The third issue of the Ninja World Big Events Weekly was already spreading across every corner of the ninja world, carried by newspaper shinobi.
After the first two issues, the name had become common knowledge — even civilians who never touched a kunai had heard of it.
The Basilisk Scroll was the real hook. Readers tore into the new chapter the second they got their hands on the paper.
"Is this Ukido Josuke supposed to be an Akimichi?"
"Has to be. Both of them can blow themselves up like balloons."
"But the way it works feels different from their Multi-Size Technique."
"Yakushiji Tengzen is straight-up evil. That guy's a goddamn monster."
"Iga Oboro's eyes let her see through genjutsu? Sounds a hell of a lot like the Hyuga Byakugan. Think the writer based her on the Leaf's Hyuga clan?"
A Konoha shinobi flipped straight to the front page.
His face went pale.
A Root operative sprinted into Danzo's office.
"Lord Danzo — bad news. You're on the front page again!"
Danzo snatched the paper. His eyes locked on the headline and stayed there.
"Shocking: Anonymous source claims Danzo Shimura harvested the eyes of every Uchiha he killed for secret biological experiments."
"Uchiha graves show clear signs of being dug up."
"This may be one of the hidden reasons behind the Uchiha rebellion."
Danzo's fingers crushed the edges of the paper. His nails dug in hard.
"Bullshit!"
"This is pure slander!"
"They're trying to frame me!"
"When the hell did I ever dig up Uchiha graves?"
"Rasa, you little bastard — you've gone too damn far!"
"Printing garbage like this with zero proof and slapping it on the front page?"
Uchiha Shisui, the only Uchiha still allowed to move freely in the village, carried the paper back to the compound and passed it around.
One Uchiha slammed his fist on the table.
"Danzo's a piece of shit."
"How the hell could he do this to our clan?"
"Clan Head, what are we supposed to do now?"
Uchiha Fugaku looked at him, tired.
What could they do?
They were prisoners in their own home. They had no real power left.
Confront Hiruzen? Demand Danzo be punished? Get the Leaf to turn on its own elder?
Not happening.
"The truth isn't clear yet."
"This is the Sand Village's paper. The source won't even give a name. And those Uchiha aren't Leaf shinobi anymore."
Fugaku studied the faces around him. He could feel the change.
At first the Uchiha here had split into two camps — the ones who still believed in the Leaf and cut ties with the rebels, and the ones the rebels never trusted enough to take with them.
His own faction had been in the second group.
But month after month of being watched and locked down had worn everyone down.
Even the loyal ones were starting to doubt.
Had they chosen wrong?
A few still insisted that even if the story was true, it was just Danzo acting on his own. The Leaf itself was still worth believing in.
Shisui stood on the rooftop, staring at the Hokage Rock.
Three faces. Three generations of Hokage.
"The Leaf is rotting from the inside."
Shisui's eyes flashed.
He thought about Uchiha Tomo's death.
Uchiha Gen's death.
And now this — Danzo stealing Uchiha eyes for twisted experiments.
"I need to reach the top. I need to become Hokage. I need to fix this place."
"Bring it back to what it's supposed to be."
"Scrub out every last bit of corruption."
"But how?"
Shisui still refused to leave the Leaf. He still saw himself as part of it.
He just knew something had gone badly wrong.
So he wanted to save it.
Names flashed through his head.
Hiruzen Sarutobi. Danzo Shimura. Koharu Utatane. Homura Mitokado. Uchiha Fugaku. The Hyuga. The Aburame. Ino-Shika-Cho. The Sannin. Sakumo Hatake.
And finally — Minato Namikaze.
Shisui's eyes lit up.
He vanished in a blur.
He reappeared right in front of Uchiha Fugaku.
"Clan Head."
"Shisui. What's on your mind?"
"Clan Head… what do you really think of Minato Namikaze?"
Fugaku raised an eyebrow.
"Why the sudden interest?"
Shisui kept his real thoughts hidden.
"I heard you two used to be close. And everyone says he's the favorite to become the next Hokage. I just wondered if he could actually change things for us."
Fugaku was quiet for a long moment.
"Minato… he's a good man."
Across the compound, Uchiha Yashiro saw the headline and exploded.
"Danzo's a fucking animal. Not only did he rip out our eyes for his sick little experiments — he even dug up our graves!"
"Unforgivable!"
"Completely unforgivable!"
"Spread the word. Danzo Shimura is now the Uchiha clan's number-one target for execution!"
Outside the Uchiha compound, reactions were colder.
Onoki worried the Leaf would turn the Sharingan into something terrifying.
Something they'd use against the Rock first.
The stronger Konoha got, the worse it was for everyone else.
"We have to stop this."
"Or steal whatever they're working on."
"If we can't, then the Rock Village needs to start its own research."
"The Uchiha still inside Konoha are hard to grab."
"But the ones running around outside? Those we can catch."
In the Mist Village, Yagura read the story and gave a cold laugh.
"Danzo's exactly that kind of man."
"First he sneaks into the Sand Village to assassinate Rasa, then he tries to dump us and crawls back to Rasa begging for peace like a whipped dog."
"I heard the Leaf had to pay the Sand a fortune just to buy that peace treaty."
"For power and profit, Danzo will do anything."
"Secretly experimenting on Sharingan eyes? That's just Tuesday for him."
"Probably been doing it for years."
"Danzo's a shameless bastard."
"Not just Danzo. The whole Leaf is rotten. I don't believe one elder could pull off something this big without the Hokage knowing. Hiruzen had to sign off on it — at the very least by looking the other way."