"Why exactly, Lord Hokage?!"
"Yeah! What kind of answer stops halfway through?"
The crowd in the square stirred, dissatisfied shouts rising one after another. The Third Hokage's hesitant, unfinished manner was like a spark that ignited everyone's curiosity.
"Hmph, so he really was playing that retreat-to-advance trick." Uchiha Chuan's young face showed a mockery far beyond his age.
The Third Hokage's gaze passed through the crowd and landed directly on Uchiha Chuan. "Uchiha Chuan is here today as well. I hear the Uchiha Clan follows your every word." His voice suddenly turned wistful. "I think you understand what I want to say. But saying it would make it seem like I'm suppressing the Uchiha..."
Those words were like a spark falling into a pile of dry kindling, instantly setting off the entire scene.
"Damn you, Uchiha Chuan!" A burly villager suddenly leaped out, pointing at Uchiha Chuan and cursing. "What did you do to Lord Hokage? Did you threaten him with the villagers' lives?"
"That's right!" A middle-aged man dressed like a merchant chimed in. "Aren't you Uchiha always so arrogant? Get back to your clan grounds! Konoha doesn't welcome you!"
"Get out!"
"Uchiha, get out of Konoha!"
The angry cries surged higher and higher, throwing the entire square into an uproar. Some of the more radical villagers even began throwing things toward the Uchiha clansmen.
Facing the overwhelming hostility, Uchiha Chuan merely chuckled and spoke coldly. "Lord Hokage." In an instant, his voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, suppressing the crowd's abuse. "Since everyone wants to know the reason, why not explain it properly?"
"Yeah! Explain it clearly!" The Uchiha clansmen immediately echoed him, their faces full of scorn.
The Third Hokage showed a troubled expression. "Uchiha Chuan, are you sure you want me to