"I have my own way of handling this matter, Danzo. You just do your own job."
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want Danzo involved in this. It would only complicate things further.
He changed the subject directly.
"Last time you said you would investigate the source of the rumors. Have you found anything?"
Danzo was silent for a moment.
"Based on my investigation, I initially speculated that this matter was related to the Hidden Stone or the Hidden Sand. Ninja from both villages were spotted near where the rumors first appeared."
"However, the appearance of that suicide note overturned my previous speculation."
"That suicide note... truly comes from the Hidden Cloud."
"And it's authentic. It's a genuine last testament of a Cloud ninja, not a forgery created on the spot."
Hiruzen frowned.
"Are you saying the suicide note is real?"
"Yes."
Danzo nodded.
Hiruzen felt a phantom toothache.
"Did this Cloud ninja have brain damage? You and I both know exactly what happened back then. What was his purpose in fabricating that sentence in his suicide note?"
"Was he trying to drive a wedge between the Uchiha and Konoha even back then?"
Hiruzen looked at Danzo.
"Danzo, you don't need to involve yourself in the current situation. Continue investigating the source of the rumors. Handle it properly, or it will remain a thorn in Konoha's side."
While Hiruzen had a headache at the Hokage Building...
Sangaku Uchiha was also nursing a headache back at the Uchiha compound.
But soon, something happened that gave them both a migraine.
Night fell.
Inside the Uchiha compound.
Suddenly, flames erupted from a courtyard, the fire burning intensely.
The two Uchiha assigned by Sangaku to monitor Dou Uchiha widened their eyes in shock.
"Not good! Fire!"
One tried to rush in.
The other started putting out the fire.
Residents nearby were all awakened and rushed toward the scene.
Before long, the fire was extinguished.
People crowded in.
"Dou Uchiha, are you okay?"
"Dou Uchiha, where are you?"
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out.
"Over here!"
Hearing the voice, everyone looked over. They saw Dou Uchiha lying in a pool of blood, lifeless. A massive, gaping wound tore through his chest.
"This is... Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"
One Uchiha's pupils constricted.
"Only Wind Style: Vacuum Wave creates a wound like this. I've seen this jutsu before. There's no mistake."
Another Uchiha's face turned grim.
"Dou Uchiha was killed inside our own compound. The killer used Wind Style: Vacuum Wave, infiltrated silently, and left just as silently."
"I can only think of one person. Danzo Shimura!"
"Only he has that kind of ability."
An Uchiha wore an expression of rage.
"This is too much!"
"Dou Uchiha only went to the Hokage Building and asked a few questions! Just a few questions that we all have! Does he deserve to die for that?"
"He didn't use profanity. He was restrained the entire time. And he was brought back to the compound immediately."
"Why kill him?"
"Is this what Konoha is?"
The crowd, which had been pacified by Sangaku's guarantee as Clan Head, was reignited with fury. Their resentment and hatred toward Konoha spiked dramatically.
This was Rasa's plan.
Using Dou Uchiha's life and blood to thoroughly ignite the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
"We can't go on like this."
"Today, it's Dou Uchiha. Who will it be tomorrow?"
"Sangaku Uchiha is not trustworthy. He was the one who had Dou brought back, and now Dou is dead. Sangaku is likely involved in his death."
"They set the fire to destroy the evidence."
An Uchiha lifted Dou's body.
Underneath him, written in blood, was a line of text.
"Save the Uchiha!"
The surroundings fell into a long silence.
One man's eyes turned red.
Another clenched his fist until his nails dug into his flesh.
A young boy clutched his forehead in anger. The next moment, tomoe spun in his eyes—under the intense stimulation, he had awakened his Sharingan.
"Go get Lord Yashiro!"
Yashiro Uchiha arrived.
The crowd parted to make a path. At the end of the path lay Dou Uchiha's body, and beside it, the message written in blood.
Yashiro's face darkened.
Step by step, he walked toward the corpse.
"Lord Yashiro, this is how Konoha treats us!"
"Sangaku Uchiha has betrayed the clan!"
"What should we do now?"
"Lord Yashiro, please lead us. Give the order, and we will follow you!"
As the Clan Head, Sangaku Uchiha undoubtedly held the highest prestige within the clan.
But now, the situation had changed.
Sangaku had suppressed the rumors once. Then, he used his position to force the clan to swallow their anger and doubts a second time.
The clan had given him face.
But face is a consumable resource.
Now, Dou Uchiha was dead.
Killed inside his own family's compound just because he asked some questions in front of the Hokage Building.
Killed by the Wind Style: Vacuum Wave.
Someone named Shimura could silently infiltrate the Uchiha compound, kill an Uchiha, and leave without a trace. What did that imply?
It implied that someone inside the Uchiha was cooperating with him.
Who? Sangaku Uchiha!
These people had lost faith in Sangaku.
Their feelings toward Konoha had shifted from suspicion to hatred.
They no longer held any hope for the village.
"We must avenge Dou Uchiha! We must get justice for him!"
"We absolutely cannot let him die in vain."
"He died for the sake of the entire Uchiha clan."
"Not just Dou. All the unfair treatment, the targeting, the betrayals, the framing we've suffered over the years... Konoha must pay for it all."
"Justice for all of us."
Yashiro Uchiha stood before Dou's body, staring at the four dazzling words written in blood.
"Konoha... has gone too far!"
"Sangaku Uchiha has abandoned us!"
"The Uchiha clan... is in imminent danger."
"If this continues, the Uchiha will only decline under Konoha's constant suppression."
"Dou Uchiha used his life to make us see this clearly."
"Since Konoha is unjust... Since Sangaku has betrayed us... Since Konoha doesn't treat us as their own, selling us out and assassinating us in our homes..."
"Then let's rebel against them!"
"Are you with me?"