"Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"About the Uchiha."
"Them again? I heard yesterday they were demanding outrageous rewards from the Hokage, acting like the war was won by their clan alone!"
"Right? So arrogant. As if victory belonged to them!"
"Heh. If arrogance were all it was, that'd be one thing. But do you know their real secret?"
"Secret? What secret?"
"A ninja who just came back from the front told me—Uchiha shinobi don't treat fellow Konoha ninja as comrades. When others are in danger, they just stand back and watch."
"No way. I heard they fought bravely on the battlefield."
"Bravely? Then why were their casualties so low? Doesn't that seem strange?"
"Isn't it because they're strong? They have the Sharingan."
"Sharingan? That cursed eye? You probably don't know its secret."
"What secret?"
"Not every Uchiha awakens it. Only those who experience the death of someone close. That's why they don't rush to save others."
"…What?"
"I heard that's exactly why the Second Hokage confined them to the Military Police. Said they were inherently dangerous."
"With that kind of nature, who would trust them in war?"
"No wonder the Uchiha in the Police are so nasty. They're all the same."
"Yeah! I saw one bullying an old vendor a few days ago."
"Tell me about it. I got detained for days over a tiny issue. They abuse their power!"
…
By the next morning, rumors about the Uchiha had erupted across every corner of Konoha.
Half a day.
That was all it took.
And once three people repeat something, it becomes truth.
No one cared whether the stories were real. In less than two days, the Uchiha name had rotted.
Where once they were merely distant—
Now they were met with suspicion.
Disgust.
Hostility.
Every villager who saw the fan crest on a sleeve looked twice.
Except for those required to patrol as Military Police, no Uchiha stepped outside the compound.
The air itself had changed.
Hokage Tower — Office of the Third Hokage
Bang!
Hiruzen slammed his palm onto the desk, veins bulging across his forehead.
"What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Across from him stood Danzo Shimura, expression flat as stone.
"We were meant to pressure Fugaku," Hiruzen roared, "not drive the Uchiha into becoming another Sakumo Hatake!"
"And they are not Sakumo!"
"If you push them too far, those lunatics will do something irreparable!"
Hiruzen had authorized limited rumor-spreading—just enough to force negotiation.
Symbolic pressure.
Controlled flames.
But now?
This wasn't pressure.
This was gasoline.
Forget compromise—if Fugaku managed to suppress rebellion within the clan at this point, it would be a miracle.
Danzo frowned faintly.
"This wasn't my doing."
Hiruzen's eyes flared.
"If not you, then who? Me? Or are you suggesting the Uchiha are slandering themselves?"
"Were those not Root operatives spreading the initial whispers? Or has your Root been infiltrated?"
Hiruzen had no patience for deflection.
They had decided this together.
Root had acted.
And now Danzo wanted to pretend innocence?
Danzo's mind was equally unsettled.
Yes, Root had begun the rumors.
But yesterday's controlled spark had become today's wildfire.
Somewhere, something had changed.
Something he had not anticipated.
Still, now was not the time to admit uncertainty.
"Rumors are a double-edged sword," Danzo said calmly. "Easy to ignite. Difficult to contain."
"When Sakumo was targeted, things also escalated beyond expectation."
"You approved this tactic, Hiruzen. You should have foreseen the risk."
"And don't you find this development… strange?"
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened.
"Strange? Of course it is."
"At this pace, five days wouldn't have produced this scale."
"And these rumors—eight parts fabrication, two parts truth. Some of the Sharingan details are not common knowledge."
"Information only insiders would know."
He leaned forward.
"Are you telling me that wasn't your addition?"
"It was not," Danzo replied flatly. "I followed your instruction. What benefit would I gain from overexposing classified intelligence?"
Hiruzen let out a humorless laugh.
"Benefit? You need benefit to target the Uchiha?"
"You've opposed them for years."
"And don't think I'm unaware of your clash with Uchiha Jin at the orphanage."
"Since when have you been magnanimous?"
"When have you ever needed an excuse to retaliate?"
Danzo fell silent.
He had been so consistent in opposing the Uchiha that now every shadow pointed to him.
Even when he hadn't moved.
He clicked his tongue internally.
…Troublesome.
Somewhere in this chaos, an unseen hand was stirring the pot.
And if it wasn't him—
Then someone else was playing the game.
"Those born with evil tendencies…"
Danzo muttered inwardly.
"Uchiha."
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