Chapter 084: Kill Him

Wang Bo chuckled calmly and said, "You know in your heart whether I'm talking nonsense. If you had nothing to hide, why stop me from finishing? Am I right, First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?"

Hashirama Senju fixed a stern gaze on Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Monkey, what exactly happened to the Senju clan?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth to speak but didn't know where to start. He could only say, "It's a long story, First Hokage."

Wang Bo continued, "Since he won't tell you, I will. Hashirama Senju, as of now, only a handful of Senju survive—only your granddaughter, Tsunade Senju. Even your grandson, Nawaki Senju, died on the battlefield."

"And the reason he died was probably because he wanted to become Hokage."

"After all, you were his idol. He longed to become Hokage like you one day."

"As the grandson of the First Hokage and heir to the Senju clan, his advantage in becoming Hokage was overwhelming."

"But Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his prime. Having finally become Hokage, how could he let go of hard-won power? Power is poison, after all."

"So he arranged for Nawaki Senju to go to the battlefield and thoughtfully assigned his own disciple, Orochimaru, to protect him."

"It seemed flawless, but even so, Nawaki Senju still died."

"Don't you find that strange?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was enraged by Wang Bo's words and roared, "You're lying! This is utter nonsense!"

Wang Bo laughed and said leisurely, "I'm talking nonsense? Then tell me, did Nawaki Senju want to become Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Nawaki did want to become Hokage—it was his dream."

"And when he went to the battlefield, was he under Orochimaru's protection?"

"He was indeed Orochimaru's subordinate."

"But he died."

"That was an accident."

"An accident?" Wang Bo turned to Hashirama Senju and asked, "Do you believe that?"

Hashirama Senju felt heavy-hearted. He hadn't expected his grandson to die on the battlefield, but he didn't suspect Hiruzen Sarutobi because of it. Instead, he said, "On the battlefield, things change in an instant. No one can guarantee what will happen next—not even me."

Wang Bo said, "Fine, let's call it an accident. But the Senju clan—surely not everyone died by accident? When the First and Second Hokage were in power, the Senju clan flourished. Why did it wither so quickly after the Third Hokage took over? Was that also an accident?"

Hashirama Senju was momentarily at a loss for words.

"You—"

"Shut up." Wang Bo saw Hiruzen Sarutobi about to speak and cut him off. Then he asked, "If the Senju clan was an accident, what about the Uchiha clan?"

Hashirama Senju asked, "What happened to the Uchiha clan?"

"They were wiped out." Wang Bo smiled. "Rumor has it that the clan leader's son, Itachi Uchiha, did it. They say he was only thirteen at the time. A thirteen-year-old ninja annihilating his entire clan except for his younger brother—how terrifying."

Wang Bo looked at Hashirama Senju and asked, "Could you have wiped out the Senju clan at thirteen, First Hokage?"

Hashirama Senju turned to the Third Hokage. "What is the meaning of this, Monkey?!"

He was truly angry now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly said, "There are details to this, First Hokage. The Uchiha clan was plotting a rebellion, trying to seize the Hokage position and take control of Konoha. That's why I allowed the Uchiha clan to be wiped out."

Wang Bo sneered, "In the end, it's all about holding onto power and refusing to step down, isn't it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at Wang Bo with hatred and said through gritted teeth, "If I were greedy for power, I wouldn't have passed the Hokage position to the Fourth."

Wang Bo's gaze shifted to Minato Namikaze. "True, you did pass the Hokage position to the Fourth, but did you really transfer all power to Minato Namikaze?"

"Besides, do you think I don't know why you chose Minato Namikaze?"

"Wasn't it because Minato Namikaze was easy to control?"

"Who was competing with Minato Namikaze for the Hokage position back then? Orochimaru—your own disciple. Yet you didn't choose your disciple; you chose Minato Namikaze."

"Admittedly, Minato Namikaze was the student of your other disciple, Jiraiya—your grand-disciple."

"But one is a disciple, the other a grand-disciple. Anyone can see which is closer."

"Yet you insisted on choosing Minato Namikaze. Wasn't it because Orochimaru's ways didn't suit your liking, and as Hokage he would have gathered all power, while you weren't willing to fully step down? So you chose Minato Namikaze."

"In the end, Minato Namikaze was just your puppet. You never treated him as the true Fourth Hokage."

Minato Namikaze shook his head. "No, the Third Hokage isn't like that."

Wang Bo gave Minato Namikaze a knowing smile. "That's why I said you're easy to control, Minato Namikaze. You're invincible on the battlefield, but politically, you're too naive."

"You have no idea that you were just Hiruzen Sarutobi's tool."

"If he truly saw you as the Fourth Hokage, he wouldn't have treated your son that way."

Minato Namikaze had been about to retort, but when he heard Wang Bo mention his son, he panicked. "Naruto? What happened to Naruto?"

"Your son Naruto's surname is Uzumaki, not Namikaze. From that, you can see his fate. His father was the Fourth Hokage, yet Naruto still doesn't know his real surname is Namikaze."

"More importantly, when he was very young, the fact that he was a jinchuriki was leaked. The whole village knew that Naruto Uzumaki was a fox demon."

"Adults loathed him, children hated him. In all of Konoha, he was practically despised by gods and detested by spirits."

"Not just civilians—even ninja despised him."

"At that time, if Hiruzen Sarutobi had said just one word, he could have protected Naruto. But for over a decade, he never said a single extra word. He let Naruto be bullied all alone."

"You don't know how miserable he was as a child. I even suspect Hiruzen Sarutobi had it in for you and wanted your son dead."