The Arrests

Villagers gathered in front of the notices, talking among themselves. Some of the notices gave explicit instructions.

The rumors had been spread by people with ulterior motives to disrupt order in Konoha and were entirely baseless. Anyone who heard a villager spreading them should promptly notify the Security Force.

Maeda's brother had been a member of Natsume's squad, which was said to have died. Ever since Maeda heard the rumor of the squad's death, he had been unable to suppress his fear and anger.

He feared Danzo would kill him to silence him, but he also hoped the Konoha leadership would uncover the truth. For the past month, fear and anger had tormented him.

He had read the notice posted by the ANBU that day, but he did not quite believe it. With a younger brother who was a ninja, he knew a little about such matters. The original rumors had been full of convincing details, not like something made up out of thin air.

Over the past month, whenever he had time, he went to a tavern to discuss whether the rumors were true with his drinking companions. If someone had not heard them, he told them what had happened.

Fear drove him to do it. He needed to share what he knew, to let more people know that his younger brother was a member of the missing Natsume squad and ease his terror.

He had read the notice, but he still could not hold back. He went to his usual tavern again and joined a few drinking companions. At first, none of them said anything about the rumors.

Two cups of wine later, he had forgotten the notice entirely.

"I don't know when they'll get to the bottom of what happened to my brother Hikota. He was our