Uchiha Fugaku had guessed that the attacker might expose the fact that he had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But he had never expected the other party to expose it like this.
Nor had he expected it to happen so quickly.
So quickly that the preparations he had made were completely insufficient.
"The Nine-Tails' rampage… was caused by me?"
"I controlled the Nine-Tails?"
"I caused Minato's death?"
At first, Fugaku was utterly baffled.
Then came fury.
"Why would I cause the Nine-Tails' rampage? What benefit would that bring me?"
"To take revenge on Konoha?"
"But I've already been abandoned by those Uchiha."
"What benefit would killing Minato bring me?"
"Kushina and Mikoto were so close."
"My relationship with Minato wasn't bad either."
"How sick in the head would I have to be to kill Minato?"
"Who is slandering me?"
"Who is spreading this nonsense?"
The first person Fugaku thought of was that attacker.
"Only that person knows I awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. How vicious!"
"To fabricate such a rumor just to smear me!"
"Who exactly is that person?"
Before, what Fugaku had worried about was the danger that would come once his Mangekyo Sharingan was exposed.
But now, what Fugaku feared was whether Konoha would believe this rumor—and then take frenzied revenge against the Uchiha who remained in the village.
"These clansmen cannot suffer any more harm."
These clansmen belonged to Fugaku's faction.
They were the ones closest to him, and also the most loyal to him.
"Should I explain everything to Hokage-sama? Or should I take these clansmen and leave?"
Fugaku's mind spun rapidly.
"With my current strength, protecting a few dozen people shouldn't be too difficult."
But at that moment, the ANBU arrived one step ahead.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had learned of the rumor even before Fugaku.
And at the first possible moment, he had dispatched ANBU to the Uchiha compound.
"Uchiha Fugaku. Hokage-sama requests your presence."
Fugaku's expression stiffened.
Then he nodded and followed behind the ANBU.
Before long, he arrived at the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi rose to his feet.
"Hokage-sama."
Fugaku immediately said, "That rumor is false. I could never have done such a thing. On the night of the Nine-Tails, I remained inside the Uchiha compound the entire time. ANBU and Root shinobi were watching over us."
"I had no chance to leave at all."
"And I would never have done something like that in the first place."
"The Uchiha clan already abandoned us."
"We would never do anything harmful to Konoha."
"Hokage-sama, someone is trying to drive a wedge between us."
As Fugaku spoke, he carefully observed Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression.
The instant Hiruzen showed the slightest abnormal movement, Fugaku would use his Mangekyo Sharingan at once, attack with everything he had, and see whether he could control Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Only that way could he protect those dozens of Uchiha clansmen.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no hostility whatsoever.
"Fugaku, I believe you."
"I know what happened that night. The person who controlled the Nine-Tails could not have been you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi truly believed it was impossible for that person to be Fugaku.
On one hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi had suffered too many attacks from rumors.
Because of that, whenever he saw a rumor now, he instinctively felt like a startled bird.
And Konoha's current situation was far too terrible.
If Orochimaru's experiments had not been so horrifying, and if too many people had not already known about them, Hiruzen would even have wanted to give Orochimaru a chance to repent.
With Orochimaru gone, Konoha's strength had dropped yet again.
Uchiha Fugaku was already one of the few elite jonin Konoha could still make use of.
Hiruzen's first reaction was that this was likely another enemy conspiracy.
A method meant to drive a wedge between him and Fugaku.
And then pin another crime of persecuting Konoha shinobi onto him.
On the other hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very clear about what had happened on the night of the Nine-Tails.
Those few dozen Uchiha had all been watched tightly by ANBU and Root shinobi. They had no chance whatsoever to reach Kushina's delivery site and control the Nine-Tails.
If Fugaku truly possessed the ability to deceive everyone so thoroughly, would he have allowed the Uchiha clan to split?
Would he have watched helplessly as the Uchiha clan fell into tragedy?
Impossible.
Besides, did Fugaku even have that kind of ability?
"If I were Uchiha Fugaku, and I had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, I would never have let myself be so meekly imprisoned inside Konoha. I would have acted long ago."
"And besides, the Mangekyo Sharingan is not something just anyone can awaken."
Hiruzen looked at Fugaku and said,
"Fugaku, this is not the first or second time Konoha has suffered attacks from rumors. I called you here because I wanted to tell you personally—I will not believe a rumor like this."
"I will issue a public announcement and explain the matter clearly."
"You, and the several dozen Uchiha under you, may all rest assured."
"The village will absolutely not act against you because of a mere rumor."
"This old man has not grown that muddleheaded."
After receiving Hiruzen's assurance, Fugaku let out a breath of relief.
Even if he did not know whether Hiruzen's words were true or false, at least Konoha had not acted against the Uchiha for now.
That was already far better than the worst-case scenario Fugaku had imagined.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Fugaku returned to the compound.
In secret, he began preparing. The moment anything abnormal happened, he would immediately create an opportunity for his clansmen to escape.
"But Hokage-sama didn't seem to be lying."
"With my current ocular power, my observation ability is extremely sharp. Even the faintest emotional fluctuation can be captured. A person who is lying does not look like that."
"Hokage-sama truly believes me?"
Fugaku's feelings became somewhat complicated.
Before, the Uchiha clan had not been trusted and had been constantly targeted.
Now that the situation had become like this, he had instead gained Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust.
Soon, Hiruzen Sarutobi's announcement was issued.
"Uchiha Fugaku has nothing to do with the Nine-Tails' rampage. The one who caused the Nine-Tails' rampage was someone else."
"Do not believe rumors. Do not spread rumors."
"Konoha has already been harmed by rumors many times. I hope everyone can remain calm and think independently."
Some of the people gathered outside the Uchiha compound began to disperse.
"If Hokage-sama personally says it wasn't him, then it probably wasn't."
"After all, Hokage-sama's relationship with the Uchiha clan isn't good. There's no reason for him to falsely testify on Fugaku's behalf."
"And it's true that Fugaku had no opportunity to commit the crime."
"Also, if Fugaku really had that kind of ability, he wouldn't have waited until then, and he wouldn't have allowed the Uchiha to suffer those tragedies. Emotionally or logically, it doesn't make sense."
But Jiraiya, after receiving the news, thought something completely different.
At this moment, Jiraiya's expression was terribly dark.
"Teacher Sarutobi is shielding Uchiha Fugaku?"
"Teacher Sarutobi… so it really was you?"