Damn! What the hell is going on? Why is it that overnight, the entire village is suddenly discussing these matters—something this critical, and yet there was no warning at all?!
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen, usually calm and composed, now sat grim-faced, his words slipping out in a rare loss of control. His sharp eyes pierced into the Anbu kneeling before him, cold fury and murderous intent rolling off his aging form, his chakra fluctuating violently with suppressed wrath.
"Report back clearly… What did your investigation find? Why does everyone seem to know everything all at once?" he snapped.
The elite Anbu, armored and masked, could barely keep his hands from trembling. The oppressive aura from the Third Hokage was suffocating.
"Lord Hokage, based on our most recent intelligence, the reason the villagers are so informed… is because they all had vivid, shared dreams last night. In these dreams, they appeared to witness real historical events—moments that were either suppressed or never made public. The information matches known classified incidents. It was as though they lived through it."
Hiruzen's killing intent deepened.
"Dreams? Don't joke with me. What kind of genjutsu can implant memories across the entire village population without any signs or chakra fluctuations? This reeks of manipulation. This is no simple illusion. Someone is provoking me. Provoking Konoha."
He slammed his hand down on his desk, splintering the wood slightly. The Sarutobi clan's famed Fire Will surged in his veins—but it was mixed now with fear.
"I want Anbu to move out immediately. Enforce strict silence—any discussion of this is forbidden. Issue a public statement: this is a coordinated enemy attack, a powerful illusion technique cast over the village to disrupt our unity."
Despite his rage, Hiruzen's decades of experience held. He didn't act out personally—yet. He issued precise orders instead, his voice cold and direct.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the Anbu responded, vanishing with a flicker of body flicker technique, grateful to escape the burning pressure of the room.
Just as the office regained stillness, two figures burst through the door without warning. Mitokado Homura, his face flushed with fury, stormed in with Utatane Koharu just steps behind.
"Hiruzen! You've heard the rumors, haven't you? This is Uchiha Yue's doing! We must mobilize now and strike the Uchiha compound. We can't give that boy another second!"
Homura's voice echoed through the room, echoing the urgency in his expression.
"Absolutely! Hiruzen, the descriptions the civilians have been giving… they're accurate. Too accurate. If we don't respond swiftly, the village will lose all faith in the Council—and in you!"
Koharu's tone trembled with more than anger—it held fear. She remembered the fallout of the White Fang incident. She remembered how Hatake Sakumo, a hero of Konoha, had been destroyed not by enemy blades, but by public contempt. They had all been complicit in that decision.
Now, that same judgment was turning on them.
If even Sakumo, with all his renown, couldn't endure it, how long would they survive under this storm?
Moreover, unlike Sakumo, they would not choose death. They would fight to preserve their power. Whatever it took.
"I've already dispatched Anbu," Hiruzen cut in with a sigh, his voice regaining the weight of leadership. "They're suppressing the spread and countering the narrative as enemy sabotage. This isn't over yet. We still have options."
Seeing the panic in their faces ease slightly, Hiruzen's own thoughts became clearer. The flames in his heart were now tempered with cold logic. His breathing slowed.
"Hmph… I'm glad to hear you acted, Hiruzen. But is that really enough? Uchiha Yue made his move openly. If all we do is try to bury it, we're only being reactive."
Homura's expression twisted again into a sneer.
"Exactly!" Koharu followed, "Jiraiya is back in the village, isn't he? If you two join forces, surely even someone like Uchiha Yue can be suppressed!"
The resentment in her voice was unmistakable. She had disliked Yue long before this. But now, her hostility had turned into something deeper—an existential threat to her faction, to their rule.
Hiruzen didn't immediately answer. He inhaled, eyes heavy, and looked out the window over the rooftops of Konoha.
"Don't think I haven't considered it," he finally muttered. "But Uchiha Yue isn't who he was. His Mangekyō Sharingan has evolved. His mastery of illusions and psychological warfare… it's something even Jiraiya found difficult to track. And worse…"
He hesitated. Then spoke the words that truly unnerved him.
"There is now another Mangekyō user among the Uchiha."
His two advisors froze.
"What?" Homura barked, his voice cracking. "Another one?! Are you saying there's more hidden power among them? That's impossible! We've monitored their bloodline closely ever since the founding of the Police Force!"
"Yes," Koharu said, her voice shrill. "We accounted for every Uchiha with awakened Sharingan after the Nine-Tails attack. There shouldn't be any unregistered Mangekyō left. How could this happen?"
Hiruzen nodded slowly, his face a mask of bitter truth.
"I didn't believe it either. But Jiraiya infiltrated their compound yesterday under the cover of night. He saw it with his own eyes. The chakra patterns were unmistakable. He even warned me not to engage them in a full war—not yet. He believes… that reconciliation might still be possible."
He said it softly, almost with regret.
He remembered how, just yesterday, he had scolded Jiraiya for being idealistic—for hoping peace with the Uchiha was still achievable.
But now, in the face of Yue's moves, and the subtle support growing behind him, Hiruzen finally understood: they had pushed too far.
The years of marginalization, suspicion, and suppression had created a crack they could no longer seal with power alone.
For the first time in a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen—the Professor, the Third Hokage—began to wonder:
Had they already lost?
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