Sasuke's small face visibly showed a trace of bewilderment.
An inexplicable wave of irritation immediately surged up within him.
He sprang to his feet and tried hard to adopt the Uchiha clan's trademark frosty, expressionless look, locking his gaze firmly on the speaker.
Frowning, Sasuke demanded, "What on earth are you babbling about? Are you slandering the Uchiha clan?!"
Sasuke would not allow anyone to bad‑mouth his older brother.
As the top prodigy of the first‑year Ninja Academy class and the second son of the Uchiha clan head, Sasuke's stern bearing still made the handful of academy brats opposite him shrink back.
One of them answered timidly, "That's what everyone outside is saying! They say—Uchiha Itachi killed the whole Uchiha clan. He didn't spare the old or the young."
Sasuke: "…???"
Just as he was about to retort, a startled shout came from the classroom door—Haruno Sakura burst back in, flustered.
She rushed to Sasuke's side and blurted anxiously, "Sasuke‑kun, lots of people are saying something terrible happened to your Uchiha clan!"
Another girl—Yamanaka Ino—ran up, pushed Sakura aside, and hurriedly added, "Sasuke‑kun, someone said your parents… were killed… killed by your brother, Uchiha Itachi."
A jolt of tension shot through Sasuke.
His expression changed slightly.
Rumor after outrageous rumor poured into his ears, and Sasuke began to realize something might truly have happened at home.
But—it was too absurd!
Exterminate the clan? Kill his parents? How could his brother ever do something so monstrous? In Sasuke's eyes, his brother was the gentlest Uchiha of all!
Impossible!
Though his mind was reeling in disbelief, Sasuke couldn't hold back his legs. Ignoring the stares of the other students, he bolted from the classroom and out of the academy.
Panic and dread drove him instinctively toward the Uchiha compound.
"No way…"
"Brother, he…"
"Absolutely impossible!"
…
Sasuke ran until he was out of breath. Along the way he heard many villagers gossiping that something had happened to the Uchiha, and the rumors grew ever more outlandish.
He even caught someone whispering that Uchiha Sasuke had already been killed by Uchiha Itachi.
Wait—
if Uchiha Sasuke was dead, then who was he?
"Damn these lies…"
He had no energy left to refute the slanders; he just wanted to reach the compound as fast as possible.
Strangely enough—perhaps by coincidence—he hadn't passed a single member of the Uchiha Police Force.
Uneasiness tightened in his chest.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two ninjas in Uchiha Police Force uniforms at the next corner.
Sasuke's eyes lit up.
He breathed half a sigh of relief: at least part of the wild rumors had to be false—there were still Uchiha ninja alive.
"No!" Sasuke shook his head hard. What was he thinking? It wasn't "part" of the rumors that were false—all of them should be false!
"Hey! P‑please wait!!"
Seeing the two Uchiha officers about to leave, Sasuke shouted after them.
They seemed to hear him and stopped.
He dashed over. The moment he halted, he bent double, hands on knees, panting; sweat drenched his pale forehead—he was clearly worn out.
Catching his breath, he lifted his head and hurriedly asked, "I've heard so many rumors about the Uchiha clan—could you tell me what's really go—"
His words froze.
He recognized one of the officers—the man his mother had warned him to avoid: Uchiha Chizumi.
Nervousness gripped Sasuke again.
After Itachi's last visit to the village, Sasuke had once asked why their mother forbade contact with Chizumi.
Itachi told him of an old clash between them—news that had shocked the young Sasuke and made him instinctively brand Chizumi an "enemy," someone who wanted to kill his brother.
If not an enemy, what else?
"Huh? Sasuke‑kun?" came a familiar voice from the other side. Sasuke turned mechanically.
He saw someone he knew—Uchiha Izumi!
Because his brother had so few friends, Sasuke remembered each one clearly.
"Sasuke‑kun, it's Thursday, and classes aren't over yet. Are you skipping school?"
Izumi narrowed her eyes, placed a hand on his head, ruffled his hair, and chided, "Skipping class is a very bad habit, you know. It's a sign of moral decline—Sasuke‑kun mustn't go astray."
Sasuke shuffled back, smoothing his mussed hair, and hastily explained, "I—I only came out because of those rumors. I wanted to hurry home and check. They said my brother… killed everyone in the Uchiha clan."
Izumi suddenly understood.
She said to Chizumi beside her, "Senpai, rumors of the wicked deeds Itachi will commit have even reached the academy kids. But as the real news gets repeated, people embellish it, so many versions contradict the truth."
Sasuke blinked and asked in a rush, "What truth? What real news? Does it have to do with my brother?"
But he noticed they weren't answering him.
Chizumi merely glanced at him, then shifted his gaze.
Sasuke saw that he was staring at an ordinary‑looking Konoha civilian a short distance away.
In a dispassionate tone Chizumi said, "Someone in the shadows deliberately fanned the negative public opinion against Uchiha Itachi. They're exploiting the uproar."
Izumi gasped softly. "Exploiting it? Senpai, have you found something new?"
She too looked at the person Chizumi had fixed on.
Hmm…
What was odd about that civilian?
Izumi saw her senpai say nothing more; he simply walked toward that spot at an unhurried pace.
She instantly followed.
Leaving Sasuke alone, bewildered.
He looked left, then right, torn.
It would take over ten minutes to sprint back to the compound, but if he asked these people he might get answers in a few minutes.
"Mother said not to go near Uchiha Chizumi, but I'm talking to Uchiha Izumi… that should be all right, right?"
Gritting his teeth—
Sasuke followed after them.
~~~
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