Malicious Person

(Chapter 43: The Malicious)

(Next Volume: Making a Name in the Ninja World)

Mirai's expression froze upon hearing this. He was shocked that such malicious rumors slandering the Uchiha Clan could exist. If Mirai were just an ordinary villager ignorant of the plot, it might be one thing, but he knew clearly that this incident had absolutely nothing to do with the Uchiha Clan.

Although the person who attacked Konoha was Uchiha Obito, a member of the Uchiha Clan, that was merely Uchiha Obito's personal agenda. Why would anyone pin this on the current Uchiha Clan?

This rumor was clearly released by someone intentionally. Otherwise, given the Uchiha Clan's status as a prestigious family, how could they allow such rumors to spread? The fact that even children knew about it proved it was premeditated.

Who could it be? Mirai began to ponder. Outsiders could be ruled out as they had no reason to do so; that left only those within Konoha who held a grudge against the Uchiha Clan.

Furthermore, whoever had the power to do this must hold a high position. The Third Hokage? No, the Third would never do such a thing. Konoha was currently in a precarious state, facing potential attacks from other ninja villages. The Third needed to stabilize the villagers' hearts so everyone could unite to overcome the crisis. No leader would ever make such a foolish decision.

"Right, I also heard that the Nine-Tails didn't die, but was sealed into the body of a child. That child will eventually turn into a new Nine-Tails and destroy the village. They say the Fourth Hokage was killed by that child, and the village was destroyed by him too."

Mirai's expression shifted. He gripped Cunxia Ye's shoulders and asked, "Who did you hear this from?"

"Just like the previous rumor, I don't know how, but it spread throughout the village overnight."

Mirai's face turned grim. Were they not even going to spare the Fourth's own bloodline? Mirai suddenly recalled that in the Naruto anime, Naruto Uzumaki was treated as a monster by the villagers from the very beginning. They forbade their own children from playing with him and looked at him with intense loathing.

The Uchiha Clan's eventual rebellion also seemed to stem directly from the growing dissatisfaction and provocations from the villagers of Konoha.

Suddenly, a name Mirai had overlooked crossed his mind: Shimura Danzō. At the start of the Naruto series, he had already been stripped of his official duties, but he should still be a high-ranking official in Konoha at this time. He was the only one who harbored such malice toward the Uchiha Clan and targeted them specifically, driven by his ambition to obtain more Sharingan.

Moreover, Shimura Danzō had always coveted the position of Hokage. As an ambitious man, he could hardly be happy that the Third Hokage had given the position to Namikaze Minato; he must have hated him deeply.

"Mirai, what are you thinking about?" Seeing Mirai lost in thought, a few people couldn't help but ask.

Mirai snapped back to reality and smiled, "Nothing, I was just wondering who could have spread such rumors."

Suddenly, a voice rang out: "What does it matter if you know who it is? Are you planning to silence them? The Uchiha Clan is a wealthy and powerful family in Konoha, possessing numerous ninjas and a formidable Kekkei Genkai. Yet, when the Nine-Tails attacked, not a single Uchiha stepped up to stop it. Watching so many ninjas sacrifice themselves, could it be that they wanted to weaken the village's combat power to achieve some ulterior motive?"

Mirai looked up and saw a child not far away—it was that child who had spoken. "Hmm... who is he?" Mirai asked the person beside him.

"Sato! I'm Sato! You should at least know the name of your former opponent!" the slightly prickly Sato shouted indignantly.

"Ah, sorry. I don't keep impressions of unsightly things," Mirai replied with a smile.

Just then, a voice came from the doorway: "The Uchiha Clan didn't have any conspiracy. At that time, the high command of Konoha ordered the Police Force to cover the villagers' evacuation from the danger zone, and the Police Force followed those orders to carry out their mission."

"Tch! Who knows if you're telling the truth? But the ninjas who fought the Nine-Tails on the front lines all saw the Nine-Tails' eyes—they were the Uchiha Clan's signature Sharingan. It must have been someone from the Uchiha Clan controlling the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha."

Uchiha Itachi did not refute this time; it was an indisputable fact. The Uchiha Clan had held several meetings, but aside from their ancient ancestors, there were very few people in the clan who could control the Nine-Tails, and currently, no one possessed that ability. The meetings had yielded no conclusions.

At this moment, the homeroom teacher, Nakamura Hino, entered the classroom and said, "Alright, stop discussing this. Many ninjas have sacrificed themselves to protect Konoha. The task of defending the village now falls upon your shoulders. Therefore, your mission is to study hard so that when Konoha faces danger in the future, you can step forward just like the Fourth Hokage to protect the village! Protect the village! Let's begin the lesson..."

*******

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage sat alone, puffing on his pipe. Suddenly, "Swish!" A figure appeared behind him, kneeling on one knee. "Report! Lord Third, the source of the rumors has been identified."

The Third Hokage said with a stern expression, "Speak!"

"It was Sosomu. It is said that Sosomu spoke these words while drunk. After sobering up and realizing that what he said had spread throughout almost the entire village, he violated your orders, Lord Third, and committed suicide."

The Third Hokage frowned. "Are you certain it was suicide and not murder?"

"It was suicide. Many witnesses saw Sosomu take his own life, and he did so in violation of your orders, Lord Third."

The Third Hokage closed his eyes, took a drag from his pipe, exhaled slowly, and opened them again. His face was grave as he said, "I understand. Issue the order: no one in the village is permitted to speak of the Nine-Tails again!"

"Yes!" The ninja left to relay the Hokage's orders. The Third knew this matter was certainly not that simple; perhaps it was the conspiracy of the Masked Man that the Fourth had mentioned. He had to stabilize the villagers' hearts, even if it required forceful measures. With Minato gone, he felt a sense of powerlessness. It seemed he was truly getting old.