In the Name of Uchiha

"Hiruzen, don't listen to his nonsense! This is clearly the Uchiha deliberately muddying the waters!" Danzo interrupted Hayato directly.

"We Uchiha do not stoop to such things." Fugaku gave a sharp retort, cutting Danzo off.

"Whether it is muddying the waters or not, a simple investigation will tell." Hayato's gaze flickered, seemingly brushing over Danzo's bandaged right hand.

Danzo's heart sank at the look; he couldn't help but wonder if the chakra in his arm was leaking, allowing someone to notice.

After finishing the scroll, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly picked up his pipe and lit it.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his gaze gradually shifted toward Hayato, who had been standing at the forefront of his clansmen from the very beginning.

He wondered if it was... no, it definitely wasn't an illusion; the Uchiha clan seemed to subtly regard Hayato as their leader.

Was this phenomenon due to his ideology, or was it because of—the Mangekyo!

At this moment, while Danzo was still worrying about the risk of his arm being exposed, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already set aside certain matters and delved into something much deeper.

However, after a brief silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided that he could investigate later; for now, the priority was resolving this incident and dealing with the villagers gathered outside.

If this continued, it would no longer just be an Uchiha clan affair; the unrest would affect how other ninja clans viewed the village, and if spies from other great nations were to report this intelligence...

Thinking this, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up. "Everyone, I am already aware of the situation."

The group looked toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, waiting for the decision of the Third Hokage before them.

"I will investigate the aftermath of this matter thoroughly and provide you all with an explanation. For now, I—"

"Lord Third, the villagers have been misled. Please, let us have the opportunity to explain ourselves to the villagers, with you personally presiding, Lord Third." Hayato spoke up again before Sarutobi Hiruzen could finish his sentence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was taken aback, looking at Hayato; for a moment, he wasn't sure what Hayato was actually trying to do.

However, this aligned with his own thoughts: soothe the villagers' emotions, shift the focus, downplay the severity of the situation, and let time wash everything away.

"Very well. Come along with this old man."

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised a hand to silence the Council of Elders who were about to speak, his gaze making his intent clear: do not complicate matters further at this moment.

In front of the Hokage Building, the crowd was growing larger and larger.

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked at the very front, followed by several Anbu members and Hayato's group, stepping out of the Hokage Building in an orderly fashion and arriving at the very front of the crowd.

Within the throng, some held crude signs, while others held children, whispering to one another as they hid in the crowd.

"Don't let dangerous elements stay in Konoha!"

"Drive them all out!"

Shouts rang out from time to time, and the crowd grew restless with each one.

Yet, when Sarutobi Hiruzen's figure appeared, the villagers' voices gradually faded away, as if by some unspoken command.

Hayato glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen's back. Was this the weight of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage?

As long as he stood there, no matter how turbulent the situation, everyone in Konoha would subconsciously quiet down to listen to his words.

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe and spoke slowly: "So many people gathered here—have you all had your dinner yet?"

His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly into everyone's ears.

The villagers at the front couldn't help but be stunned.

"I haven't eaten yet." Sarutobi Hiruzen walked toward the crowd on his own, his expression gentle as he picked up a child standing next to an adult, shared a laugh with him, and then spoke again, "I was reading documents in my office just now, and smelling the aroma drifting in from the window, my stomach started growling."

"Giggle, giggle~"

The little brat in Sarutobi Hiruzen's arms giggled, causing the surrounding villagers to laugh as well.

The tense atmosphere in the crowd suddenly relaxed.

A farce was dissolved by Sarutobi Hiruzen without a trace.

Looking at the laughing child in his arms, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile. After handing the child back to his father, his expression slowly turned serious.

"Everyone came here because of the Uchiha, right?"

The atmosphere tightened once more, though no one made a sound.

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand and beckoned to Hayato behind him. "Hayato, come here."

"This is a member of the Uchiha clan. He is the one who came to me, wanting to have a word with you all. Why don't we listen to what he has to say?"

The crowd stirred, everyone looking at each other in confusion; they hadn't expected an Uchiha to actually step forward.

Hayato took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the villagers who were clearly becoming restless again. "Fellow villagers of Konoha, I know you fear us, hate us, and believe the Uchiha are plotting a rebellion. If it were me, hearing those things, I would be afraid too."

The crowd paused, all eyes fixed on Hayato, who now stood beside the Third Hokage.

"But, have you all forgotten? Konoha is the village built by the hands of Lord Senju Hashirama and our clan's Lord Uchiha Madara. We Uchiha are not outsiders; we are among the founders of Konoha."

Hayato's gaze slowly swept across the crowd. "The Uchiha were born in Konoha and raised in Konoha. How many of our clansmen, just like you, have bled on the battlefield for the sake of Konoha?"

"Just because of some rumors and provocations, you would brand a ninja clan that loves Konoha just as much as you do as traitors?"

"Stop quibbling! You Uchiha are arrogant and don't take Konoha seriously at all!"

Hayato's gaze suddenly sharpened, piercing toward the location where the voice originated, but the person who had just spoken was already gone.

Hayato didn't care about the rat hiding in the shadows; instead, he said in a calm voice, "We were already in the Hokage Office from the very beginning, precisely to request that Lord Third allow us to prove our clan's innocence."

"Would someone truly arrogant act in such a manner?"

Hayato's eyes had already bled into a deep crimson as he pointed toward them. "The Sharingan is not a curse; it is the power we Uchiha use to protect this village!"

"On the Night of the Nine-Tails, while the village was busy fighting, our Uchiha clan received orders to secure the rear. Those of you present who lived through that catastrophe should know this better than anyone."

The crowd froze, followed by a flurry of whispers; the Night of the Nine-Tails had only occurred two years prior.

When it came down to it, the ones who suffered the fewest losses were not the civilians, for that night, the Uchiha Police Force had been stationed in the heart of the village, reacting with the utmost speed to evacuate the people.

"That is true."

"I remember it too; it was someone from the Uchiha who saved me, and they were injured in the process."

Occasional voices rose up, gradually growing in volume, until Hayato raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist with a sharp crack, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"In every war Konoha has faced, the Uchiha clan has lost as many lives as any other! Your fear and alienation of us are merely the results of being manipulated by those with ulterior motives, but I need you all to remember one thing—"

"The Uchiha have never once considered betraying Konoha!"

Hayato paused, his voice rising once more. "I stand here in the name of the Uchiha, one of the founding clans of Konoha: the Uchiha will cooperate fully with any investigation by the Third Hokage. We will not hide, nor will we hold anything back."

"But—if anyone continues to smear the Uchiha without cause or incite hatred, whether they are hiding in the shadows or holding a high position, the Uchiha will see it through to the end!"

As his voice fell, a deathly silence descended upon the crowd.