The Name That Slipped from a Drunk's Mouth

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

Gorō Satoru was walking home with a skewer of Three-Color Dango in his mouth when a commotion at the entrance of the tavern caught his attention.

A burly man, drunk and staggering, was shoved out of the shop.

Gorō Satoru raised an eyebrow and paused in his tracks.

Another person emerged from the tavern, dressed in drab gray clothes, with a fierce look on his face.

The drunkard, who had just gotten up, hadn't even had time to stand properly when this guy slapped him back to the ground.

The man in gray shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You never learn your lesson!"

The man in black on the ground struggled to his feet and pointed at the man in gray, cursing back.

"Don't play dumb! If it weren't for you back then—"

"It's all your fault!"

"Bullshit, it's you!"

"You!"

The two were arguing fiercely, and before long they were rolling around on the ground in a tangled mess.

People on the roadside started to gather around, craning their necks to see.

"Stop hitting him! Let go right now!"

An elderly woman approached and offered some advice.

But her words were like the wind; neither of them heard them, and they continued to hold onto each other's collars tightly.

The commotion was so loud that it soon attracted a patrol team dressed in Uchiha uniforms.

"Hey, what's all the fuss about?"

Two guards came up and pulled him away.

The two drunkards wouldn't listen and kept pulling at each other, refusing to let go.

"Let's quiet down."

The guards grabbed the people from behind and forcibly pried their hands apart.

They didn't appreciate this good intention; they were still struggling desperately, insisting on rushing to the other side to fight.

"Konoha Military Police Force, get out of the way!"

A drunkard shouted.

"Hide away, just like you did with the Nine-Tails- Tails!"

Another one shouted it out as well.

The moment the word "Nine-Tails" was mentioned, the guards' previous businesslike attitude vanished instantly.

"Say it again?"

The voice turned cold.

Their patience with the two drunkards ran out instantly.

In no time at all, the two men were taken down and tied up tightly.

"It hurts so much, it hurts so much!"

The drunkards struggled and shouted.

"Take them all back!"

The captain in charge gave the order.

"Why are you arresting me? Why are you arresting me!"

The drunk man, being dragged along, yelled at the guards all the way.

The captain stood with his arms crossed, watching the two of them without any expression on his face.

"Alright, alright, shut your mouth!"

He urged impatiently.

The villagers who had been watching began to murmur among themselves.

"It's just two drunk guys fighting."

"Just talk them out of it, and that's it."

"Those Uchiha ruthless."

"Who can argue with that?"

The Uchiha guards didn't reply with a single word.

They all disappeared amidst the chattering of the people around them.

Gorō Satoru raised his hand and touched the blindfold. The Azure eyes hidden beneath appeared elongated, as if they were seeing things from a very distant place.

This kind of thing happens in more than one place.

They're everywhere else too.

The rift between the Uchiha and the village is widening.

The situation is becoming increasingly tense.

That night is coming, the night of annihilation.

He only has a few days left to turn things around.

Konoha, Hokage's Office.

During this period, villagers have been increasingly complaining about the Konoha Military Police Force's excessive enforcement of the law.

"The suspicion surrounding the military is growing day by Tenten."

"Hmph, the Uchiha are starting to show off."

Danzo's words were laced with barbs.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and sighed heavily.

"That's not it, they're actually resisting."

"The seeds sown by the Nine-Tails incident six years ago have been sown until now."

"But the Uchiha Clan didn't hurt a single person that time."

One of the advisory elders felt this was unreasonable.

"It's precisely because no one was injured that people became suspicious."

Koharu's words had a hidden meaning.

The fact that only the Uchiha Clan from the entire village arrived unscathed was bound to attract gossip from others.

"Furthermore, the fact that they were reassigned to protect civilians and withdrawn from the Nine-Tails' battle zone also made the Uchiha Clan feel that Konoha was on guard against them, and that's where the rift began."

Hiruzen Sarutobi regretted saying that.

I really shouldn't have listened to Danzo then.

Pushing the Uchiha out not only resulted in a loss of fighting power, but also sowed the seeds of such a huge grudge.

This was the worst move.

"The practice of isolating the Uchiha Clan has been maintained in Konoha since the time of the Second; it is a fundamental practice."

Danzo didn't mince words and rejected the offer directly.

The decision to have the Uchiha withdraw from the Nine-Tails was made in accordance with the policy left behind by the Second.

Could he possibly have made a mistake?

Judging from the way these people are behaving, he hasn't done anything wrong at all.

Why bring this up now?

When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Danzo, he sighed again.

That's enough; he didn't want to dwell on the past.

The Second's original intention was not to isolate the family; he was thinking of everyone's interests.

"Have you forgotten about your friend Kagami Uchiha too?"

"How could I forget? His eye has helped me countless times."

Danzo answered crisply and decisively.

"The Uchiha are Konoha's comrades; we must keep them here."

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.

Konoha still needs this strength.

"If we can really keep them."

Danzo only spoke half of what he said before shutting up.