Konoha had already recovered from the devastation of the Nine-Tails incident.
Although sorrow still lingered in the hearts of its people, life moved on.
Grief could not remain forever. Under the blazing heat of early sumr, the winter-like chill of that tragedy was slowly lting away.
Yet at this mont, a new shadow had fallen over the village—
And its source was one man:
Orochimaru.
More than a year ago—nearly two—during the selection of the Fourth Hokage, a rumor had surfaced:
That one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, had been secretly conducting human experints.
Back then, the rumor had stirred heated debate, even argunts that nearly turned physical.
But it never went too far.
Eventually, it died down completely—especially after Namikaze Minato ascended as the Fourth Hokage.
And now—
That sa rumor had resurfaced.
Worse than before.
Far worse.
Orochimaru was too extraordinary.
His status in Konoha was sothing few could ever reach.
A forr top candidate for Hokage.
One of the remaining Legendary Sannin.
A high-ranking commander during the Third Shinobi War.
A man who had led Konoha to victory ti and ti again.
He possessed charisma.
He also carried controversy.
But above all—
He was a symbol of Konoha’s strength.
And perhaps precisely because of that—
Everyone was interested.
Whether true or false, people talked.
Speculated.
Imagined.
Sitting quietly, Senju Hikaru watched it all unfold with a faint smile.
That smile did not escape Uchiha Shin’s notice.
Turning his head, Shin saw a group of clearly drunk shinobi loudly arguing nearby.
And their topic—
Was Orochimaru.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
One Konoha shinobi, face flushed with anger, slamd the table.
"Yongan Haruto, I’m warning you—watch your mouth!"
"I’m not talking nonsense, Yuma-senpai."
The younger shinobi frowned but restrained himself.
"Is what I said wrong? This isn’t just —everyone in the village is talking about it.
Orochimaru-sama is respected, but... if the rumors are this widespread, they can’t be baseless, right?"
The situation had indeed spiraled.
After prolonged, subtle manipulation by the ANBU, the rumor had spread across the entire village.
Even without the pressure of a Hokage election—
With the Fourth Hokage recuperating and the Third Hokage back in power—
A slight push in public opinion was enough to steer everyone’s thoughts.
And with Orochimaru’s naturally high notoriety—
The discussions exploded.
Still—
No one openly tied it to the Hokage position.
There was no need.
Even if they thought it—
They wouldn’t say it.
So the argunt remained focused on one point:
Did Orochimaru conduct human experints?
"I’m warning you—don’t say that in front of again!"
Yuma slamd the table and stood up, fury blazing.
"Orochimaru-sama is not soone you can judge! Do you even know how brutal the war in the Land of Whirlpools was?!
We had barely any supplies. Our numbers were low.
If not for Orochimaru-sama’s command stabilizing the front lines, preserving our strength—
You wouldn’t even be alive to talk nonsense here!"
That sentence alone nearly made Uchiha Shin’s blood pressure spike.
Yes, Orochimaru had played a role in command—
But the main forces in that war had been the Uchiha and the Hyūga.
And the ones who had sacrificed the most—
Were those two clans.
Yet sohow, in the mouths of ordinary shinobi—
All the credit went to Orochimaru?
Shin said nothing.
But now—
He understood.
Yuma suddenly pulled open his shirt.
His bronze skin was covered in scars—dense, terrifying, each one a testant to life-and-death battles.
One deep scar ran from his chest down to his abdon.
A near-fatal wound.
"See this scar?!"
"I got this in the Land of Whirlpools—surrounded by Mist ninja!
I should have died!
But Orochimaru-sama didn’t abandon !
He brought back from the brink of death!"
His voice trembled with emotion.
"For soone like —he never gave up!
So how dare you believe so baseless rumors and say he’d do sothing like that?!"
For n like him—
There were many.
People who truly revered Orochimaru.
People who would never tolerate such slander.
But the younger shinobi snapped as well.
Young ninja cared deeply about pride.
Being publicly humiliated—
Especially over sothing everyone was discussing—
Was unacceptable.
"Even so, if everyone is talking about it, should we all just shut up?!"
He stood, face flushed with anger.
"I already said—rumors don’t co from nothing!
Who knows if it actually happened?!"
"What did you say, brat?!"
"I said what I said! The whole village is talking about it!
If it’s not true, why hasn’t it been stopped?!"
"You’re looking to die!"
"I’m stating facts!"
The argunt escalated.
Fueled by alcohol—
It spiraled.
Soone threw the first punch.
Then another.
Soon—
It beca a full-blown brawl.
Shinobi gathered around, cheering.
More joined in.
The situation descended into chaos.
All the while—
Hikaru and the others watched silently.
A faint smile curved Hikaru’s lips.
Nearby, Saya and Senju Aya watched coldly.
After all—
They had played a role in all this.
From beginning to end.
Uchiha Shin sighed.
He understood now.
Crude.
Simple.
But effective.
"Go deal with it, Elder Shin."
Hikaru tapped the table lightly, smiling.
"This falls under the Police Force’s jurisdiction.
Handle it properly. Maintain a good image."
"Also—draft operational guidelines after this.
From now on, everything must follow them strictly."
"I understand, Hikaru."
Shin nodded seriously.
Then sighed.
"I’ve learned sothing today... I hope you’ll continue guiding ."
"Guiding? Hardly."
Hikaru waved it off casually, picking up a slice of grilled at.
"Just so... unsophisticated tricks."
"There’s a saying I quite like."
"What is it?"
"Spreading rumors takes a single mouth. Debunking them takes breaking your legs."
Hikaru paused slightly.
"I don’t like calling it ’rumors.’"
"I prefer—"
"controlling public opinion."
"It’s shaless."
"But it works."
"After all... people like us must have a flexible moral bottom line."
...
Hikaru didn’t care whether Uchiha Shin truly understood that line.
What mattered—
Was that his plan was already taking shape.
The more chaotic Orochimaru’s situation beca—
The harder it would hit Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And when Hiruzen could no longer endure it—
Hikaru wouldn’t wait.
He would force him—
To sever Orochimaru.
Once that arm was cut off—
How many usable people would Hiruzen have left?
And more importantly—
Trust itself would begin to crumble.
From afar—
Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and Yamanaka Inoichi observed everything.
They had noticed these rumors before—
But hadn’t taken them seriously.
After all—
Neither ANBU nor the Third Hokage had intervened.
So they ignored it.
But now—
They realized—
The danger was far greater than expected.
Chōza moved to intervene—
But Shikaku stopped him instantly.
"Don’t."
"This isn’t sothing you should interfere with."
"There’s an Uchiha here."
"And more importantly—"
"There’s sothing else behind this."
"Inoichi frowned."
"You an... sothing’s off about these rumors?"
"They always were."
Shikaku sighed.
"But now it’s obvious."
"This goes beyond what we imagined."
"...Is this a clash between Hokage candidates?"
Inoichi’s eyes sharpened.
"...Most likely."
Shikaku nodded.
"Don’t forget—similar rumors appeared over a year ago."
"But they vanished quickly."
"This ti—"
"They haven’t."
"...Which ans..."
Inoichi lowered his voice.
"...Orochimaru might actually have been discovered."
"And the Third Hokage is hesitating."
"...Or worse..."
"...He released the rumors himself."
Chōza’s eyes widened in shock.
Using rumors—
Against his own student?
"...Don’t forget."
Shikaku said quietly.
"Hiruzen... still has Danzō."
anwhile—
In the Hokage’s office—
Hiruzen sat in silence.
Exhausted.
He glanced at the ANBU hidden in the shadows.
And felt—
Deep frustration.
Once—
He had used ANBU to monitor Minato.
Now—
He was the one being watched.
And worse—
He couldn’t act.
Because behind ANBU—
Was that Senju brat.
Soone who held sothing—
That made even him afraid.
Looking at the rising moon—
Hiruzen sighed.
His situation was too passive.
Too constrained.
And perhaps—
It was ti—
To deal with certain people.
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