"Use!"
In the next moment, countless names appeared out of thin air on the Confrontation Points Exchange Card.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ebizo, Shimura Danzo, Onoki, Karatachi Yagura, Killer B.
Six names again.
But this time, they were somewhat different from the previous list.
Still, with Shimura Danzo among them, it was hard for Rasa to choose anyone else.
There was no deeper reason.
Danzo was simply too sensitive.
Find anything at all to curse Danzo over in the newspaper, and two thousand emotion points would practically fall into Rasa's lap.
"I choose Shimura Danzo!"
Immediately, all the other names vanished.
Danzo's name entered the card, and the Confrontation Points Exchange Card transformed into a streak of light.
It flashed away in an instant.
When it appeared again, it was already in Konoha.
The streak of light sank into Danzo's body.
Soon afterward, Ebizo's subordinates began to move.
After pushing the first two rumors, Ebizo had already formed a complete method of spreading them.
He had even established a special ninja team for the task.
He called it the Rumor Squad.
At this time, the matter of the Kirigakure ANBU attacking Konoha ninja still had no final conclusion.
By the unspoken agreement of the major hidden villages, responsibility had been pushed onto the Uchiha and the Kaguya clan.
After returning to Kirigakure, Karatachi Yagura carried out a thorough investigation.
And the result told him that this had not been an order from Kirigakure's higher-ups at all.
It had been the ANBU acting on their own.
But ANBU could not possibly carry out such an operation without orders.
If it had happened, then they must have been controlled.
"Then who was it?"
Yagura's eyes flickered uncertainly.
"Iwagakure?"
"Sunagakure?"
"Or really the Uchiha and the Kaguya clan?"
At that very moment, Ebizo's rumor campaign began to spread quietly through the shinobi world.
A piece of intelligence was delivered into Yagura's hands.
He opened it.
The next instant, his pupils contracted sharply.
"Konoha!"
"I knew it!"
"Faithless bastards!"
"No sooner had Konoha's ninja been attacked than they went to Rasa and proposed a peace agreement. It practically happened at the same time."
"What, does Danzo have the gift of prophecy now?"
"There's only one explanation—Danzo already knew before the Kirigakure ANBU attacked the Konoha ninja."
The rumors Rasa had Ebizo spread were all based on facts.
But facts were facts. The timeline had been deliberately adjusted.
He had moved the time of Danzo's trip to the Sunagakure army camp slightly earlier.
Of course, Konoha could clarify the truth.
But that did not mean others would believe Konoha's clarification.
As long as those who believed and those who did not began arguing, Rasa's purpose would already be achieved.
The rumor would gain more discussion.
It would spread farther.
And it would generate more points for Rasa at a much faster pace.
"Danzo!"
A trace of venomous hatred surfaced in Yagura's eyes.
"The whole plan was very likely designed by Danzo himself."
"Otherwise, after having already offended Rasa in the past, there is no way he would have voluntarily gone to meet him and placed himself in danger. Danzo knows that much himself."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought Orochimaru along."
Yagura snorted coldly.
"Konoha claims that Uchiha used Sharingan genjutsu to control Kirigakure's ANBU."
"But Konoha still has Uchiha of its own."
"And the Yamanaka clan as well."
"With the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques, controlling Kirigakure ANBU would not be difficult at all."
Yagura read the intelligence in his hands while continuing his analysis.
And the more he thought, the more convinced he became that it had all been staged by Konoha.
"Kirigakure's ANBU would never betray the village. They are absolutely loyal to Kirigakure."
"Which means the only way to control them would be through ninjutsu or genjutsu."
"Sunagakure and Iwagakure do not have such techniques."
"As for the Uchiha, yes, that is possible. The Kaguya clan might also know where the Three-Tails would revive. But there was no reason for the Uchiha to stuff the Three-Tails into a Konoha ninja."
"They could have used a Kirigakure ninja."
"That would have been much easier. The success rate would have been far higher, and the damage to Konoha would have been far greater."
Yagura settled firmly on the answer in his heart.
"There is only Konoha."
"They wanted the act to look convincing, but they did not want to cause too much damage to Konoha."
"So they deliberately chose one of Namikaze Minato's disciples—someone weak, someone whose death would not truly hurt Konoha, yet because she was Minato's disciple, her death would still carry weight."
"That is the most reasonable explanation!"
"Konoha!"
Yagura ground his teeth.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi is shameless."
"Danzo is despicable."
"They took what they wanted from Kirigakure, and this is how they repay us!"
Yagura gave his order.
"Pass down my command. Issue an announcement and make Konoha's disgraceful conduct public."
"Let everyone in the shinobi world see Konoha's true face!"
Yagura had thought it through clearly.
If Konoha could act without仁, then Kirigakure had to answer without义. Otherwise, Konoha would think Kirigakure easy to bully.
Yagura could not swallow this insult.
Secondly, an announcement like this would help recover some of Kirigakure's reputation in the shinobi world.
So that when people spoke of Kirigakure, they would no longer merely say it had lost.
Instead, they would say Kirigakure had been betrayed by Konoha and left as a pitiful victim.
That would at least bring Kirigakure some benefit.
Before long, Kirigakure's announcement was released and spread rapidly throughout the shinobi world.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi learned of it, he was dumbfounded.
"Is there something wrong with Kirigakure?!"
"Didn't we already agree to pin this on the Uchiha and the Kaguya clan?"
"Konoha didn't even pursue the matter with them, and now Kirigakure dares to turn around and bite us instead?"
"Konoha suffered losses too! We haven't even demanded compensation yet!"
At that moment, a figure burst into the Hokage Tower.
Danzo's expression was dark and ugly.
"Hiruzen, have you heard the rumors about Kirigakure ANBU attacking Konoha ninja? Someone is targeting me from the shadows, claiming I planned the whole thing. It's either Sunagakure or Iwagakure."
"Those two villages are fond of such filthy tactics."
"I think Konoha must also possess the same kind of methods if we are to fight back against them."
"Leave this matter to Root."
Hiruzen shook his head and pushed the intelligence report in front of him across the desk.
"It wasn't Iwagakure or Sunagakure. The one spreading the rumor that you were the mastermind appears to be Kirigakure. This is Yagura's announcement."
"Take a look."
Danzo took it and read.
His face sank at once.
"That Yagura is spouting nonsense!"
"He's slandering me!"