Uchiha Ryōsuke saw that he couldn't get any more information and decided to ignore those two. He had already successfully stripped them of their positions as Konoha Consultant Elders. This could be considered a small victory.
Now, it was time to judge the main culprit. He ordered the Uchiha clansmen to bring the Third Hokage forward.
Soon, the Third Hokage was escorted into the large conference room by two Uchiha members. He was bound tightly from head to toe. The Third Hokage was currently overwhelmed with shame; he never expected to end up in such a state. 'Damn Uchiha Clan.' Such treatment was likely a first among all the Kage in the ninja world.
Those present watched the Third Hokage in stunned silence; a village Kage had actually fallen to such a low point. However, knowing the Third's crimes, no one stepped forward to speak for him.
Uchiha Ryōsuke looked at the Third Hokage and began the interrogation. "Third Hokage, do you admit to the murder of Shisui?"
The Third Hokage no longer had anything to deny and said angrily, "Everything I did was to eliminate you. You are the true source of the village's misfortune. Now that I've fallen into your hands, I only ask for a quick death."
Ryōsuke felt a surge of anger. Even now, he remained so stubborn. Today, he would completely tear off the man's hypocritical mask.
"Third Hokage, may I ask if you were aware of the human experiments Shimura Danzō conducted?"
The Third's expression shifted as he replied, "I didn't know."
He didn't want to be associated with human experimentation. Such experiments were a massive taboo in the village and would undoubtedly earn the hatred of the villagers. He didn't want his reputation to be completely ruined after his death. Even if he were killed, some villagers might still believe he was upright and had been forcibly overthrown and murdered by the Uchiha Clan. Perhaps he could still leave behind a good name.
Uchiha Ryōsuke sneered. "You didn't know? As the Kage of a village with Anbu stationed throughout Konoha, you're telling me Danzō built two massive laboratories right under your nose to perform inhumane experiments, and you had no idea? Are you joking, Third Hokage? Danzō was your right-hand man, after all. Do you really expect anyone to believe that?"
Today, Ryōsuke intended to pin Danzō's experiments directly on the Third Hokage. He would use Danzō to ruin the Third's reputation.
The other clan heads didn't believe it for a second either. The Hokage's influence was the greatest in the village, and the Anbu were everywhere. How could he possibly not know? If he truly didn't know, it proved the Third Hokage's competence was abysmal and that he was utterly unfit for the role. But if he did know, it was infuriating. To tolerate Danzō using infants for experiments showed a complete lack of any moral baseline. After all, this involved the sinful experimentation on over fifty infants.
The Third Hokage's face turned ashen, and he closed his eyes, refusing to answer. As long as he didn't speak, he believed there was nothing the other party could do to him.
Ryōsuke sneered. Did he think closing his eyes and staying silent would stop him? He spoke up immediately. "Let's set that matter aside for a moment. During the Nine-Tails Rampage, instead of leading men to support the Fourth Hokage and stop the Nine-Tails from wreaking havoc in the village, you instead blocked the entrance to the Uchiha Clan, preventing us from supporting him. What exactly did that mean?
"If the Uchiha Clan had supported the Fourth Hokage, the village wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses, and perhaps the Fourth Hokage and his wife wouldn't have died so young. In other words, you, the Third Hokage, are actually the one who killed the Fourth Hokage."
He pinned the death of the Fourth directly on the Third Hokage. Everyone present looked shocked and stunned. They hadn't expected Uchiha Ryōsuke to move past the laboratory issue and start settling old scores instead.
They thought back carefully; that was indeed what happened. If the front lines had been supported by both the Third Hokage and the Uchiha Clan, the situation would have been vastly different. Although the Third had stepped down following the humiliating peace treaty with the Stone Village, he was still in his prime and possessed Kage-level strength.
If two Kages had acted together, along with the Uchiha Clan, they might have truly been able to defeat the Nine-Tails or even re-seal it—at the very least, they could have reduced the losses to a minimum. Just as Uchiha Ryōsuke said, the Fourth and his wife might not have had to die.
Some of their own clansmen wouldn't have died in battle either. They began to feel a rising anger toward the Third Hokage's past choices.
Though the Third Hokage had his eyes closed, he could feel the indignant glares from all around. He couldn't help but speak as more filth was thrown his way. "That is pure slander! How could I have possibly killed the Fourth?"