Chapter 085: Dirt

"I didn't, I haven't."

Seeing Minato Namikaze's gaze growing increasingly strange, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but loudly deny it: "I did all of this for Naruto, I only wanted to protect Naruto."

"Naruto is a jinchuriki. If outsiders were to learn of Naruto's identity, it would inevitably pose a threat to him, and Naruto cannot protect himself. So I did all this to protect Naruto."

Minato Namikaze listened, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Wang Bo, however, couldn't help but burst into laughter: "So that's it. I never thought you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, were also a humorous man. You're trying to make me laugh to death and thus lift Konoha's crisis, right? I admit, you almost succeeded."

Wang Bo laughed until he was out of breath, while Hiruzen Sarutobi's face grew darker and darker.

Minato Namikaze couldn't help but ask: "Did Naruto really have such a hard time?"

"Hard? It was practically abuse," Wang Bo said without hesitation. "The whole village knows that he, Naruto, is the fox that killed countless people, a fox demon, you see."

"You should understand what I mean, Minato Namikaze."

"The rumor that Naruto is a fox demon is widespread in Konoha. Both ninja and villagers know this. Anyone with a bit of sense knows that Naruto is the jinchuriki, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki."

"So, Hiruzen Sarutobi saying he's protecting Naruto is complete bullshit."

"Protection? More like surveillance."

"To prevent the Nine-Tails inside Naruto from appearing again, they watch him in secret. They could easily help him, but they stubbornly refuse to do even such a small thing."

"Minato Namikaze, do you know what kind of life Naruto had as a child?"

"He lost his parents at a young age, grew up lonely and destitute, endured countless scornful looks—and that's not all. He ate instant food and drank expired milk."

"Before you died, you must have left behind some savings. Unfortunately, not a single cent of that money ever reached Naruto."

"He was the hero who sealed the Nine-Tails, the son of the Fourth Hokage who saved Konoha, yet he ended up being bullied and humiliated. But what about Hiruzen Sarutobi's son? He grew up safe and sound in Konoha."

"His grandson had ninja guarding him from birth, with several jonin protecting him at all times, and he could learn any jutsu he wanted."

"But your son? Both are relatives of a Hokage, so why is there such a huge difference?"

"Minato Namikaze, answer me: Is this kind of Konoha worth protecting?"

"Monkey!!!"

A roar that made one's scalp tingle came not from Minato Namikaze, but from the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi like lightning and grabbed him by the collar.

"Tell me, Monkey, is what he said true or false?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth but didn't know how to refute it.

Wang Bo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a half-smile. He admitted that he had exaggerated some parts, but unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had too many dirt points, and some actions simply couldn't be cleaned up.

Especially regarding his treatment of Naruto.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, Hashirama Senju knew that even if Wang Bo wasn't entirely right, he wasn't too far off.

This made him even angrier. The Konoha he had envisioned was definitely not this kind of Konoha.

"Monkey, you have disappointed me too much." He shoved Hiruzen Sarutobi aside and stared intently at Minato Namikaze, momentarily at a loss for words.

Minato Namikaze stood still, two streams of bloody tears flowing from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry."

He had never imagined that after his death, his son would be treated like this.

He had originally thought that sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto would make Konoha value Naruto and protect him, after all, a jinchuriki was very precious.

Take his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, for example.

His wife had once been the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. She ate well and dressed well every day, and Konoha couldn't even bear to send her to the battlefield.

But in the end, he was wrong.

Konoha had not treated Naruto well at all; instead, they made him suffer scorn and bullying. Thinking of his son eating instant food and drinking expired milk, Minato Namikaze's heart was breaking.

Seeing the chaos among the Konoha group, Wang Bo nodded to himself.

Why had he just been spouting off? Was it just to talk tough? Of course not. He had said all that to stir up internal conflict among them.

And Wang Bo had basically succeeded.

This was mainly because the Third Hokage was too rotten, with all kinds of dirt emerging endlessly. Just bringing up a few points was enough to trigger the First Hokage's nerves.

Hashirama Senju, though a god of shinobi who emerged from the chaotic times, was not a warlord but had a gentle heart. He had founded Konoha only to end the chaos.

But unfortunately, the Konoha under the Third Hokage's administration was completely different from the Konoha in his heart.

The Senju clan withered, and the Uchiha clan was annihilated.

Neither of these events was unrelated to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

How could he not be angry?

At the same time, Wang Bo shifted his gaze to another person: "I say, Sakumo Hatake, why are you still on Konoha's side? It was Konoha that drove you to death. You should be on my side."

Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju were both startled.

Sakumo Hatake's gaze was steady as he slowly said: "I was not driven to death by Konoha."

"Come on. Back then, you abandoned the mission to save your comrades and protected them, yet all the ninja in Konoha blamed you for doing so. Haven't you realized that it was all orchestrated by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo? If not for them, how could so many ninja have groundlessly accused you?"

Wang Bo put on a puzzled expression: "You were treated like this by Konoha, yet you still... Oh, I get it. It's for your son Kakashi, right?"

Hashirama Senju's gaze instantly turned sharp, glaring at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"How many things have you done?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea how to defend himself. After all, Sakumo Hatake's death was intricately linked to him. If he had properly guided public opinion back then, Sakumo Hatake wouldn't have died.

Tobirama Senju looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, not knowing what to say anymore. He hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to use rumors to drive Sakumo Hatake to death—this was completely different from what he had imagined.

"Monkey, you have truly disappointed me."