Under the careful management of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who spent decades maneuvering and eliminating dissidents, the current Konoha Village, while not a monolithic entity, has long since solidified his position as Hokage!
Given Sarutobi Hiruzen's prestige in Konoha Village, were it not for this war, Sarutobi Hiruzen might have remained in the position of Hokage until his death!
However, the situation in Konoha Village decades ago was vastly different!
At that time, Konoha Village had only recently been established, and the Second Hokage's various policies were just beginning to show results. The main fighting force of Konoha Village still came from the Ninja of the various great clans!
Although the Sarutobi Clan, to which Sarutobi Hiruzen belonged, was also a large clan, it could not compare to the noble clans like the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga!
Especially the Senju Clan, which was not only one of the founders of Konoha Village but also produced two generations of Hokage. Their prestige in Konoha Village was truly unparalleled!
In this environment, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju died under unclear circumstances, and Sarutobi Hiruzen and others returned with the Second Hokage's dying instructions, wanting to inherit the position of Hokage. One can imagine how much doubt they faced!
Uchiha Jin continued, "In short, the process of Sarutobi Hiruzen taking the position of Hokage was not so smooth; he faced considerable difficulties from the various great clans during that time!"
"And among them, the Senju Clan's doubts were the strongest!"
"However, the strongest person within Konoha Village at the time, considering the overall situation, overruled all objections and forcefully suppressed those dissenting voices, which allowed Sarutobi Hiruzen to temporarily secure the position of Hokage!"
"The strongest person within Konoha Village?" Minato Namikaze's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he guessed, "Could it be Adult Mito?"
"Exactly, it is Adult Mito!" Uchiha Jin nodded and said, "Adult Mito is the First Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha Village. Her strength is likely only slightly weaker than the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara, and she is evenly matched with the Second Hokage!"
"Not only that, but Adult Mito is also the wife of the First Hokage, and her prestige in Konoha Village and the Senju Clan is extraordinary!"
"To put it inappropriately, if Adult Mito had the ambition, she wouldn't be unable to take the position of Third Hokage!"
Minato Namikaze nodded in deep agreement; he had also met Adult Mito.
Recalling the first time he met Adult Mito, the aura she inadvertently emitted was so oppressive that he could barely breathe!
Adult Mito's strength was indeed unfathomable!
Uchiha Jin continued, "And our Third is truly a born politician. After taking the position of Hokage, he began to display his capabilities and quickly solidified his position!"
"Perhaps, after overcoming the initial difficulties, Third saw the threat that the existence of the great clans posed to the Village's development!"
"After Third had solidified his position as Hokage, he began to implement a series of targeted measures against the various great clans!"
"And the first to bear the brunt of this was the then most powerful Senju Clan!"
Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze recalled the desolate and tragic scenes he had witnessed whenever he visited the Senju Clan's compound in the past, and an indescribable sense of sorrow welled up in his heart!
The Senju Clan, which had stood strong for thousands of years during the chaotic era of the Warring States Period where warlords clashed, had actually vanished completely within just a few decades after establishing Konoha Village, leaving only a single descendant!
Who could believe that there were no issues involved?
Uchiha Jin continued, "What exactly happened may have been lost in the river of history, but according to some records within our Uchiha Clan, most of the young and middle-aged members of the Senju Clan died on the battlefield at that time, and many infants and toddlers from the Senju Clan disappeared mysteriously within the Village!"
"Disappeared within the Village? How is that possible!' Minato Namikaze frowned upon hearing this and said, 'Didn't the Village send people to investigate this matter?'"
"They definitely investigated!" Inuzuka E, who was standing nearby, interjected at this moment, "Actually, at that time, it wasn't just the Senju Clan; there were also cases of children disappearing in other clans!"
"However, this matter was never fully investigated, and the situation in the Shinobi World was very tense at the time, so it was eventually left unresolved!"
Akimichi Todo also spoke in a low voice, "I also have some recollection of this matter! I was still young then, and my family members all said there were enemy Village spies mixed into the Village, and they scared me by telling me not to run around the Village unnecessarily!"
Minato Namikaze's brows furrowed tightly; he was born later and did not know that such things had happened in the Village before!
After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Jin spoke in a deep voice, "There are no walls in this world without cracks. I happen to know some truth about this matter!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present turned their gaze towards Uchiha Jin!
Uchiha Jin did not keep them in suspense and directly said, "Since the deaths of the First and Second, although Konoha Village is still the largest Village in the Shinobi World, it has lost the dominance it once had!"
"Several high-ranking Konoha officials, led by the Third Hokage, decided to restart a human experiment!"
"Human experiment? Restart?' Minato Namikaze keenly caught the two keywords in Uchiha Jin's words and pressed, 'Jin, what exactly is going on?'"
The others also showed looks of astonishment!
One must know that human experimentation has always been a taboo in the Shinobi World!
They could never have imagined that the Third Hokage and others would dare to commit such a universally condemned act!
Uchiha Jin explained, "This human experiment was initially proposed by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju!"
"Because of the uniqueness of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, his body cells maintained terrifying vitality even after his death!"
"The Second Hokage was originally a research fanatic. Seeing this, he began researching the First Hokage's cells while also attempting to reproduce the First Hokage's Wood Release!"
"And given the blood relation, since it was the First Hokage's cells, the best experimental subjects were naturally the members of the Senju Clan!"
"However, because the First Hokage's cells were too corrosive, virtually no one survived the experiments!"
"The Second Hokage finally realized this and stopped the experiment in time to cut his losses!"
"And the Third Hokage and others, for various reasons, restarted this experiment and expanded the scope of experimental subjects, no longer limiting it to the Senju Clan!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen and their human experiments concerning the First's cells were definitely centered on the Senju Clan but not limited to the Senju Clan!
Otherwise, they would not have discovered the connection between the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the First's cells!
"Third... how could they do this!' Minato Namikaze's gentle face became somewhat contorted, and he gritted his teeth, saying, 'Are they worthy of the Will of Fire by doing this!"
Minato Namikaze recalled Sarutobi Hiruzen's kind old face, never expecting that beneath his true appearance lay such a cold side!
Minato Namikaze originally thought he understood the dark side of this world well enough, but now it seemed he was still too naive!