Chapter 54: Bloodsucking Insects... Konoha's Cancer
It was still dark, but the Uchiha clan grounds were already bustling with activity.
One thousand Uchiha clansmen, dressed in uniform black combat attire, each held a thick stack of flyers in their hands.
Uchiha Sanpō's voice was confident and powerful: "Remember, we don't stir up trouble, but we're not afraid of it either. We're just letting the truth speak. If the Anbu tries to stop us, don't be afraid—call for reinforcements immediately and confront them head-on."
The one thousand people nodded in unison without making a sound.
Then, one thousand Uchiha ninjas formed seals at the same time. The chakra fluctuations of the Body Flicker Technique trembled in the air.
The next second, they surged toward every corner of Konoha like a black tide.
Soon, 80,000 flyers were scattered throughout Konoha Village.
"What is this?" An old vegetable seller bent down and picked up a piece of paper that had landed at his feet. He narrowed his dim eyes.
"Konoha Hero Clan Ranking" — recording the clans with the heaviest casualties in the Third Great Ninja War.
"Konoha Cancer Clan Ranking" — exposing the parasites who hid in the rear and profited from the war.
The old man's hands began to tremble. His son had died on the Kirigakure front, and the cold numbers on the flyer told him that some people had never gone to the front lines at all.
"Is… is this true?" His voice was hoarse, and his eyes instantly reddened.
The vendor next to him leaned over, took one look, and his face changed drastically: "It's real! These are Uchiha flyers. They wouldn't fabricate this!"
Soon, more and more flyers appeared in every corner of Konoha—pasted on bulletin boards, stuffed into shop door cracks, and even drifting into ninja dormitories.
Eighty thousand flyers, like eighty thousand sparks, instantly ignited the anger of the entire village.
On the commercial street, the crowd grew larger and larger.
A civilian ninja gritted his teeth and pointed at the flyer: "Look! This is the 'contribution' of the Sarutobi clan! 1,644 ninjas, but they only sent 1,100 to fight. Of those, 500 were responsible for logistics transport, and the remaining 500 hid in safe areas. Only 54 died?"
Another person roared: "Now look at the Uchiha clan—1,462 dead in battle. The Hyūga clan had 1,136 dead in battle. They are the ones who truly fought desperately on the front lines!"
"Bullshit Hokage! Bullshit higher-ups!"
A retired ninja who had lost his left arm kicked over the fruit stall he had just set up. Apples rolled all over the ground.
"My brother died on the Sunagakure front, and we couldn't even find his body! I was severely wounded and retired, so I can only make a living by selling fruit. And these bastards are counting money back in the village?"
Anger spread like wildfire. Soon, more inside stories were dug up.
Inside the Nara clan grounds, Shikaku stood in the living room of his house, his face as dark as water.
His voice was ice-cold: "Our three clans have always been seen as Hiruzen Sarutobi's close allies. And the result? We sent 1,830 to fight, with 768 dead and 84 severely wounded. We were almost crippled!"
Nara Shikaku (inner thought): That damn Hiruzen Sarutobi actually profited from the war behind our backs. We must expose them!
He slammed the flyer onto the table: "Meanwhile, the Sarutobi, Koharu, Mitokado, and Shimura clans were responsible for logistics transport, but they only delivered supplies once every seven days—only four trips a month. The remaining twenty-six days they spent resting in the village!"
Yamanaka Haiichi sneered: "Our clans' medicine shops have records of Koharu Utatane's purchases. She demanded a 30% kickback on every type of medicinal herb. Out of the 17 billion ryō in medical supplies purchased during this war, she made a net profit of 5.1 billion ryō!"
Akimichi Chōza smashed the solid wood table in front of him with one punch: "The Mitokado clan sold explosive tags and sealing scrolls at inflated prices. The Shimura clan even forged lists of the dead to claim supplies and sell them on the black market!"
"All this dirty laundry must be aired out!" Shikaku's voice was decisive.
Soon, even more inside stories flooded out like a deluge.
"The Sarutobi, Koharu, Mitokado, and Shimura clans were responsible for logistics transport, but they only delivered supplies once every seven days—only four trips a month. The remaining twenty-six days they spent resting in the village!"
"The Sarutobi clan had over 1,000 people who never went to the front lines at all. They all hid in the village making explosive tags!" The owner of a ninja tool shop lowered his voice and said to the surrounding crowd.
A civilian ninja wearing a forehead protector sneered beside him: "The price of explosive tags doubled! Lower-rank explosive tags that cost 600 ryō in peacetime sold for 1,200 ryō during the war! Mid-rank ones were even more ridiculous—3,600 ryō each!"
"A lower-rank ninja can make 15 explosive tags a day, earning a net profit of 400,000 ryō a month! Mid-rank ninjas are even more outrageous—20 tags a day, netting 1.6 million ryō a month!"
A mysterious figure stepped out from the shadows: "I heard that during the war, the Sarutobi clan produced 17.72 million lower-rank explosive tags and 6.71 million mid-rank explosive tags, selling a total of 23.68 billion ryō! This money was directly taken by Hiruzen Sarutobi from the daimyō's war funds!"
The crowd completely exploded.
Someone roared: "They're sucking our blood!"
Someone shouted: "We must demand an explanation!"
Soon, the furious citizens began gathering in front of the Hokage Building. The waves of voices grew louder and louder.
...
Inside the Hokage's office, the air felt as if it had solidified.
"Tens of thousands of people surrounding the Hokage Building… This is the second time!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe had long since gone out. Gray-white tobacco ash scattered across the table.
His fingers trembled slightly, his knuckles turning white as he gripped a crumpled copy of the "Konoha Cancer Clan Ranking."
Koharu Utatane's face was as pale as paper. Her lips trembled: "The news… can't be suppressed anymore. Even the children in the village are singing songs that mock us…"
Homura Mitokado's glasses reflected a cold light. He kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve: "Uchiha… It must be the Uchiha pushing this from behind! They want to use public opinion to force us out of power!"
At that moment, the office door was suddenly pushed open.
A Sarutobi clansman stumbled in, kneeling on one knee, his voice urgent: "Clan Head! The commercial street… something's happened on the commercial street!"
"Stay calm… Don't panic… Speak clearly!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up abruptly. The chair scraped against the floor with a harsh sound.
The Sarutobi clansman's voice trembled: "All four clans' shops have been smashed! People are leading the boycott, even throwing kunai and explosive tags into the stores! Now all the shops are closed. Even our Sarutobi clan's shops have been splashed with red paint, with words written on them…"
"What words?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was terrifyingly low.
"…They wrote… bloodsucking insects… Konoha's cancer…"
The office fell into dead silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly closed his eyes. He felt a wave of dizziness. At the same time, he thought… If only Danzō were still alive… After something like this happened… he could still use him as a scapegoat.
He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse: "We can't let this continue… We need to talk with Uchiha Fugaku… He wants the Hokage position, so we'll give it to him… You should also voluntarily give up your advisor elder positions…"
Hearing that they had to give up their advisor elder positions, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado also stood up.
"Hiruzen… we don't need to give up… the advisor elder positions, right?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a deep sigh. He truly felt exhausted now: "Foolish… Don't you understand yet? The Uchiha want to exterminate us completely… Our lives are almost gone… and you still want power… How incredibly stupid…"
The four of them had grown up together. Now in their fifties, they had never seen Hiruzen Sarutobi so furious and so powerless. For a moment, they panicked and didn't dare to speak further.
"I… will use reverse summoning… to notify Asuma… and have him tell the daimyō… that our four clans want to seek refuge with him… This is our only way out now…"
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