Izumi was right. The secret she blurted out in her emotional state spread through Konoha's streets and alleys in just a few hours. No matter where she went with her Senpai, she heard the villagers' discussions shift from Akainu-senpai to the Hokage's eldest son.
Clearly, the other Uchiha ninja felt no responsibility or obligation to keep the Third Hokage's son's secret. Upon realizing the special secret Sarutobi Shinōzuke carried, they actually became excited and spread this "secret information" without hesitation.
Rumors involving the Hokage always spread quickly. And the rumors became increasingly outrageous, with some people even adding their own embellishments during the discussions:
—"I heard that because the Hokage-sama's eldest son killed many war orphans, that plague god from the Uchiha Police Force killed him!"
—"No wonder many war orphans from the Konoha Orphanage mysteriously disappeared. So... so they became human experiment subjects?"
—"Will the village not be satisfied with just using war orphans as test subjects in the future?"
—"Is Hokage-sama condoning this? Otherwise, why would his eldest son be the mastermind behind human experiments?"
—"Stop discussing it so carelessly! From now on, we need to keep a close eye on our own children. Those high-and-mighty people will only treat us as expendable."
—"I heard the Hokage's eldest son killed many Konoha villagers."
—"..."
"I'm sorry, Senpai..." Izumi lowered her head, apologizing, "I didn't know things would turn out like this. Senpai's teacher's reputation... I think I've ruined it." She was on the verge of tears. She hadn't imagined these rumors would become so outrageous, even affecting Hokage-sama. And this was only after half a day. What if a few more days passed...? What then?
Izumi felt the terror of "public opinion" for the first time. Endless malicious rumors began to engulf a deceased person, making even her, as an observer, feel a chill down her spine. She couldn't imagine how painful it must be for a living person to be crushed by such malicious public opinion.
"Shinōzuke-sensei should have anticipated something like this happening today when he committed those acts against justice."
Uchiha Akainu said calmly, "Rookie, you did nothing wrong."
Izumi paused. Uchiha Akainu looked at some villagers who, during their discussions, suddenly became indignant about Sarutobi Shinōzuke's actions.
"Even if the facts are slightly deviated, it has made some people realize how truly horrifying the 'evil' of the ninja world is."
Uchiha Akainu continued, "Because of your 'leak,' they are beginning to learn to distinguish between justice and evil. If they take heed and condemn evil, it means there's still hope for the ninja world."
"This is a good thing."
"You did very well."
Izumi's almost dull eyes suddenly lit up with brilliance, and a faint mist involuntarily clouded her clear eyes. She hastily wiped the corners of her eyes.
"Mm!!!"
Izumi didn't know why, but she just wanted to respond emphatically. Perhaps... it was because she had finally! Finally! Finally been praised by her Senpai!
"Senpai, I think from now on, whatever we do, we should reveal the truth behind it. And not just to a select few, but we should let everyone in the village know the true face of 'evil'."
"Senpai... wouldn't that be better?" Izumi's courage gradually grew. But only a little, not much. When she realized she seemed to be telling her Senpai what to do, she hastily corrected herself: "This is just my humble opinion, Senpai can ignore it..."
"Good."
"Eh?"
The Hokage's Dilemma
At the Hokage's office, an ANBU ninja approached Hiruzen Sarutobi and quietly reported, "Hokage-sama, many rumors unfavorable to Shinōzuke-senpai's reputation are spreading rapidly throughout the village. Some of the rumors indeed involve the truth... but most of them have been exaggerated through word-of-mouth."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. The mountain of piled documents on his desk remained untouched. The negative emotions from the pain of losing his son lingered in his heart. When he spoke, his voice was extremely hoarse and filled with deep fatigue, as if he had aged several years overnight: "What rumors?"
The ANBU ninja explained in detail. Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed tightly.
"Where did these rumors originate?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.
The ANBU ninja replied, "It seems they originated from the Uchiha clan."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent. The Uchiha clan...
"Hokage-sama, should we try to stop them?" the ANBU ninja asked.
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, a headache brewing, and said, "The more we try to stop them, the more they'll believe those things. It's just like with Naruto; the more we tried to stop the villagers from discussing him as the 'demon fox incarnate,' the more certain they became that he was the demon fox incarnate."
Danzō's Machinations
At the Root base, a Root ninja reported to Danzō Shimura: "Danzō-sama, the tide of public opinion seems to have turned. We followed your orders last night and spread many rumors about Uchiha Akainu throughout the village. However..."
"It seems that after rumors about Sarutobi Shinōzuke suddenly surfaced, the villagers became more concerned about the shady things this Hokage's eldest son had done."
"As for Uchiha Akainu..."
"It seems he's done so many of these kinds of things that the villagers have become somewhat desensitized to him."
Danzō snorted coldly. He knew that such a public opinion offensive wouldn't have much effect on Uchiha Akainu anyway; after all, Uchiha Akainu wasn't Sakumo Hatake, and that Uchiha brat didn't seem to be so thin-skinned. He had sent ANBU ninja to spread the rumors simply to further alienate Uchiha Akainu and Hiruzen Sarutobi. He just hadn't anticipated that he wouldn't be able to control the direction of public opinion.
However...
"Heh, Sarutobi Shinōzuke's reputation has worsened, and the Old Man, as his father, will definitely be affected too. Whether that naturally evil Uchiha brat is affected, or the Old Man is affected, neither is a bad thing for me." Danzō said faintly, "You all should add fuel to the fire, so Sarutobi Shinōzuke's reputation is utterly beyond redemption. It's best if you can pin some of the blame on the Old Man too."
"Yes, Danzō-sama!"
Itachi's Homecoming
A day passed. In the mouths of Konoha villagers, Sarutobi Shinōzuke had already become an "evil scientist" who would "capture villagers to conduct evil human experiments and even harm ninja with special bloodline limits."
Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi desperately wanted to salvage his deceased eldest son's reputation, public opinion had spiraled completely out of control. It was just like the situation Sakumo Hatake had faced years ago.
And during this process...
Someone... returned to the village.
"Phew, it's been half a month." Uchiha Itachi, with two ANBU ninja subordinates, stood quietly outside the village gate. A small, expressionless face held a gentle smile.
"I wonder if Sasuke missed me."