Rumors Spread

The first civilian Fugaku chose was Matsuda, a man in his forties. Matsuda's wife had gone to weed the fields the year before and never returned.

They had a son, Matsuzawa, who was twenty years old and an unremarkable Chunin in Konoha.

Matsuzawa's mother had disappeared when Konoha's spy problem was at its worst. In the end, everyone assumed a spy had killed her.

Fugaku planned to plant a seed in Matsuda's mind. When he heard rumors about Root, especially anything concerning experiments, information about Human Experimentation would slowly surface in his memory.

Matsuda would eventually become convinced that Root had taken his wife for Human Experimentation. There was no solid evidence yet; Fugaku was laying the groundwork in advance.

Rumors alone might not bring Danzo down, but once hard evidence emerged, even the Third Hokage would be powerless to protect him.

Using the Mangekyo Sharingan to deeply hypnotize civilians was overkill, but in the end, they might be the final straw that broke Danzo.

Fugaku slipped into Matsuda's house and entered his room. Matsuda was fast asleep. Fugaku walked to the bedside and lifted his eyelids, letting a pair of slowly spinning Mangekyo Sharingan fill his vision.

A message passed through the Mangekyo Sharingan into Matsuda's mind. The moment he encountered the sensitive words "Root" and "experiments," he would slowly begin recalling what had happened to his wife.

Fugaku hypnotized ten more civilians before returning home. They would not react immediately. He had prepared a feast for Danzo further down the road.

For several days, Konoha remained quiet. Both sides showed restraint. Neither spread any rumors, perhaps because they were gathering evidence to destroy the other.

Fugaku spent those days studying the Flying Thunder God Technique, including how to inscribe its formulas. Intricate formulas and patterns covered a clearing