"The person spreading these rumors is despicable!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi loathed the rumor-monger to the bone.
Especially because this rumor, once again, involved him directly.
The previous rumor about the Uchiha had already left Hiruzen furious.
He had done nothing, and yet an enormous pot of blame had been dumped straight onto his head.
When the Uchiha Clan rebelled, there had even been people saying he had driven them to it.
Driven them to what, exactly?
The matter of Uchiha Kagami aside.
Uchiha Dou died—who killed him? Danzo did.
Uchiha Gen died—who killed him? Very likely Danzo again.
For a moment, a suspicion Hiruzen had long kept buried surfaced once more in his heart:
Had Danzo secretly pushed the Uchiha rebellion from the shadows on purpose… just to damage his standing and take his place as Hokage?
Hiruzen knew very well that Danzo had always wanted the position of Hokage.
And now it was happening again.
He had never done anything to the Hyuga Clan, and yet somehow he had become the man who sold them out.
Sold out the Hyuga. Gave the Byakugan to Kirigakure. All to secure a ceasefire agreement.
Even if Konoha's situation had been poor at the time, it had not been poor enough for something like that.
And more than that—there was simply no way he would ever trade the Byakugan to Kirigakure for peace.
"Who could it be?"
A string of names passed through Hiruzen's mind.
Iwagakure. Sunagakure. The Kaguya Clan.
Even the Uchiha Clan.
"What is the Hyuga Clan's reaction?"
The shinobi below answered,
"Hokage-sama, some Hyuga shinobi have indeed been influenced by the rumor. However, they have not taken any extreme action. They are not like the Uchiha were back then."
Hiruzen nodded, his expression easing slightly.
"The Hyuga Clan has more sense than the Uchiha Clan, at least."
Hiruzen summoned an ANBU shinobi.
"Call Koharu to me."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Not long after, Koharu arrived.
"Hiruzen."
"Koharu, you've heard about the rumor involving the Hyuga Clan by now, I assume."
Koharu nodded.
"I have. I don't know which shameless bastard is spreading lies about Konoha again. The winds of the shinobi world have truly gone rotten. Such low methods, one after another…"
"The shinobi world was never like this in the past."
Koharu's disdain for the rumor-maker was obvious.
Hiruzen cut him off.
"There's no point saying that. Whether they target Konoha or not, what matters is how we respond."
"The Root is now in your hands. I know very well what kind of organization Danzo built over decades. Koharu, you must uncover the source of the rumor as quickly as possible."
Koharu showed a troubled look.
"Hiruzen… I'm afraid that may not be possible."
"Not possible? Why?"
Koharu replied,
"Hiruzen, there's something you don't know. Root's current condition is actually quite poor. There are barely any shinobi in it worth mentioning. It simply can't accomplish much."
"Danzo ran it for so many years, and this is all he left behind. Frankly, I'm disappointed in him."
"This is not the level one should expect from Tobirama-sensei's disciple."
"Hiruzen, why not give me some shinobi? I'll build Root properly from the ground up. Once that's done, investigating rumors like this will be no problem at all."
Hiruzen: "…"
A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes.
He did not know every detail of Root's internal state, but he knew enough.
There was no way it was as bad as Koharu claimed.
If Koharu genuinely thought Root was this useless, then there could only be one explanation:
Danzo had handed over a fake Root.
And Koharu had actually believed it.
"The village cannot spare any extra shinobi right now. Koharu, do your best with what you have. I'll assign the investigation of the rumors to ANBU."
"Root can handle another task."
"What task?"
"Watch the Hyuga Clan. I do not want to see a repeat of what happened with Uchiha Dou and Uchiha Gen."
"The Hyuga Clan cannot be allowed to suffer unexplained deaths—especially not of the sort that raises suspicion."
Hiruzen's gaze turned cold.
"If they die, then they can only die at the hands of Iwagakure or Sunagakure."
Koharu nodded.
"Hiruzen, don't worry. I won't let the Hyuga Clan act recklessly, and I won't let them die for no reason."
"Good. Go."
Watching Koharu leave, Hiruzen's face darkened once more.
"Danzo… Danzo…"
"So this is how you obey the Hokage's orders? Openly respectful, secretly defiant?"
"You kept the real Root under your private control. What exactly are you planning?"
"And Koharu… he's even more incompetent."
"He couldn't even tell what Root's real condition was."
"And he actually thought Danzo was the incompetent one."
"Unbelievable."
Hiruzen was deeply disappointed in Koharu.
He had never noticed it before—mostly because Koharu had never been placed in charge of anything truly important or critical.
But now, with one real test, the result had become clear at once.
His ability simply was not enough.
Not that Koharu was less capable than an ordinary shinobi.
Rather, in Hiruzen's eyes, compared to himself and Danzo, Koharu fell far too short.
"Send for the Hyuga Clan head."
Not long after, the Hyuga clan head arrived.
"Hokage-sama."
Before Hiruzen, the Hyuga clan head kept his posture extremely respectful and humble.
And before Hiruzen could even speak, the man took the initiative.
"I have already heard of the rumor involving the Hyuga Clan. It is nothing more than a complete fabrication—a ploy by other shinobi villages to sow discord within Konoha."
"The most likely culprit is Iwagakure."
"The last time they scattered those flyers, they deliberately mentioned the Hyuga Clan as well."
"But the Hyuga Clan will absolutely not fall for such tricks."
"I will keep my clansmen under proper control."
That attitude pleased Hiruzen greatly.
Still, something about it felt vaguely familiar.
When the earlier rumor about the Uchiha Clan had spread, Uchiha Yamakaku had made the very same assurances to him.
And yet, in the end, the Uchiha had still rebelled.
"You've done well, Yamatsubaki. You were not swayed by the rumor. That puts my mind at ease."
"But merely restraining your clansmen is not enough. The rumor itself must still be investigated."
"There will certainly be some within the Hyuga Clan whose thoughts have been stirred by it."
"What we need to do is not simply silence them."
"It is to make them understand that this is only a rumor."
"I do not wish to see another Uchiha incident."
Hyuga Yamatsubaki nodded heavily.
"Hokage-sama, the Hyuga Clan will never do such a thing."
"I am not like Uchiha Yamakaku. I will not lose control of my clan."
On that point, Hyuga Yamatsubaki was extremely confident.
After all, the Hyuga Clan possessed the Caged Bird Seal.
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