The third issue of the Shinobi World Major Events Weekly was sent out to every corner of the shinobi world by the newspaper's ninja couriers.
After the groundwork laid by the first two issues, the name of the Shinobi World Major Events Weekly had become known almost everywhere.
Across the shinobi world, hardly anyone had not heard of it.
Even among ordinary people, many knew the name by now.
The story of The Kouga Ninja Scrolls had drawn in a great many readers.
All of them were waiting eagerly for the next installment.
The moment they got the newspaper, they hurried to read what happened next.
"Isn't Udono Josuke's prototype basically the Akimichi clan?"
"It really does feel that way."
"They can both make their bodies expand."
"Though the effect is a little different from the Akimichi clan's Expansion Jutsu."
"That Yakushiji Tenzen really is a beast. He's so sinister and vicious!"
"Iga Oboro's ability is an eye that can see through genjutsu? Isn't that similar to the Hyuga clan's Byakugan? Could her prototype really be the Hyuga of Konoha?"
"But the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha-like prototype for Gennosuke definitely aren't in love."
One Konoha ninja picked up the newspaper and looked at the front page first.
The next moment, his expression changed.
A Root ninja hurried over to Danzo.
"Danzo-sama, this is bad! You're on the front page again!"
Danzo took the paper, then fixed his gaze on the headline.
"Shocking—according to an anonymous source, every Uchiha member killed by Shimura Danzo had both eyes removed, and he is suspected of using the Uchiha Sharingan for biological research."
"Signs of excavation have been found in the Uchiha graveyard."
"This may be one of the reasons behind the Uchiha rebellion."
Danzo gripped the newspaper so tightly that it seemed his fingernails might pierce through it.
"Nonsense!"
"This is slander!"
"This is a false accusation against me!"
"When did I ever dig up Uchiha graves?"
"That brat Rasa has gone too far!"
"He prints information with no evidence at all, and even puts it on the front page?"
As one of the only Uchiha in Konoha with relatively high freedom of movement, Uchiha Shisui brought the paper back to the Uchiha district and passed it around.
One Uchiha spoke bitterly.
"Danzo is truly no good."
"How can he treat the Uchiha like this?"
"Clan Head-sama, what should we do?"
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at him.
What could they do?
What exactly could they do?
They were prisoners trapped inside the compound.
What power did they even have?
Ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for confirmation?
Confront Danzo directly?
Demand that Konoha punish Danzo?
Impossible.
"The truth of this matter is still uncertain."
"This is, after all, a newspaper from Sunagakure. And the source of this information has chosen not to reveal their identity. Besides, those Uchiha were no longer Konoha's people."
Fugaku looked at the gathered members of the Uchiha clan before him and could clearly sense the changes in them.
At the beginning, these Uchiha had been divided into two types.
One type had trusted Konoha, opposed rebellion, and actively cut themselves off from the Uchiha rebels.
The other type had simply not been trusted by the rebels, had been looked down upon by them, and thus had no choice but to remain in Konoha.
For example, Fugaku's own clan head faction.
But as time passed, these Uchiha had gradually begun to develop grievances against Konoha.
They no longer trusted it as they once had.
The long period of confinement and surveillance had caused even those Uchiha who had originally chosen to trust Konoha to begin doubting themselves.
They were starting to question whether they had truly made the right choice back then.
Even so, there were still some Uchiha who believed that even if the newspaper's claims were true, it should only be Danzo's personal conduct, not Konoha's.
In their eyes, Konoha was still worth trusting.
Shisui stood at a high point and looked toward Hokage Rock.
Three faces were carved there, representing the Third Hokage.
"Konoha has rotted."
Shisui's eyes flickered.
He thought back to Uchiha Dou's death.
Then to Uchiha Gen's death.
And now, to this new report claiming that Danzo had gouged out Uchiha eyes for research.
"I have to enter Konoha's upper ranks. I have to become Hokage. I have to change Konoha."
"I have to restore clarity to it."
"I have to sweep away all this corruption."
"But how am I supposed to do that?"
Shisui still did not want to leave Konoha.
He still saw himself as part of Konoha.
But Shisui had begun to realize that Konoha truly might have a problem.
And because of that, he wanted to save it.
One name after another flashed through his mind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi. Shimura Danzo. Utatane Koharu. Mitokado Homura. Uchiha Fugaku. The Hyuga. The Aburame. Ino-Shika-Cho. The Sannin. And finally… Namikaze Minato.
As if struck by a thought, Shisui vanished.
When he appeared again, he was already standing before Uchiha Fugaku.
"Clan Head-sama."
"Shisui? What is it?"
"Clan Head-sama, what kind of person is Namikaze Minato?"
Fugaku lifted a brow.
"Why ask about him all of a sudden?"
Shisui concealed his true thoughts.
"I heard that Clan Head-sama used to have a decent relationship with Minato, and that he is very likely to become the next Hokage. So I wanted to know whether he might be capable of changing the Uchiha clan's situation."
Fugaku was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "Minato… is a good man."
Elsewhere, when Uchiha Yashiro saw the newspaper, he flew into a rage.
"That Danzo is a beast! Not only did he gouge out the eyes of our Uchiha clan and use them for those disgusting, evil experiments, he didn't even spare our graveyard!"
"Unforgivable!"
"I will never forgive this!"
"Pass down my order. Shimura Danzo is now the primary target for execution by the Uchiha clan!"
Those outside the Uchiha did not react with quite the same indignation.
What Onoki cared about was whether Konoha might produce some dangerous result from its research into the Sharingan.
If that happened, Konoha would certainly use it against Iwagakure first.
The stronger Konoha became, the worse Iwagakure's position would become.
"We need to stop it."
"Or seize their research results."
"And if that fails, then Iwagakure must begin researching it too."
"The Uchiha inside Konoha are hard to capture."
"But the Uchiha outside Konoha are not necessarily beyond our reach."
Kirigakure.
"Danzo is exactly that kind of man!"
Yagura snorted coldly.
"He infiltrated Sunagakure with his men and tried to ambush Rasa. Then he wanted to throw Kirigakure aside, so he resorted to such filthy methods. After that, he even went to Rasa in person, lowered his stance, and begged for peace."
"I heard Konoha paid Sunagakure quite a bit in compensation to obtain that peace agreement."
"For the sake of利益, Danzo is capable of anything."
"Researching the Sharingan in secret would be perfectly normal for him."
"He likely started doing it long ago."
"Danzo is a shameless wretch."
"No—not just Danzo. Konoha as a whole is the same. I refuse to believe Danzo, just an elder, could hide so much and force through that many actions entirely on his own."
"There had to be the Hokage's permission. At the very least, tacit approval."