"I'll handle this matter myself, Danzo. You just take care of your own responsibilities."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no intention of letting Danzo get involved.
If Danzo touched it, things would only become more complicated.
So Hiruzen changed the subject directly.
"Last time, you said you were investigating the source of the rumor. Have you found anything?"
Danzo fell silent for a moment.
"Based on the earlier investigation, I originally suspected that Iwagakure or Sunagakure was behind it. Shinobi from both villages were seen in the area where the rumor first began to spread."
"But the appearance of that suicide note overturned my previous conclusions."
"That note really did come from Kumogakure."
"And it's genuine."
"A real suicide note left behind by a Kumogakure shinobi."
"It wasn't forged recently."
Hiruzen frowned.
"You're saying that suicide note is real?"
"Yes."
Danzo nodded.
Hiruzen immediately felt a headache coming on.
"Was that Kumogakure shinobi brain-damaged or something? You and I both know perfectly well what happened back then. What possible point was there in fabricating a line like that in his suicide note?"
"Was he already trying to drive a wedge between the Uchiha and Konoha from that far back?"
Then Hiruzen looked at Danzo.
"Danzo, leave this matter alone."
"You continue investigating the source of the rumor and deal with it properly. Otherwise, it will remain a constant problem for Konoha."
At the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi had a headache.
At the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Yamakaku had one too.
But very soon—
Something happened that made both of them suffer even more.
Night fell.
Inside the Uchiha compound—
In one courtyard, flames suddenly erupted.
The blaze roared up with terrifying intensity.
The two Uchiha assigned by Uchiha Yamakaku to keep watch on Uchiha Dou widened their eyes immediately.
"This is bad—there's a fire!"
One of them rushed inside.
The other began trying to put out the flames.
Everyone living nearby was jolted awake, and people began rushing over from all directions.
Before long, the fire was extinguished.
The crowd entered the courtyard.
"Uchiha Dou! Are you alright?"
"Uchiha Dou—where are you?"
Then suddenly, a sharp voice rang out.
"Over here!"
The others hurried toward the sound.
And there they saw it—
Uchiha Dou lay in a pool of blood, long since lifeless.
A massive wound gaped open across his chest.
"This is Wind Release: Vacuum Wave," one Uchiha said, his pupils shrinking. "Only Vacuum Wave leaves a wound like this. I've seen this jutsu before. There's no mistake."
Another Uchiha's face darkened.
"Uchiha Dou was killed inside the Uchiha compound itself."
"The killer used Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, infiltrated the compound without a sound, and then left without a sound."
"There is only one person I can think of."
"Shimura Danzo."
"He's the only one who would have that kind of ability."
One Uchiha's face twisted with fury.
"This is too much!"
"All Uchiha Dou did was go to the Hokage Building and ask a few questions."
"He only voiced doubts that all of us already have."
"He didn't curse anyone. He was restrained the entire time."
"And he was taken back to the Uchiha compound almost immediately."
"So why kill him?"
"Is this what Konoha is?"
The anger that had only just been suppressed by Uchiha Yamakaku staking his position as clan head now erupted once again.
And this time, it exploded far more violently than before.
Their resentment toward Konoha—
Their hatred—
Rose in an instant.
This was Rasa's plan.
To use Uchiha Dou's life—
His blood—
To completely ignite the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.
"We can't go on like this."
"Today, the one who died was Uchiha Dou. Tomorrow, who will it be?"
"Uchiha Yamakaku can't be trusted. He was the one who had Dou brought back—and now Dou is dead. There's a good chance Yamakaku himself is involved."
"They set the fire because they wanted to destroy the evidence."
One Uchiha lifted Uchiha Dou's body.
And beneath it, written in blood, were four words—
"Save the Uchiha."
For a long time, the area fell into silence.
One man's eyes were red.
Another clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into flesh.
A young Uchiha covered his forehead in fury, and in the next moment—
Tomoe appeared within his eyes.
Under that violent stimulus, he had awakened the Sharingan on the spot.
"Go call Yashiro-sama!"
Uchiha Yashiro arrived.
The crowd parted to make way for him, and at the end of that path lay Uchiha Dou's corpse.
Beside it—
Those bloodstained words.
Uchiha Yashiro's expression turned dark.
Step by step, he walked toward the body.
"Yashiro-sama, this is how Konoha treats the Uchiha!"
"Uchiha Yamakaku has betrayed the Uchiha!"
"What do we do now?"
"Yashiro-sama, lead us!"
"Give the order—we'll all follow you!"
As clan head of the Uchiha, Uchiha Yamakaku had once been the man with the greatest prestige in the clan.
But things were different now.
First, he had suppressed the rumor once.
Then, this time, he had used his position as clan head to force the others to swallow their anger and suspicions.
The clan had given him that much face.
But face could be spent.
And now—
Uchiha Dou was dead.
Because he had stood before the Hokage Building and asked those questions, he had been murdered inside his own clan's compound.
Killed by Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.
A man bearing the name Shimura had supposedly slipped into the Uchiha compound, killed one of the clan, and left without a trace.
What did that imply?
Only one thing—
Someone inside the Uchiha had cooperated with him.
Who?
Uchiha Yamakaku.
By now, these people had already lost faith in him.
And as for Konoha—
What they felt now was no longer suspicion.
It was hatred.
They no longer held the slightest hope for Konoha.
"We have to avenge Uchiha Dou!"
"We have to get justice for him!"
"We absolutely cannot let him die for nothing!"
"He died for the sake of the entire Uchiha!"
"And not just for him alone—"
"All the unfair treatment we've suffered over the years, all the ways Konoha targeted us, sold us out, and framed us…"
"Konoha must pay it all back!"
"Give all of us justice!"
Uchiha Yashiro stopped before Uchiha Dou's body and looked at those four glaring words.
"Konoha has gone too far."
"Uchiha Yamakaku has abandoned us."
"The Uchiha clan… is already in mortal danger."
"If this continues, we will only keep declining under Konoha's constant suppression and persecution."
"Uchiha Dou gave his life to make us see that clearly."
"So if Konoha is unjust…"
"If Uchiha Yamakaku has abandoned us…"
"If Konoha has never treated the Uchiha as one of its own, and can sell us out, send assassins to our doorstep, and butcher us in our own compound…"
"Then let us rebel against Konoha!"
"Are you willing?"
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