"Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"About the Uchiha clan!"
"The Uchiha are causing trouble again? I just heard yesterday that they've been acting arrogantly because of their achievements in the war—apparently they're demanding huge rewards from the Hokage!"
"Exactly! The Uchiha really don't know their place. Do they seriously think winning this war was all their clan's doing?"
"Heh. Being arrogant would be one thing… but do you know the Uchiha clan's secret?"
"A secret? What secret?"
"I heard it from a ninja who just returned from the battlefield. He said the Uchiha shinobi never treated their fellow Konoha ninja as comrades. Whenever someone from the same village was in danger, the Uchiha would just stand back and watch coldly!"
"That can't be right. I heard the Uchiha fought quite bravely on the battlefield."
"Heh. Where did you hear that ridiculous rumor? If the Uchiha were really that heroic, how could their casualties be so low?"
"Isn't it because the Uchiha are incredibly strong? They have the Sharingan, after all!"
"The Sharingan? That's a cursed eye! Judging by your reaction, you probably don't even know its secret."
"What secret could the Sharingan possibly have?"
"Not every Uchiha can awaken the Sharingan. It only awakens after experiencing the death of someone close to them. That's why they let their comrades die!"
"I also heard that because of this 'inherently evil' nature, the Second Hokage confined the Uchiha to the Konoha Military Police Force instead of letting them fight on the battlefield."
"With a trait like that, who would dare trust the Uchiha in war?"
"No wonder the Uchiha in the Military Police are all so nasty. They really are bad people!"
"Exactly! A few days ago I even saw some Uchiha from the Military Police bullying an old woman running a street stall. They're all rotten to the core!"
"Don't even get me started! I once got locked up in the Konoha Military Police Force detention room for several days over something trivial. They're abusing their authority!"
…
Early the next morning, rumors about the Uchiha clan began appearing all across Konohagakure.
In less than half a day, the rumors had spread throughout the entire village—and they only grew more intense as time passed.
As the saying goes, a lie repeated often enough becomes truth.
Whether the rumors were real or not, hardly anyone cared anymore.
In less than two days, the Uchiha clan's reputation had completely collapsed.
Almost every villager in Konoha now looked at an Uchiha with suspicion and hostility. The clan—already unpopular within the village—had practically become public enemies.
The Uchiha themselves quickly sensed the change in atmosphere.
Except for members of the Konoha Military Police Force who had to patrol the village, no one from the clan stepped outside the Uchiha district.
…
Hokage Tower — Hokage's Office
Bang!
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm heavily onto the desk, glaring furiously at the expressionless Shimura Danzō standing before him.
"What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Rage surged through Hiruzen's chest. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared:
"We only intended to pressure Uchiha Fugaku—not force the Uchiha into becoming a second Sakumo Hatake!"
"And the Uchiha will never be Sakumo Hatake!"
"If we push them too far, those madmen might do anything!"
Hiruzen had every reason to be furious.
Originally, he had only ordered Danzō to spread a few symbolic rumors about the Uchiha—just enough to pressure Fugaku into backing down and compromising.
But everything had gone too far.
The rumors circulating in the village now were practically driving the Uchiha straight toward rebellion.
At this point, forget compromise—if Fugaku could even restrain the clan from revolting, it would already be a miracle.
Danzō frowned slightly and replied calmly,
"This wasn't my doing."
"Not your doing? Then whose was it—mine? Or are you saying the Uchiha spread the rumors about themselves?!"
Hiruzen's anger flared even higher as he shouted:
"Weren't the people spreading those rumors Root operatives? Or are you telling me there's a traitor inside Root now?!"
Hiruzen had never expected Danzō to try and shirk responsibility at a time like this.
They had made this decision together.
And the ones carrying it out were all Root shinobi.
Now that the operation had spiraled out of control, Danzō thought he could wash his hands of it with a simple "It wasn't me"?
Impossible.
Danzō himself was feeling irritated.
It was true that his subordinates had been spreading rumors about the Uchiha. Yesterday everything had gone smoothly—but somehow today things had escalated into this disaster.
Danzō keenly sensed that something unexpected had happened behind the scenes.
But now was not the time to investigate that unknown variable.
Looking at Hiruzen, Danzō said,
"Hiruzen, rumor warfare is a double-edged sword. It's easy to create rumors—but difficult to control them."
"Didn't something similar happen when we dealt with Sakumo Hatake?"
"Since you chose to use rumors against the Uchiha, you should have been prepared for this possibility."
"And besides…"
"Don't you find this whole situation… suspicious?"
"Suspicious?"
Hiruzen shot Danzō a cold glance.
"Of course it's suspicious. If the rumors had spread naturally, they wouldn't have reached this level even after five more days."
"And most of these rumors are eighty percent lies and twenty percent truth."
"But mixed among them are secrets related to the Uchiha clan."
"Especially the rumors about the Sharingan—those are not things ordinary villagers could possibly know."
He stared directly at Danzō.
"Danzō, are you really going to tell me those weren't leaks from your people?"
"No."
That was precisely what puzzled Danzō.
He had no habit of sharing intelligence for free, so he immediately refuted the accusation.
"I only followed your instructions. What benefit would I gain from adding extra 'information'?"
Hiruzen sneered.
"Benefit?"
"As long as it harms the Uchiha clan, do you really need any additional incentive?"
"Haven't you always targeted the Uchiha?"
"And don't think I don't know."
"A few days ago at the orphanage, you had a conflict with Uchiha Ren , didn't you?"
"Don't tell me Shimura Danzō suddenly developed the generosity to forgive and forget."
"Do you need a reason to retaliate against the Uchiha?"
Danzō: "..."
At this moment, Danzō was completely speechless.
After all, he had always been too proactive whenever it came to dealing with the Uchiha. Now whenever something happened to the clan, the blame naturally fell on him.
Damn it.
Those inherently evil Uchiha!
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