They had been ninjas for so many years before they had reached the position of clan leader. They did a large number of tasks. If speaking of the number of times tasks failed, that is also not few.
Even the three clan leaders of Ino-Shika-Cho are the same; they also have cases of mission failure. Failing a mission means being mocked and insulted; this is also something they cannot accept.
And the Third Hokage knew that the other party was speaking reasonably, but still forced himself to argue. "The mouth is on the villagers, and it is not under my control. Could it be that I, the Third Hokage, cannot even let the villagers speak and express their opinions?"
Ryosuke, however, sneered coldly. "What a fine statement about letting the villagers freely express their opinions. Could it be that the villagers expressing their opinions can be so disdainful toward a great contributor to the village? The Third Hokage is far too indulgent of the villagers."
"And speaking of major mistakes, could it be that the Third Hokage has forgotten about escorting the Second Hokage to Kumogakure for an alliance, which resulted in the sacrifice of the Second Hokage and many elites?"
"As a bodyguard, you ran back alive, yet the one you were protecting was sacrificed. Isn't the Third Hokage's crime even greater? Shouldn't the Third Hokage be ashamed and commit suicide?"
The Third Hokage was furious in his heart. This hateful guy actually put the Second Hokage's death on his head.
"This is slander! It was the Second Hokage's own decision to stay behind, and we could only obey."
But Ryosuke was completely unconvinced. "Even if it was the Second Hokage's decision, as a bodyguard, your duty was to protect the Second Hokage. Yet now, instead, the Second Hokage stayed behind to protect you all."
"Do you, as a bodyguard, not feel ashamed? Besides, the Second Hokage returning safely would have been much more useful than you all returning safely."
"You are not only an unqualified Hokage, but even as a bodyguard, you were unqualified. How could the Second Hokage have handed the Hokage position to you?"
The Third Hokage was so angry his head ached. What twisted reasoning. Not only was he being questioned, but even his teacher, the Second Hokage, was being questioned.
Fugaku, upon hearing Ryosuke's words, also agreed in his heart. If the Second Hokage had returned, he certainly wouldn't have suppressed the Uchiha clan like this.
Though he knew the Second Hokage giving the Police Force power had no good intentions, but this was an open scheme. If one wanted the Police Force's power, one had to bear the villagers' resentment.
There was nothing to complain about.
And the surrounding clan leaders were also stunned upon hearing these words. Perhaps Uchiha Ryosuke was right. The Second Hokage returning safely really would have been more useful than the Third.
The Second Hokage not only had extraordinary combat power, but was also known as a master of forbidden techniques. Surely, even if the Nine-Tails caused chaos, he would have had a way to resolve it.
Rather than the Third Hokage, who not only failed to support the Fourth but even prevented the Uchiha clan from supporting him, only adding to the chaos.
And at this moment, Ryosuke also had the idea of amending the Police Force regulations. "Villagers are ignorant and only chill the hearts of heroes. If anything happens, we will handle it internally."
"Please have the Police Force captain and vice-captain properly discuss amending Konoha's Police Force regulations. Villagers who arbitrarily insult or slander the village's heroes must be severely punished to prevent such incidents from happening again."
Fugaku immediately expressed his approval. The three clan leaders of the Ino-Shika-Cho, as well as the Inuzuka clan leader and Hiashi Hyuga, also naturally approved.
If one day their clans made a mistake, and they had to be insulted by the villagers at will, wouldn't that make them disheartened?
Ryosuke was right. Villagers were somewhat ignorant and only saw the surface.
Shikaku, in his heart, had already thought that if this regulation were amended well, the village's ninja environment would definitely improve greatly.
At this moment, Ryosuke's eyes narrowed. "Then next, it is time to judge the Third Hokage."
"The Third Hokage not only killed my clan's Shisui but, as Hokage, also condoned Danzo's human experiments, leading to the downfall of the Senju clan and the deaths of many children. He even indirectly caused the deaths of the Fourth Hokage's couple and Hatake Sakumo. Even his care for the hero's child, Naruto, was extremely negligent."
"What do the clan leaders present think should be done with the Third Hokage?"
Everyone present had somber expressions. The Third Hokage had committed so many atrocities. Although some of these were crimes Uchiha Ryosuke had forcibly pinned on the Third Hokage, upon careful thought, Uchiha Ryosuke's words did not seem unreasonable.
This was simply horrifying.
It was precisely because of the Third Hokage's various mistakes—first his inaction regarding Hatake Sakumo, condoning the villagers' slander of him, leading to his suicide.
Of course, there was also Sakumo's own mental fragility.
Then, he failed to fulfill his duty as the Second Hokage's bodyguard, instead letting the Second Hokage stay behind, leading to his sacrifice.
This, in turn, led to Danzo conducting cruel human experiments. As for these experiments, even after sacrificing so many people, they failed to obtain useful results.
After much effort stabilizing the situation and producing a genius like Namikaze Minato, yet due to the Third's mistake, Minato died, causing another genius to be lost.
Konoha fell into crisis once again, and luckily, the Uchiha clan turned the tide, ending Kumogakure's continuous invasions.
The Third Hokage, who had always seemed so grand and noble in their eyes, was actually like this. Their hearts wavered as well. Perhaps they had really misjudged the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage was not a hero worthy of respect. But as for how to deal with him, they had no idea. In truth, for such crimes, sentencing him to death was not impossible. At the very least, lifelong imprisonment was necessary. But they dared not make the call.
After all, he was still the village leader. How could it be their place to decide?
Wouldn't this be making themselves look good while inviting disaster upon themselves?
Seeing the silent crowd, Ryosuke frowned. "What, do you all have no opinions?"
Even if the Third Hokage's crimes were conclusive, it still had to be judged by all the village clan leaders for it to be considered justice.
Soon, a clan leader stood up and offered a suggestion. "I believe that since the Third Hokage has committed such a serious crime, he should be sentenced to death."
Ryosuke did not rush to agree with this opinion but quietly waited for others to express their views.
Then, another clan leader stood up and said, "I think sentencing him to death is inappropriate. After all, the Third Hokage is the highest leader of the village. How can he be easily sentenced to death? He should be sentenced to lifelong imprisonment."
For a moment, the entire meeting was filled with low murmurs, somewhat chaotic.
Ryosuke ignored it, letting them discuss as they pleased.
Some clan leaders voiced their opinions. "No matter how great the Third Hokage's crimes are, a lifelong prison sentence is enough. Do we really want to set the precedent of sentencing a village leader to death?"
"As high-ranking officials, we cannot execute people recklessly. Otherwise, wouldn't everything fall into chaos?"
Many others also questioned. Some clan leaders even asked Uchiha Ryosuke directly.
"If the Third Hokage, in a high position, is sentenced to death for murder, then what if the Uchiha clan kills recklessly?"
They feared the Uchiha clan would commit unchecked killings. With the current Konoha leadership almost entirely wiped out, a major purge was sure to follow.
Uchiha Ryosuke hadn't expected them to ask this, but after thinking for a moment, he firmly responded, "This rule applies to the Uchiha clan as well. Those who kill innocents will naturally be dealt with according to the Police Force regulations."
Hearing this, the questioner was pleased. With this, they no longer needed to worry about being purged. After all, they had been supporters of the Third Hokage. But they hadn't expected the Third Hokage to have such a dark side. It was hard for them to continue defending him.
"Then let's handle it according to the Police Force regulations."
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