Bai Ye said all this simply to gain a moral high ground.
Even though many clans already knew some of the inside story of these events, today was not only about completely ruining the reputations of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, but also about thoroughly killing these four individuals.
"Bai Ye, after this incident, I will abdicate. I don't want to see Konoha in civil strife, nor do I want to personally kill anyone in Konoha Village!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes glazed over after hearing Bai Ye's words. After saying this, he seemed to age considerably.
In truth, he knew himself that after this incident, he could no longer remain in the Hokage position.
"You're wrong, Third Hokage. It's not you killing me, but me eliminating you all. And you wouldn't think this farce today would end with your abdication, would you?
Furthermore, Hokage have always died in battle. The First was like that, the Second was like that, and the Fourth was also like that. What about you, Third Hokage? You've done so many wrong things, and then you're just going to cowardly wait for death with a single sentence? Don't make me look down on you, Third Hokage!"
Bai Ye said indifferently, these words clearly putting Hiruzen Sarutobi on the hot seat.
Indeed, just as Bai Ye said, all Hokage had died in battle, and most Kage of other Ninja Villages also died in battle. If he chose to cling to life, he knew his reputation would be completely ruined.
He didn't even dare to face death.
"I understand, Bai Ye."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, then directly summoned Enma. He was prepared to face Bai Ye with his strongest stance.
If he won today, he would abdicate and also eliminate Bai Ye, but he would no longer touch the Uchiha Clan.
But if he lost today, then he would be a Kage who died in battle. Although there were many criticisms before his death, he, like all other Kage, died in battle, not out of fear of death!
"Sarutobi, let me help you. It's been a long time since we fought together!"
"Danzo, you..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated. Looking at Danzo, he seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
Did he really want this?
"Don't worry, this old man isn't dead yet!"
"Count us in!"
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado also understood clearly.
Bai Ye definitely wouldn't let them go this time. Rather than waiting for death, it was better to fight alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Four against one? Then I'll take care of all of you at once!"
Bai Ye crossed his arms, gazing at the four with disdain.
Willing to be brave once before death?!
Perhaps it was because so many people were watching.
"Take your people and retreat!"
Bai Ye waved his hand, signaling the Uchiha Clan members to fall back. The upcoming battle might affect them.
"Clan Leader, are you really going to fight four against one?"
"Four? If there were ten, I'd fight ten!"
"..."
Alright.
The Clan Leader was showing off.
Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Jin exchanged glances, said nothing more, and directly ordered the Uchiha clansmen to retreat.
Seeing this, other clans also gave way to them.
Currently, it was just a conflict between the Uchiha and Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group, and it had nothing to do with them. If Bai Ye won, then they would side with the Uchiha in this matter today. If Hiruzen Sarutobi won, although mutual trust would be impossible in the future, he would abdicate, and a new Hokage would be chosen.
They didn't care who was Hokage; whoever won would be Hokage!
"Bai Ye, the only mistake this old man made in his life was not dealing with the Uchiha sooner!"
"You talk too much, old fossil!"
Bai Ye directly slashed at Danzo with his sword, and Danzo didn't even think of dodging. After his heart was pierced by Bai Ye, he desperately grabbed Bai Ye's arm: "Hiruzen, you guys hurry and go!"
Even if Bai Ye knew, since Bai Ye delivered himself, he couldn't not use the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu to seal Bai Ye.
Watching Bai Ye being caught by him, a hint of wild joy flashed in his eyes.
"Danzo..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened. At this moment, his heart was filled with sorrow. If he had listened to Danzo back then, would the outcome not have been like this?
And this time, Danzo chose to sacrifice himself to drag Bai Ye down with him.
"He wouldn't really be defeated so easily, would he?"
At this moment, the people around suddenly felt a shiver. They were very familiar with the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu; once sealed, neither the target nor the caster would have a body remaining.
"Do you know why I let you catch me, Danzo? Is it just like before, you saw some hope, but in the end, all you can see is that this world is hell?"
Bai Ye's hand suddenly erupted with a powerful surge of lightning, severing Danzo's gripping arm. Then, Bai Ye flickered and instantly left his original position.
Looking at Danzo's location, Bai Ye gently raised his hand and murmured, "Danzo, although the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu is fatal after use, you will still die by my hand. God's Judgment!"
Above the sky, several bolts of lightning continuously struck Danzo's body. This was not the pirate world; Ninja, these fragile little things, were basically not far from death after being struck by lightning, let alone several at once.
He simply had no intention of letting Danzo live.
"Danzo!!!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with eyes that seemed to crack. He knew very well that with a few lightning strikes and Danzo's previous condition, he was definitely dead.
And it was in such a cruel way, letting Danzo see hope, and then giving him despair.
"Isn't this what you used to do? Giving the Uchiha hope, then making us despair. I'm just using the methods you used on us, on you. Why do you look like you can't stand it?"
Looking at the once kind Hiruzen Sarutobi, Bai Ye didn't care about the barely concealed killing intent in his eyes, even laughing and teasing him.
This was just what they used to do.
"Evil Uchiha brat."
As Danzo lay dying, he looked at Bai Ye, then his gaze fell on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It seemed he had always lost to him in this life.
From the very beginning at the Ninja Academy, he was inferior to Hiruzen Sarutobi. When he was taken as a disciple by the Second Hokage, he also couldn't compare to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even during the final retreat, he kept thinking that if he had been a little braver back then, perhaps the Hokage position would have been his.
Hokage...
From then on, it became Danzo's obsession. For the Hokage, he could do anything.
He originally thought that after the Fourth Hokage died, he would definitely become Hokage, but Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to return to power.
"Hiruzen, it seems I've truly lost to you completely in this life..."
Danzo felt his vision becoming blurrier and blurrier. Then, the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu rapidly engulfed him and his surroundings.
It seemed he never became Hokage even until his death. Teacher, was I really wrong?
Before his death, he seemed to see Senju Tobirama, and also Akimichi Torifu and Uchiha Kagami. Then his consciousness gradually dissipated, and immediately after, everything of his existence in this world was completely swallowed by the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu.
"Next, it's you two!"
Bai Ye intended to save Hiruzen Sarutobi for last, to make him watch all his friends die before his eyes.
Facing Bai Ye's sudden locking killing intent, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado's hearts tightened. They instinctively wanted to resist, but they hadn't fought in a long time. Ever since they became elders of Konoha Village, they had gradually relaxed their training.
Their Jonin combat power might now even be unable to defeat a regular Jonin.
And for someone with Bai Ye's Kage-level strength, killing them was much simpler.
"Stop!!"
Realizing what was happening, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had no time for sadness, picked up Enma's transformed Adamantine Staff, preparing to block Bai Ye.
He hadn't protected Danzo just now, and now Bai Ye was going to attack Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu. He would absolutely not allow Bai Ye to attack the two of them. He knew very well that these two were definitely no match for Bai Ye; once Bai Ye made a move, it would be very difficult for them to survive.
But the next second, he saw Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu instantly killed by Bai Ye.
Although the two took defensive stances, they hadn't fought for many years, and they were also old.
Facing Bai Ye, although they had considered failure, they hadn't expected to fail so quickly.
Even in death, the two still had expressions of slight bewilderment on their faces. They had been in Konoha for so many years, and they just died like this?
"You can't protect anyone, Hiruzen Sarutobi. It's always been like this. In your hands, anyone can become a sacrifice. You are too weak, and you are also old."
During the era of the "Professor of Shinobi," Hiruzen Sarutobi indeed had courage, but as he grew older, he had long lost his former strength and spirit.
"Bai Ye, your ideology is already very dangerous. Even if I've done many wrong things, this time, no matter what, I will drag you to hell!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, looking at Bai Ye with serious eyes.
He admitted he had done many wrong things, but the one thing he felt was right today was that he had to take Bai Ye down.
Bai Ye's ideology was already very extreme. Once he died, then the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane clans would definitely be purged by Bai Ye.
So at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi had made up his mind to act against Bai Ye and could not continue to let Bai Ye run wild.
"Drag me to hell? You seem quite confident in yourself, don't you?"
Bai Ye curled his lips. He roughly knew the reason for Hiruzen Sarutobi's confidence.
Wasn't it just that he had learned the Reaper Death Seal after Minato Namikaze died?
After seeing Minato Namikaze exchange his life for another, and even being able to seal the Nine-Tailed with that sealing jutsu, he had learned it himself afterward.
Now, his other abilities simply couldn't deal with Bai Ye.
"Oh, did you forget that saying?"
"What?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously asked.
"When fighting an Uchiha one-on-one, don't look into his eyes. When fighting two-on-one, look for an opportunity to attack his back. And you, who gave you the courage to make eye contact with me?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been making eye contact with him since before. Was it because he hadn't fought an Uchiha for so long that he considered them allies and forgot this ability?
Or was he confident in his ability to break genjutsu?
"Impossible, I simply..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words got stuck before he could finish them.
Because he seemed to be unable to confirm it at all.
"When did you get the illusion that you weren't under my genjutsu?"
In the real world, Bai Ye severed Hiruzen Sarutobi's left arm with a single slash, and Enma anxiously warned Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Monkey, wake up!"
He was under genjutsu!
He couldn't even wake himself up!
But the pain in reality also made Hiruzen Sarutobi break free from the genjutsu.
"As the 'Professor of Shinobi,' how will you use Ninjutsu without your left arm?"
Listening to Bai Ye's indifferent words, everyone around felt a chill.
Bai Ye was truly ruthless!
Towards Danzo, he first let him see hope, then made him experience despair.
Towards Hiruzen Sarutobi, he made him watch his companions die before his eyes, then cut off one of his arms.
However, although it was cruel, many people even felt a sense of extreme satisfaction.
Similarly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were now heavy, because without his left arm, it meant that many Ninjutsu simply couldn't be used.
"A sinner like you should be judged forever in the black tide, not live in this world. Third Hokage, you are the first person to witness this ability of mine. From now on, your soul will never reincarnate within it!"
Bai Ye's left eye's pupil power fluctuated, and then around Hiruzen Sarutobi, a black water instantly swallowed him.
Ōwatatsumi!
Those swallowed by it would have their souls trapped within forever.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to dodge, but the black water had already surrounded him.
"How can this be?! Even moving feels ten times harder than before!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. He felt as if his entire body had been subjected to a gravity effect.
If it were before, he would have run away long ago, but now he was fixed in place, unable to move at all.
"Die. Today, the grievances between Konoha and the Uchiha will be completely settled, and after the rotten roots are pulled out, Konoha will become better and better. Third Hokage, today everything will return to dust, and ashes to ashes."
Bai Ye looked at the Third Hokage, a hint of emotion in his eyes.
His era had also ended, and the old fossils of the old era really should go back!
"That's Bai Ye's Dojutsu!!!"
Black Zetsu, watching from afar, silently memorized Bai Ye's Dojutsu.
The abilities of Mangekyo were ever-changing. It didn't seem like a particularly dangerous ability.
In his opinion, particularly dangerous abilities were probably only Kotoamatsukami and Obito's Kamui.
Speaking of which, he was somewhat wary of Bai Ye's abilities back then.
"Well, that old man seems to have been swallowed, and is that a gravity effect? It feels like he's being suppressed, and that black water seems to have been recycled, along with that old man..."
Black Zetsu silently observed this ability.
The opened alternate dimension reabsorbed all the black water, taking Hiruzen Sarutobi along with it.
"It...it's just like that?!"
"Lord Third Hokage is dead? What do we do now?"
"Konoha's civil strife actually ended with the Uchiha's victory, but..."
Everyone present, after seeing Bai Ye eliminate the Konoha F4 led by Hiruzen Sarutobi,
all inevitably felt a bit lost.
The Uchiha really did it...
Even the Uchiha clansmen hadn't expected that Bai Ye would actually do it.
But what followed were the series of problems Konoha would face after the deaths of Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group, as well as the issue of many clans having to choose sides.