Chapter 175: Showdown at the Valley of the End: Whoever Wins is the Legitimate One!

Yamanaka Chujiu took out the documents he had prepared long ago, including the nanny's interrogation records, the Anbu's investigation reports, and more.

Written clearly and plainly on them was the abuse Naruto had suffered in just three short months.

This included, but was not limited to, intentionally withholding food, intentionally feeding him spoiled milk, intentionally failing to clean up filth, and inhuman beatings.

Beating a three-month-old infant...

Jiraiya's fingers trembled as he read, unable to believe this was true.

Yamanaka Chujiu sneered, "Just because you say you don't believe it, it didn't happen?"

"You claim to protect the future of Konoha and the future of the Ninja World, yet you let the orphan of the Fourth Hokage be bullied; is this what you call bonds?"

Jiraiya gently tucked the clothes on Naruto's back, his tone filled with stubborn justification: "I had no choice..."

"The stability before my eyes is merely an illusion; if I indulge in personal attachments and stick to the responsibilities of Konohagakure, I will never find the savior who can end hatred."

"Only the Child of Prophecy can pacify the chaotic world; I must travel the Ninja World to find the Child of Prophecy."

"A brief period of companionship in exchange for eternal stability in the Ninja World—this is the trade-off and choice one must make as a ninja."

Yamanaka Chujiu's aura of a superior fully erupted: "Trade-off?"

"No, this is merely you selfishly shirking your responsibilities!"

"True sacrifice is abandoning empty fame to uphold one's heart, abandoning delusions to shoulder responsibilities, not abandoning living human lives before one's eyes to gamble on an unknown destiny!"

"You always say the situation is helpless and the chaotic world has no solution, but I have already proven with the fact of victory that the Ninja World does not have to just sit and wait for the salvation of destiny!"

He raised his hand and pointed toward the Hokage office building, his words ringing with power: "Orochimaru-sensei spent his life pursuing the mastery of all Ninjutsu, indulging in the research of Forbidden Jutsu."

"In the propaganda of the Third Hokage, he was an incorrigible villain destined to do evil and harm the Ninja World."

"But I don't believe it!"

"Because in my dealings with Orochimaru-sensei, he gave rewards far exceeding expectations, much more than what the Third Hokage gave me."

"How could someone who doesn't cause trouble, pays promptly, and is generous be a bad person?"

"Therefore, when Orochimaru-sensei asked me if I was willing to be his student, I hesitated but agreed."

"Since I became Orochimaru-sensei's student, I took the initiative to lay out plans, guide him toward the right path, and ultimately helped him defeat the Third Hokage's illegal regime, allowing Konohagakure to return to legitimacy."

Jiraiya's eyes widened: "Sarutobi-sensei is the Third Hokage; he has been Hokage for twenty years, how did it become illegal?"

Yamanaka Chujiu said: "He restored his rule."

"It has always been the First passing to the Second, the Second to the Third, and the Third to the Fourth; after the Fourth sacrificed himself, the Fifth should have ascended. Where is the logic in the Third restoring his rule?"

Jiraiya said awkwardly: "This, this is just a minor procedural issue..."

Yamanaka Chujiu laughed: "So we aren't talking about procedural justice?"

"Heh, fine!"

"Orochimaru-sensei and I think the same way!"

"Since the Third Hokage doesn't care about procedure, then we have no obligation to follow procedure either, so..."

"Then let's settle it at the Konoha East Gate; whoever wins is the true Hokage!"

"Orochimaru-sensei and I won, so Orochimaru-sensei became the Fifth Hokage; that is very reasonable!"

"Then you, Jiraiya-sama, and Tsunade-sama joined forces to question Orochimaru-sensei's status as the Fifth Hokage, which is why I set the battlefield at the Valley of the End."

"Settling it at the Valley of the End—whoever wins is the legitimate Hokage—this is the rule established by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Madara Uchiha!"

Yamanaka Chujiu pointed at his own nose with his thumb: "Orochimaru-sensei and I won!"

Jiraiya: "..."

Yamanaka Chujiu: "Hey, you're still not convinced?"

"Let me ask you, if the First Hokage had lost to Madara Uchiha at the Valley of the End back then, who would have been in charge of Konohagakure?"

"If Madara Uchiha had carried the First Hokage back to Konohagakure, stepped on the head of the Nine-Tails, put Susanoo armor on the Nine-Tails, and demanded to be the Second Hokage, who could have refused?"

"It was the power of the First Hokage that guaranteed procedural justice, which led to the succession of the Second and Third Hokage."

"Now, it is the Third Hokage, who inherited power through procedural justice, who is not following procedure; don't blame us for responding to everything with violence!"

Jiraiya was speechless, but Yamanaka Chujiu did not intend to let him off: "Look, neither the Third nor Orochimaru-sensei followed procedure, so the only thing we can use to evaluate their merits is the result."

"Under the rule of the Third Hokage, although Konohagakure was always the strongest village in the Ninja World, they couldn't win wars, the economy couldn't develop, ninja reinforcements couldn't keep up, and ten-year-old children had to go to the battlefield."

"What about Konohagakure under the rule of the Fifth Hokage?"

Yamanaka Chujiu said proudly: "Orochimaru-sensei holds the power of the Hokage but has never been greedy for power; he generously handed the power to me, and I am responsible for the governance of the entire village, which is why we have the prosperous Konohagakure of today."

"With one word from me, I can mobilize thousands of Mist Ninja from Kirigakure to cooperate with the Konoha Ninja Army in battle!"

"With one glare from me at Kumogakure, I can make the Fourth Raikage tremble with fear!"

"Even the Iwagakure, known as the strongest village under Konohagakure, doesn't dare to speak loudly to me, not even the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki."

"The facts are right here, yet you turn a blind eye and continue searching for some Child of Prophecy."

Wait, is there still Sunagakure in the Ninja World?

Sunagakure wasn't even worth Yamanaka Chujiu's attention, so naturally, he didn't even mention it.

Jiraiya's face turned pale from Yamanaka Chujiu's retort, but he still insisted: "You can turn around Orochimaru's behavior and bring prosperity to Konohagakure; that is indeed remarkable."

"But your efforts are only a temporary success, and the result of your efforts can only allow Konohagakure to enjoy peace!"

"The Ninja World is vast, and hatred has cycled for a thousand years; your efforts are but a drop in the bucket."

"Only by following the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage and finding the Child of Prophecy can we cut off the cycle of hatred and cure the chaotic world; this is the only way!"

Yamanaka Chujiu sneered: "The only solution? How can you prove it? Do you have any interim results?"

"Also, you believe in the prophecy so much that you ignore Konohagakure and Uzumaki Naruto for its sake, so why did you believe the nonsense of the Daimyo and organize the Anti-Snake Alliance, triggering the Second Konoha Civil War?"

"You claim to be for the peace of the Ninja World, yet you personally created a Konoha civil war; how do you explain that?"

Jiraiya could not explain.

Although he was stubbornly headache-inducing, he also had the flaw of being easily swayed, making it easy for others to persuade him to take on short-term missions.

Yamanaka Chujiu's gaze suddenly sharpened as he threw out the most lethal argument: "Jiraiya, is there perhaps a possibility that you have actually already found the Child of Prophecy?"

"But you failed to recognize his identity and easily gave up on him, as well as his companions."