The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, looked at Sasuke and let out a soft sigh.
"Sigh..."
"The Uchiha clan and my Senju clan share a long history of constant warfare. Originally, these two clans were bitter enemies."
Sasuke, entirely indifferent to his words, asked coldly, "What exactly do you mean by an 'inherently evil clan'?"
Tobirama began to explain: "In the past, people believed that the Senju clan viewed love, rather than ninjutsu, as power. Conversely, it was thought that the Uchiha clan prioritized the power of ninjutsu above all else."
"But the reality is quite different. No clan loved more deeply than the Uchiha, which is precisely why they sealed it away."
Confused, Sasuke looked at the Second Hokage with a look of surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Once a member of the Uchiha clan learns of love, or rather, when the emotions they have kept locked away are finally released..."
"A power of love that even surpasses that of the Senju awakens within them."
"Isn't that a good thing then? With that so-called powerful love, they should have been able to coexist peacefully with the Senju," Suigetsu chimed in.
"But that is exactly what makes it so troublesome. A love that is too intense harbors the potential to run wild."
"Once an Uchiha who has known love loses that deep affection, it is replaced by an even deeper hatred. This is how love turns into hatred, completely altering a person's disposition."
"I have witnessed this transformation countless times with my own eyes. And within this change, a very specific symptom manifests."
"A symptom?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.
"When an Uchiha loses a deep love, or when they suffer deeply from their own despair, a unique chakra wells up within their brain."
"It acts upon the optic nerves, causing a transformation in their eyes."
"These are the eyes that reflect the heart, the Sharingan."
"The Sharingan synchronizes with the power of the heart, allowing a person to rapidly grow stronger alongside the power of their inner hatred..."
"Most Uchiha are deeply sensitive. Your younger sister was likely the same."
"Almost every one of them who has awakened such intense emotions has been consumed by darkness and fallen into depravity."
"The deeper the darkness, the more powerful the visual prowess becomes, making them incredibly difficult to deal with."
"Just like Madara!"
At those words, Hiruzen, Sasuke, and even Orochimaru were visibly shaken.
The three of them knew better than anyone that Kanon had been directly involved in the night of the clan's downfall.
Sasuke and Hiruzen in particular knew that Kanon was a child who loved everything around her deeply, especially her parents, her family, her friends, and even her clansmen.
At just six years old, she had deeply cherished everything she possessed. It was only now that Hiruzen and Sasuke finally truly understood how Kanon had managed to survive the night of the massacre.
Sasuke, Hiruzen, and Orochimaru could hardly fathom the sheer agonizing pain a mere six-year-old Kanon must have endured at that time.
A sudden conjecture surfaced in Sasuke's mind, but he immediately crushed it. Knowing Kanon, if she had witnessed the horrific slaughter of their clan, would that immense agony have caused her to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?
But Sasuke instantly cut off the thought. How could that be possible? He knew the excruciating pain required to awaken those eyes. If that were truly the case, just how much agony must Kanon have been in back then?!
It wasn't something that could be comprehended through mere words. If it were true, Sasuke didn't even dare to imagine it. Assuming it couldn't be, Sasuke settled for a lesser alternative, rationalizing that Kanon must have awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan instead.
This line of thought mirrored what Hiruzen and Orochimaru deduced. After all, a six-year-old with a Mangekyō Sharingan? How could that be? A mere child's mind could never withstand such an intense and agonizing weight of love.
But then, an expression of sheer pain contorted Sasuke's face. He recalled that bay where he had finally learned the truth, where Kanon's Mangekyō Sharingan had constricted to its absolute limit, shrinking into tiny pinpricks.
That was a reality Sasuke simply could not face. It was the exact moment when, fueled by the exhilaration of his own newly awakened eyes, he had personally pushed his only sister away. He didn't dare think about it any longer.
At this moment, Hashirama spoke up: "Madara was also once a man who deeply cherished his younger brother."
"Perhaps even more than your own older brother did."
Then, Tobirama voiced his thoughts:
"My intention was to integrate and guide the power of the Uchiha."
"To make them contribute to the village."
"However, since they brought themselves to the brink of self-destruction for the sake of the village..."
"Then it could not be helped."
"It simply means they managed to do a good deed for the village in the end."
As Tobirama said this, Hashirama yelled furiously, "Tobirama! Do not speak that way!"
"The one asking you questions is just an innocent child of the Uchiha family!"
"The village is what matters most! The village is the key! Anija, do you still not understand that principle?!" Tobirama shot back.
Just as the two were about to continue their argument, Sasuke activated the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan that Kanon had transplanted into him.
"It doesn't matter. I am neither innocent, nor am I a child."
When the four Hokage saw Sasuke's eyes, they were all thoroughly stunned.
"Those aren't the basic tomoe patterns... is that the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Tobirama muttered, still somewhat shocked.
But at that moment, Sasuke turned his query toward Hashirama: "First Hokage, let me ask you..."
"What is the village? And what, truly, is a shinobi?!"
Hashirama nodded slightly, then lowered his head in deep contemplation. "What is a village, and what is a shinobi...?"
"Itachi... even though my older brother was used by Konoha, he still gave his life to protect the village, and until the moment he died, he was proud to be a shinobi of the Leaf."
"He went so far as to kill his own compatriots, his parents, and his own younger sister..."
"What exactly is this village that he protected at the cost of his own life?!"
"And what exactly are the shinobi who brought about this result, the shinobi who accepted this state of affairs?"
"I want to hear your answer."
"Once I learn the truth, I will reach my own conclusion... whether to take revenge on Konoha, or..."
Hearing this, the Second Hokage, Tobirama, glared at Sasuke as his expression grew progressively darker:
"Revenge on Konoha?"
"You inherently evil Uchiha brat, I will personally..."
Suddenly, a terrifying aura surged violently. The sheer pressure was so suffocating that Sasuke, Orochimaru, and even Suigetsu and Jugo beside them felt an overwhelming weight, forcing all four of them to stumble backward.
Right at that exact moment, the rose-patterned Mangekyō that had previously shattered within Sasuke suddenly manifested once more. Though it remained in its fractured state, an even more terrifying, cataclysmic aura erupted from his body.
It violently slammed against and suppressed Tobirama's aura. Simultaneously, a female voice resonated from within the crushing pressure:
"You are nothing but a piece of dead garbage. Stop arrogantly passing judgment on the Uchiha here. You have no right."
"You are just a coward who is terrified of the Uchiha. Call yourself a Hokage? How pathetic, utterly ridiculous."
"If you have the guts, come to the battlefield. I will personally take your head."
It was Kanon's voice. The sheer arrogance in her tone gave Tobirama an intense sense of déjà vu; the absolute pressure she exerted was not a single bit inferior to the Madara of old.
The clash between the two auras raged on without pause. Though Tobirama was being heavily suppressed, the shift bought Orochimaru a brief moment of breathing room.
Watching Tobirama raise his finger amidst the swirling aura, cold sweat trickled down the faces of Hiruzen and Minato.
"Lord Second... "
"Tobirama!" Hashirama roared. A colossal spike of chakra violently exploded from his form, causing fractures to spiderweb across the surrounding walls instantly.
Only then was Tobirama's pressure entirely forced down.
"Put your finger down!"
Tobirama reluctantly lowered his finger, and the clashing auras on both sides finally ground to a halt.
"I get it. Stop letting your chakra explode like that, Anija..." Tobirama muttered helplessly.
Looking at the damaged surroundings, Hashirama burst into a booming laugh: "Bwahahaha! Sorry, sorry! My bad..."
Minato surveyed the room and added with a wry smile, "Wow... that was incredible..."
Hiruzen lowered his head, sighing in resignation. "You haven't changed at all, Hashirama-sama."
"But Sasuke, you truly have an incredible older brother."
"He was a better shinobi than I ever was."
"I can tell you the story of the village, but it will be a long one."
"If possible, please keep it brief and tell him what he wants to know. We don't have much time," Orochimaru intervened.
"No time? Are you referring to the battlefield Kanon just mentioned?" The Third Hokage asked in confusion.
"Yes. A war is currently raging outside."
"Madara has been resurrected. He has joined forces with Kanon, and it appears their goal is to wipe out every single shinobi in existence."
Hearing this, three of the Hokage froze in shock; only Hashirama remained perfectly composed.
"Sigh... no matter the era, war is always inevitable."
At that moment, Minato began to sense the outside world, instantly locking onto the coordinate of the battlefield. The Second Hokage spoke up as well: "In the two o'clock direction from here, I can indeed sense a massive concentration of powerful chakras."
Minato recognized not only the chakra of Naruto and the Nine-Tails, but he even picked up a lingering trace of Kanon's chakra signature.
"This is Naruto and the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"Kanon once communicated with me in a chakra form, telling me that she and Kushina would help you successfully control the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"I see. Since we last parted, you've actually succeeded, Naruto!"
"And right at this very moment, you are fighting side by side."
Tobirama walked over to the wall and murmured softly, "It seems you weren't lying."
"I can indeed perceive Madara's chakra. However... there is another chakra presence that is even more terrifying than his. It must belong to that Uchiha brat's younger sister."
"In that case, let us head to the battlefield as well," the Third Hokage stated calmly.