Early the next morning.
The chaos that had erupted in the village center became common knowledge throughout the shinobi village. Both the villagers and the ninja who knew about it were outraged at the Kumogakure envoys responsible.
The Kumogakure envoys, who had come bearing peace, had been seen attacking villagers. It was impossible not to question Kumogakure's sincerity in signing the Peace Treaty.
Beyond that, another rumor spread through the village: the Village Leadership apparently intended to punish the Uchiha who had protected civilians, all to appease the anger of the esteemed Kumogakure envoys.
To avoid war, Kumogakure had demanded that Konoha become its vassal state.
Although these rumors sounded absurd, they undoubtedly stirred the villagers' anger. They could not verify their truth, but they would stop those things from happening.
The Land of Fire was one of the greatest nations in the shinobi world. As members of Konohagakure, they had their own pride.
The Third's expression darkened when he heard the rumors, and he hurriedly sent ANBU to stop them from spreading.
But it was clearly too late. With the rumors already circulating, any further attempt to compromise would face enormous pressure from ordinary villagers and might even damage his standing among them.
The source of the rumors had yet to be determined, but the Third already had several suspects in mind.
Most likely, the Hyuga and Uchiha had spread them. He could not rule out interference from other shinobi villages, either. After all, keeping Konoha and Kumogakure at war would maximize their interests.
After pondering the matter at length, the Third still could not come up with a good solution.
Just then, an ANBU entered the office and appeared before him. "Lord Third, the Kumogakure Envoy Corps requests an audience. They are agitated and demanding an explanation..."
"Let