Rumors

In his reply, Fugaku wrote that the Uchiha had formed the Assassination Team to kill those who stood in the clan's way, openly or in secret.

They would find the people spreading the rumors and kill them while Konoha was at war with Kumogakure and everything was in chaos. Then they could pin the deaths on Kumogakure.

Fugaku released the Message Hawk. Only after he watched it vanish into the clouds did he turn and continue on his way.

The next morning, all seven members of the Assassination Team gathered at Uchiha Jin's home.

"Jin, have you heard from Fugaku? The rumors going around the village are doing him no favors," Uchiha Fujimoto said first.

"Those people change sides with the wind. When Fugaku fought in the Land of Rain and killed several senior Stone and Sand officials, he deserved much of the credit for driving back the Stone-Sand Allied Forces.

"Now he's killed one spy who slipped into the Land of Fire, and suddenly everyone has something bad to say about him. Have Konoha's villagers lost all sense of gratitude? If I find out who started these rumors, I'll kill him," Uchiha Hitoshi said through gritted teeth.

"Kumogakure spread the rumors as a smokescreen so it could send troops into the Land of Fire. Someone in the village is making them worse, seizing the chance to smear the Uchiha Clan.

"Fugaku has stood out too much these past two years. A lot of people can't sit still anymore. The Uchiha Clan has been at odds with many of the village's clans since Konoha was founded.

"With Madara Uchiha's pride, there was no way he would have lived peacefully alongside the small clans and Civilian Ninja of today."

Everyone nodded. The Uchiha Clan's conflict with Konoha's other clans went back