Izumi quickly noticed something strange about the atmosphere in the Uchiha compound.
Even this early in the morning, small groups of villagers were gathering, talking in hushed but intense tones.
Curious, Izumi edged closer to one group to listen in.
"I heard the Third Hokage's eldest son was killed… Do you guys know if that's true? It's been going around since this morning. And supposedly, the one who did it was Uchiha Keizumi!"
"Who knows? I only just heard about it too."
"Uchiha Keizumi… that guy killed Root operatives before, and now he's supposedly killed the Hokage's son. I think he's probably one of those who support the Uchiha rebelling against the village leadership, right?"
"But I heard that the radical elders—especially Elder Setsuna—tried to recruit him before, and he turned them down."
"Still, with Keizumi allegedly killing the Hokage's son… what if the village uses this as an excuse to make a move against the Uchiha?"
"Tch… that troublemaker really knows how to stir things up…"
"…"
Izumi was sweating nervously as she eavesdropped.
Crap!
How had news of last night's incident spread so quickly?
It had only been one night—plus half a morning, right?
Izumi instinctively felt something was off. It was as if someone had deliberately leaked the information to the villagers… but she had no evidence.
Stopping and starting along the way, Izumi finally managed to ask around and find out where Uchiha Keizumi lived.
"So… this is Keizumi-senpai's house?"
She looked up at the unremarkable two-story building in front of her, confused.
It seemed… a little too plain.
"You're here pretty early, rookie."
A sudden voice nearly made Izumi jump.
She turned around—
And saw that Keizumi was already standing right behind her!
Startled, she quickly said, "I already scored zero in your eyes, Keizumi-senpai. If I show up late again, I'll probably drop into negative points… So I figured I'd leave early today."
Uchiha Keizumi gave a nod.
"Let's go."
"Yes, senpai!"
Izumi followed behind Uchiha Keizumi cautiously. She was a little worried he might have overheard some of the unfriendly remarks from a few clan members—and that concern quickly became reality.
As the two of them passed by several Uchiha shinobi, those men were so engrossed in conversation that they failed to notice Keizumi and Izumi approaching.
And the topic they were discussing? Unsurprisingly, it was the rumors from the night before.
As she walked past them, Izumi's delicate brows furrowed.
She glanced anxiously at her senpai's back—then suddenly clenched her teeth, spun around, and spoke up: "What nonsense are you spreading?! Keizumi-senpai didn't just kill the Hokage's son for no reason! He's not some crazed killer! He was carrying out justice!"
Oh no… oh no…
Izumi nearly stopped breathing.
She had never imagined herself suddenly blurting something out without thinking.
The moment she noticed the Uchiha men casting puzzled glances in her direction—
Cold sweat broke out all over her body.
But…
The Uchiha shinobi looked even more nervous than she did. Their faces went stiff, one by one—because they finally realized that Uchiha Keizumi was standing right in front of them!
By now, Izumi had thrown caution to the wind.
She shouted, "The Hokage's son… he was in charge of a secret research facility! He was conducting all sorts of shady experiments!"
"He even killed Konoha volunteers who had agreed to become test subjects! And he abducted countless war orphans for human experimentation! His hands were drenched in blood—his soul had long since been corrupted by his crimes!"
"Good is good, and evil is evil! He was evil! Even if he was the Hokage's son… that doesn't change the truth! He himself admitted to all of it!"
"Someone like him lived freely in Konoha for so long—without anyone ever daring to bring him to justice!"
"And you're saying Keizumi-senpai is the one who went too far?"
"What the hell are you guys even doing?!"
Done…
I'm done for!
Izumi suddenly realized she had acted on her own, passionately defending her senpai—
And in doing so, accidentally let slip some information that probably wasn't supposed to be public.
Crap…
Had she just ruined the Hokage's son's reputation?
What if… the things she just said…
Ended up spreading throughout all of Konoha by tomorrow?
...
Izumi had guessed right.
The secret that had slipped from her mouth in a moment of emotional turmoil had, within just a few hours, spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys of Konohagakure.
No matter where she went with her senpai, the villagers' conversations shifted from talking about Keizumi to the Hokage's eldest son.
Clearly, the other members of the Uchiha clan felt no obligation or duty to keep the Third Hokage's son's secret.
Once they became aware that Sarutobi Shinnosuke was hiding such a disturbing truth, rather than suppressing it, they were thrilled.
And they wasted no time in spreading this 'classified information'.
Rumors about the Hokage always spread fast.
And the rumors grew increasingly outrageous. Some people even embellished the story while gossiping.
—"I heard it was because the Hokage's eldest son killed a bunch of war orphans, that's why the God of Plague from the Uchiha Police Force killed him!"
—"No wonder so many war orphans from the Konoha Orphanage vanished without a trace… So they were actually used as human test subjects?"
—"What if the village stops being satisfied with just using war orphans as test subjects…"
—"Is the Hokage condoning this? Otherwise, why would his own son be the mastermind behind such experiments?"
—"Stop talking nonsense. From now on, we'd better keep a closer eye on our children. Those up high only see us as expendable."
—"I heard the Hokage's son killed a lot of Konoha villagers too."
—"…"
"I'm sorry, Senpai..." Izumi lowered her head and apologized softly. "I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I think I've destroyed your sensei's reputation…"
She was on the verge of tears.
She hadn't imagined the rumors would spiral so far out of control, to the point that they were now dragging even the Hokage himself into the mess.
And this had only been half a day.
What would happen in a few more days?
It would be a disaster.
For the first time, Izumi truly grasped the terrifying power of public opinion. The boundless malice it carried was now lashing out at someone who had already passed away—and even she, just a bystander, felt a chill run down her spine.
She couldn't imagine what it would feel like for someone still alive to be crushed under such vicious slander. How painful must that be?
"When Shinnosuke-sensei chose to commit those acts that defied justice, he should have known a day like this would come."
Uchiha Keizumi said flatly, "You did nothing wrong, rookie."
Izumi froze.
Uchiha Keizumi looked toward a few villagers who, in the midst of their discussions, had suddenly become furious at what Sarutobi Shinnosuke had done.
"Even if the facts have been distorted, at least some people are now realizing just how horrifying 'evil' in the shinobi world can be."
He continued, "Because you 'leaked the secret,' they're starting to learn to distinguish justice from evil. If they take it as a warning and reject wickedness, then perhaps this world still has hope."
"That's a good thing."
"You did well."
Izumi's eyes, which had just dimmed, suddenly lit up with brilliance. A soft blur of moisture gathered at the corners of her large, glistening eyes.
She hastily wiped them away.
"Mm!!"
She didn't even know why—she just wanted to respond with all her heart.
Maybe…
It was because she finally—finally!—finally got praised by her senpai!
"Senpai, I think from now on, whatever we do, we should reveal the truth behind it. And not just to a few people—we should let the entire village see the true face of evil."
"Senpai… Don't you think that might be better?"
Izumi was growing bolder.
But only slightly. Not much.
The moment she realized she might be telling her senpai what to do, she panicked and quickly corrected herself.
"T-That's just my foolish opinion. You can ignore it if you want—"
"Alright."
"Eh?"
...
"…Hokage-sama, it seems many rumors damaging to Shinnosuke-senpai's reputation are spreading rapidly throughout the village. Some of them are based on truth… but most have been exaggerated through hearsay and distortion."
Inside the Hokage Tower.
An ANBU shinobi had approached Sarutobi Hiruzen and was now quietly reporting to the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen took a deep breath.
The mountain of paperwork piled up on his desk remained untouched.
The grief of losing his son weighed constantly on his heart.
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse and exhausted, as if he had aged several years overnight.
"What kind of rumors?"
The ANBU described everything in detail.
Hiruzen listened, his brows furrowing tightly.
"Where did the rumors originate?" he asked.
The ANBU replied, "They seem to have started with the Uchiha clan."
Hiruzen fell silent.
The Uchiha clan…
"Hokage-sama, should we step in to stop them?" the ANBU asked.
Hiruzen pressed his fingers to his temples, weary.
"The more we try to suppress them, the more people will believe them. It's just like with Naruto… The more we tried to silence the talk of him being the fox's reincarnation, the more convinced the villagers became that he really was the Nine-Tails incarnate."