As Morpheus's projection vanished like a ghost, an even more suffocating silence fell over the side hall.
"Abs... absurd!" The Second Elder broke the silence first. His voice cracked with shock, and his Sharingan remained fixed on the spot where Morpheus had disappeared.
"The Paradise Organization? I've never heard of it! He must be a spy from an enemy nation! Kumogakure? Or Iwagakure? They're trying to sway us with honeyed words, split the Uchiha from Konoha, and reap the rewards!"
The Third Elder's face was pale, his fingers trembling slightly. "Exactly! His intentions are vile! He knows the conflict between us and Konoha inside out. That can't be a coincidence."
"He's driving a wedge between us with such precision. He must have some hidden agenda! We can't fall for it!"
The Fourth Elder's gaze sharpened. After a moment's thought, he said, "The way he appeared was unlike ordinary Ninjutsu. The power behind it may be far beyond anything we can imagine."
"Making contact with a force like that without knowing more would be like bargaining with a tiger. The risk is too great!"
The First Elder, however, said nothing. The muscles in his wrinkled face were taut, as though he were deep in thought.
At last, as the other three elders turned their eyes toward him, the First Elder slowly raised his head. His voice was hoarse and heavy, but calm.
"A spy? Trying to turn us against Konoha? Perhaps."
He paused, looking over the other three elders.
"But which part of what he said was a lie?"
The question landed like a boulder in a lake. The Second and Third Elders, who had objected so fiercely, were suddenly at a loss for words.
The First Elder slowly rose. Though his back was hunched, his silhouette in the candlelight looked unshakably resolute. "Has Konoha ever treated us fairly?"
"Did the system Tobirama Senju left behind ever place real trust in us?"
"Has Shimura Danzō ever intended to leave us a way to survive?"
His voice rose, thick with long-suppressed grief and anger. "Support from an enemy nation?"
"Hmph! Konoha treats us like enemies now. It keeps tightening the noose and wants nothing more than to be rid of us!"
"Are we supposed to cling to some laughable duty to the 'village' and stand by while our people are slaughtered?!"
"If Konoha cast us aside first, it can hardly blame us for answering in kind! Survival is what matters most now!"
"And at this point, do the methods still matter?"
The First Elder's gaze turned razor-sharp. "If this so-called Paradise Organization can give us strength, if it truly can offer us a way out, then even if that strength comes from an enemy nation, why shouldn't we use it?!"
"Fugaku's path has already proved to be a dead end! We need the strength to keep our clan alive, no matter where it comes from!" the First Elder roared.
The side hall fell deathly silent once more.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Elders said nothing.
Their faces betrayed their struggle and deep uncertainty about the future. Yet in their hearts, they could not refute the First Elder.
Morpheus's words had been extreme, but they were not without reason. He had laid bare the desperate reality they had long refused to acknowledge.
It seemed every escape route for the Uchiha had been cut off.
At last, the Second Elder closed his eyes with difficulty, then slowly opened them. "Very well. Perhaps this is the last choice we have left."
The Third Elder let out a long sigh and nodded weakly.
The Fourth Elder's eyes flickered before settling into cold resolve. "Then let's talk to them and see what this Paradise Organization can actually offer us."
Seeing that no one openly objected any longer, the First Elder sat down again. His voice returned to its earlier gloom, but now it carried the weight of a final gamble.
"Good. Then we'll meet him here at this time tomorrow and discuss this 'deal' properly."
The Canopy Screen's scene ended there.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi clicked his tongue and exhaled a plume of smoke.
He had watched Morpheus's inflammatory speech on the Canopy Screen, and the four Uchiha elders' silent but dangerous assent.
"The Paradise Organization?" he murmured, his voice dry.
The cold, seductive way Morpheus spoke. The vicious strategy aimed squarely at the Uchiha's pain, meant to drive Konoha apart from within.
A name came naturally to mind.
"Kumogakure," Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered, his eyes sharpening.
Kumogakure had always been known for its aggression and expansionism. It was adept at unconventional methods and had coveted Konoha's Kekkei Genkai for years.
Back then, it had both the motive and the means to devise such a sinister plan.
But a moment later, he shook his head. "No. It could also have been Iwagakure."
That old fox Ōnoki was calculating to the bone. No one was better at watching trouble from afar and profiting from the chaos.
Exploiting unrest among the Uchiha to weaken Konoha would have suited Iwagakure perfectly.
He could not even rule out Kirigakure or Sunagakure.
After all, given the situation at the time, upheaval within Konoha would have sent shock waves through the entire Shinobi World.
"Activate every Spy Network we have abroad. Spare no expense. Find out who's behind this Paradise Organization!" Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the ANBU captain beside him.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" The ANBU captain vanished without a trace.
In the Raikage's Office in Kumogakure, Lightning Bolt crackled around A, the Fourth Raikage.
"Bastard! What scheming scoundrel is using Kumogakure's name?"
He roared so loudly that the office windows shattered. "Hiding in the shadows and playing these dirty games? No warrior of Kumogakure would stoop to that!"
Darui, his secretary, rubbed his forehead. "Lord Raikage, please calm down."
"But whoever they are, they chose a very 'opportune' moment and target."
"At the time, Konoha's Uchiha were indeed its most unstable element."
"But the method is beneath contempt!" the Raikage bellowed. "Sowing discord and inciting rebellion! If Kumogakure wanted the Sharingan, we'd march right up and take it! We wouldn't skulk around under the name of some Paradise Organization!"
He whipped around to face the intelligence chief. "Investigate! Turn over every stone! Find out whether that decrepit old rock Ōnoki is behind this!"
"He's probably the only one who could come up with a scheme this underhanded! He thinks he can make Kumogakure take the blame for him? Dream on!"
Before you continue