The News Spread

"...Let's go... This is for you, the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan..."

Uchiha Naro ignored Uchiha Itachi as he left. With Uchiha Shisui and the other two, he turned away from Kage Rock and headed for the Capital of the Land of Fire.

The boy looked back at Konoha one last time, his eyes full of hatred. He glanced at the figure leaving Konoha alone, then turned and followed Uchiha Naro. He didn't care that the rain had soaked his cloak through. Beneath the worried gaze of the woman behind Uchiha Naro, he walked toward an unknown future.

The first day after the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, in Konoha Year 54: torrential rain.

The second day: torrential rain.

The third day: torrential rain.

The fourth day: still torrential rain.

This had never happened in Konoha before. In the past, rain had lasted at most one day before stopping.

Konoha was now like a village submerged underwater. Puddles and mud were everywhere.

The villagers stayed behind closed doors. The streets were deserted, and the few ninja who hurried past kept their heads down and said nothing.

Ninja who had fought in the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars couldn't help recalling their battles in the Land of Rain. It rained there every day, too, but never as heavily as it had in Konoha over the past few days.

By the morning of the fifth day, the rain had finally eased to a drizzle. At last, it seemed as though it might stop.

By noon, it finally did.

The sun emerged from behind the clouds and shone down on rain-soaked Konoha, now washed clean.

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

No, it should be called "Uchiha Lake" now.

The two enormous craters had become lakes, and the ravine between them had filled with water, forming a small river that joined the two.

The water was clear.

Days of heavy rain and groundwater had washed over the craters again and again, carrying the shattered earth and flesh down to the lakebeds.

The water shimmered in the sunlight. Fish could even be seen swimming through it. No one knew whether they had emerged from the underground waterways or swum in through the canals from outside. They darted happily through the lakes, occasionally leaping above the surface and splashing water into the air.

In just a few days, aquatic plants had sprung up along the shore, growing thick and lush, their leaves a vivid green.

If you didn't know the truth, this would have looked like a pleasant place to relax.

But everyone in Konoha knew the truth.

Everyone knew that beneath the lakes lay the flesh and blood of their former neighbors, comrades, and fellow villagers.

They were the remains of the Uchiha Clan, once hailed as Konoha's greatest clan. Hundreds had died at the hands of their own people in a single night. Their flesh had been blasted apart by countless Explosive Tags, then mixed with soil and rubble and settled at the bottom of the lakes.

Everyone knew that every drop of water in those lakes had mingled with the Uchiha Clan's blood and flesh.

The villagers went out of their way to avoid the lakes. Even farmers who lived nearby and needed water would travel much farther to draw it elsewhere.

No one dared go near the lakes. No one dared drink their water or use it to irrigate their fields. Some were even afraid to look at them...

Whenever they passed by, they lowered their heads and hurried on, as if a single glance might draw the attention of something watching them.

They knew they were guilty.

They had wronged the Uchiha Clan.

That night, Uchiha Setsuna's voice had carried across all of Konoha.

"My Uchiha Clan gave everything for Konoha! Now, after being set up by villains, we're about to be wiped out, and the people of Konoha just stand by and watch!"

Those words pierced everyone's heart like needles.

They had heard him, but they hadn't moved. They hadn't gone to save anyone. They had chosen to stay inside and pretend nothing was happening—

Even though they knew the Uchiha Clan had been framed. Even though they knew the Konoha High Command was lying. Even though they knew they had become accomplices.

Still, they hadn't moved—

Because they were afraid.

Because they feared for their lives.

Because they thought it had nothing to do with them.

Now the Uchiha Clan was dead, turned into two lakes.

And they were still alive, standing on the shore, too afraid even to look.

The lakes stood as proof of their fear;

proof of their cowardice;

proof of their betrayal;

That afternoon, after the jōnin meeting, Sarutobi Hiruzen had ordered the Anbu's Earth Release ninja to fill in the lakes.

"Fill in these two craters!" he said, pointing to them on the map, his face livid. "We can't let people see them! This is Konoha land! This is where Konoha's villagers will live in the future!"

The Anbu went to carry out the order.

A dozen Earth Release ninja stood by the lakes and formed Hand Seals together.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"

A barrage of Earth Release techniques pounded the lakes. Soil and rocks poured into them like waterfalls.

But the water only rippled a few times before settling again. The earth and rocks they had dumped in seemed to have been swallowed by something, leaving no trace.

"Keep going!" the Anbu Captain urged through clenched teeth.

They launched several more rounds of Earth Release.

It still didn't work.

The water remained clear, and the lakebeds were still unfathomable.

"Try again!"

The Earth Release ninja, all jōnin, worked for the entire afternoon and into the early hours of the morning. They used countless techniques, but the two craters were like bottomless pits. No matter how much they poured in, they couldn't fill them.

The earth they dumped in vanished. The rocks they threw in vanished...

They barely even made a splash.

Late that night, an Anbu member said nervously, "Captain, do you think these lakes... are haunted?"

Ninja didn't usually believe in ghosts or gods, but they had never heard of anything like this. All that soil and rock hadn't been enough to fill the two craters—the craters that bore witness to Konoha's betrayal...

"Shut up!" the captain snapped, though he was unnerved himself.

When word reached Sarutobi Hiruzen, he remained silent for a long time.

"Continue tomorrow."

The next day, they spent all day trying to fill the lakes.

They still couldn't.

Rumors spreading through the village grew wilder by the day.

Some said the lakes connected to the underworld, and that all the soil they poured in flowed into the Pure Land. Others said the Uchiha Clan's resentment had turned into ghosts, haunting the lakebeds. Still others claimed the lakes were an Uchiha curse, and anyone who tried to fill them would die.

In the early hours of the third day, an Anbu member who had been helping to fill the lakes suddenly came down with a high fever. He babbled, muttering things like "I'm sorry" and "Don't kill me."

The medical ninja couldn't find a cause.

By morning, two more had collapsed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen finally gave up.

"Stop filling them." He slumped into his chair, exhausted. "Leave them. Let them serve as a warning."

Utatane Koharu frowned. "But the rumors..."

"Let them spread." Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled bitterly. "Trying to fill the lakes by force would only cause more trouble. Better to leave them be. The wilder the rumors get, the fewer people will believe them. Pass a message to Danzo and have Root muddy the waters."

Utatane Koharu understood what Sarutobi Hiruzen meant. She left the Hokage's Office and headed for Danzo's Root.

From then on, the two lakes remained where they were. Viewed from above, they looked like a blade cutting Konoha in half.

Some said they were the Uchiha Clan's resentment. Others said they were punishment from heaven. Still others said they were a debt of blood Konoha could never wash away...

Whatever the truth, the lakes became the most eerie place in Konoha.

No one dared approach them or speak of them, but everyone knew they were there.

They remained there, day and night, reminding every Konoha resident of what they had done.

Meanwhile, the entire Ninja World was in an uproar.

On the day after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, word of what had happened was recorded in full on intelligence scrolls and delivered to the desks of the secret intelligence departments in all the major ninja villages.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had issued an order forbidding anyone to speak of it, but Konoha's spies were no pushovers. Besides, the uproar that night had been so great that there was no need to make any effort to investigate to find out what had happened.

Fourth Raikage A shot to his feet in shock, slamming his hand on the table.

"What did you say?! Sarutobi Hiruzen wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan?!"

"Yes," said the Anbu member kneeling before him. "According to intelligence from our spy in Konoha, Uchiha Itachi joined forces with Konoha's leadership. Last night, Konoha's Anbu and Root both mobilized and slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan."

"The report also says the Uchiha Clan sent out distress signals several times that night, but no one in Konoha responded. Before he died, one of the Uchiha elders exposed Sarutobi Hiruzen's scheme to wipe out both the Senju and Uchiha Clans. He also revealed the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Afterward, Sarutobi Hiruzen called a jōnin meeting and claimed the Uchiha had joined with an outside village to stage a coup. He blamed Uchiha Itachi alone, then declared him an S-rank rogue ninja."

"Bullshit!" the Raikage roared. "The Uchiha staged a coup? Against themselves? One man wiped out an entire clan? How can he say something that ridiculous?"

"The people of Konoha don't believe it either, but no one dares to contradict him."

The Raikage paced around his office like an enraged bull.

"That old bastard's ruthless! He wiped out a clan in his own village without blinking! Isn't he afraid the other clans will rebel?"

The Anbu member hesitated. "According to the report... before the Uchiha Clan died, someone shouted from above Konoha that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō had plotted against the Second and Fourth Hokage."

The Raikage stopped. "Is that true?"

"We don't know. But according to our spy's intelligence, when Sarutobi Hiruzen handed over the title of Hokage to the Fourth, he never fully stepped back. He continued to control departments like the Anbu. The Fourth had no power at all and was nothing but a puppet. And even though the Fourth died five or six years ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen has kept control of Konoha as Acting Hokage, refusing to elect a Fifth Hokage..."

"Interesting..." The Raikage stroked his chin. "Compile all this intelligence and publish it."

"Publish it?"

"That's right! Let everyone know what kind of Hokage Konoha has!" The Raikage sneered. "Compared to Kumogakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen is the truly insane one. We might try to steal another village's Kekkei Genkai, but he wiped out an entire clan from his own village!"

In the Iwagakure tower, Ōnoki wore the Tsuchikage's hat. After reading the report, he remained silent for a long time.

"That Sarutobi Hiruzen..." He took off his hat and rubbed his temples. "He's even more ruthless than I thought."

"Lord Tsuchikage, should we..." the guard beside him began.

"No." Ōnoki shook his head. "Konoha is like a powder keg right now. One touch and it'll explode. Our job is to make sure it blows up in Konoha, not in our direction..."

He thought for a moment, then said, "Make this information public. Let the people of Iwagakure see what the leader of another village is like. There are always people complaining that I'm senile and too strict. Let them see what happens when a leader fails to keep order."

Meanwhile, in Kirigakure in the Land of Water,

Terumi Mei sat in the Mizukage's Office. After reading the report, she sneered.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you've set quite an example for every Kage."

"Publish it." Terumi Mei stood and walked to the window. "Let the villagers of the Village of the Bloody Mist see that there are people even more ruthless than us out there. At least our internal conflicts are between ninja. Konoha wiped out an entire clan."

At the same time, Fourth Kazekage Rasa read the report, his expression grim.

"Konoha... is even more chaotic than we imagined."

"Lord Kazekage, should we take advantage of this...?"

"Not yet." Rasa shook his head. "Let's see how the other villages respond first. Still, we can put this intelligence to use. Publish it so the people of Sunagakure know Konoha is rotten to the core. Their morale won't be high in a war."

So, on the second day after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, before it was even fully dark, ninja and civilians alike across the major villages had learned what had happened in Konoha. They began discussing what they had heard in small groups.

The headlines varied, but the stories were much the same:

<Konoha in Turmoil: The Truth Behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre>

<The Third Hokage's True Face: Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Clan Slayer>

<Konoha High Command's Dark History: From the Senju Massacre to the Uchiha Clan Massacre>

<The Fourth Hokage's Death—A Conspiracy by Konoha's Leadership>

<The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto: The Fourth Hokage's Abused Orphan>

On the third day after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, spies from the smaller villages spread the story beyond the major ninja villages, and it soon reached every corner of the Ninja World.

Civilians who saw the reports were too shocked to speak.

"The Hokage killed the entire Uchiha Clan?"

"No wonder people call the Third Hokage the strongest in the Ninja World. How could someone capable of this be weak?"

"One man wiped out an entire clan? How's that even possible?"

"So the Fourth Hokage was killed by his own people..."

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was the Fourth Hokage's son? And he was abused?"

"Konoha's so dark!"

The ninja reacted even more strongly when they saw the reports.

"I've always heard Konoha's people say Sarutobi Hiruzen was the best Hokage. I thought he was a kindly old man, but..."

"'Clan Slayer'—that's a good title."

"If they'll kill their own people, who would dare live in a village like that?"

"Konoha may as well change its name. The two clans that founded the village have both been wiped out. They should just call it Sarutobi Village..."

As the discussions continued, what about Konoha?

Konoha was like an ostrich, burying its head in the sand.

It didn't deny anything or offer any explanations.

It did nothing at all.

In Sarutobi Hiruzen's office, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sat with grim expressions.

"Hiruzen, it's spread everywhere," Utatane Koharu said. "The title 'Clan Slayer' is known throughout the Ninja World now."

"I know." Sarutobi Hiruzen smoked his pipe, his expression frighteningly calm.

"We have to do something!" Mitokado Homura said. "Otherwise, Konoha's reputation will be ruined!"

"What can we do?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked in return. "Explain? We already have. No one believes us. Deny it? The more we deny it, the worse it gets. Silence them? Can we kill them all?"

The two fell silent.

"Let them talk." Sarutobi Hiruzen rose and walked to the window. "They'll quiet down eventually. There's something new happening in the world every day. In a few days, they'll forget the Uchiha and turn their attention elsewhere."

"None of it matters." He turned his back to them, his voice hoarse. "What matters is that Konoha still stands. As long as the village remains, what we did was right."

Outside the window, the two lakes shimmered in the sunlight, their rippling surface beautiful to behold.

But no one dared go near it. They didn't even dare glance at it.

Konoha had changed somehow, though no one knew when.

There were fewer people on the streets, and they spoke in hushed voices. Everyone walked with their head bowed, as if searching for something—or hiding from something. The children no longer chased one another through the streets; they were kept indoors. The adults no longer visited each other to chat; they shut their doors and windows and whispered among themselves.

An eerie silence had fallen over the entire village.

Like the calm before a storm.

Or the dead silence of a grave.

"Teacher, what exactly are you trying to do?" Having just returned to the village, the white-haired ninja watched the villagers passing by, then looked toward the Hokage Building, his eyes filled with confusion...