Chapter 37: Itachi returns to the Village!

Izumi guessed right.

The secret she blurted out in a moment of agitation seemed to have swept through every street and alley of Konoha in just a few short hours.

Wherever she followed her senpai, she could hear the villagers' topic of conversation shift—from "Chizumi‑senpai" to "the Hokage's eldest son."

Clearly, the other Uchiha did not feel any obligation to keep the Third Hokage's firstborn son's secret.

Once they realized that Sarutobi Shinnosuke was hiding something extraordinary, they actually became excited—and spread this "classified intel" without the slightest hesitation.

Rumors that involve the Hokage always travel fast, and they grow more outrageous with every retelling. Some people even add their own sensational twists:

"I heard the Hokage's eldest killed a bunch of war orphans, so that walking plague from the Uchiha Police Force killed him in revenge!"

"No wonder so many war orphans vanished from the Konoha Orphanage—turns out they were human test subjects!"

"What if the village stops at war orphans and begins using other children as lab rats…?"

"Is the Hokage turning a blind eye? Why else would his son be the mastermind behind human experiments?"

"Stop gossiping—just watch your own kids. Those high‑and‑mighty types see us as expendable."

"I heard the Hokage's son butchered plenty of Konoha villagers too."

"…"

Izumi bowed her head.

" …I'm sorry, senpai. I never thought things would turn out like this. It feels as if I've ruined your teacher's posthumous reputation."

She wanted to cry but had no tears left.

She hadn't expected the rumors to snowball into something so absurd—dragging even the Hokage himself into the mess—in half a day.

What if this went on for a few more days?

For the first time she felt the horror of public opinion: an endless tide of malice pouring onto someone already dead, so chilling that even an onlooker like herself felt goose‑bumps.

How much more agonizing would it be for a living person crushed beneath that malice?

"When Shinnosuke‑sensei chose to act against justice, he should have foreseen that a day like this might come."

Uchiha Chizumi spoke calmly. "Rookie, you did nothing wrong."

Izumi stared blankly.

Chizumi glanced at some villagers who, mid‑discussion, had suddenly become righteously furious over Shinnosuke's deeds.

"Even if parts of the story are distorted, at least some people are waking up to how terrifying evil in the shinobi world can be.

Because you 'leaked' the secret, they're learning to tell justice from wrongdoing.

If they take it to heart and spit on evil, then this world still has hope.

That's a good thing.

You did well."

Izumi's eyes—seconds ago dull—sparkled. A mist rose in her bright pupils.

She wiped them in a panic.

"Mm‑hm!!"

She didn't know why—she just wanted to answer with all her strength. Maybe…

Because she had finally—finally—been praised by her senpai!

"Senpai, from now on, whatever we do… we should lay the truth bare. Not just to a handful of people, but to the whole village—so everyone can see evil's real face. Wouldn't… wouldn't that be better?"

Her courage swelled—though only a little. Realizing she might be telling her senpai what to do, she hurriedly back‑pedaled:

"Th‑that's just my silly idea. Senpai can ignore it if you like—"

"All right."

"Eh?"

…

Hokage's Office

"Hokage‑sama, damaging rumors about Shinnosuke‑senpai are spreading quickly. A few contain truth, but most have been wildly exaggerated."

An Anbu reported in a low voice to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hiruzen drew a deep breath.

The mountain of paperwork on his desk lay untouched.

The pain of losing his son gnawed at him.

When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, heavy with exhaustion; he seemed to have aged several years overnight.

"What kind of rumors?"

The Anbu recounted them in detail. Hiruzen's brow knitted tighter.

"Where did they originate?"

"It seems… from the Uchiha clan."

Silence.

Uchiha… again.

"Shall we suppress them, Hokage‑sama?"

Hiruzen rubbed his temples.

"The harder we try, the more people will believe. Just like with Naruto—when we tried to stop the villagers calling him the Nine‑Tails' vessel, it only convinced them further."

…

Root Base

"Danzo‑sama, the wind of public opinion has shifted," a Root shinobi reported. "Per your orders, we spread many rumors about Uchiha Chizumi last night, but—"

"Once rumors about Sarutobi Shinnosuke surfaced, everyone cared more about the Hokage's son and his filthy deeds.

As for Uchiha Chizumi… the villagers are almost numb to him after so many incidents."

Danzo snorted.

He knew a smear campaign did little against Chizumi—unlike the fragile Hatake Sakumo. Spreading rumors was just a way to widen the rift between Chizumi and Hiruzen, though the tide was slipping from his grasp.

Still—

"Heh. If Shinnosuke's name is dragged through the mud, that monkey—his father—will suffer too. Whether it hurts that 'innately evil' Uchiha brat or the monkey Hokage, it's no loss to me."

"Stir it up. Make sure Shinnosuke's reputation never recovers—and, if possible, dump some of the filth onto the monkey himself."

"Understood, Danzo‑sama!"

…

One day later

In the villagers' mouths, Sarutobi Shinnosuke had become "the mad scientist who abducts his own people for horrific experiments and preys on kekkei‑genkai shinobi."

No matter how much Hiruzen wanted to salvage his dead son's name, the rumor mill was already out of control—just like the tragedy that once befell Hatake Sakumo.

Amid the chaos… someone returned.

"Phew—half a month."

Uchiha Itachi stood quietly outside the village gates, two Anbu subordinates at his side.

The faintest gentle smile tugged at his usually expressionless face.

"I wonder… did Sasuke miss me?"

~~~

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