt a pang of disappointment. 'Could the Third Hokage really have been a traitor? Otherwise, why would he resist so fiercely?'
His desire to uncover the truth grew even stronger. "Please, two members of the Uchiha clan, restrain the Third Hokage. Otherwise, I won't be able to access his memories."
Two Uchiha members immediately pinned down the Third Hokage, preventing him from struggling.
The Third Hokage, unable to move, watched in horror as Yamanaka's hand drew closer. He screamed desperately.
"Don't use Mind Reading Jutsu on me! I admit it—I was the one who sent the spies!"
Yamanaka's hand stopped midair, his gaze filled with disappointment. Even the clan leaders who had previously supported the Third Hokage now looked at him with faces full of disillusionment.
Was this really their Hokage? The once-kind protector of the village was now nothing more than a despicable scoundrel.
Yamanaka, filled with grief, asked, "Why did you do it?"
It wasn't just his question—it was the question in many people's hearts.
How could the leader of the village commit such a disgraceful act?
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