Regarding the village's opinion of himself and the Uchiha clan, Fuma acknowledged that, in truth, the evaluation was quite fair.
In a way, it simply reiterated what the Uchiha clan had already done.
Most of the Uchiha clan members were indeed violent, cold, and aloof, with an obsessive pursuit of power.
Moreover, once the Sharingan was activated, the cold aura from their ominous red eyes would exude an unsettling power, making it difficult for anyone to feel fondness towards them.
However, at the core of the matter, it was the Uchiha and Senju clans who had united to bring an end to the warring era, laying the foundation of Konoha.
The Uchiha were also founders of Konoha.
Yet, most of the Konoha shinobi who enjoyed the peace brought by the Uchiha had forgotten this fact.
In their eyes, the Uchiha clan had become synonymous with being inhuman, cold, and arrogant.
The Second Hokage further encapsulated his research on the Uchiha in a single statement:
"Uchiha, a clan born with evil in their veins."
The Second Hokage, the architect of Konoha's political framework, thus defined the Uchiha, passing this perspective down to his students.
In Konoha's political landscape, the Uchiha clan had long been sentenced to death.
To this day, although the Uchiha had regained some power on the battlefield under Fuma's leadership, the fundamental issues remained unresolved.
The Police Force, a leash designed specifically for the Uchiha by the Second Hokage, was still tightly fastened around their necks.
The Uchiha, who should have been bloodthirsty wolves emerging from war, had now become the guard dogs of Konoha.
Given the Uchiha clan's prideful nature, they were never going to be warm and kind toward shinobi and civilians who had erred.
In fact, regardless of which clan took on the responsibilities of the Police Force, they would never have a favorable reputation.
After all, who would hold any fondness for those who punish them?
The Uchiha clan, by maintaining internal order and peace through the Police Force, also bore the brunt of the ninja's grievances and dissatisfaction, further alienating them from Konoha.
The existence of the Police Force also deprived many Uchiha of the opportunity to take on normal shinobi missions, effectively relegating the entire clan to security work.
On the surface, they appeared to monopolize a powerful institution within the village, seemingly basking in glory, but in reality, it was nothing more than a time bomb set by the Second Hokage for the Uchiha.
Orochimaru had been dragged into this vortex by the Uchiha clan, but due to Danzo's presence, this situation was bound to happen sooner or later.
Danzo could never tolerate the rise of younger Konoha shinobi who overshadowed him in prestige, and the grey areas in which Orochimaru operated provided Danzo with the perfect weapon to bring him down.
Meanwhile, Danzo himself hid in the so-called "Root" of Konoha, protected by the village's top-secret policies, making him immune to public opinion.
Fuma picked up a pen and paper, beginning to analyze the essence of this turmoil with Orochimaru.
"These charges are all about the boundaries of the grey areas you've been treading on. They've just exploded now."
"They accuse you of embezzling orphanage funds, which sounds absurd at first glance."
"But in reality, most of your funding comes from Danzo, and Danzo is the benefactor behind the orphanage. Logically, it makes sense on the books."
Konoha's orphanage was no charity; it received only a minimal amount of funding, leaving most orphans to fend for themselves, barely able to meet their basic needs.
And it was precisely because Danzo had recognized that orphans were alone and unsupported that he provided some funding to the orphanage.
As a result, most talented orphans in Konoha ended up being absorbed by Root, becoming mindless supporters of Danzo.
"Then there's your human experimentation. From what I know, the near two hundred casualties are indeed real. And the use of the First Hokage's cells is a village secret, something that can't be publicly acknowledged."
The experiments on Wood Release were conducted under the Third Hokage's tacit approval and Danzo's supervision.
Over a hundred descendants of the Senju clan and civilian shinobi, eager to obtain Wood Release powers, lost their lives in this experiment, their deaths disguised as disappearances by the village's top brass.
Some of them volunteered, while others were subtly coerced by Orochimaru and his associates.
"Lastly, the matter of the Rain Village battlefield. You know better than I do the casualty rate among the troops—nearly half of them were lost."
"Such a terrifying loss ratio requires someone to step forward and explain. Given your current reputation, there's no need for someone else to take the blame."
Orochimaru listened to Fuma's analysis in silence, his gaze growing colder.
At that moment, his affection for Konoha extinguished. This transformation was the peculiar nature of the Will of Fire.
The Will of Fire was indeed an advanced philosophy in the shinobi world, capable of enhancing the cohesion among Konoha shinobi and fostering a large group of ninjas willing to sacrifice for Konoha.
But there was a serious problem within the shinobi world. Geniuses in the shinobi world often possessed extreme and obsessive personalities.
The geniuses of Konoha, while believing in the Will of Fire, also pursued the promises they were once given.
When the beauty of their youth turns into the filth and cruelty of reality, they often develop extreme emotions. A genius in the shinobi world, holding power greater than others, is not one to suffer indignities.
At this moment, a darkness and storm capable of swallowing everything brewed within Orochimaru's heart.
As a young boy, he had become the Third Hokage's apprentice, a civilian shinobi who grew up listening to the Will of Fire.
But as he matured, he discovered the darkest truths buried deep within the village. And now, he too had become a casualty of the village's internal struggles.
The stark contrast filled Orochimaru with disgust, even causing him to question his twenty years of life.
The Third Hokage might not have intended to remain in power forever, but his counterpart, Danzo, continued to covet the Hokage position well into his middle years.
Danzo's existence and actions had turned the Will of Fire, which the Third Hokage had painstakingly promoted for years, into a farcical comedy.
And the Third's indecisiveness, his repeated indulgence and cover-ups of Danzo's deeds, only amplified this disparity.
The Will of Fire was for the young shinobi, while the village elders played it like a toy.
In Orochimaru's mind, he saw the faces of his subordinates who had died in Land of Rain due to the Third Hokage's order to launch an assault.
Was their sacrifice meaningful?
Orochimaru let out a long sigh and suddenly spoke:
"The Will of Fire can never bring about peace; at best, it's just a whetstone, sharpening the blades that will kill more Konoha and other village shinobi."
"It's not just Konoha, the entire shinobi world is like a decaying windmill. It may still be turning slowly, but it has lost all meaning. It's not worth my time anymore."
Orochimaru's eyes grew sharp and manic, his snake-like pupils narrowing as he fixed his gaze on Fuma, speaking each word with weight:
"Fuma-kun, I want to overthrow this shinobi world."
"Will you join me?"
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