"Who? Who is spreading these rumors?"
Danzo slammed his cane against the floor, the thunderous strikes echoing his mounting panic beneath a blazing fury.
After all, his claim that the Uchiha clan orchestrated the Night of the Nine-Tails was merely a fabricated rumor, a baseless guess. But his order forbidding Root from acting that night? That was an undeniable fact.
The rumors had spread with a terrifying speed that completely shattered Danzo's expectations. By the time he realized something was wrong and tried to suppress it from the shadows, the whispers had already infected the entire village. It was completely out of his hands.
His Root operatives were all bound by cursed seals; it was impossible for them to leak information to the public. Who else in Konoha possessed the capability to disseminate a rumor so efficiently?
'Hiruzen, was this you? Did you make a move?'
…
"So, all those people were influenced by genjutsu?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he reviewed the Anbu report on his desk.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the Anbu captain replied firmly. "Our covert investigations into the rumor-mongers revealed that they have all been subjected to genjutsu to some degree, making them implicitly believe the stories they heard."
"Genjutsu?"
To deploy such high-level genjutsu on so many people in such a short timeframe—there was no one else in Konoha capable of this besides the Uchiha clan. But they lacked hard evidence. Suspicions alone weren't enough.
This was exactly Jie Uchiha's intention. Why else would the Uchiha clan leave such an obvious trail? Mere revenge wasn't satisfying enough; the perpetrators needed to know exactly who was retaliating. Once the target knew who did it, but found themselves utterly devoid of evidence to prove it, they would be forced to swallow their fury in silence. That was the ultimate humiliation.
Hiruzen realized this quickly. Taking a deep drag from his pipe, he pondered internally, 'What exactly is the Uchiha clan planning to do?'
Before Hiruzen could arrive at an answer, Jie Uchiha brought it right to his doorstep.
Led by Fugaku and Jie, the members of the Uchiha clan marched in a massive, imposing procession straight toward the Hokage administration building.
'What is the Uchiha clan doing? Are they trying to force an abdication?'
Looking at the crowd filled with dozens of elite Jonin wielding fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan, alongside hundreds of regular Jonin, Hiruzen's aging heart began to pound fiercely against his ribs. The sheer scale of that crimson sea of eyes was staggering.
The true strength of the Uchiha far exceeded his estimations. Setting aside unparalleled combatants like Jiraiya, the Uchiha's high-end fighting force could rival a united front of all the other clans in Konoha combined.
While the other major clans had suffered devastating losses by the end of the Third Great Ninja War, the Uchiha clan had been deliberately kept away from the frontlines due to the paranoia of Konoha's upper brass. Because they hadn't been ravaged by the meat grinder of war, they now stood at the absolute peak of their power.
Even Jie felt a fleeting temptation as he observed the terrifying might walking behind him. If he seized this opportunity to slaughter the village elders and usurp control of Konoha, wouldn't it completely shatter the trajectory of the ninja world? The system would undoubtedly grant him an earth-shattering reward for such a massive disruption.
But after a moment of consideration, Jie decided to stick to his original plan.
When it came to combat, the Uchiha were unrivaled. The kinetic vision granted by the Sharingan gave every clansman an overwhelming advantage in battle. Any Uchiha who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan and reached the rank of Jonin essentially stepped straight into the elite Jonin tier. The raw combat amplification of their dojutsu was simply that terrifying.
However, in stark contrast to their martial prowess, their political and administrative capabilities were abysmal compared to the Third Hokage. Though Hiruzen's penchant for political infighting constantly sapped the village's overall strength, he still managed Konoha with impeccable order.
The Uchiha, on the other hand, had only ever managed the Konoha Military Police Force. Yet, even after decades, they hadn't figured out how to do it properly, alienating the villagers and turning the majority of Konoha against them.
If the Uchiha clan actually seized control of the village, Jie was painfully aware that their collective lack of political acumen would drive Konoha straight into the ground.
Furthermore, what was his greatest advantage as a transmigrator? ..PLOT knowledge.
If he derailed the timeline completely right now, he would lose his prophetic foresight. Without it, he would be no different from any other native of this world.
As Jie brushed aside his stray thoughts, the Uchiha procession finally halted before the Hokage building.
The Anbu guarding the entrance immediately tensed. Treating the mob like a lethal threat, they drew their weapons and formed a defensive wall, blocking Fugaku's path.
"Stand down," a raspy voice ordered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly stepped out from the Hokage building, his gaze heavy. "What is the meaning of this, Clan Head Fugaku?"
"Lord Hokage," Fugaku Uchiha replied, his voice a deep, resonant rumble. "I, Fugaku Uchiha, on behalf of the Uchiha clan, have come to seek justice."