I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 711 Everyone knows the principle of presumption of innocence, but people are more willing to presume guilt when they suspect innocence.

"From now on, Konoha will also be your home. If you miss it, come back and visit often."

In a corner of the Konoha Cemetery, a new tombstone was erected. Tatsuma gently placed incense sticks into the incense box and turned to Nagato and Konan, who were dressed in mourning clothes, and said...

Both of them had red eyes. They nodded upon hearing this. Nagato loosened his lip, which he had been biting, and said, "Brother Tatsuma, thank you. I will not give up. I will carry on Yahiko's ideal and make the Akatsuki organization the dawn of the ninja world."

Tatsuma nodded, then looked into the distance at Old Purple and Han, who hesitated, wanting to approach but then stopping, and said, "Since you have chosen to return to the Land of Rain, then you must continue to rely on the power of those two."

The facts have now made it clear to you that coexistence between Akatsuki and Hanzo's group is impossible. The Land of Rain can only accommodate one of them, and you, and the Akatsuki organization, are no match for Hanzo.

Hanzo's strength lies not only in his own power, but also in his years of management in the Land of Rain. While you are plotting against his achievements, you must also have sufficient means to protect yourselves.

Of course, after this experience, you probably understand that all power is a double-edged sword, one edge facing the enemy and the other facing yourself. How you use that power is up to you.

"I see."

Nagato nodded. Over the past few days, Tatsuma had shared a lot of "knowledge" with him, including how to utilize the power of Rōshi and Han, which was... Guilt.

Nagato was initially resistant to Tatsuma's suggestion to exploit their guilt and make them work for him, since he knew the fault didn't lie with them.

But he was persuaded by Tatsuma, and in the last two days, following Tatsuma's suggestion, he once again showed his estrangement from Old Purple and Han.

Just as Tatsuma had predicted, the two not only didn't mind, but were even more eager to make amends for their "mistake".

Such methods can be described as underhanded, so Tatsuma repeatedly reminded him that he could only borrow the power of the two within his own capabilities, and not borrow their power within their capabilities.

There is a huge difference between the two. If it is something within Nagato's capabilities, asking the two of them to help is to give them a chance to make amends.

If it's something beyond Nagato's ability, then he "requests" the two of them to help, which will quickly make up for what the two of them owe Nagato and the Akatsuki organization.

Du Changmen felt that he still needed to learn and master the skills, and at the same time, he needed to continuously improve his own abilities, because the stronger his own abilities were, the more he could utilize the strength of the two of them.

But Nagato still looked worried. Tatsuma immediately understood what he was worried about and said, "You don't need to worry about Iwagakure. They won't attack you anytime soon."

After all, Iwagakure has never attacked Akatsuki, and they haven't even officially set foot in the Land of Rain. This was true in the past, and it will be true in the future.

Unless the day comes that the Akatsuki organization keeps the Hanzo group busy and unable to stop the Iwa ninja from invading.

However, by then, even if Nagato accuses Iwagakure of crimes and Iwagakure directly denies them, Nagato will not believe Iwagakure's claims.

Everyone knows the principle of presumption of innocence, but people are more willing to accept the assumption that someone is guilty when they are doubtful.

Even if you know that as long as you can't prove that someone didn't do something, you should treat them as if they didn't do it, regardless of whether they did or not, and then interact with them based on the premise that they didn't do it.

But when someone can't prove they can't do something, everyone assumes they have, and then examines that person based on that assumption.

From Iwagakure's perspective, Akatsuki cannot prove that Iwagakure ninja colluded with Amegakure to harm Akatsuki. However, from Akatsuki's perspective, Iwagakure can never produce evidence that it did not collude with Amegakure.

Proving nothingness from nothing is, in terms of human nature, the most difficult thing to do.

When Nagato and Konan heard Tatsuma's words, they thought he meant he would help prevent Iwagakure from taking action against their Akatsuki organization, and they became even more grateful.

As for Hanzo revealing the truth? On one side is a friendly elder brother, and on the other is the identified murderer. It goes without saying which side Nagato will side with.

Even if there are doubts and grudges in their hearts, it will have no impact on Tatsuma or Konoha.

Nagato nodded vigorously and said, "Brother Tatsuma, I will definitely manage the Akatsuki well, make it grow stronger, and live up to your trust."

"I believe in you, and I look forward to the day when we formally establish diplomatic relations with the Akatsuki, the ninja group from the Land of Rain."

Tatsuma patted Nagato on the shoulder like a caring older brother, and then said, "I won't disturb you and Yahiko any longer. Remember to tell Jiraiya-sensei before you leave, or tell me."

"Um."

Nagato nodded, and Tatsuma was about to leave when Konan spoke up, "Brother Tatsuma, please wait."

"Is there anything else?"

Tatsuma looked at Minami with a puzzled expression. He had spent little time with Minami these days, since he felt that girls were more sensitive and perceptive.

Although Tatsuma has always been confident in his acting skills, he has not engaged in unnecessary contact or testing. The more he does, the more mistakes he makes.

Xiao Nan reached into her sleeves and took out a paper flower, saying, "Thank you, but I don't have anything to repay you with right now, so..."

A hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. Giving a paper flower as a thank-you gift seemed far too perfunctory, but she really had nothing else to offer.

"It's beautiful, thank you."

Tatsuma took the flower, smiled and nodded at Konan, and said, "Don't forget to give one to Jiraiya-sensei and Minato as well, otherwise I'm afraid they'll be jealous."

"You're joking."

How could a paper flower possibly arouse jealousy? Konan knew that this was just an excuse Tatsuma used to make himself less embarrassed.

Chenma held the paper flower in one hand and waved it gently with the other, then it turned into a silvery shimmer and disappeared.

"Brother Chenma is truly the best person I've ever met."

Nagato looked at the spot where Tatsuma had disappeared and sighed. Konan nodded and said, "It seems that it was Tatsuma-nii who rescued us from the river before."

"Back then, we even wanted to become his students."

As he spoke, a nostalgic smile appeared on Nagato's face as he recalled the scene from over a decade ago when he first met Tatsuma, Jiraiya, and the others. However, the smile on his face quickly turned sad.

Because that's when they met Yahiko, who held an umbrella for them and guided them, but they never saw Yahiko again.

Next, it will be his turn to hold an umbrella for others and guide them.

Back in the Hokage's office, Tatsuma's smile vanished. It wasn't so much that he had a sour face; a more accurate description would be that he was expressionless.

His eyes swept across his familiar office, and he quickly found a focal point. He placed the paper flower there so that everyone who entered his office would see it.

He will keep these flowers for a long time, but not for his own eyes.

Human emotions are like assets; everyone's are different, some are rich, some are poor.

Chenma is the barren type, and quite barren at that.

Unlike those who have friends all over the world, Chenma has only one close friend, a few good friends, and a handful of other friends. This is Chenma's poverty in terms of friendship.

As for family ties, they were even more distant. In the entire ninja world, there was only one person for Tatsuma to truly entrust his family ties to: Mito Uzumaki. Even Tsunade's relationship with Mito was merely that of a teacher and student, with a little bit of Mito's influence.

Needless to say, when it comes to love, Chenma is even less willing to take out the meager sums he has in his pocket, instead keeping his wallet tightly closed and not letting anything out.

Even when it comes to hatred, Tatsuma has very little. Tatsuma holds grudges, but he never lets hatred interfere with his rationality. Whether it's the Third Raikage, Black Zetsu, or Madara Uchiha, they were all just things he did on the road.

Therefore, Yahiko and the other two never managed to stir Tatsuma's extremely barren emotions.

However, unlike other people with a bland temperament, Chenma knew very well that it was difficult for people to trust someone with a bland temperament, so he learned to pretend.

In the past, he would feign respect to the high-ranking officials and powerful figures of Konoha, feign righteousness and passion to the villagers, and feign friendliness and kindness to the children in the Senju clan's territory.

Therefore, Tatsuma's regret for Yahiko, his encouragement and optimism for Nagato, and his gentleness towards Konan were all an act. When alone, Tatsuma inevitably revealed his true self.

Of course, he did want Nagato and the Akatsuki to grow stronger so that they could fight against or even replace Hanzo, whom he could not influence or control, because doing so would benefit him and help Konoha, which he considered his private property.

This is Chenma's Buddhist heart—benefiting both himself and others. However, his Buddhism is not selfless; on the contrary, he is quite self-interested. He is only now gradually learning to transform selfishness into a win-win situation.

This compassionate heart can make Chenma a "good person" in the eyes of others, but only in terms of actions, not intentions.

After "resting" for a while, Tatsuma's expression returned to its usual focused and energetic state, because someone was about to come into his office.

A fleeting shadow flashed past the window and disappeared into the darkness inside the room. Shinnosuke was probably the most "unqualified" Hokage guard because he often stayed away from Tatsuma, the Hokage, during his duty hours.

But Shinnosuke had no choice. After all, Tatsuma could fly with the Thunder God Technique, and he could go anywhere in an instant. Shinnosuke could only run wildly on his two legs.

Sometimes, Tatsuma wouldn't even tell him where he was going, and he wouldn't know which direction to go if he wanted to follow him.

Tatsuma opened the documents that had just been delivered that morning but hadn't been processed yet, and said as he looked at them, "Xiao, inform Shikaku and Inoichi to arrange my visit to Iwagakure."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Shinnosuke emerged from the darkness, accepted the order, and left. Tatsuma continued reviewing documents. As for the trip to Iwagakure, he had to go; after all, the act had to be convincing.

It's time to collect the war reparations from Iwagakure.

(End of this chapter)