[Ten Accusations]?
Tobirama Senju furrowed his brow slightly, glancing at Hiruzen Sarutobi. In that instant, countless thoughts raced through his mind.
Hashirama Senju, on the other hand, casually sat cross-legged on the ground. "Tobirama, overthinking won't help. Let's listen together."
When everyone fell silent, Orochimaru spoke again.
His voice remained hoarse but was clear enough for all present to hear.
"I used to be a member of Root, serving directly under Danzo Shimura's orders."
"Thanks to my status as the Hokage's disciple, I wasn't branded with the Tongue Calamity Severance Seal..."
Hashirama asked curiously, "Orochimaru, what kind of ninjutsu are you talking about?"
"And what exactly is this 'Root' you mentioned?"
"Not a regular jutsu," Orochimaru explained. "It's a sealing technique. Every Root ninja receives the Tongue Calamity Severance Seal to prevent them from leaking secrets."
"As for Root..." Orochimaru gave a light snort. "It's an organization created by Danzo Shimura with the Fourth Hokage's tacit approval."
"The original purpose of establishing Root was to function like tree roots—hidden in darkness, secretly handling clandestine operations no one could see."
"Assassinating fellow village ninja and quietly eliminating potential threats..."
"Root members are elite ninja carefully selected and thoroughly brainwashed into obedient machines who only know how to follow orders."
"Those who fail the evaluations are discarded mercilessly as failed products..."
Upon hearing this, Hashirama couldn't help but stand up and clench his fists. "How despicable! The village exists to protect people. How can such things happen!"
As he took just one step forward, terrifying chakra and overwhelming pressure made everyone present feel their hearts pound violently.
"Aniki, calm down. Don't recklessly release your chakra."
At Tobirama's words, Hashirama huffed and reined in his chakra pressure. "Orochimaru, continue."
Orochimaru steadied himself, feeling his heart pounding with shock inside.
Hashirama's strength was simply too outrageous.
Although his own Impure World Reincarnation had improved significantly, it could only restore about 60% of his original power...
And even that was so frightening—what would the prime version of Hashirama be like?
"Orochimaru?"
Hearing the voice, Orochimaru snapped back to attention and continued, "Under Danzo Shimura's orders, I began engaging in human experiments."
"Starting from cultivating cells to later performing body transplants, the experimental materials gradually shifted from criminals and spies to orphans, ordinary civilians, and even fellow ninja..."
"The research objectives also expanded—from initially studying Wood Release to exploring Bloodline Limits and various Secret Arts."
"Lord Hokage, don't tell me you—who have been deeply involved in Konoha for decades and practically hold all the power—claim to know nothing about the human experiments!"
"Without your approval, Danzo Shimura could never have acquired so many advanced experimental devices and various precious materials."
"This is your first offense!"
After hearing Orochimaru's words, all the regular ninja present were shocked, especially the Konoha ninja.
They had never imagined that their beloved Hokage would do something like this!
"Damn it! Seriously, how could Lord Hokage do something like this?"
"When Danzo's incident was reported in the newspapers, I couldn't understand how a mere Hokage advisor could command the major ninja clans and secretly operate so many large-scale human experimentation facilities... But if there was the Hokage's shadow behind it, everything makes sense."
"Damn it! Isn't the Hokage supposed to be protecting everyone?!"
The rank-and-file ninja found it especially difficult to accept this dark reality.
After all, anyone could guess that most of the materials needed for those human experiments probably came from within their own ranks.
Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi's glorious image in Konoha suffered its first crack.
As for the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and others, they weren't particularly surprised.
Those who held similar positions already understood much of this long ago.
Inside the barrier field, Tobirama Senju furrowed his brow even more deeply.
He himself didn't oppose human experiments—he had continued conducting them ever since his elder brother's death in pursuit of the Wood Release ability.
But how could the test subjects come from within the village itself?
Wasn't that putting the cart before the horse?
No matter what one pursues, the Hokage must always treat the protection of the village and its people as the highest priority!
Seeing how serious the situation had become, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke solemnly: "Everything I did was for the sake of the village!
How else can Konoha withstand those enemies eyeing us hungrily?"
Upon hearing that, Orochimaru calmly added, "That brings us to your second offense."
"Do you all still remember Sakumo Hatake from back then?"
After speaking, Orochimaru seemed to consider both Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, as well as some younger ninja, and continued explaining: "In his time, Sakumo Hatake cut down enemy ninja with unmatched sword techniques."
"He earned the revered title, Legend of the White Fang, leading enemy villages to issue immediate retreat orders upon his appearance."
"Tragically, he died due to the machinations of the Hokage and Danzo Shimura."
Hiruzen angrily yelled, "You're lying through your teeth!"
Orochimaru replied unhurriedly, continuing, "Back then, Sakumo Hatake was honored with the privilege of wearing the Hokage half-sleeve due to his achievements."
"But as time went on, the calls for Hatake Sakumo to become the next Hokage grew louder and louder."
"Later, Sakumo Hatake was assigned a top-secret mission. On the way, he chose to abandon the mission in order to save his fellow villagers."
"However, upon returning to the village, news of Sakumo Hatake abandoning the mission spread overnight."
"Everyone started blaming Sakumo for failing his mission, calling him a disgrace."
"For several consecutive days, the village high-ups remained silent."
"The once-revered hero had become a tragic pariah..."
"On one night, having lost all hope, Sakumo Hatake chose to take his own life."
"Teacher, may I ask a question?" Orochimaru quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "How come such a top-secret mission became common knowledge overnight?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi replied coldly, "I was deeply saddened by Sakumo's tragedy too, but it was Danzo Shimura working behind the scenes."
Orochimaru snorted. "Teacher, do you actually believe what you just said yourself?"
"If I recall correctly, at that time, besides you, there should have been no one else with the authority to give orders to Sakumo Hatake, the commander of Anbu."
"And if I remember correctly, wasn't the man who Sakumo Hatake saved the one who later betrayed him? Wasn't that man a ninja from the Sarutobi Clan?"
Orochimaru's three successive questions rendered Hiruzen Sarutobi speechless.
But among the crowd below, the atmosphere descended into chaos!
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