Since this wasn't an official mission and they needed to pry information from civilians, everyone left the ANBU base without masks, dressed in plain clothes, and headed into the village streets.
In the alleys and markets, small clusters of villagers whispered.
Bringing up the rear, Kakashi walked with his head down, distracted.
"…We split up," Kakashi said after a brief hesitation, then gave out assignments.
Eiya peeled off alone and chose a bustling tavern to try his luck.
He pushed aside the heavy curtain. Heat rolled out with the sting of alcohol, the smell of food, and a hint of sweat.
The hall blazed with lamplight, voices crashing together until it seemed the roof might lift.
Eiya ordered a bottle of sake and took a quiet table in the corner.
Soon a loudmouth grabbed the room's attention.
"Hey! You hear about what happened at the Hokage building yesterday?"
"Which one? The one who killed Jōnin Satō?"
"Yeah! That Uchiha Eiya! He grabbed a kunai and shhk—took the guy's head clean off!"
He even mimed the beheading, spit flying. "They say the Hokage was right there watching!"
The crowd erupted.
"No way! That brazen?"
"What can you do? He's an Uchiha."
"So what if he is? You telling me he can act up in front of the Hokage?"
"Exactly. Didn't the Hokage do anything? Should've seized the thug on the spot!"
"Seize him? He walked right out the door!"
"Why?"
"Because he's an Uchiha. If he can kill a Konoha jōnin without blinking, what are we civilians worth? If you see an Uchiha in the street, best keep your distance."
A red-faced drinker nodded hard and slammed his cup down.
"Couple days ago, two guys from the Police Force came to my stall. Ate till they were dripping grease, didn't pay a sen, then roughed me up!"
"Animals," someone spat.
The mood sank heavier with each voice, resentment thickening the air.
Then a man in a headscarf lowered his voice, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Hah. That's nothing. You know who let the Nine-Tails loose back then?"
Gasps popped around him. People leaned in. "Who?"
The headscarf man glanced left and right, then murmured, "Just what I heard… Only the Uchiha Sharingan can control a monster like that."
It was like a drop of water in hot oil. The room snapped and boiled.
"Then why didn't the Hokage or the elders—" someone stammered.
"Because they don't dare," the man sneered, relishing the moment. "The Uchiha are all lunatics. They're strong. If you provoke them and a civil war breaks out, the whole of Konoha is finished."
After a few rounds, the gossip and gripes finally ran dry. Patrons drifted out, satisfied.
The headscarf man staggered up and wove toward the door.
Eiya left payment on the table and slipped after him without a sound.
The man knew the maze of back lanes well, turning and ducking through side streets.
In a junk-cluttered alley, he spun around. The drunken glaze was gone from his face, replaced by a guarded, vicious edge.
"Why are you tailing me?"
Eiya stopped, calm. "Just wanted to ask something."
"About the Uchiha, and about Jōnin Satō," he added.
The man frowned, eyeing Eiya up and down. "What's it to you?"
"I'm a Konoha shinobi." Eiya tapped the leaf symbol on his forehead protector.
The man stayed wary, so Eiya slowly drew out a heavy money pouch and weighed it in his palm.
Coins chimed bright inside, the heft obvious.
"To be straight, Satō was a friend," Eiya said, letting a note of grief thread his voice. "I just got back from a mission. Never expected this. I want to know what really happened."
For common folk, silver was more convincing than words.
The headscarf man took the pouch and tested the weight with practiced fingers. The suspicion in his eyes eased.
"What do you want to know?"
"I heard the talk in there. I want more," Eiya said.
"That… you'll need someone else," the man hedged. "I heard it from someone too."
"Who?" Eiya pressed.
The man didn't answer at once, only rubbed his fingers together with a sly smile.
Eiya sighed, shook his head, and handed over a second pouch of the same weight.
The man stuffed it away and, after making sure no one was around, lowered his voice. "Since you're so generous, I'll tell you. Don't say it came from me or I'm in trouble. East Street, Ida Ichirō. He runs that turf. A lot of shady tidbits come from him. But listen, he's got plenty of muscle. And… I hear a shinobi's backing him."
Eiya nodded. "Thanks."
As the man relaxed, thinking the deal was done, Eiya's eyes turned scarlet. Sharingan.
Illusion slid over the man without a ripple.
His gaze went blank. He stood there a moment, then scratched his head in confusion, muttered to himself, and staggered on out of the alley.
Expressionless, Eiya picked up both pouches and tucked them away as if nothing had happened.
He turned and melted into the shadows.
Two hours later.
They regrouped in scattered spots and compared notes.
Kakashi listened in silence, then summed up.
"It's confirmed. A targeted wave of rumors is spreading among villagers and lower-ranked shinobi, faster than expected."
"The content clusters in three points. First, Eiya killing Jōnin Satō in the Hokage's office, used to paint the Uchiha as arrogant and the village leadership as weak."
"Second, exaggerating or fabricating misconduct by the Police Force to inflame both sides."
"Third, forcing the Nine-Tails incident from years ago onto the Uchiha."
His eyes swept the squad. "Any trace of an origin?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads.
"We chased several threads. Every trail ends with tavern keepers, vendors, or drifter shinobi who were the loudest spreaders."
"Try to go higher and the line snaps. No one knows who told them first."
Kakashi's gaze settled on Itachi.
Itachi's face barely shifted. "I put three of them under illusion. Same result. Each heard it by chance in different places. No clear source in their memories."
"That's not normal," Kakashi said. "Civilians shouldn't know these details, let alone that the Sharingan can control tailed beasts. Whoever crafted and seeded these rumors is a shinobi, highly alert, professional, and has scrubbed all direct traces."
Eiya, who had listened quietly, spoke up, drawing every eye.
"A man in an animal mask is passing the information. No name."
Shock rippled through the group.
"Animal mask? You mean… one of us in ANBU?"
"Can we trust that?"
Tenzo's brows knotted. "No. Besides ANBU, there's also—"
He stopped when Kakashi's sharp glance speared him, the warning plain.
Tenzo's chest tightened and he fell silent.
Kakashi gave the faintest shake of his head, his eyes grave.