"Uchiha Gen is dead?"
Everyone still vividly remembered what Uchiha Gen had done during the day, yet by nightfall, he was dead.
It had happened too suddenly.
How had he died?
Some people showed stunned expressions.
"The Uchiha may indeed be guilty of grave crimes, but Uchiha Gen didn't deserve death. Among the Uchiha, he was one of the more reasonable ones."
"No one in the village should have wanted to kill him, right? Could it have been an accident?"
The person across from him let out a cold laugh.
"An accident? How could that be possible? There's no such thing as a coincidence that convenient."
"If it wasn't an accident, then it was revenge?"
"If it was revenge, then there's a very high chance the Sarutobi clan or the Shimura clan did it. During the Uchiha rebellion, those two clans suffered the greatest losses."
"The Sarutobi clan shouldn't be likely. After all, that's the ninja clan of the Hokage-sama himself."
"But the Shimura clan? Very likely."
"You can tell just by looking at the people who recently took over the Police Force."
"The Shimura clan members are far too vicious. Compared to the old Uchiha, they're even worse."
The Konoha Police Force was a position that made it very easy to offend people.
The reason the Uchiha clan had once been hated, resisted, and looked down upon by the villagers had a great deal to do with that.
Whenever interests and punishment were involved, the losing side would inevitably be dissatisfied.
Now, with the Uchiha clan's defection, the Police Force positions had been left completely vacant. The Sarutobi clan and the Shimura clan had taken over, and soon the targets of the villagers' disgust, resistance, and contempt shifted to those two ninja clans.
The Sarutobi clan fared better, since it was the clan of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The villagers naturally looked at the Sarutobi clan through a more favorable lens.
And the Sarutobi clan truly did handle things better than the Shimura clan.
As a result, the villagers became more and more resistant toward the Shimura clan.
Where there was comparison, there was bound to be hurt.
"These Shimura clan people are awful. Compared to the Sarutobi clan, they're like heaven and earth. They don't treat us like people at all."
"They may be solving problems, but they do it with obvious impatience, like they're above everyone else."
"There's a very high chance they were the ones who killed Uchiha Gen."
When Danzo heard such talk, his face darkened instantly.
"Uchiha Dou died, and they said I did it?"
"Now Uchiha Gen is dead, and they're saying it was my Shimura clan again?"
"Fools. They're all fools!"
"So every bad thing in the world gets pinned on me?"
"This is obviously the Uchiha clan's own play for sympathy."
"They used Uchiha Gen's death to win the village's pity, that's all."
"How stupid. And they actually fell for it."
Just then, Homura Mitokado walked in.
"Danzo."
"Homura."
Danzo's gaze flickered. He did not look kindly on Homura at all, even though the two of them were both disciples of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and had worked together for many years.
But Homura had actually tried to seize control of Root.
That was something Danzo could never tolerate.
Root had been built by his own hand. He had poured an enormous amount of effort into it, spent countless hours and endless thought shaping it into what it was now.
It could not compare to the ANBU, but it was second only to them.
It was his foundation.
If a chance to touch the Hokage's seat ever came in the future, Root would be his greatest source of confidence.
"You've heard about Uchiha Gen's death already, haven't you?" Homura asked.
"I heard. But it has nothing to do with me or the Shimura clan."
Homura froze for a moment.
"Danzo, I didn't say this had anything to do with the Shimura clan. I only think this matter must be investigated thoroughly, to give the village an explanation."
"After all, Uchiha Gen's death was far too unusual."
"Hiruzen will definitely send the ANBU to investigate, but I want Root to investigate as well."
"Danzo, hand Root over to me. That is Hiruzen's intention as well."
"No matter what position you're in, you're still contributing to the village. Surely you're not so attached to power that you can't let it go, Danzo? Or is there some other idea in your mind?"
Danzo stared at Homura for a long moment.
"Homura, I hope you can manage Root well. Starting today, Root is officially yours."
Danzo extended a key.
"This is the key to Root's base."
Homura accepted the key and smiled.
"Danzo, don't worry. I won't ruin the work you built."
"I hope not."
Watching Homura's back as he left, Danzo let out a cold snort.
"Homura, and you think you can control Root? Dream on. Do you really think Root is that easy to control? So what if it's Hiruzen's order? Root will always belong to me."
"Always."
The next day, most places throughout Konoha were discussing Uchiha Gen.
And once Uchiha Gen was mentioned, what he had done would inevitably come up as well.
"Maybe we really shouldn't have treated them like that?"
"Not every Uchiha is part of the Uchiha rebels. There really are some decent people in the clan—like Uchiha Kagami back then, and now Uchiha Gen."
"Uchiha Gen's death is such a pity. Uchiha Kagami's death was a pity too."
One person suddenly lowered his voice.
"Who do you think really killed Uchiha Gen?"
"And how exactly did Uchiha Kagami die back then? Could that rumor from before actually be true?"
"That rumor?"
"What else? The one saying the Second Hokage-sama and the Third Hokage-sama sold out Uchiha Kagami."
"To be honest, who knows?"
"It happened so long ago. Who can say what the truth was back then? But Hokage-sama doesn't seem like that kind of person. Otherwise, the Uchiha's current situation would be even worse."
"It is precisely because of Hokage-sama that the Uchiha who remain can still stay in Konoha safely."
…
…
The moment "Uchiha Gen" died, Rasa's consciousness returned to his own body.
Without hesitation, he immediately looked at the system panel before him.
[Name: Rasa]
[Identity: Fourth Kazekage]
[Ninjutsu: Eye of Detection, etc.]
[Taijutsu: Basic Taijutsu]
[Genjutsu: None]
[Bloodline Limit: Magnet Release – Gold Dust]
[Remaining Activations: 0]
[Remaining Points: 998]
Seeing the number, Rasa could not help but smile.
"Almost a thousand points."
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
"Ebizo's people must be working hard."
"And the Uchiha Gen I created has contributed quite a bit too. Given Konoha's current situation, there are bound to be a great many people discussing Uchiha Gen. And once they mention Uchiha Gen, there's a very high chance they'll also mention Uchiha Kagami."
"And that's only one part of it."
"Uchiha Gen's death will also plant a seed in Uchiha Shisui's heart."
"And by repeatedly drawing parallels between Shisui and Uchiha Kagami, I'll also make Hiruzen Sarutobi develop misgivings toward Uchiha Shisui."
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