Today the Uchiha clan felt something inexplicable.
They kept sensing strange looks from the villagers. Now and then, people whispered to each other.
The villagers thought they were being subtle. But how could their whispers escape the Sharingan?
"Weird. What's with those looks?" Uchiha patrolmen all found it strange.
To be honest, the Police Force's reputation wasn't great.
Patrolling the streets, dealing with petty domestic squabbles and trivial nonsense. Now and then nabbing a pickpocket or a foreign spy—of course that earns resentment. Being talked about behind their backs was normal.
The giant misunderstanding that would be "the Night of the Clan's Downfall" hadn't happened yet, but in Konoha's eyes the Uchiha's standing was still poor.
When people saw the Uchiha acting haughty, they couldn't help thinking:
"If you're so amazing, why don't you go fight the Hidden Cloud, Stone, Mist, and Sand. Bullying us civilians in the village—what kind of skill is that?"
It wasn't that the Uchiha didn't want to—Konoha's top brass wouldn't let them!
Only in crucial times like a Ninja World War did the leadership smile and beg the Uchiha, for the sake of the Will of Fire, to lend a hand. The Uchiha would launch in force and restore the Sharingan's renown.
When the war ended, other ninja took missions like mad—cutting down Cloud, then Mist, then Sand on one battlefield after another. The Uchiha? Politely invited back to the Police Force.
Even Uchiha Shisui, who made a name as "Body Flicker Shisui," ended up a city patrolman in Konoha, walking the streets, handling the nonsense of lost chickens here and quarrelsome cats there.
Only because Shisui had a good temper—and a few screws loose—could he stand it. Any other Uchiha would have snapped.
The Uchiha felt that such trivial work insulted their talent. Bad moods were natural. And if some commoner dared say their attitude was bad—how dare he.
So relations between the "rabble" and the Uchiha grew worse and worse and worse...
But what did those looks mean?
...
On patrol, the Uchiha glanced at each other.
"Do you feel it?"
"You feel it too?"
"Yeah, the way they're looking at us is very..."
"Very what?"
"Very... hard to describe... anyway it's very..."
Getting an Uchiha to say words like "pity," "sympathy," or "tenderness" was harder than killing them. As for "doubt," "disbelief," and the like—since they didn't know what was going on, they couldn't voice it.
The confusion tormented them, scratching at their hearts, until they saw a newspaper: the New Konoha Daily.
The front-page headline read: "Uchiha: A Clan of Love!"
Seeing that page, Uchiha across the clan went, "What the—"
"What the hell?! How are we a clan of love? We Uchiha clearly revere strength—intolerable! Who is it, who's slandering us?!"
One after another they flared up, Sharingan snapping open to scour the text and see which cur had spouted nonsense and smeared the Uchiha:
\[Inside the Uchiha Clan!]
\[A Clan of Deep, Tragic Love!]
\[A People Bearing a Heavy, Sorrowful Fate!]
\[Sharingan Fully Explained!]
...
At the same time, looking at these explosive headlines, the Fourth, Namikaze Minato, fell into thought:
"Is it really so... Obito, Shisui, and Yorin..."
\[Some claim the Uchiha are evil by nature, and the Uchiha have indeed done cruel things. So certain ignorant people insist the Uchiha are born evil.]
\[But is that truly the case?]
\[Absolutely not. Quite the opposite.]
\[No one loves more deeply than the Uchiha. No one understands the power of love more than the Uchiha. No clan's fate is more tragic.]
\[The proof is the Sharingan.]
\[When struck by intense shock and overwhelming grief, the Sharingan opens. Usually this is when someone the Uchiha loves has died.]
\[The Sharingan is not a cursed eye; it is an eye of love. It is an eye of mourning for comrades, friends, clansmen, even beloved ones—misunderstood by many as "an evil eye that opens only by killing one's dearest."]
\[This is a colossal misunderstanding.]
\[No clan cares more for comrades than the Uchiha. Those pairs of red eyes are proof; they are the best proof of the Uchiha's love for Konoha and for their companions.]
\[When you see those terrifying crimson eyes, remember: they opened for Konoha; they grieve, rage, and hold fast for Konoha's comrades.]
...
"Kagami... did your eyes open for us as well? Did your eyes grieve, rage, and hold fast for us?"
At the same time, seeing the New Konoha Daily, Sarutobi Hiruzen showed a wistful look.
He once had an Uchiha for a comrade, and knew these words were not baseless.
Perhaps there was some exoneration and whitewashing for the Uchiha, but overall it was correct. It also gave him inspiration.
Everyone focused too much on the Sharingan's power. Few cared to understand the cruelty and sorrow beneath that power.
His guilt grew stronger. Doubts also arose.
\[The Uchiha won't speak of it.]
\[Because the Uchiha are proud. They don't want to seem like they're crying and seeking comfort and attention.]
\[They keep all blood, tears, and sorrow to themselves, then protect themselves with a shell of cold arrogance.]
\[Thus they live in darkness and pain. No one understands the Uchiha's grief. People avoid them out of fear and suspicion.]
\[So the misunderstood Uchiha can only pin these feelings on their kin. Hence their fervent clan love.]
\[This makes people think the Uchiha only care about their own and not Konoha—not so. The Uchiha will love all comrades, protect them with everything, and fight for them. But people won't be with the Uchiha, and the Uchiha are clumsy at words, so the rift and misunderstanding deepen.]
\[Originally, Uchiha love could embrace everyone in Konoha. As long as the village regards the Uchiha as comrades, the Sharingan will risk life itself to protect those comrades.]
\[The Uchiha can become the clan that loves Konoha most of all.]
\[Give the Uchiha a little love, and they will return it tenfold, a hundredfold.]
...
"Utter nonsense! Those Uchiha brats, born evil—utter nonsense!"
At the same time, in Root, Shimura Danzō roared:
"Bewitching the people with lies—vile impact!
Who put this paper out?! Quickly, shut it down! We must not let people be misled, must not let them pity the Uchiha... What are you waiting for?! Why won't you obey me?!"
"Uh..."
Root operatives glanced at each other. At last someone mustered the courage to say to Danzō:
"This newspaper..."
"This newspaper was ordered by the Fourth..."
"With the Fourth's backing, we probably..."
"Can't do anything..."
Shimura Danzō: "..."
Shimura Danzō: "Tch."