In the deepest secret chamber of the Hokage Building.
Itachi Uchiha knelt on one knee before the Konoha F4, his voice low. "The Uchiha Clan has made its decision. They're going to start a revolution in Konoha."
"What!?"
The members of the Konoha F4 all raised their heads at once, disbelief written across their faces as though they had just heard that the sky was about to fall.
"Do you have evidence?"
Danzo's face remained expressionless as he stared at Itachi Uchiha and questioned him.
Itachi Uchiha lowered his head even further. "Yes. The clan is spreading rumors everywhere, saying that Lord Hokage forced our clan head to hand over his Sharingan. After the clan head lost his eyes, the resentment within the clan could no longer be suppressed."
Danzo gave a cold laugh and turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Look at the mess you made."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face wrinkled as if he had swallowed a dead fly. "I had nothing to do with this from beginning to end! I merely happened to see someone from the Uchiha Clan deliver the Sharingan to Naruto. I truly didn't take that eye!"
The story had to go back several days.
At the time, Hiruzen Sarutobi had still been pondering how to bring the Uchiha Clan under control. Before he could make a move, however, the Uchiha clansman who had delivered the eye spread word everywhere that the Hokage had appeared in Naruto's room that day.
Once that rumor spread, the Uchiha clansmen immediately "understood."
No wonder their clan head had dug out his own eyeballs. So it had all been the doing of that old bastard, the Third Hokage!
Who would believe that some brat had enough influence to make the clan head hand over his Sharingan? He was obviously just a scapegoat!