Damn Danzo

After Ren left, the Third Hokage picked up today's Konoha Daily again.

He had now discovered the newspaper's true use. It could not only protect oneself, but also attack one's enemies.

Knowing full well the power of public opinion, he saw no reason why the village should not control something like a newspaper.

Konoha had never had any written regulations concerning public opinion before, so Hiruzen Sarutobi could not make a move against it. Furthermore, the Konoha Daily was an Uchiha Clan enterprise, so he could not seize it by force.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again began considering publishing his own newspaper, so he quickly gathered his advisors.

They discussed establishing the Hokage News.

Meanwhile, Ren spent the entire afternoon running around with members of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Konoha's villagers spent their day in terror.

The next day, the moment the Konoha Daily appeared, it was sold out.

People opened their newspapers and found that the previous layout had returned.

The most eye-catching section bore large scarlet letters: <Konoha Military Police Force—Konoha Villagers' First Line of Defense>

At the beginning was a photograph of Ren being taken away by Anbu, along with a detailed introduction of his identity: head of the Uchiha Clan and chief of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Because the Konoha Daily had exposed the existence of Root, the evil Danzo bore a grudge and sent Root shinobi disguised as Anbu to take Ren away.

But the vigilant Ren had long noticed that something was wrong, because those Anbu were lifeless and completely unlike the usually amiable Anbu.

So he secretly arranged for members of the Konoha Military Police Force to follow them. They ultimately found Root's hiding place and launched a cleanup operation against Root.

Attached were photographs of Ren leading the Konoha Military Police Force in battle against Root. Whether in composition or angle, they perfectly showcased the force's handsomeness and strength.

A large number of Root shinobi were killed in this battle, and many children subjected to cruel training were rescued.

There were photographs of Root shinobi corpses, as well as children whose hollow eyes broke people's hearts.

And finally, photographs of the children being returned to their families, their parents bowing in gratitude.

The entire account was meticulously detailed, its plot full of twists and turns, its logic impeccable.

At the same time, Ren dispatched large numbers of Konoha Military Police Force members disguised as ordinary villagers to stir up discussion everywhere.

"Yesterday, the Konoha Military Police Force brought ×××'s child home. I was there and saw it with my own eyes."

"Yeah, ×× even took out his savings to thank Lord Ren, but Lord Ren refused and said it was the Konoha Military Police Force's duty."

There was also an article specifically interviewing Ren. In it, Ren stated that the Konoha Military Police Force had been founded to protect the safety of Konoha's villagers.

The Konoha Military Police Force would keep fighting to protect Konoha's villagers.

Naturally, alongside all those articles praising the Uchiha Clan, there were plenty attacking Danzo.

<Danzo Shimura—The Life of the 'Darkness of the Shinobi'> merely gave a brief account of Danzo's deeds in his youth.

It casually stated that Danzo had been an outstanding shinobi, but after the Second Hokage's sacrifice, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been chosen as Hokage instead of him.

At that time, darkness began to grow within Danzo's heart, and from then on, he became the embodiment of evil.

After this issue was published, the Uchiha Clan's reputation soared in an instant. The effect was far greater than Shisui's painstaking singing and dancing for nearly two months.

The following newspapers continued in this style: unwavering interpretations of the Will of Fire, daily praise for the Uchiha Clan, and daily attacks on Danzo.

More than half a month passed, and Root had completely become an illegal armed force within Konoha.

The Konoha Military Police Force alone had destroyed eight secret Root bases.

Every time Konoha's villagers saw a Root base destroyed, they applauded in delight.

Danzo, meanwhile, had been smeared beyond recognition.

In the incident involving Orochimaru's defection, Danzo had actually been the one directing matters behind the scenes. When it was discovered, he erased all traces of himself and pushed all responsibility onto Orochimaru, because Orochimaru had threatened his bid for the position of Hokage.

However, the net of heaven was vast and nothing escaped it. After the Konoha Military Police Force destroyed one base, they obtained crucial evidence and even took clear photographs to print in the newspaper.

In the Fourth Hokage's death, after Danzo had dealt with Orochimaru, the Hokage position had been snatched away from him. Holding a grudge, Danzo deliberately colluded with outsiders to kill the Fourth Hokage.

The incident involving Konoha's White Fang was also because White Fang had threatened Danzo's scheme to obtain the Hokage position. As an elder, Danzo arranged a mission certain to end in death. White Fang ultimately abandoned the mission to protect his comrades, so Danzo arranged for Root shinobi who had participated in the mission to smear White Fang.

After the Fourth Hokage's death, when the Third Hokage resumed his post, the resentful Danzo once arranged for shinobi to assassinate the Third Hokage.

Ren had people publish every incident from his memories that had even the slightest connection in the Konoha Daily. As for evidence or whether it was true, any random picture was enough.

People did not actually care whether it was true or logical. They merely enjoyed the thrill of slandering an important figure, just as they had once done to the Uchiha Clan.

However, after the issue covering the White Fang incident was published, Kakashi came to confront him.

Ren directly said, "A Cloud over Konoha wrote that. I don't know either, but I thought it made sense, so I published it in the newspaper."

"If Senior Kakashi wants to know the answer, you can search for it yourself."

Looking at Ren's sincere gaze and remembering the scroll Ren had given him, Kakashi ultimately said nothing more and left.

The newspaper's attacks on Danzo still needed to have some logic and factual basis, but the online agitators Ren arranged in private were utterly unscrupulous.

"The Second Hokage died because Danzo deliberately leaked intelligence to Hidden Cloud Village in order to become Hokage."

"The First Hokage was secretly poisoned by Danzo because Danzo wanted to become Hokage."

"××'s wife died in childbirth because Danzo discovered that their child possessed unparalleled shinobi talent. Afraid of him, Danzo deliberately poisoned and killed her."

"..."

All kinds of outrageous rumors flew everywhere. At first, Ren had arranged them.

Later, the villagers began creating and spreading rumors of their own, and the entire Hidden Leaf Village was swept up in a tide of smearing Danzo.

Ren merely watched the scene quietly, his thoughts heavy, while Mitsuba beside him had fear in her eyes.

This had clearly long since slipped beyond their control. Ren also realized that while public opinion was a powerful weapon, it required proper guidance.

After dealing with Danzo this time, Ren planned to abandon the Konoha Daily completely. He himself had only set a bad example at the beginning.

Now, every writer in the clan made up stories from pictures. If this continued, people would discover the truth sooner or later.

When that happened, those villagers would turn the blades currently pointed at Danzo toward the Uchiha Clan.

"If speech is completely free and truth can be distorted at will, it will only create enormous chaos and eventually destroy everything."

Ren reflected inwardly. Though he wanted to deal with Danzo, he did not want to push Konoha into a pit of fire.

At that moment, a villager in the distance accidentally tripped over a stone by the roadside.

After getting back up, the villager brushed the dust off himself and cursed, "Damn Danzo!"

Seeing this scene, Ren smiled and murmured, "It's time."