Upon hearing Uchiha Yato's explanation, "Steel Plate Sun Piercer" also stopped questioning and began taking notes.
These explanations and records were the best evidence to be sent to the Hidden Leaf Newspaper for publication.
Uchiha Yato even thoughtfully provided photos taken by the Military Police Force to be published, adding to the persuasiveness.
All of this was completed before the Anbu arrived.
The Anbu were baffled—how could delivering a message take so long?
That's right—it was Uchiha Yato's Mangekyo Sharingan.
Long before they went to gather evidence, the Anbu had already arrived.
Uchiha Yato had manipulated time for them and a small area around them, while he himself remained unaffected by the technique.
They would only be surprised at how late they had arrived.
Afterward, Uchiha Yato only needed to adjust their perception to perfectly avoid this minor crisis.
From the earlier assassination attempt by the trio, he had already figured out the cost of manipulating time within a certain area and for himself.
During his confrontation with Rasa, he used genjutsu to further hone his proficiency with this ability.
Of course, there was a cost.
Uchiha Yato's ocular power had diminished. He would have to wait until the system finished updating before finding a way to replenish it.The Anbu couldn't possibly intervene when there was already irrefutable evidence.
After all, civilian ninjas were watching nearby. If they were to stop it now, it would imply that the Hokage's higher-ups were aware of the conspiracy—or worse, that they were the ones behind it.
Such a self-incriminating act was something Sarutobi Hiruzen would never do.
Uchiha Yato had initially thought Shimura Danzo wouldn't be able to resist taking action to silence the matter.
But surprisingly, Danzo remained unusually obedient this time.
Unfortunately, the topic of Hatake Sakumo had given him hope, keeping him preoccupied elsewhere.
He had no time to spare for this impending storm that would soon bring him an even greater conspiracy.
...
Inside the Root base.
Shimura Danzo listened to the intelligence reports from his Root operatives.
First, of course, were the movements of the other nations.
The Sand Hidden Village had caused Danzo quite a bit of trouble before, forcing him to clean up his own mess.
There were also smaller hidden villages that had shady dealings with Shimura Danzo.
For instance, Hanzo the Salamander of the Rain Hidden Village—one of the few figures whose strength was on par with Danzo's and with whom he could hold a conversation.
Hanzo had requested Danzo's assistance in investigating a newly emerging faction near the Rain Hidden Village—the Akatsuki.
After handling these matters, the next topic was the situation within the Hidden Leaf Village.
Regarding Hatake Sakumo's incident, Danzo had already used various Root methods and clan connections to spread rumors.
He had even legally and officially utilized the Hidden Leaf's newspaper agency to print the stories.
As a result, within just two days, Hatake Sakumo's scandal had spread throughout every street and alley.
Since Danzo was both the source of the rumors and the orchestrator of the incident, he could easily steer public opinion in the direction he desired.
Just then, someone reported to him:
"Lord Danzo, there's another piece of news circulating in the Hidden Leaf Village recently."
Shimura Danzo's interest was immediately piqued. If he could use public opinion to crush Hatake Sakumo, then the same method could be applied to Uchiha Yato.
Yato was already a figure who naturally drew attention. If given the opportunity, Danzo wouldn't hesitate to crush him as well.
So he asked the Root operative what exactly had happened.
The Root ninja replied, "The Military Police Force unearthed the remains of numerous infants at a certain location."
"Given the horrific nature of the discovery, they're preparing to publish it in the papers."
"They're warning households to be wary of foreign ninjas targeting their children."
Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo's expression instantly darkened.
As the operative spoke, they also presented the intelligence and photographs they had gathered for Danzo to review.
After seeing the images, their contents, and the accompanying reports, Danzo's alarm bells rang loudly.
As the master of Root, the darkest force in the Hidden Leaf, he was well aware of most things that happened in the village.
Thus, he knew immediately that this mass grave of infants had to be connected to him.
After carefully questioning the specific location of the discovery and other minor details,
Danzo confirmed that this was one of the sites where he had disposed of the children from Root's failed recruitment batches.
That's right—this particular site only contained the remains of the children.
Other failed missions or traitorous ninjas were undoubtedly buried elsewhere.
At this point, Danzo wanted to stop the newspaper from publishing the story.
But it was already too late.Uchiha Yato was on the side, urging and supervising the publication of the Hidden Leaf newspaper to prevent certain individuals from making desperate moves.
Since this incident had also affected the Military Police Force, Uchiha Kei had long since mobilized the Uchiha Jonin and civilian shinobi from the Uchiha Military Police Force to conduct a thorough search of the entire village.
Their actions were swift—by the time the Third Hokage received the news, they had already been at it for over two hours.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was faced with a difficult decision.
Danzo's actions had always been about cleaning up after him—the two of them were the light and shadow of the Hidden Leaf.
But now, protecting Danzo would be extremely difficult, given the intensity of the Military Police Force's search.
If they managed to uncover the origins of these children and the truth behind their deaths, even Sarutobi Hiruzen would find it nearly impossible to shield Shimura Danzo.
At this time, the two advisors also came to discuss the matter with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Homura Mitokado spoke first, "Hiruzen, you must already be aware of what's happening in the village, right?"
"This incident has caused widespread panic among many civilian shinobi. Right now, a large number of them are gathered below the Hokage Building, demanding answers."
Koharu Utatane, whose expertise lay in medical affairs, added, "Many villagers and shinobi have also gone to the hospital to investigate whether this is connected to Leaf Hospital."
"It has already caused massive unrest."
Only now did Sarutobi Hiruzen truly understand the terrifying power of public opinion.
The Hidden Leaf newspaper hadn't even published any related news yet, and the panic was already this severe.
If this matter were to be officially announced, they would have to get to the bottom of it—but then, how should they handle it?
At this moment, Shimura Danzo also arrived at the Hokage Building and entered the Third Hokage's office.
Hearing their discussion, Danzo realized just how severe the impact of this incident was.
He quickly came up with a plan and said, "First, we should redirect this wave of public suspicion toward shinobi from other villages."
"Then, we should amplify the severity of Hatake Sakumo's incident, shifting the focus of the civilians onto him."
This suggestion from Shimura Danzo actually aligned quite well with Sarutobi Hiruzen's thoughts.
Guide the public opinion, divert the blame.
After letting the matter cool down for a while, they could then sacrifice someone insignificant to appease the villagers and resolve the situation.
Danzo was doing this purely to protect himself. He knew exactly how much dirt Sarutobi Hiruzen had on him, and he wasn't worried about his dealings with Orochimaru either.
With two trump cards in hand and this current strategy, Shimura Danzo instantly felt reassured.
In fact, he was even considering whether he could set another trap, making Uchiha Yato the center of attention.
A Hidden Leaf public opinion war was about to unfold!
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