[After watching late into the night, Sasuke finally finished reading through Konoha's history.]
[He now had a general understanding of the village's past few decades.]
["The Senju and Uchiha clans founded Konoha together, but both the First and Second Hokage came from the Senju. The Third Hokage was a disciple of the Second. And yet, not a single Uchiha has ever become Hokage..."]
["During the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha's White Fang made outstanding contributions, even outshining the Sannin. But later, he chose to save his comrades over completing a mission and ultimately committed suicide under the weight of public criticism..."]
["In the Third Great Ninja War, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, made remarkable achievements, surpassed even Orochimaru, and became the Fourth Hokage—only to die soon after during the Nine-Tails' attack on the village..."]
["After the Nine-Tails' Rebellion, the Uchiha clan fell under suspicion and was forced to relocate. The Third Hokage returned to power, and since then, no Fifth Hokage has been appointed. In Konoha's 50th year, Orochimaru, once a Hokage candidate, defected from the village..."]
[Sasuke closed the history book in his hands. The final chapter recorded Orochimaru's betrayal.]
[Although many events were written without clear beginnings or ends, the major incidents throughout Konoha's history were documented in relative detail.]
[His mind was now flooded with information.]
[Sasuke pinched his forehead, feeling a headache come on.]
["What can I make of all this?"]
["My main takeaway... is that the Third Hokage has been in power for a very long time."]
[Sasuke sighed in frustration.]
[From the time of the First Great Ninja War—after being appointed by the Second Hokage—until now, the Third Hokage had held power for over thirty years.]
[Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as a thought crossed his mind:]
["The Third Hokage has ruled Konoha for more than three decades. Could he really have been unaware of what was happening in the village? Especially something as massive as the Uchiha massacre?"]
["There are two possibilities: One, the Third Hokage told me the full truth about the genocide. Two, he's hiding something."]
["Which of these is more likely?"]
Onoki: "Is there even any point in thinking about it? How could Sarutobi possibly know nothing?!"
Fourth Raikage: "If the Third Hokage was really that slow, I'm pretty sure the ninja in the shadows—Danzo and the others—would have kicked him out long ago!"
Terumi Mei: "A Hokage who's been in power for over 30 years? Anyone would suspect he's hiding something."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened.
He never expected Uchiha Sasuke to actually analyze the situation!
That Sasuke could make a guess just based on how long he'd been in power!
Still, he had to admit—the theory was pretty reasonable.
Orochimaru was in a good mood and looked over at his former teacher sitting next to him with a teasing smile:
"Sarutobi-sensei, don't worry. Take your time figuring out how to defend yourself."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shot Orochimaru a sharp glare, took a deep breath, and typed back in the chat room:
"Time in power proves nothing—you should know that best, Onoki."
Onoki: "Why bring me up? That's your problem!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Really? Onoki, you've been Tsuchikage since the First Ninja World War. Does ruling Iwagakure make you all-knowing and all-powerful?"
"I heard your disciple, Deidara, left Iwagakure years ago and hasn't been seen since."
"And your Four-Tails Jinchūriki barely pays you any attention—he just wanders the world on his own."
Onoki froze.
Damn, it made sense.
There was no way to deny those points.
In terms of time spent leading, he was on the same level as Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But his Iwagakure was a mess, and as Tsuchikage, there wasn't much he could do.
So, it was understandable that Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Hokage, couldn't fully grasp what was happening in Konoha.
If Onoki questioned Sarutobi again, wouldn't he essentially be questioning himself?
Onoki: "I'm convinced, Sarutobi. It's you."
No wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen still holds onto power firmly, even against rising stars like Konoha's White Fang, the Sannin, and the Yellow Flash.
No one in the entire Ninja World can match that kind of influence.
Orochimaru: "Tsk, boring."
Fourth Raikage: "There are too many problems in your village."
Terumi Mei: "..."
She didn't want to say more.
If Kirigakure is known as the second most chaotic place in the world, no one in the entire Ninja World dares claim the first.
[The next day, Sasuke went straight back to the ninja school.]
[He ignored others' comments about the Uchiha genocide.]
[In class, Sasuke took out the ninja school history textbook and flipped through it.]
[He had already learned all the courses taught, so he might as well read the book by himself.]
[Sasuke had read the school history textbook before, but this time, with a clear purpose, he noticed many problems:]
["A lot of content is missing… There are very few records about Konoha's founding, but the reign of the Third Hokage takes up the vast majority of the content."]
["The Third Hokage is described as the strongest Hokage in Konoha. During his reign, he trained Konoha's White Fang, the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, and other powerful ninja."]
["But so many things are missing!"]
["There is very little about Konoha's White Fang, who was clearly a major contributor to the Second Ninja World War!"]
["Content about Orochimaru has been heavily cut, and his defection isn't even mentioned!"]
Sarutobi Hiruzen groaned inwardly.
Why did it always have to be him?!
His life was too difficult!