Today, inside the Uchiha clan compound, a strange rumor suddenly began circulating for reasons unknown.
The rumor said:
Uchiha Chizumi's Sharingan possesses a terrifying dōjutsu that can pierce through "evil of the past" and "evil of the future." He has foreseen the "future evil" of the clan head's son, Uchiha Itachi: on some day yet to come, Itachi will betray the clan and massacre every Uchiha.
Every single member of the clan—men and women, young and old—will fall beneath Itachi's blade. Even his own parents and friends will be killed without mercy.
When Uchiha Chizumi tried to eliminate this "future evil," the clan head Fugaku intervened and shielded Itachi, choosing to spare the one who will someday plunge into an abyss.
Because the rumor touched on the three most prominent figures in the Uchiha clan, it spread rapidly—even the ninja cats didn't need to fan the flames.
Yet the story was so sensational that most people found it hard to believe and instinctively questioned its truth. After all, no one had ever heard of a Sharingan that could see the evil of both past and future. Besides…
Although Uchiha Itachi never quite fit in and many clansmen disliked him for siding with the Hokage, surely he wasn't that inhuman? He was still an Uchiha, after all.
"Hey, you—the new girl. Yes, I mean you."
In the women's restroom of a public washroom on clan grounds, Izumi had just finished and was washing her hands when someone called out from behind. Brushing away her troubled expression, she flicked the water from her fingers and turned curiously.
A woman in Uchiha Police Force attire lowered her voice: "You're Uchiha Chizumi's student, right? You must know things we don't. Tell me… is that business from this morning true?"
Izumi blinked blankly. "Huh?"
She had no idea what Juitsurō had done.
"The thing about Uchiha Itachi," the woman pressed. "Did Uchiha Chizumi really see Itachi's future evil?"
Izumi: "!!!"
Shock flashed across her face—an answer in itself.
"So it's true…"
Izumi hadn't even spoken when the woman grasped the implication, murmuring numbly, "It's actually true."
Izumi noticed bulging veins on the back of the woman's hand as she muttered, anger oddly surging within her. She even saw the Sharingan flare in the woman's eyes.
"U—chi—ha— I—ta—chi… you're something else!"
The woman ground out Itachi's name syllable by syllable. Things were veering in a direction Izumi hadn't foreseen—and how had this person even learned about what happened that morning? Izumi was thoroughly perplexed.
With Izumi, now tricked into confirming the rumor, the once‑dubious tale suddenly felt credible, sending chills through many Uchiha.
Uchiha Setsuna passed his cane to a bodyguard and knelt slowly on a soft cushion, his gaze sweeping over a gathering of hard‑line Uchiha shinobi.
"Tell me," the elderly voice rasped, "how credible do you find today's rumor?"
"At least seventy percent," one ninja answered gravely. "That girl at Uchiha Chizumi's side admitted it. Our investigation also confirms the clan head was seen leaving Chizumi's home at dawn. Combined with Chizumi's absurdly high case‑clearance rate, his eyes may indeed possess a unique dōjutsu unlike any we've known."
Bang!
Someone slammed the table in fury. "Well played, Uchiha Itachi! Well played, Uchiha Fugaku! We toil day and night to safeguard our clan's future, and they mean to destroy it with their own hands!"
Another clenched his fists, eyes cold. "Elder Setsuna, we must strangle this crisis in its cradle."
"But what if the intel is wrong? Could an ordinary three‑tomoe Sharingan truly foresee future evil?"
"There is no 'what if'! Even a sliver of chance cannot be allowed. Besides, Itachi was never on our side. I've long suspected Shisui died by Itachi's hand—on the day Shisui fell, the entire clan was at assembly save those two."
In a few heated exchanges, the radicals reached consensus:
—Believe the rumor.
Even a remote possibility must be prevented.
"Gentlemen," Elder Setsuna said after a silence, "I believe Clan Head Fugaku, who chose to shield Itachi, is no longer fit to lead the Uchiha."
All eyes fixed on the aged hawk‑faction elder.
…
Meanwhile, the moderate faction that sought peaceful coexistence with the village confronted Fugaku himself.
"Clan Head Fugaku, is the rumor true?"
Fugaku's face darkened. He had no idea who had leaked the morning's events. He noticed the storm of public opinion but dared not step in; doing so would confirm everything. Yet if he didn't, the rumor might escape the clan and reach the village—an agonizing dilemma.
Could Chizumi have spread it? That ran contrary to the man's normally taciturn nature. Had Chizumi changed? Or… was it someone else?
"Just wild gossip," Fugaku finally answered after a long pause, still choosing to protect his elder son. "Itachi would never do such a thing—now or in the future. Only unity will let us keep living in peace with the village. Don't be swayed by those who would drive a wedge between us. I vouch for Itachi as clan head."
A moderate elder shook his head. "For all our sakes, Fugaku, I hope you've chosen wisely."
…
Noon, Ninja Academy
First‑year student Uchiha Sasuke had just finished his bento when he noticed several classmates entering the room and shooting him odd looks. They whispered among themselves, pointing furtively.
Frowning, Sasuke stood to ask what they wanted, but one boy stepped forward first.
"Hey, Sasuke," he ventured, "is it true your brother, Uchiha Itachi, slaughtered everyone in your clan?"
Sasuke: "???"