The Uchiha clan, which was wiped out entirely, lacked vision.

Chapter 215 Jiraiya, what are you hesitating about?

Chapter 215 Jiraiya, what are you hesitating about?

Seeing that Jiraiya still didn't quite understand, An explained with a grin, "That's right, these are the things you hate."

"But whether you like it or not, whether you like it or hate it, these things exist objectively and will not change because of your will."

"The words you speak as the Fifth Hokage have a different meaning than the words you speak as an ordinary Konoha ninja!"

"For so many years, Itachi has been living in a lie woven by the Third Hokage."

"The Third Hokage kept brainwashing him, repeatedly telling him that he was a person with the Will of Fire, a ninja with the mindset of a Hokage, that what he did was right, and that all the mistakes were the mistakes of me, a traitorous ninja of Konoha."

"Even with the Third Hokage making his stance clear, no one will tell him that his annihilation of the Uchiha clan was harmful to the village, and that his actions led to the current state of Konoha's decline."

"No one dared to tell him the truth, but everyone would distance themselves from him through their actions, not talking to him, not interacting with him, and dealing with him with passive-aggressive behavior."

"Because everyone has a scale in their heart, and they all know very well why their loved ones died and who the real culprit is."

"Of course they hate me, but do you think they hate Itachi any less than I do?"

With White Zetsu around, much information about Konoha Village couldn't be kept from An.

While An might not be an expert on Itachi's affairs, he was certainly well aware of the kind of life Itachi was living.

As An spoke, Jiraiya saw Itachi's body begin to tremble, and his face grew increasingly pale.

An was delighted to see the changes in Itachi and began to explain in even more detail.

"How could someone as intelligent as Itachi not notice?"

"It's just that no one exposes these things, so he can pretend not to know, just play dumb, and keep finding all sorts of excuses to shirk responsibility."

"For example, I only care about the good of the village and don't care about the opinions of other ninjas."

"For example, I was targeted by the village ninjas because of the sins of the rogue ninja Uchiha An. They didn't ostracize me, but rather Uchiha An's clansmen."

You can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.

"Running away is shameful, but it's very useful!"

"As long as you find a good excuse, you can always forget your mistakes."

"But things are different now, Jiraiya. You just blurted out your true thoughts without thinking."

"You've broken through that thin veil!"

"In short, Jiraiya, your words broke Itachi's defenses!"

"He can't keep up the act anymore!"

"Hahahaha—Jiraiya, if you don't want Itachi to break down like this, you'd better hurry up and tell him a lie!"

"If you just say something against your will, like 'Itachi did a good job, and that killing the entire Uchiha clan was a great benefit to the village,' Itachi will definitely believe you."

"You're the Hokage now, he'll definitely believe you if you say so!"

"Your words can break his defenses, which will naturally allow him to continue deceiving himself."

"Come on, tell me!"

Jiraiya stared blankly at Itachi, and sure enough, he saw Itachi looking at him expectantly, his eyes full of hope and pleading, as if he was about to say, "Please, Hokage-sama, tell me, I did nothing wrong, everything I did was for the benefit of Konoha."

"I—" Jiraiya opened his mouth, but after moving his lips for a long time, he couldn't bring himself to say the words against his will.

"Haha—" An became even more excited after reading it. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Jiraiya, just say it!"

"If you just say those words, you can save such a powerful fighter as Itachi Uchiha and preserve a living force for the village."

"If you can say that, you're a qualified politician."

"If you just say those words, you'll definitely become an excellent Hokage and lead Konoha to new heights!"

An seemed even more anxious than Itachi. He stared at Jiraiya with shining eyes, waving his arms and shouting loudly with a flushed face, urging him on.

"What are you still hesitating about?"

"Hurry up and tell me!"

"Say those words, kill the naive Jiraiya of the past, mature and improve yourself, and completely transform into a Hokage like Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

"I—" Jiraiya's throat was dry, and he felt weak all over. His lips seemed to be sealed with glue, and he couldn't open his mouth no matter what he did.

It was just a sentence, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

He couldn't deceive his own heart; deep down, he felt that this was wrong.

He simply couldn't accept that the village would preemptively wipe out a family for something that hadn't actually happened!

And they even went so far as to claim it was for the good of the village.

This is absolutely ridiculous!

So many ninjas, so many residents, so many old people and children, all of them were killed overnight. What good did this do for the village?

As for the claim that the Uchiha would cause enormous damage to the village if they launched a rebellion, that's even more ridiculous.

Those envious guys have been clamoring for rebellion for decades, but apart from Uchiha Madara who actually carried it out, who else has ever really taken it seriously?

They're all just a bunch of guys who talk big!

To put it bluntly, none of the Uchiha clans had the Mangekyou Sharingan back then. Jiraiya alone could have taken out every single Uchiha ninja and beaten them all. Who would dare to rebel then?

As a result, because of this trivial matter, that cunning old bastard Danzo Shimura made a big deal out of it and tricked a naive kid into doing the job.

Therefore, Jiraiya had always looked down on Itachi Uchiha and didn't usually have much interaction with him.

But he also knew that this whole thing was a sin committed by his teacher and Danzo, and that Yoru was just a tool to carry it out, and a brainless one at that.

Therefore, he himself did not feel any aversion or hatred towards Rong.

Seeing Itachi's dejected and broken state, Jiraiya actually wanted to help him and pull him back from the brink of collapse.

But the words just wouldn't come out.

He simply cannot act like a politician, spouting nonsense and turning black into white.

He cannot betray his own heart.

Normally, he might have said those words without thinking, just consider it lying and deception, something he's done countless times in his life.

However, after what Uchiha Anichi just said, this simple sentence has already become a clash between two ideologies.

One type is Jiraiya, an idealist who sees right as right and wrong as wrong.

Another type is the Hokage that An mentioned after he "grew up," who would say anything for personal gain or other reasons.

It's easy to tell such a lie, but what happens after that?

Will there be a second or third sentence?

Will he eventually become like the teacher, spouting high-sounding words but acting despicably and capable of any kind of wicked politician?

After becoming Hokage, can he really maintain his original heart?

His mind was in turmoil, a jumble of thoughts rushing through his head. He tried to say something several times, but never quite knew how to begin.