When the note was brought back to the Hokage Building, the atmosphere in the Conference Room was colder than when they had discovered the gray-clad figure.
After the Nine-Tails, everyone feared the Uchiha.
That sentence contained no fabricated figures.
No forged signatures.
Nor did it masquerade as an order.
It was not even an outright lie.
That was what made it so dangerous.
Uchiha Toru stood by the door, his expression grimmer than before.
If the note had said, "The Uchiha are preparing to rebel," he could have scoffed on the spot.
If it had said, "The Konoha Military Police Force has seized medicinal supplies," they could have produced records to disprove it.
But this sentence was different.
Did the village fear the Uchiha?
Yes.
Had the way villagers looked at the Sharingan changed after the Night of the Nine-Tails?
Yes.
Did the Hokage Building have to set boundaries for every step of its investigations into the Uchiha?
Yes.
Precisely because all of that was true, Uchiha Toru felt an unbearable tightness in his chest.
He wanted to curse.
But he did not know which part to curse at.
Uchiha Gen looked at the note without immediately ordering it sealed away.
First, he asked, "Toru, do you think this sentence is false?"
Uchiha Toru froze.
"No."
His reply was harsh.
As though he had forced the word through clenched teeth.
"Then is it complete?"
Uchiha Toru frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Uchiha Gen pressed the note flat on the table.
"The village fears the Uchiha. That is part of the truth."
He looked up at everyone.
"But it is not the whole truth."
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Uchiha Gen continued, "The village fears the Uchiha, and someone is exploiting that fear."
"The village suspects the Uchiha, and someone