A few seconds later, the Grand Elder shuddered. His pupils widened sharply, and his face turned deathly pale.
Only then did he realize what it meant. He blurted out, "Wait! He means... the people who attacked Sasuke's home used a secret technique unique to our Sarutobi Clan?!"
A chill ran down the back of an elder beside him. He said quietly, "It certainly looks that way! And Lord Hokage deliberately helped us conceal the evidence instead of making this public! Otherwise, our Sarutobi Clan would have no way to defend ourselves!"
"Be grateful? What is there to be grateful for?!" The Grand Elder slammed the table, seething with anger and frustration.
"This is slander! A blatant frame-up!"
"No matter how foolish or greedy our Sarutobi Clan might be, we'd never send people to attack the Uchiha residence!"
"What kind of person is Sasuke? The whole world knows! He's ruthless, decisive, and won't tolerate a thing!"
"If we'd really done it, Sasuke would storm straight in and wipe out our entire clan! How could we dare do something so stupid?!"
The elders around him voiced their agreement, their faces filled with anger and panic.
"Exactly! At most, we'd pull a few strings behind the scenes."
"Besides, we haven't even started our plans to ruin the Uchiha's reputation and quietly turn Naruto against them!"
"We'd never dare attack Sasuke's family outright!"
"Our clansmen didn't do this! Someone must have deliberately copied our ninjutsu to frame us!"
The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly frantic as everyone realized how serious the situation was.
Another elder from the clan's direct line, well versed in its ninjutsu, looked grave as he analyzed the situation. "Don't forget! The requirements for learning this secret Fire Release technique of ours are extremely strict."
"Only successive clan heads and