Even though Chiyo was old, her strength hadn't faded much.
She controlled her puppets from a distance with chakra strings, cutting down Iwagakure shinobi with terrifying efficiency. Kitsuchi's forces were completely stalled.
Surprisingly, Iwagakure didn't push harder. Kitsuchi followed Ōnoki's orders to the letter — this war was about containment, not conquest. Let Konoha do the heavy lifting. After all, they were the desperate ones.
Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared into his crystal ball and let out a long breath.
The past few weeks had been hell. Ever since the Minato rumors started, wave after wave of accusations had hit him — that he'd driven the White Fang to suicide, that he'd sold Jiraiya out to Sunagakure. He could feel his reputation inside the village slipping.
If something didn't change soon, he might actually be forced to step down.
That was why he had accepted Ōnoki's brutal terms.
Now war had finally broken out.
"My plan was correct after all," Hiruzen muttered. "When internal problems become too big to solve, you create an external crisis. While everyone focuses on the war, the internal mess quietly disappears."
"Most people are talking about the fighting now. Almost no one's still obsessing over those old rumors about me."
He allowed himself a small smile.
Then the newest issue of the Ninja World Big Events Weekly landed on his desk.
Even during wartime, Sunagakure hadn't stopped printing the paper. They didn't need to lose money on it anymore — advertising revenue alone covered every cost. And as the most powerful propaganda tool in the entire ninja world, Rasa wasn't about to shut it down unless he absolutely had to.
This issue featured a full-page special report.
Title: The Confession of a Hyuga Branch Family Ninja
Below it was the complete text of Hyuga Hizashi's suicide note, followed by two clear photos — one of the original handwritten note and one of Hizashi's normal mission reports for handwriting comparison.
At the bottom, Rasa had added a single question:
"Where does a Hyuga branch family ninja truly stand in the ninja world's hierarchy?"
The paper spread like wildfire.
Some people read the news first. Others went straight to the story section.
One Piece was still going strong. Rasa had streamlined the original plot and already decided on an ending — he couldn't wait for the real series to finish.
"One Piece only has a few chapters left before this version wraps up," Rasa said to himself. "Time to pick the next serialized story."
Several options floated through his mind.
Hunter x Hunter — full of adventure and hot-blooded battles, similar in some ways to Naruto.
Bleach — with its Soul Reapers, Hollows, and Quincies.
Fullmetal Alchemist — the story that made the word "big brother" terrifying.
In the end, he chose Hunter x Hunter.
It had broad appeal with its adventure and fighting. More importantly, it featured the Kurta Clan — a persecuted group with red eyes, just like the Uchiha. Rasa knew the Uchiha would see themselves in the Kurta's tragic fate.
The Uchiha had been quiet lately. With most of them now in the Land of Water working with the Navigation Group, and Konoha too busy with its own problems, almost no one in the ninja world was talking about them anymore.
Rasa needed to bring the Uchiha back into the spotlight.
He was running low on fresh rumors… but the Uchiha still had plenty of potential.
Across the ninja world, people read the article about Hizashi.
"Hyuga Hizashi's actual suicide note?"
"With pictures!"
"The original handwriting?"
"It matches his mission reports perfectly."
"Does that mean this is real?"
Danzo had only spread copies near Konoha, and Hiruzen had sent ANBU to suppress it. The reach had been limited.
But the Ninja World Big Events Weekly reached the entire ninja world.
Within hours, everyone was talking.
"A real suicide note can't be faked."
"Dead men don't lie."
"If it were fake, the Weekly would never risk their credibility like this. It wouldn't be worth it."
A man from the Land of Fire immediately pushed back.
"Impossible to fake? Then what about that Kakashi interview? Kakashi was perfectly fine walking around Konoha — how could he have gone to Sunagakure for an interview?"
A man from the Land of Wind sneered.
"You think the Kakashi in Konoha is real? For all you know it's just some other Leaf ninja using Transformation Technique."
"Remember those rumors about Jiraiya disappearing? Maybe the Jiraiya walking around Konoha right now is fake too."
With Konoha and Sunagakure now at war, people from the two countries were already hostile toward each other.
An Iwagakure shinobi smirked.
"Sunagakure really doesn't care about pissing off the Leaf. They're still printing this stuff even after the war started."
"But for us? This is perfect. The harder Konoha and Sunagakure fight, the better it is for Iwagakure."
Soon, a copy of the Weekly reached Hiruzen's desk.
He had just finished reviewing frontline reports when an ANBU handed him the paper.
Hiruzen opened it — and the moment he saw the full-page article about Hizashi, his face turned bright red with rage.
"Rasa, you little bastard! You've gone too far!"
"I swear I'll destroy you and your entire village!"
"I will never forgive you!"
He grabbed the order he had been about to send to the front lines and slashed through the original text with his pen.
"Attack!"
"Hit them with everything we have!"
"Full force — no holding back!"